Mediteranean naturist holidays

[deejay-gee]

Having been married just four weeks ago, this years holiday is already taken care of (we are going to China and Hong Kong in October!).

Next year however, we would like a beach type Med holiday.

I would be interested to know:

Any reputable companies from the UK or operating in the UK who offer naturist holidays (not in Cap D'agde); or

Any major mediteranean resorts with easily accesable naturist beaches.

I was thinking south of France, Spain, maybe Greece or Croatia...

any suggestions welcome.

[deejay-gee]

Having been married just four weeks ago, this years holiday is already taken care of (we are going to China and Hong Kong in October!).

Next year however, we would like a beach type Med holiday.

I would be interested to know:

Any reputable companies from the UK or operating in the UK who offer naturist holidays (not in Cap D'agde); or

Any major mediteranean resorts with easily accesable naturist beaches.

I was thinking south of France, Spain, maybe Greece or Croatia...

any suggestions welcome.

[robertkaren]

hi,
you could have a look at La Grade Cosse,south of france,we went with club holidays last year and had a great time.you can book with the camp site or book like we did with club holidays.the beach is a 10 min walk from the site.
http://www.grandecosse.com
http://www.clubholidays.net
if you want any more help get back.
hope this helps.

[DouglasG]

Try Peng Travel who only deal with naturist accomodations. http://www.pengtravel.co.uk or get a copy of H&E & look through it for other ideas.
I've visited Las Piteras in Lanzarote a couple of times & it was wonderful (booked through Peng). To be fair though, most beaches in Lanzarote are nude friendly so you could have a textile holiday but visit nude beaches all the time.
Tenerife has a few nude beaches though it took me a while to discover them. I believe mainland Spain is also very naturist friendly as is Croatia & there are certainly a few dedicated resorts in that neck of the woods.
Seem to have a recollection of reading that Greece is clamping down on nudity, to the extent that some girls have even been arrested for baring their breasts, which is a bit of a surprise. I always thought the Med was topless only! Good luck & make sure you post any updates.

[Rik]

Also check out http://www.france4naturisme.com/ whose UK representative, Suzanne Piper, is well known in naturist circles and will be able to answer any questions you have. You can find her email address, along with some other possible holiday companies, at http://www.n-2.org.uk/nuff/pages/nuff/cont-l.htm .

Rik

[deejay-gee]

Thanks guys, have tried Peng and a few others on the net, I'd forgotten all about France4Naturisme so cheers for that link. Have also renewwed my lapsed H&E subscription.

[cronat]

I recommend Valalta or Koversada in Croatia. They are both available through Peng, but you can also book directly through their web sites.
Valalta
Koversada- Maistra
Combining direct booking and one of the lowcost airlines (Ryanair) you can have the same holiday for less money.

[BackpackerBrian]

dee-jay -

I was in Croatia in 2001 and 2002 at (now-textile) Monsena. It was GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best nudist holiday ever. And Rovinj is a spectacular town; I loved it all.

I recommend Croatia highly!!! Cronat has a good point above that booking may be cheaper. You can fly into Pula, or alternatively, fly to Venice, check it out, take the train to Trieste, spend the night in this great town and take a 3 hour bus ride to Rovinj.

Good luck!!!!

[cronat]

Few days in Venice + a week in a naturist resort in Croatia: I think this could be a great trip for newlyweds.
There are a number of cheap flights from the UK to Venice.
Great info about travelling from Italy to Croatia can be found here.

And Brian is right about Rovinj, a truly lovely little old town. Many refer to it as one of the most romantic places in Croatia.
Rovinj

[DouglasG]

Cronat, I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering just what Croatia & eastern Europe are really like for nudists. Perhaps you could explain a little more about it there. For instance, is being nude restricted only to certain areas eg beaches, or can it be practised anywhere? (Obviously within reason, not in a supermarket, restauarant, etc).

[cronat]

Douglas,
you can't go naked anywhere of course, only on designated areas. You can't strip off for example on a public pool or in a park, or you can't go hiking naked in a forest where it is expected to encounter other hikers.

In Croatia naturism is practiced only on beaches and practically every little village on the coast has a naturist beach close by. Usually those beaches are not officially recognized as naturist. They are sometimes controlled and maintained by local tourist authorities and sometimes not, but are well known as such and advertised in brochures etc. Very often you can see mixed together "textiles", as we call them, and naturists. You can't strip off completely on a beach situated in town's centre for example (topless or thongs are OK), but in most cases only a short walk will bring you to the naturist or at least clothing optional beach. Also if you have a boat you can freely sail naked without the fear that somebody will see you naked or maybe report you to the authorithies.
And then of course there are many official naturist beaches and resorts, campgrounds etc.

Nobody here makes a fuss about it. You can freely go to the tourist office and ask for the nearest naturist beach, without worrying about getting strange looks from the person working there. Also the state supports naturism, even Croatian official tourist web site has a large section devoted to naturism and the Croatian Tourist Board publishes each year a special brochure about naturism in Croatia. This brochure can be downloaded or ordered by mail on their web site: www.croatia.hr . Few days ago I've read an article in the newspapers that the most requested brochure at the country's crossing borders was the one about naturism and it was mostly requested by Italians. During the high tourist season thera are students working on crossing borders helping tourists, giving away free brochures, car maps etc.
I mean, the Government is not crazy, they know that about 15% of all tourists in Croatia are naturists which makes almost 1.500.000 naturists visiting Croatia each year and leaving a lot of cash.

Croats are Roman Catholics and maybe it's strange that as a Catholic country gained a label of naturist friendly country, as opposite to Italy for example. But when you know that we were a communist country for 45 years where church didn't have much influence, things get more clearer. Communist government supported naturism and naturist infrastructure (campgrounds, resorts...) because of only one reason: more foreign tourists and more cash. First Croatian commercial naturist resort was opened back in 1961. It was also first commercial naturist resort in the world and by commercial I mean it was just as a regular resort, only naturist. It was not a closed members only club. This was Koversada resort and it still exists today. But first official naturist beaches were opened even before communism, before the WWII, so I guess we have a long tradition.
Nowdays even the church here doesn't object naturism anymore. Still, most of the naturists on Croatia's beaches are foreign tourists. Croats, especially older generations, are still too conservative to strip off on a public beach but they can tolerate it. So in general as a nation I wouldn't say Croats are very open to naturism as some other nation like Germans or Dutch, but as a State Croatia is very liberal toward naturism. Younger generations are different. Many freely say they go to nude beaches, although not many go to naturist campgrounds or resorts. Many prefer secluded or not so crowded naturist beaches. Naturism here is usually associated with the summer and beaches.
I hope I made things a bit clearer and that I wasn't too boring...

[BackpackerBrian]

quote:

Originally posted by cronat:
Few days in Venice + a week in a naturist resort in Croatia: I think this could be a great trip for newlyweds.
There are a number of cheap flights from the UK to Venice.
Great info about travelling from Italy to Croatia can be found here.

And Brian is right about Rovinj, a truly lovely little old town. Many refer to it as one of the most romantic places in Croatia.
Rovinj

Oh yeah, I forgot something . . . you can take the ferry from Venice to Rovinj, bypassing Trieste and the bus ride through Slovenia to Croatia!

Cronat, all this talk makes me want to go back to Rovinj!!! Are you the creator of http://www.cronatur.com?? That website was so helpful to me as I first researched and booked at Monsena! Great site!!!

[DouglasG]

Cronat, that was a very informative, well written & useful posting. You were anything but boring!

Many thanks, & perhaps next year (doubt I can make it this) I'll take a trip over there & enjoy life naked in Croatia.

[cronat]

quote:

Are you the creator of http://www.cronatur.com?? That website was so helpful to me as I first researched and booked at Monsena! Great site!!!

Yes, that's my site. I'm glad it was useful to you. That was my intention in the first place, to help other people. Thank you for the compliment, it is much appreciated!

[cronat]

quote:

Originally posted by DouglasG:
Cronat, that was a very informative, well written & useful posting. You were anything but boring!

Good, I'm glad it answered your question.

quote:

Originally posted by DouglasG:
Many thanks, & perhaps next year (doubt I can make it this) I'll take a trip over there & enjoy life naked in Croatia.

You're welcome here. When the time comes and if you would have any question about your trip, I'll be glad to help.