Lifestyle Press

Peter and his partner have been in touch to tell us about their experience of the Sauna Paradise at Therme Erding  in Munich, after reading our recommendation in The World’s Best Nude Beaches and Resorts (page 262). They were delighted to find what is claimed to be the largest complex of its type in the world, with over 25 different saunas and attractions including indoor and outdoor swimming pools, steam rooms and a palm-filled garden – enjoyed by all in the buff.

Camping Waldwiesen at Birkenfeld, in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, is a traditional 4-star textile campsite, but which offers a sheltered naturist garden equipped with sun-loungers for relaxing as nature intended. The site is approximately 30 miles east of the Luxembourg border. (Translation by Google – original German version)

Danny has been in touch with the following information: “I would like to bring to your attention a non-official (but well used) nudist beach in Northern Cyprus which has gained increasing popularity over the years.  Signs are now provided and I frequently go there with my wife.  Superbly beautiful with great naturist opportunities at the far end of the beach, which we thoroughly enjoy every summer.” Much more detail available on the excellent Cap’n Barefoot’s Naturist Guide (towards the bottom of the page).

Richard and Dana have been in touch to tell us about Latvia’s longest nude beach – Inchupe (Inčupes), close to the town of Saulkrasti, and 27 km from Riga, the country’s capital. Although unofficial, the 2.5km strand has a well-established tradition of naturist use. Richard and Dana also have an attractive holiday house - Krastiņi – in the nearby pine forest, which is available to rent and only 10-15 minutes’ walk from the wild and natural bare beach. Get in touch with them for more details.

A naturist-friendly rustic log cabin is available for holidays on the German island of Rügen. No need for a ferry – there’s a bridge from the mainland to the island. The grounds are described as ideal for nude relaxation and sunbathing. It’s also possible to accommodate vacationers that have their own camper van. Rügen has plenty of white-sand bare beaches and is renowned for being one of the sunniest places in the country. (Website translation by Google – original in German).  Rügen tourist information

Danny has been in touch to tell us about his Baltic travels a few weeks ago. He recommends the many naturist beaches on the island of Usedom, which is close to the Polish border. In particular he suggests a good location north of Karlshagen Apparently, there are plenty of interesting things to do on the island and the bare beaches are very laid back, with swimsuited and nude bathers completely relaxed in each other’s company.

On the mainland, at Eldena near the university town of Greifswald, he recommends a stretch of the beach at the south-eastern end which is designated FKK and has nearby parking off the Greifswald-Wolgast road. There is a fee of 2 Euro to use the nude beach.

And at At Lubmin, not far from Greifswald, according to Danny, ‘the FKK beach at the western end of the town is great’. You pay to park, but there’s no charge to use the beach.

Duncan – the Scotsman Abroad – has been in touch to tell us about a superb bare beach at the northern end of the vast pale sands at St. Peter-Ording. Located in the Schleswig-Holstein district of Germany – 140km northwest of Hamburg – the FKK strand enjoys plenty of sunny, but sometimes breezy, days in summer. Miles of naked walking along the deserted shore beyond the official nudist section. Parking at the beach and plenty of facilities nearby – just ask for directions at the tourist office in the resort.

25 July – 1 August, 2010 is the date for a week-long clothes-optional cruise on the Saône and Rhône rivers in the South of France. Sailing from Chalon-sur-Saône, to Avignon on the Viking Neptune, 150 naked souls will be able to soak up the scenery and ambiance on the luxury cruise as nature intended.

We’ve recently learned of two Austrian (textile) campsites that have limited naturist facilities. Naturpark Schluga Seecamping in Carinthia, is next to lake Presseggersee with a large bathing area and a sheltered nudist beach. Camping Gerli, also in Carinthia – close to the Italy-Slovenia-Salzburg-Vienna motorway junction - has a private FKK nudist terrace.

Close to the shores of the famed Lake Balaton, Angela Farm offers two naturist apartments, and plenty of space for nudist campers and caravanners. The swimming pool has a separate area for children: sauna and massage are also available. The thermal baths at Hévíz, Zalaszentgrót and Kehidakustány are nearby.

Sailing Cruises in Comfort (SCIC Sailing) has been established for twenty years and 2009 sees the introduction of three naturist sailing weeks around Turkey. The dates are: 20-27 June; 29 August – 5 September and 10-17 October. Contact the company for more details.

A new eco-friendly and clothes-optional campsite will open in August 2009 in Montenegro in the southern Adriatic, just 30 minutes’ drive from Dubrovnik airport. Club Full Monte is owned by a British couple – Steve and Denise – and is set against a backdrop of the Orijen Masif mountains with views across the Sutorina valley. The 8-hectare site includes a natural spring, stream, terraced meadows and oak woodlands where visitors can be naked in nature. Plenty of low-cost airline routes from the UK with: easyJet, Flybe, Jet2, Thomsonfly and FlyGlobespan.

German entrepreneur Frieder Haferkorn has announced plans to turn the 32-room Rosengarten Hotel in the Black Forest into a fully naturist venue. He says it will be a place for those who want to spend their leisure time playing sports and games, and relaxing with like-minded people as nature intended. The hotel website – www.naturisten-hotel.de – (in German) is under development. [Google translation]

Annabelle Thorpe, writing in The Times, describes her stay at the amazing Rogner Bad Blumau thermal spa – the biggest work of art in the world. However, she failed to mention that the Austrian spa hotel offers a large (800 sqm) open air nudist sunbathing island! Check out the remarkable architecture – every one of the 2,500 windows has a different design. Accommodation details, including reference to the naturist facility. Low-cost Ryanair flights are available from London Stansted in the UK to nearby Graz airport, from where the hotel can provide transfers on request.

Hans and Bärbel from Berlin have been in touch to recommend the excellent naturist opportunities around Warnemünder, near the port of Rostock, in northern Germany. According to Wikipedia, Warnemünder’s broad sandy beaches are the largest on the German Baltic Sea coast and stretch for over 3 kilometres. There are three extensive FKK Strands in the area, two to the west of the town centre and one on the other side of the river mouth, to the east. Further to the east, there is yet another fine nudist beach along the shore, towards the village of Markgrafenheide.

Apparently Montenegro is seeking a private investor for “Ada Bojana” naturist resort in the south of the country on the Albanian border (World’s Best Nude Beaches page 285). Environmentalists are concerned that the Ministry of Tourism is looking for developers to build hotels of four or five-star category on the almost five square kilometres large island in the delta of the Bojana River.

Described as the first official naturist recreational centre in Poland, Sauna-Cezar is operated by a Polish/Dutch couple. It’s on the edge of a National Park in the south of the country, near Bielsko-Biała, and less than 50 miles from the cultural capital of Krakow. An indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna are complemented by extensive gardens where nude sunbathing can be enjoyed. Guesthouse accommodation is available.

The cultural capital of Poland: Cracow, 70 km

A recommended Dutch spa a short distance from Amsterdam, Sauna Amstelland, also has an outdoor swimming pool for skinny-dipping and nude sunbathing terraces in the large gardens. Tel: 0297-530896

Richard has been in touch to advise he’s started planning the summer naked hiking trip in the European Alps (Newt 2008), from Saturday July 5th – Saturday July 12th. It will be the fourth year he’s taken to the hills in the buff and he’s once again inviting other interested walkers to accompany him. Richard says “Anyone is welcome to join for a part of a day, or for the entire walk, dressed or undressed, however their time, commitment or inclination allows.” Drop him a note to find out more.

Mid-way between Vienna and Salzburg in central Austria, the new Eurotherme Resort has a large indoor and outdoor nudist zone (5000 sq mteres in total). More than 20 different types of sauna and relaxation attractions are on offer in the bare area, which is open to the general public. Accommodation is available on-site at the Hotel Spa Paradiso, which has its own sauna and wellness centre for the exclusive use of guests.