Earlier this year my wife and I were lucky enough to be on a Caribbean cruise which stopped at the island of St Maarten. Having done my research beforehand I'd noticed the best beach to go was Orient Bay and the reviews made specific mention that part of the beach was dedicated to naturists.
On arrival we took a taxi and the driver asked us 'You wanna go to the regular part or the nude part?' I chuckled and asked him if he took many people to the 'nude part' and he remarked 'Yeh man, nearly everybody goes there, even I've been!'
I asked him to drop us in the middle and as we got out of the car I said to my wife 'shall we go see what the fuss is about?' Her reply was that as we were half way round the world and never going to see anyone again then what what the heck.
We passed the sign notifying the start of the naturist area and almost immediately met 3 nude American ladies walking in the opposite direction who gave us a cheery good morning! That put my wife at ease and we soon found sun beds and stripped off.
It was packed! I've never seen a beach so full, mostly Americans and such a friendly fun atmosphere. Even a bar and restaurant which as part of the Club Orient naturist resort that backs off the beach. We had a wonderful day and chatted to some really nice people (..who just loved our accent! :))
Since coming home my wife has said she would be more than happy to visit other naturist beaches abroad but not in this country. 'Too close to home she said, you might meet someone you know!' But to cut a long story short this week I managed to persuade her to visit a swim club close to us (Ryedale) and we had such a great afternoon it looks like we have joined this lifestyle for the long term. I'd drink to that but I haven't got a Mojito as good as the ones they made at Orient Bay.. Cheers!
Orient Bay is on my radar. Would you consider staying at the resort, or do another cruise?
Hi. As we were on a cruise it was only a day visit and I only wish we could have stayed for a week. It's a fabulous beach and resort but if it's not in your budget to stay at Club Orient you could stay elsewhere on the island and get a taxi there every day. The island is only small and very beautiful to stay on. There's a nude bar and restaurant on the beach.
We stayed at Club Orient a couple of years ago and liked it very much. However, the one thing that did annoy us was the daily influx of passengers from the cruise ships who walked along the beach, clad in their awful beachwear, to gawk at the naturists. Sometimes you felt that there should have been a notice telling visitors not to feed the naturists......
Hi Arnran
We didn't see too much of that while we were there. There were one or two but my view is that they are probably jealous of our freedom and they wish they had the guts to do the same. There was one instance where a clothed guy walked down the beach and someone spotted he had a camera in his hand pointing at us all. He was shouted at and beat a hasty retreat, quickly followed by security guards from Club Orient. Seriously, if people wanna get their kicks that way they need to get a life!
Glad you enjoyed our favourite beach. We have now notched up 14 visits. The people off the cruise ships do cause mild amusement for some, annoyance for others especially when they try to take pictures. When we go, in October the numbers of day visitors off the ships is far less and many soon find sun beds and strip off. A first nude swim in warm water is the perfect introduction to naturism. As for meeting somebody you know on a beach at home, well the odds are they will also be nude. Might even cement new friendships.
R.B.
Hi Yorkshire Lad...glad you enjoyed Orient Beach....I chuckled when I read your taxi experience -- I recall when I went, it was my first time ever to a nude beach and when the driver asked me that question: "nude or not", I think I replied something to the effect of "whichever is easiest for you". I think I ended up walking the entire stretch of the textile beach to get to the nude side. But as you and others know, it was well worth it! Thanks for sharing.
kc
We caught bus from dock to orient bay when we were cursing.
Enjoyed very much, also liked guard on patrol for those textile photographer😀
Keep On Smiling:)
Sunshinekid:)
Also caught taxi on Antigua to Hawksbill.
We just asked main gate nude beach and were shown directions.
No wandering textiles here
Keep On Smiling:)
Sunshinekid:)
We did Orient Beach as part of a tour around the island. My girlfriend wasn't think we'd be going to the nude side, but I had other plans.
We walked down the beach, found a quiet place to lay our towels and eventually we both stripped off. It was only an hour or so, but it was a fun experience.
Didn't really notice a lot of lingerers when I was there, most people who ventured as far into the nude side as we did ended up stripping off too.
As we going on cruise ships think I had better book one th as that stops there. Not sure if the wife would go naked though.