Jamaica

[Boreas]

I will be visiting Jamaica next February, hopefully for two weeks. We will be in Negril at an all inclusive resort for the first week and are still "shopping" for somewhere for the second week. The travel agent has recommended Ocho Rios and is looking into some prices and places for us.

Does anyone have any suggestions/information to offer to help our trip planning?

[Boreas]

I will be visiting Jamaica next February, hopefully for two weeks. We will be in Negril at an all inclusive resort for the first week and are still "shopping" for somewhere for the second week. The travel agent has recommended Ocho Rios and is looking into some prices and places for us.

Does anyone have any suggestions/information to offer to help our trip planning?

[luvnaturism]

The absolute best place for nude vacationing in the Caribbean is Grand Lido Braco, which is on the north coast between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. This is part of the SuperClubs chain. It's also all inclusive, and I doubt that you can find similar nude facilities anyplace in the world. We're leaving in a few days for our sixth trip to this great resort.

Couples at Ocho Rios is nice, but not nearly as nice as Braco. Of course it's cheaper also. They have a tiny offshore island where you can be nude. Otherwise the resort is textile.

Hedonism II is also at Ocho Rios, but the open sex described in so many trip reports leaves us not interested in going there.

You can PM me if you have questions. Just do it right way, as we'll soon be out of touch.

[Boreas]

Thanks luvnaturism. I am just looking at the Couples Ocho Rios site and it looks nice. I was on the Grand Lido Braco site before and forgot where I saw the information. Thanks for the reminder.

[luvnaturism]

The best resort for anyone depends on what you're looking for in a vacation.

Couples was our first real experience in social nudity. We were puzzled by the sharp contrast between the friendliness we found on Tower Island (the nude island) and the aloofness we found everywhere else in the resort.

Later we observed much the same thing between the two sides of Braco. On the clothed side people mostly just wanted to be left alone, though there was some interaction during pool volleyball, etc. On the nude side people were so much more friendly that it was easy to get acquainted. Our main reason for going back this year is to meet friends that we made on previous trips.

In comparing the two resorts be aware that the nude island at Couples is quite small. Unless they've made changes mainly what you can do there is sun or be at the bar. There's no beach, or at least there didn't used to be.

The nude side at Braco is huge, with a large beach that fronts a protected lagoon for swimming and floating, an enormous swimming pool with bar, club house, meal service, and even a tennis court. The best rooms at Braco are on the nude side, and they are all suites. Braco even offers a weekly nude snorkeling trip.

[Countryboy]

Seperation

If my wife has not yet gotten fully on board with the nudist lifestyle (although willing to accept me and others as being nude) can we still stay on the nude side? If we stay on the textile side of Lido Braco, can we still take advantage of the nude beach and pool?

Thanks for the info.

[luvnaturism]

Two questions, one answer fits both: Yes.

It's not unusual for people who are not interested in nude recreation to stay on the nude side, because that's where the best accommodations are. People are routinely clothed when going from their room to the other side (where most of the eating places are found), so that's OK. However, a clothed person cannot linger on the au naturel side, and cannot use the pool or beach. Also, anyone who stays on the A/N side is going to see nude people, so your wife would need to be at least comfortable with that.

Anyone who stays anywhere on the resort is entitled to use any and all of the facilities. People routinely stay on the clothed side because it's less expensive, but hang out all day on the nude side. It's perfectly acceptable, and quite common.

[Countryboy]

Thanks for the info!

Just to clarify, my wife could not hang out at the A/N Pool and Beach with me if I am nude and she is not. Not to spit hairs - but would toppless count?

I would like to give her that chance to get used to the idea before having to jump right into it.

[nudepartime]

If you do try Jamaica you may want to give Grand Lido Negril a look see. We went there two years ago and it fit my wanting to be nude as much as possible with my wifes, I will try it but I'm not sure how I will like it mind set. We stayed on th C/O side with a first floor Jr. Suite which opened to the beach so I didnt have to get dressed to get to the beach and pool area. The 2nd floor guests have to be clothed to come down the stairs because the stairs are on the back of the units which is open to the rest of the resort and not considered C/O. The C/O worked great for us. When my wife wanted to cover up she could. She could watch us all play volley ball in the pool in any form of dress or undress she was comfortable with.

[luvnaturism]

Just to clarify, my wife could not hang out at the A/N Pool and Beach with me if I am nude and she is not. Not to spit hairs - but would toppless count?

Braco's nude side is designated "Au Naturel," not clothing optional. The last several times we were there (we didn't go in 2008) at registration we were handed a rule sheet that stated that clothing cannot be worn on the A/N side, other than while moving between the residences and the clothed side.

As a practical matter, enforcement of the rule at the beach is an up and down matter. Sometimes we've seen clothed people on the A/N beach, and no one has said anything. Sometimes security is there to tell people to lose their clothes or leave. Frankly I think it has to do with whether or not they've had complaints recently.

Sometimes we've seen women wearing bottoms at the pool, which most people think is reasonable anyway: how does anyone know it's not that time of the month? I did see some posts awhile back saying that the security guards weren't even permitting that. It varies unpredictably, and again strict enforcement probably reflects some problem in the recent past.

What is most likely to be acceptable is the wearing of a pareo or even a beach towel. The sun is fierce, and generally it's readily understood that people need some protection. I read recently that there is now a rule that some coverup must be worn in the food line, so I suspect that wearing something of that order at the pool wouldn't be challenged.

Here's a link to a source for lots of good information on various Jamaican resorts; the main emphasis, however, is Braco. http://groups.msn.com/TheGrandLidoVi...scussions.msnw

Something to think about: the tradeoff at Braco is that in exchange for your wife understanding that she'll need to take the plunge and just do it is that she's guaranteed that there will be no gawkers. The A/N rule, enforced by security, prevents that. Most women who do try it surprise themselves by being comfortable within the first hour. It's a very safe environment in which to give it a try.

Some people do prefer the c/o option at Grand Lido Negril. We haven't been there, but I've heard many times that the nude facilities are small, and often clothed people outnumber the nudes. Personally I'd think that would be much more difficult for most who are new to the nude experience.

[Navigator]

Check out Tensing Pen Boreas. www.tensingpen.com

After a week at an all-inclusive you'll probably be ready for something a little quieter and more romantic. This place is awesome! It's on the cliff's in Negril, south of the roundabout.

I suspect you'll be disappointd with Ocho Rios. It's big and crowded and the hustle to sell you something is a little harder than many people care for. If you're into water activities remember Ocho Rios is on the windward side of the island where the tradewinds blow almost constantly so the water is stirred up to the point that underwater visibilities are usually only a few feet, compared to Negril's 100' visibilities, and it's frequently too windy to sail Hobies or Sunfish or windsurf if you're new at it.

I've been to Tensing Pen a dozen times or so but not since the 80's. We've been meaning to go back but friends always pull us away to someplace else. I'd go back in a minute. It used to be that the Tensing Pen areas by the water were clothing optional although they've never advertised this fact.

Ask me if you have any questions.

[luvnaturism]

After a week at an all-inclusive you'll probably be ready for something a little quieter and more romantic.

I think maybe you have a different all-inclusive in mind. Braco isn't one of the Hedonism resorts. There's plenty of activity available, but you can also be as quiet and laid back as you want. And I've never found a more romantic place anywhere in the world.

[Boreas]

Check out Tensing Pen Boreas. www.tensingpen.com

After a week at an all-inclusive you'll probably be ready for something a little quieter and more romantic. This place is awesome! It's on the cliff's in Negril, south of the roundabout.

I suspect you'll be disappointd with Ocho Rios. It's big and crowded and the hustle to sell you something is a little harder than many people care for. If you're into water activities remember Ocho Rios is on the windward side of the island where the tradewinds blow almost constantly so the water is stirred up to the point that underwater visibilities are usually only a few feet, compared to Negril's 100' visibilities, and it's frequently too windy to sail Hobies or Sunfish or windsurf if you're new at it.

I've been to Tensing Pen a dozen times or so but not since the 80's. We've been meaning to go back but friends always pull us away to someplace else. I'd go back in a minute. It used to be that the Tensing Pen areas by the water were clothing optional although they've never advertised this fact.

Ask me if you have any questions.

Hi Navigator, check out the date of my original post. We went to Jamaica in January 2007 and had a fabulous time. We did enjoy the all inclusives, though would love to go back to somewhere in Jamaica where it is more real. That being said, there is nothing at all wrong with floating in the Caribbean in January and drinking rum. It was 30C (about 90F) in Jamaica while it was -30C at home.

[Navigator]

Hi Navigator, check out the date of my original post. We went to Jamaica in January 2007 and had a fabulous time. We did enjoy the all inclusives, though would love to go back to somewhere in Jamaica where it is more real. That being said, there is nothing at all wrong with floating in the Caribbean in January and drinking rum. It was 30C (about 90F) in Jamaica while it was -30C at home.

Ahhh...I see what happened. My mistake...sorry. It looks like another poster reprised your original post to ask a question which caused several of us to jump on the thread assuming the whole thing was current. Oops!

Well...at least it caused me to look up the Tensing Pen website and fantasize for a few minutes about being there right now.

[Boreas]

Well...at least it caused me to look up the Tensing Pen website and fantasize for a few minutes about being there right now.

And it gave me a chance to think happy warm thoughts and have good memories.

We are sort of plotting on how to afford a good vacation again this year. Perhaps I too will look up Tensing Pen and see what kind of travel deals are out there. Since we are in northern BC and it takes 7 hours to fly to the Caribbean, we need to go for two weeks to REALLY make it worthwhile.

Ah, Jamaica.