Nudists gather on the Mexico border

"California's Largest Clothing-Optional Resort" lies about 2 miles north of the Mexico border - with the small village of Jacumba, CA in between (aerial view).

Nudists gather daily at the 500-acre DeAnza Springs Resort, a mere hour east of San Diego.

Nudists also go hiking in this unique Southern California desert setting. While the resort has plenty of space to walk around, the adjacent Anza-Borrego Desert State Park also offers miles of nude hiking opportunities.

After hiking, nudists gather around in the 7,500 square foot clubhouse, which has a restaurant, bar, dance hall, game room and fitness center. Other activities include a hot tub spa, tennis courts, volleyball and shuffleboard courts, bocce ball, horseshoe pits, and a kid’s jungle gym area.

And when the weather gets hot, plenty of nudists gather around the outdoor pool. A big year-round indoor pool provides a nice place to soak during winter months and cool evenings.

Hiking is good throughout the year. Average daily temperatures make hiking in the afternoon comfortable in the winter months and morning hiking in the summer months.


There are over 300 RV sites, lots of camping sites and motel rooms ($55) and rental units ($60-70) available. Throw in the grounds fee and a night here is less than $100, which is a cheap way to be naked.

Read about a few other Southern California nudist travel destinations here and here.

Naked money now! A fun way to find money for nudist travel

You want to be naked in the great outdoors. You want to visit a clothes-free resort or do a nude cruise. Or maybe you want to spend a weekend at a good nude beach.

But, alas, you have no money. Read on and you'll find some.

OK, lets look at a rewarding way to find money for getting naked.

Finding money starts with managing money. No, managing money is not an exciting topic. Some people would rather eat anchovies for a week than talk about money.

All it takes is 3 minutes a day. AND, the reward is great if you like nude recreation.

You will be a happier nudist in the long run through the financial freedom gained by taking this first step.

The first step is to understand your budget, to understand what you have and who gets it.

Finding out is easy.

(photo courtesy of aanr.com)

Get a little pocket-sized notepad. In the very last page, write down some of the nude resorts, nude cruises and nude beaches you want to experience someday. A few have been mentioned in my previous posts here on Nudist Travel Guide Blog or try the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) for a good list of North America destinations.

Now, put the notepad wherever you keep your keys. At the end of each day, when you turn in your keys, write down what you spent that day.

Gas - $15
Coffee - $4
Lunch - $10
Snacks - $2

Easy.

Not so fast. Give yourself a little reward. Keep some gum by your new notepad. To get the gum, you must make your entries in the notepad. If you spend nothing all day, you can have 2 pieces. No cheating.

Challenge yourself to 10 days of writing everything down. After that, challenge yourself to another 20 days. That will give you 30 days of numbers to work with.

Then, look at the numbers, slowly, and start asking questions:

Are you spending money needlessly every week? How much are you spending on food and drinks? Could you spend less? What about entertainment?

Say you spent $4 on coffee, $10 on breakfast or lunch and $2 on snacks 200 times a year. Multiply $16 by 200. That's $3,200 a year!!! If you brownbag your lunch, buy snacks in bulk, and make cheaper coffee, you could get that down to a little over a thousand, freeing up enough money for nude recreation.

Is there anything else you can cut out or cut down? What changes do you have to make to afford your nude travel goals in the back of the notepad?

Could you buy cheaper shoes? Less electronics? Less books? Would you give up movie theaters for nude recreation? Spend less on weekends? Could you buy non-perishable groceries in bulk? Do you use coupons to save money when grocery shopping? Could you get a cheaper cell phone plan?

How much money did you give to credit card companies this month in the form of interest? Is that money better spent being naked? Could you cut out other things to get credit card debt down? Could you transfer your balance to a 0% or low interest credit card? Most of the major credit card companies have balance transfer offers for new customers whether nudist or not. Find yourself a new credit card company.

That wasn't so hard, was it? Worth the effort? Definitely.

Do this exercise. Repeat it. Get yourself to the places you listed in the back of your notepad. I am.

Nude for the price of a bottle of wine

This article in Slate magazine calls spending $700 on a bottle of wine a bargain for a rare 1996 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne, which can fetch up to $3,500 at retail or auction.

Forget that! $700 is enough money to buy 2 plane tickets from somewhere cold to somewhere warm with a nudist resort.

Example Trip: Someone living in cold and rainy Seattle, Washington could go to warm and sunny Palm Springs, California to visit a good first-timers resort like Terra Cotta Inn.

I put the numbers into Orbitz for a Monday arrival and Friday departure in May. Alaska Airlines has direct flights for less than $300 a person. Weekday nude resort rates are cheaper than the weekends plus it is a getaway from work. Now that's a bargain!!

How much would it cost you to fly to a nude destination? Could you fly for less than the price of a bottle of expensive wine?

Use Orbitz, Expedia or Kayak to get the best prices. You may be amazed how little it costs to fly from wherever you live to somewhere warmer, better and 'nuder'.

Nudist Cruise Report: The Best for Last

On his final day aboard the Bare Necessities nude cruise in the Caribbean, Mike writes about Half Moon Cay, Holland America's private island paradise turned nudist paradise.

Mike has provided daily nude cruise reports since the first day of the trip. For anyone considering a nude cruise or even just learning about nudism for the first time, Mike's well-written trip reports are a great read.

Report:

West of Half Moon Cay, near Cat Island, Bahamas, Aboard The M/S Holland America Maasdam (February 12, 2007) -- They saved the best for last.

After the Maasdam's visit today to Half Moon Cay, Holland America's "private island" in the Bahamas, many aboard our ship are wondering why we bothered to visit any other ports, sail more than 1,800 miles, or literally go anywhere else besides this idyllic slice of paradise.


We anchored off the island early this morning and tendering operations began with the large and fast island tender ships shuttling Maasdam passengers and crew to the island. Using large island tenders instead of the smaller and slower ship-borne tenders/lifeboats Maasdam carries with her, everyone was able to get ashore quickly, also thanks to the very elaborate channel cut harbor Holland America made for this incredible destination. Passengers loaded and unloaded easily from the tenders using a drop-down boarding ramp, directly onto the large pier-side landing.

Half Moon Cay Map - today home of full-moons

Once ashore, everyone was astounded by the scope and the quality of Half Moon Cay. Its most prominent feature was the absolutely immaculate, mile-long beach of pure, fine white sand, unspoiled by even a single boulder, seashell, reef, weed or rock outcropping. Many among us agreed that is was the finest beach we have ever seen, including the famous beaches of Orient Bay, Runaway Bay, Seven Mile Beach, and even the famous white sand beaches of Tortola and St. John's.

Strewn along this fabulous and breathtaking expanse of beach were hundreds of comfortable lounge chairs, canvas beach shelters, fresh-water showers, restrooms, shade huts, and fully-equipped cabanas. Behind the row of beachside improvements, there were three fully-equipped bars, a shopping market with vendors and gift and craft stalls, and a fabulous and efficient food pavilion and shady eating areas. It was spectacular, and every comfort was provided for us for the day.

Best of all, of course, and nearly beyond belief for all of us aboard the Maasdam, was that all this beauty and comfort was our to enjoy exclusively for the day, nude. Think of it as our own personal Club Orient, and you can get an idea of the size, quality and beauty of Half Moon Cay, then add the fact that we were all able to enjoy it in Nature's own bathing costume, and you can imagine how delighted were all were to be here on this glorious day.

All too soon, it was time to tender back to the Maasdam for our final night aboard, which should be great as well. We have encore performances on tap from all of the wonderful guest performers that have entertained us during the past ten days, including Elton John tribute artist Joel Mason, comedienne Julie Barr, and juggler Max Winfrey. All of that is just the warm-up for the obligatory Passenger Talent Show, which is always a must-see cavalcade of hilarity.

Tonight we pack our bags and place them outside our cabin doors, to be removed overnight to the ship's hold, and by 10:30 Tuesday morning, Maasdam will be rid of us...but we suspect the crew and officers aboard will remember us for some time to come, as we all certainly will remember them. This has been the best cruise, by far, of the 10 nude cruises we've done with Bare Necessities over the past 15 years, and we doubt any future cruise could improve upon it very much. The ship and crew were fantastic, the ports and weather were great, and we sailed with some of the nicest and most fun-loving folks there are.

As Nancy Tiemann said as she accepted our Captain's farewell gift yesterday on the Rembrandt Theater stage, "We've sailed on bigger ships; we've sailed on longer trips; but we've never been treated better." Agreed.

Two more notes before signing off from the Maasdam:

- This was Cruise Director David Martin's second-ever cruise as a cruise director. He did an amazing job, and his tireless efforts won the praise of every Maasdam passenger. His debarkation talk was amazing as well -- touching, genuine, and unforgettable.

- The final total for the "On Deck for the Cure" benefit walk for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer research foundation was 789 walkers, with over $15,000 donated to the foundation. That broke the old HAL record by more than double. (More about this accomplishment)

Thanks Mike for giving us an honest glimpse inside what a Bare Necessities nudist cruise is all about. When a vacation is a journey, you have truly traveled.

I'm hoping to package the whole nude cruise trip report series into a single PDF for easy reading. The PDF would be a nice resource for future visitors to this nudist travel blog. Stay tuned for more.

Update: Nudists raise over $15,000 for breast cancer research

We first learned yesterday that nudists aboard the Bare Necessities nude cruise on Holland America's Maasdam broke the participation record for "On Deck for the Cure", a walk raising money for the fight against breast cancer.

The final numbers ended up even better.

The final total for the "On Deck for the Cure" benefit walk for the
Susan G. Komen breast cancer research foundation was 789 801 walkers,
with over $15,000 donated to the foundation. That broke the old Holland America Line (HAL) record by more than double.

The all-time HAL record for participation had been 370 walkers.

Go nudists!!

This is incredibly positive news for nudists and shows the world that nudists are real caring people like everyone else. The only difference is that they are clothes-free and proud.

The nude cruisers took time out of their vacation to raise money for an important cause - for the benefit of all people. $15,000 is a lot of money.

Nudists break "On Deck for the Cure" record on nude cruise

The nude cruise report series continues as Mike explains how the nudists aboard the Maasdam broke Holland America Line's participation record for "On Deck for the Cure", a walk raising money for the fight against breast cancer.

Holland America launched "On Deck for the Cure" on April 1, 2006 and targeted about 500 On Deck for the Cure walks over the next year. With that 1-year campaign nearing completion, a group of nudists on one of the smaller ships in Holland America's 13-ship fleet beat the odds today - at the same time showing the world that nudists are good people too.

Read on about this record breaking event and other good times about the nude cruise:

In The Caribbean Sea, 20.11 North, 68.17 West, Aboard The M/S Holland America Maasdam (February 11, 2007) -- Our luxurious, floating nudist resort has just two more days left in our itinerary until this fabulous 10-day nude cruise comes to an all-too-early conclusion. We have been treated to life aboard a beautiful and comfortable ship, a gracious and accommodating crew, a passenger complement of 1,200 fun and friendly nudists, and weather that has been absolutely perfect for our clothes-free enjoyment of every day during our trip. I think everyone who leaves this ship on Tuesday morning will always carry very fond memories of the M/S Maasdam and the wonderful time we have all spent together.

One remarkable event that has been taking place aboard our cruise is worth reporting here. I'm sure this news will also make it into the AANR Bulletin in a few months, and perhaps elsewhere onto the Internet, because it is exciting and very newsworthy.

During every Holland America cruise, on every ship in the fleet, the passengers are invited to join in a non-competitive 5K walk around the Promenade Deck of the ship, to benefit the Susan G. Komen breast cancer research foundation. It's called, "On Deck for the Cure," and passengers donate $20 or more per person to participate. Before our cruise, the all-time Holland America Line (HAL) record for participation was 370 walkers. As of this morning, with a few hours left to go before the walk at 1:30 today, 627 of our fellow nude cruisers have signed up to be in the walk! That totally blows away the old record by nearly double, and represents a much higher percentage of participation than any other walk in HAL history.

Our Cruise Director David Martin is arranging a special group photo for all of us, which he says will have to run alongside the story about this great achievement in the HAL corporate newsletter! This is a really cool feather in the cap of the nudist community, and one that should get lots of positive press for this cruise and social nudism in general. Speaking for my wife and all the other breast cancer survivors on board the ship, congratulations to all our fellow cruisers.

Yesterday's highlight was the nude catamaran sail-and-snorkel tour that about 80 of us lucky Maasdam passengers took. Special arrangements by Bare Necessities with the tour operator allowed us the freedom and fun we enjoy so much, even when in St. Thomas, as US possession and with the strict anti-nudity customs common everywhere in US waters.


Our tour departed from the pier just a minute's walk from Maasdam's gangway, and as we have had all throughout our trip, the weather was perfect: temperatures in the low 80's and sunny skies with puffy white clouds. Our catamaran The Castaway Girl, along with her twin sister ship The Castaway Girl II, held about 100 of us in total, and after a clothed 45-minute sail over to Buck Island bird sanctuary just outside St. Thomas, we were permitted to enjoy the rest of our afternoon clothes-free.


Skinnydipping under the bright Caribbean sun, snorkeling the beautiful reefs of St. Thomas, and then enjoying a wonderful, warm and sunny 90-minute nude sail back to our ship while relaxing in the sun with friendly folks and frosty cold adult beverages is certainly one of life's rarest luxuries. We have been lucky enough to enjoy this indulgence many times in many sunny ports over the years, since we always try to sign up for the nude "booze cruise" catamaran tours whenever they are offered. Those three hours yesterday aboard the Castaway Girl are the ones we will treasure most fondly among all the many wonderful time spent on this amazing cruise.

Today is our last day at sea with complete freedom from textiles until we arrive at Half Moon Cay early Monday morning for the day at HAL's "private island." We are all hoping it is very private, and that it is available for the exclusive use of Maasdam's passengers, so that we may fully enjoy it in the most pleasant way possible. Monday night will be our last night aboard this wonderful ship, and the evening's entertainment features the always amazing passenger talent show. Then Tuesday morning we must say goodbye to the Maasdam and all these great nudist friends until we see them again on another trip sometime soon.

This is awesome news! It is amazing what a group of nudists can accomplish when they get together.

To learn more about this cruise, read Mike's previous nude cruise reports: February 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Nudist Cruise: How do cruise staff react to nudists? Positively!

Today, nudist traveler Mike reflects on the positive responses to nudists by clothed entertainers and staff members aboard the M/S Holland America Maasdam’s special nude Caribbean cruise.

First time here? Be sure to read Mike's previous nude cruise reports: February 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI / Aboard The M/S Holland America Maasdam (February 10, 2007) -- It's not just us.

We're not the only ones who think nudists are a fun, fun bunch of people to be with. It seems that everyone who steps onto the stage of the M/S Maasdam offers that opinion as well, from our Cruise Director David Martin to each of the featured guest performers who have come aboard to entertain us in the Rembrandt Theater stage.

Last night, we had two outstanding guest entertainers. The first was Joel Mason, who did a hilarious and musically great Elton John tribute show, and got 90% naked on stage himself with a great break- away Elton-esque white suit costume, and then high-fived many in the audience as he ran around the seating area in his boxers. "I love you people, and I love this philosophy!" he said more than once, and everyone could tell he was really enjoying performing for our fun- loving and appreciative group...all the more so since he did it all with a mild case of bronchitis.

Next up, for the "Adults Only" late-night comedy show at 11:15 was Julie Barr, who totally killed for nearly an hour. She jousted with the audience like the best of the pros do, evoking comparisons to Paula Poundstone and Robin Williams and their superlative improv styles. But the biggest among many huge laughs were for her "blue material," jokes she can't use with other audiences but which were very much appropriate for we open-minded and hard-to-offend nudists (none of which can I repeat here for this G-rated blog posting). Suffice it to say, Julie had a blast working for us, and said as much several times during her show. She even said, "If this is the last show I ever work for Holland America, it's worth it." Wow.

All of which brings to mind the idea that we nudists have found something special. We have discovered a way of life, a way of relaxing, a way of making new friends, a way of having fun that sadly too few others will ever find or try. We are regular people in every other way, except for this one very special part of our lives, which we love so much and want to share with as many others as we can...yet doing so is impossible for most of us because of the misplaced societal taboos and small-minded prudery that has so far kept nudism as a tiny niche lifestyle.

In fact, during Julie's set last night, she posed a question to the standing-room-only crowd in the Rembrandt Theater: "How many of you are on this cruise without your family knowing about it?" There was a loud round of applause...and she immediately followed up with, "How many are on this cruise without your family knowing about it--and you just don't care?" -- which was answered by an even stronger response.

On Thursday, we both had massages in the ship's spa. Spontaneously and without being asked, both of our young massage therapists offered their opinion that without any question, our group has been by far the most fun, the most friendly, the smartest (!) and the most easy-going charter they have ever had aboard. None of that surprises me except the comment about smartness...all certainly reasonable as we have found nudists to be a thoughtful, well-traveled and well-educated group on the whole...but it's still nice to hear comments like that from folks who are having their first-ever exposure to social nudism thrust upon them during our cruise.

Today we are looking forward to a clothing-optional afternoon catamaran sail-and-snorkel trip here in St. Thomas. Our boat captain will have to take extra measures to serve our special needs of privacy so as not to offend any other boaters or swimmers along our route or at our destination, but we plan to make it worth his while to do so. Tomorrow's report will be a recap of how that excursion went, and what our day at Half Moon Cay, the "private island" owned by Holland America's parent company Carnival, is like.

Just three more days of naked fun left...it has gone by so quickly!

Thanks Mike. I wonder who was entertained more, the entertainers or the audience?

Nude Cruise Report: Nudist Costume Contest and Rainforest River Tubing

Today we hear about a nudist costume contest followed by river tubing in Dominica. These nudist cruisers sure know how to have a good, wholesome clothes-free time.

For those just joining us, 1,200 nudists (a.k.a. naturists) are aboard a Bare Necessities Nude Cruise for a February 3 to 13 Caribbean tour. Using an onboard wireless Internet connection, nudist traveler Mike has been able to provide a look inside the nude cruise.

Be sure to read Mike's previous nude cruise reports: February 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Report:

Roseau, Dominica, Aboard The M/S Holland America Maasdam (February 9, 2007) -- Nobody knows how to dress up better than a shipload of nudists.

Proof positive of that fact was in spectacular evidence last night aboard our floating city of nudists for the gala "Under The Sea" costume contest / parade, and no one on the ship who saw the hundreds of simply amazing costumes cooked up by the nudists will ever forget the evening.

On a typical cruise, on a theme night, there might be a half-dozen passengers in costume or dressing up in accordance with the announced "theme" for the night: i.e., Country & Western Night, Mardi Gras Night, etc. On our nude cruise, being a bunch of people who haven't forgotten how to have fun without any hang-ups or pretension, we had well over 300 people in costume last night. And the costumes were spectacular.

There was a very strong invertebrate category, with many variations of jellyfish costumes and even some elaborate electrified outfits for an electro-luminescent look. We had sharks, sea sponges, many types of lobsters, wharf rats, some amazing sea anemones, fishermen and their catches, and a good assortment of King Neptune and mermaids / sea maidens. We all assembled on the aft pool deck at 10:00 PM for prelim judging, and it was just amazing to walk around and see so many of our fellow Maasdam passengers in their elaborate costumes, each one more inventive, original and fun than the next.

The photos I am sending for John to post don't begin to do justice to the immense variety and novelty of the great costumes on board last night. Some are simply inexplicable, and no one who wasn't there last night will ever know how amazing they were. The ship's photographers were trying to capture it all on film, and we'll be able to see our photos tonight in the ship's photo gallery. Of course, many onlookers and contestants as well also took their own photos (with the permission of their subjects, of course), and so I am attaching a few to give a small glimpse of the hilarity and imaginativeness of the various creations.


Mermaid on stage with David the emcee


Electro-luminescent jellyfish having fun


A couple in jellyfish costumes


Wearing crazy sea anemone costume

Our favorite was the SCUBA diver and mermaid couple. He was dressed in a full wet-suit, with mask, snorkel, SCUBA BCD vest, and he carried the mermaid over his shoulder...she was his wife, topless of course and with long blonde hair, strewn with seaweed and seashells, and with an impeccable set of mermaid fins covering her from the waist down. So dressed, she couldn't very well walk anywhere, but she did crawl, hop and beg to be carried around the festivities, even "making a break for it" once as they neared the aft pool. Once on stage, she crawled across the stage to our Cruise Director David Martin, the emcee for the contest, and managed to distract him endlessly during the proceedings. The shot I'm sending was taken from onstage and shows her sprawled on the floor making for David's leg gives an idea of the scene. They were fabulous, and neither one ever "broke character" -- he had to be dying of heat inside that wet suit, but it earned them one of the three Honorable Mention awards!

The kind of fun we all had last night is simply indescribable to anyone who hasn't been there themselves. The costume contest is always one of the highlights of the nude cruise, and last night's ranks among the best we've ever seen. It is so amazing to be among so many fun, happy, carefree people who just like to have fun, playing as children do and enjoying just being human. As I say, it's inexplicable, but inimitable and certainly unimaginable to all the textile-compulsive folks out in the rest of the world.


Dominica Layou River Valley
Today we arrived in Dominica, the green rainforest island, which has 10 volcanoes, 365 rivers, dozens of freshwater lakes, and a lush and gorgeous ecosystem of palms, ferns and every other kind of green, living thing. If you didn't know better, you'd say you were on Maui -- except Dominica is even more densely forested and with a more diverse climate. Many people from our ship went river tubing down the island's longest river, the Layou, while others took island bus tours. We did the 12-mile downhill bike ride through the rainforest, stopping for a cool dip in the Layou (with a skinnydip in the adjoining hot spring as well!) before arriving back at the beach. Our 3-hour ride took us down 2,200 feet in elevation through the beautiful and lush Layou rainforest valley. Spectacular.

Shortly Maasdam will push off the pier and head on to St. Thomas, where we will be in port Saturday until late afternoon. Tonight we'll enjoy another great clothes-free night of fun aboard the Maasdam, which seems to be gaining the acclaim of many of our fellow cruisers as the best ship and crew ever chartered by Bare Necessities.

I don't know about you, the reader, but hearing about all of this fun is getting me thinking about my own vacation plans for this year!

Nude Cruise Report: A Wonderful Return to Clothes-free Freedom

Most people I know where born without clothing. Today presents a fond story of a group of 1,200 travelers turning a regular cruise-ship into a nude cruise, a cruise without the constraint of clothing.

The nudist travelers have taken over the M/S Holland America's Maasdam cruise ship, with the help of Bare Necessities Tour and Travel, who have chartered over 40 clothing-optional cruises since 1991.

Mike reports today from aboard the ship to tell us more about the cruise.

Report:

Aboard The M/S Holland America Maasdam (February 8, 2007) – After two days in ports, forced to wear all those silly clothes from morning until night, we 1,200 nudists aboard this magnificent ship showed our appreciation for a return to blissful nudity during this full day at sea. Breakfast this morning at the casual indoor/outdoor Lido buffet restaurant on pool deck 11 this morning was attended by an overwhelmingly unclothed crowd, with everyone more than ready to get back to clothes freedom for another glorious day of sailing.

Promenade deck 6 was a popular place as well this morning, where many Maasdam passengers enjoyed a beautiful morning walk around the open deck, which encircles the ship. Few things in this world can compare with the bright morning sun and warm breeze against the skin, walking the length of a beautiful ship on the open sea, surrounded by and dressed in Nature's own splendor.

The surest way for a pretty woman to attract attention around the pool of the Maasdam is to show up wearing a bikini or thong. She'll get plenty of looks, not because we're all thrilled by her skimpy bathing costume, but because she is bothering to wear one at all during a cruise for which we all paid a premium in order to be able to dispense with such distractions. Likewise, gentlemen who arrive poolside in a thong or Speedo will find themselves distinctly out of place and very much overdressed, since the whole point of this wonderful 10-day cruise was to be unencumbered by those restrictive, clingy and wholly unnecessary adornments.

Thankfully and quite typically for nude cruises like this one, folks wearing bathing suits around the two pools of the Maasdam are the rare exception, and those that do usually dispense with whatever they are wearing once they find a lounger or table at which to situate themselves. We have had the company of some of the ship's production show dancers and other entertainers around the pools throughout the week, and slowly we are seeing the females enjoying top-freedom, although the males have so far remained in their swimsuits while sunning and swimming along with us.

Tonight we look forward to the big "Under The Sea" costume ball, with several hundred entrants expected to be in the parade and contest around the ship. My wife and I will be among them, dressed as King Neptune and a Mermaid...wish us luck. Last time we wore these rented costumes, during the Nude Millennium Cruise on New Year's Eve 1999, we took first place!

Here's some of Mike's pictures from yesterday in Willemstad, Curacao - clothes had to be worn while the ship was in port, due to regulations.


Willemstad Harbor looks as good at night as it does during the day.


A steel drummer entertains guests on the ship.


A BBQ dinner buffet.


View of the pool during the day with Willemstad port in Curacao in the background.


View of the pool at night.



Thanks Mike. Good luck in the contest and have fun!

For those just joining us, be sure to read the previous nude cruise reports to learn more about clothes-free nudist cruises: February 4, 5, 6, and 7.

And of course, if you have your own story to tell or questions to ask, please feel free to leave comments.

Nude Cruise Report: Nude SCUBA diving and other fun

Nudist traveler Mike reports today from aboard a special nude cruise on Holland America's Maasdam.  The ship is docked in Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the main city of the island of Curacao in the Caribbean. Today is a clothed day for his nudist shipmates.


View of Maasdam (foreground) and Royal Caribbean
Adventure of The Seas (background) at port in Curacao,
taken from the towering St. Anna's Bridge.

Tomorrow, the historic nude cruise continues forward. I say historic because the cruise represents the nudist community moving forward. It is yet another piece in the short human history of clothes-free cruises and bodes well for the future of nudist travel.

For those just joining us, be sure to read the previous day's nude cruise reports: February 4, 5, and 6.

Read on as Mike tells us more about Curacao and reflects upon what he and fellow nudists did yesterday while on the island of Bonaire.

Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, Aboard The M/S Holland America Maasdam (February 7, 2007) -- Who let all these funny-looking clothed people onto our ship?

For the second day in a row, Maasdam is in port from early morning until midnight, obliging all 1,200-plus of us nudist vacationers to remain clothed on our ship, even when in her interior spaces or on the high open decks out of the sight of anyone on any ship around, much less anyone shoreside. Although we are all just as friendly and the faces are all as familiar as when textiles are not mandatory, there is certainly less of a feeling of freedom and relaxation since we all have to bother with dressing, changing clothes for various functions, and of course those nasty tan lines!

Yesterday we were in Bonaire for the day, and many of us took advantage of the excellent SCUBA diving available there. Others strolled the small downtown area, shopped, ate and drank at the small bars and restaurants, or otherwise did what there was to do on that small, arid island. A good many Maasdam passengers signed up for the day trip by bus over to Sorobon, the small naturist beach resort on the eastern side of Bonaire.


Photo of Dive Inn SCUBA shop sign in Bonaire
Those of us who did not were lucky to be able to get nude during one of the shore excursions arranged by BNT&T or by our fellow passengers. I was one of them, joining in with 11 other SCUBA divers who chartered a small dive boat for the afternoon, for an excellent one-tank nude (or 'buff') dive. From where Maasdam was tied up, we could nearly fall off the ship and land at the Dive Inn Bonaire, directly across the road from the south town pier where Maasdam was alongside. Harry, the owner, was very friendly and accommodating, offering to rent us his divemaster, his boat captain, his dive boat and all our tanks, weights, and other gear for a nude one-tank boat dive trip on a splendidly warm afternoon.

Being a Dutch possession and with mostly Dutch or Dutch-educated natives, naturism is not unknown among most Bonaire residents, especially with Sorobon bringing many hundreds of tourists to the island every year. Our divemaster, Babs, was totally cool and took extra steps to bring us to a dive site on the far side of Klein Bonaire for our dive, well away from other dive boats and other snorkel/sail excursions as well.

The water temperature and visibility was excellent for our dive, and the 12 of us spent most of an hour below the surface taking in the magnificent coral and sea life that brings divers to Bonaire from all over the world. Five of our party elected to buff dive, myself included, and we were glad for the luxury of it, especially after climbing back onto the boat and not having the chill of a soggy bathing costume bothering us in the brilliant afternoon sun.

From Bonaire on Tuesday, Maasdam made the short run to Curacao overnight, arriving well before dawn after the 60-nm voyage. Again here in Curacao, many of our fellow passengers are ashore all day taking in the local sights, food and drink, but alas there were no clothing-optional tours made available through the charterer.

Tonight the Maasdam is featuring a poolside luau dinner around the main pool, as well as the usual live show in the main theater, the current movie "The Queen" playing in the cinema, and live music at various lounges around the ship. The casino onboard must remain closed while we are in port, and of course we all must remain clothed, so tonight will pass more slowly for many of us than the glorious nights underway at sea when the whole ship is ours to enjoy nude if we wish.

So far, we have not found a single shipmate who has anything but praise for the Maasdam, her crew, or the splendid weather we have had so far. Tomorrow (Thursday) has us at sea again for the whole day and so we can again enjoy the freedom and comfort which we have all paid for on this special cruise, as well as a fabulous costume contest tomorrow night with a theme of "Under The Sea."

Blessedly, today is our last day spent in port with textiles mandatory from morning until night. Friday we visit Dominica from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM, then St. Thomas during the day on Saturday, then to Holland America's 'private island' of Half Moon Cay for the day on Monday. We are hopeful that we will be the only Carnival-branded ship visiting Half Moon Cay that day, giving us the possibility of enjoying the whole island nude...we shall see.

Thanks for the report! What a unique travel experience.

Nude Cruise Report Day 3: Nudism, a brief encounter with clothing, more nudism, perfect!

During the 3rd day aboard the Bare Necessities Nude Cruise, a ship carrying over 1,200 nudists for a February 3 to 13 Caribbean tour, the ship makes its first stop at the port in Bonaire.

Mike, a nudist aboard the ship, was able to snap a few pictures from the cruise and tell us more about the day's events.

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Mike's view of the 720 feet long and 101 feet wide Maasdam docked at the South town pier in Kralendjik on the island of Bonaire. Doesn't that green ocean water look nice?

The report:

Kralendjik, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, Aboard The M/S Holland America Maasdam (February 6, 2007) -- We have reached our first port call on this 10-day nude cruise. Bonaire has a population slightly smaller than the complement of passengers and crew aboard the Maasdam (1,600 or so on our ship versus the 1,200 or so on the whole 125 sq. mile island), so when a ship even as modestly-sized as ours (by today's megaship standards) pulls alongside, the island's capacity to entertain, feed and escort us on tours is at its limit.

We are tied up all day at the South town pier in Kralendjik, the only town of any size on the island. Many of our shipmates scattered off to various landside tours this morning, with many making the short walk into town for shopping, lunch and the all-important Internet cafe visit. Maasdam leaves at midnight for Curacao, with the gangway retracted and all aboard by 11:00 PM, and since we are within view of shore and other boats and ships along the harbour, we are obliged to remain clothed aboard the ship all day.

Those are about the only nudity restrictions during the nude cruises: we may be nude anywhere on the ship except in the formal dining room and the Captain's reception cocktail party, and at all times except when we are in port, within sight of other ships when at anchor, or at the Captain's orders at other times, for example if we are boarded by local officials. Essentially, that means we can be as dressed or undressed as we care to be at all times when we are underway, every night as we sail toward our next port, and for all meals taken in the casual Lido buffet restaurant, all the ship's lounges and bars, anywhere on the outer decks and pools--basically, anywhere on the ship.

There are few pleasures as rare and as exquisite as waking for the day while at sea, stepping out of a warm morning shower in your cruise ship stateroom, and knowing you are as dressed as you need to be for a day of fun and relaxation. AANR has graciously provided neat little neck lanyards with watertight plastic pouches, perfectly sized to hold our cabin door key and shipboard charge card -- so with just that around your neck, you need to wear very little else, if anything, as you enjoy the ship. Plus, Maasdam's crew has provided an endless supply of thick, large pool towels for us everywhere throughout the ship, so we are never at a loss for a towel to sit on or to dry off with.

With the warm air temperatures outside while making our way here from Florida, and the ship's engineers keeping the indoor temperatures warmer than usual for us, we are able to enjoy comfortable nudity day and night without a chill as we have had at times on other ships. Many, many, many of the passengers are taking full advantage of this luxury, remaining nude all day and evening, and so the casual indoor- outdoor (and nude-permitted) Lido restaurant on pool deck 11 is getting steady business for all four meals each day. (As with all cruises, food is available somewhere on the ship for something like 18 of the 24 hours each day.)

A special treat during our day at sea yesterday was around the main pool, which was filled not with cold seawater as is typical for cruise ship swimming pools, but with warm fresh water. Partially covered by a glass-and-steel retractable canopy to keep the winds down, it was the place to be for sunning and refreshing dips during the long daylight hours. Especially fun was in the afternoon, when Maasdam was pitching and falling slightly with the seas, making the main pool into a wave pool, with the tens of thousands of gallons of water in it sloshing back and forth on a regular interval -- delightful!


The plate inside the ship shows the date and the yard which built the ship -- in this case, the famous Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, in 1993 -- the 5,882nd new ship built by them since 1907.

Another great report from Mike. Everyone reading this is wishing they were on board right now!

Having towels available everywhere is a nice touch and must be greatly appreciated by the nudists on board. Part of the nudist way is to always sit on a towel. Another is to always shower before going into the swimming pool. When living clothes-free, towels come in handy.

What really happens on nude cruises? Insider Report

Today brings more news from the Bare Necessities Nude Cruise, a ship carrying over 1,200 nudists for a February 3 to 13 Caribbean tour.

Thanks to a wireless Internet connection aboard the ship, nudist traveler Mike has been able to share news about the vacation of a lifetime. Yesterday Mike told us about the first day on the cruise as hundreds of nudists watched the Superbowl together.

Mike and fellow nudists continue to have a great time. Mike bestows upon us insights as to what the atmosphere is like, how friendships are made, how nudists come in all shapes and sizes (the requirement of having a perfect body is a myth about nudism), and how the day's activities are going.

Read on:

"Aboard The M/S Holland America Maasdam - in the Caribbean Sea 180nm south of Haiti (February 5, 2007) -- An hour of Sunday morning was spent waiting in line with dozens of our shipmates on the M/S Maasdam queuing to book our cabins for the next large-ship mid-winter cruise chartered by Bare Necessities. The M/S Carnival Legend will sail February 8-15, 2009, from and to Tampa, FL, with ports of call at Key West, FL, Montego Bay, Jamaica and our favorite, Cozumel, Mexico. Legend was the largest nude ship charter ever when BNT&T took her out in February, 2005, and the 2009 cruise has been dubbed the Homecoming Cruise--BNT&T hoping to attract as many former clients for that 16th annual mid-winter cruise as possible.

During the wait in line, it was easy to strike up conversations with our future fellow Legend shipmates. The Maasdam is our tenth nude cruise in the past 13 years, and so we have actually spent many weeks aboard various ships with many of our Maasdam shipmates -- more time together, indeed, than we've spent with our own relatives! And as is usual among nudists, names and hometowns are quickly exchanged, faces recognized from past vacations together, and friendships made and recalled from all our shared weeks afloat.

Claiming a repeat passenger rate of 70%-plus on this cruise like many other nude charters, Bare Necessities owners Tom and Nancy have certainly made millions by catering to an under-served and upscale clientele. The attraction of nude cruising is obvious for anyone who has tried it: carefree days at sea without the bother of clammy bathing costumes; warm sun by day and plenty of indoor activities by night among hundreds or thousands of other like-minded, easy-going folks aboard a floating, mobile city of comfort and entertainment.

Nudity without shame or pretension, with people from all walks of life, all shapes and sizes, all stages of fitness and infirmity, all sharing their mutual love of freedom and body acceptance.

It's equally easy to meet and make friends with a physicist, a firefighter, a schoolteacher or a SCUBA instructor on a nude cruise. That is one of the most pleasant attributes we have found within nudism: it is the great leveler of background, income, education and other usually stratifying markers of social life, all of which fall off with the clothes. You meet and enjoy people for their person- hood, not their wealth or social standing.

We make our push to Bonaire today and tonight at a steady 19 knots, arriving in Kralendijk early on Tuesday morning for a day at port on this tropical desert island. Bonaire boasts some of the finest SCUBA diving sites in the hemisphere, and we are part of a "buff diving" group of 14 Maasdam passengers who have chartered a one-tank afternoon nude SCUBA dive on Klein Bonaire, the small deserted out-island a short boat ride from the downtown pier.

Before then, we are enjoying another glorious day at sea with warm temperatures, sunny skies and a fabulous ship to enjoy. Dinner for us tonight is in the fancy Pinnacle restaurant, a birthday gift to us from friends who are sailing along with us from Dallas. We shall dress for dinner, the first time we have not been nude since after our first dinner aboard Saturday night just after leaving Florida. A few changes of clothes go a long way on a nude cruise!"

Wow! Sounds like a great time! The 70% repeat visitor rate boasts well for the future of nudist cruises. I hope this is a growing trend.

Packing a suitcase for a vacation like this must be different. I can picture the headlines now: "Nudist suitcase full of sunscreen causes airport security delay."

Speaking of Bonaire... For those nudist travelers who are unable to do a nudist cruise, in a bay on the eastern side of Bonaire is Sorobon Beach Naturist Resort. This charming place is perfect for people happy to have a lot of quiet time while on vacation in the warm Caribbean.

World's Biggest Nudist Cruise Ship Superbowl Party Ever

What do you get when you put 1,200 nudists on a cruise ship in the Caribbean during the SuperBowl? Simple. The World's biggest nudist SuperBowl party.

Chicago Bears? No. Chicago Bares.

I just received this dispatch from Mike who's aboard the The M/S Holland America Maasdam right now. This M/S Holland America Maasdam cruise is one of the big nude cruises I mentioned during my post about 2007 nude cruises. Here's the scoop:

Aboard The M/S Holland America Maasdam - Somewhere east of Cuba (February 4, 2007) -- Our first day at sea was fine with warm, sunny weather, slight seas and a beautiful ship to call our home for the next ten days. Setting out from Port Everglades on Saturday evening, our ship slid past other giants of the sea, no doubt setting out on their own Caribbean vacation adventures. But ours alone carried a passenger compliment of some 1,200 nudists and naturists from all over the world, on the latest mid-Winter nude cruise chartered by Bare Necessities Tour and Travel of Austin Texas.

This is our tenth nude cruise with BNT&T, and the "smallest large ship" we've been on in a while. Although the Maasdam is considered 'old' by modern cruise ship standards at just 13 years, she is very, very comfortable, fast, and luxuruious. The staff, crew and officers so far have been wonderfully accomodating, both enjoying our charter and adapting to what could be a huge shock for what is normally a ship patronized by the older and definitely more textile-compulsive set.

Being a 10-day cruise, setting out just a month after the Christmas and New Year's holidays, our shipmates are skewing a little older than usual for a BNT&T mid-winter cruise. Many younger people can't get away for nearly two full weeks at a time owing to job and family responsibilities, so we are meeting many older (retired and nearly retired) cruisers enjoying the Maasdam with us. That matters little to our enjoyment of the fun, which is hard not to have when surrounded by so many free-spirited and unpretentious folks.

Tonight is the big SuperBowl Party, with the main show lounge turned into a giant sports bar for the game, and a crowd expected to number in the many hundreds of nude sports fans enjoying the big-screen telecast. Other bars and lounges on the ship will have their TVs set to the game as well, and we expect a very fun and spirited evening of football madness. We'll be wearing our Chicago Bears jerseys (and nothing else!) for the game -- GO BEARS!

This dispatch is courtesy of the very reliable and easy-to-use Wi-Fi network aboard the ship. We expect to have daily e-mail access while on the trip, so if all goes well, our trusty Apple Powerbook G4 and the Maasdam's satellite Intenet link will bring (hopefully) daily reports as the cruise progresses.

Thanks Mike for thinking of the Nudist Travel Guide blog. I wish I was there. Instead, I'm up north in 30 degree weather.

California Nudist Resorts and Beaches Part 2: Glen Eden Sun Club

Glen Eden Sun Club (website) is a family-oriented nudist club on 150-acres in Corona, California, a short-drive from Anaheim and Los Angeles. This nudist resort is provides a mixture of recreation and relaxation - whereas Part 1 of this series covered Terra Cotta Inn, a destination focused on relaxation for couples.

For outdoor nudist recreation, the club has a pool outside, a spa, 6 tennis courts, nude volleyball, nice shuffleboard, horseshoe and petanque courts, and more.

The clubhouse also has an indoor pool, a dance floor, 3 billiards tables, ping-pong tables, a café, a sauna and more. A gym has weights, treadmills, and assorted machines. So when the weather is off, there are plenty of nude activities to do indoors.

To keep things fun for guests, the resort has regular nude karaoke nights, DJ dances, and competitive activities. Of course, the weekends are the busiest and organized recreational activities go on throughout the day.

According to Glen Eden's activity calendar, a typical weekend usually includes organized hiking, some water volleyball tournaments, cribbage tournaments, bridge games, pool tournaments, dance lessons, a DJ dance, karaoke, nude tennis and more.

There are many theme weekends throughout the year, whether celebrating a holiday or the annual "Nude Attitude" car show. The club will also be host to the AANR West Summer Festival June 8-10, 2007.

The park has plenty of RV units available for rental at reasonable prices. There are also RV hook-up sites and camping sites.

Check this out. This is an aerial view of Glen Eden Sun Club showing the nice grounds. See the tennis courts, nude swimming pool and all of the RVs.

Glen Eden nudist resort pictures: View.