TRaveling abroad

[jbeegoode]

A comment on my site got me to wondering about wandering.

We spend most of our time in familiar stomping grounds, rarely getting away out of country, even other parts of this one.

When traveling away, say looking for wilder lands to roam when living in less wild British Ilse, is there an intimidation? The unfamiliar, the foreign law, the unknown, less local contacts all might keep the expansion of ones free range from happening
 
Any thoughts on that?

How to cope?

Jbee

[John P]

Yes, I think that does happen, and maybe most of us do allow it. It's so much easier to stick with places you know, rather than facing the unknown in a new location. I've now been in the Naked European Walking Tour 3 times, but I very much doubt if I'd have done it if it hadn't been for my friend Milt, who has extensive experience of living overseas, and who doesn't get intimidated easily! With his encouragement, I did those trips and greatly enjoyed them, and I added some side journeys of my own.

Another push I got from another person was when my wife, whose grandfather came from Switzerland, said she wanted to go there. With trepidation, I agreed to do the planning and booking, but everything worked out extremely well. Until then, I don't think either of us believed I had much in the way of organizing skill! We did it again last year, with a rented car and a string of AirBnB stays, all of which were acceptable and some were really memorable. At least as far as Europe is concerned, I feel quite confident of traveling around and I'd happily do it again. Likewise, our New Zealand tour last year was another of Milt's enterprises, and another great success.

I can easily explain Milt's method to you: Make a plan. Carry out the plan. These days it's so easy to find out if you'll be comfortable in any particular place, and you can make bookings around the world. We were talking about more trips (I mean both with my naturist friends, and my dear wife) but with this damned international virus, that's looking doubtful for next year. And I was all set to go!

[Safebare]

I guess Aruba counts. I was privileged to make several trips to Aruba in 2007 - 2011 for work. It is NOT a nude friendly island, at least publicly. I was there for mostly short trips, without alot of free time, but I was high enough in the organization to not have anyone monitoring my whereabouts 24/7. I found a couple of options on one of my early trips.
I started at Baby Beach,  where topfree was common. It was too popular for nudity, but I found a cove nearby that was rarely occupied. There is a distant prison overlooking the cove, but seemed far enough that with some precautions,  nudity was possible.
On my 2nd or 3rd visit there, a couple had arrived before me. He nude, she was topfree. I spent the afternoon with them sharing a bottle of whiskey. They were locals, though he was from Norway. They warned me that guards had telescopes in the guard towers and would occasionally come to the cove to harass the nude bathers.
They told me about another beach not far away. There is a popular kite surfing beach further up the coast, then the most spectacular beach I've visited. One end were the kite surfers, the other, a row of shacks apparently popular with the gay crowd. Between them was a beautiful white sand beach with a reef just offshore and driftwood beach structures spaced out along its length.
I visited this beach on many of my visits to the island. Occasionally a couple or family would walk down from the kite surfing beach, so I always carried a cover on that end. I often witnessed naked enjoyment by others on the other end. Occasionally a nude person or couple would be enjoying one of the driftwood structures, it was a welcome compliment to the beach. I started bringing a snorkel and mask, but felt that exploring the reef created an exposure that I wasn't prepared for. The water wasn't deep enough over the reef, so my butt seemed to be bobbing like a buoy whenever I was trying to get a good look at the sealife.
I did meet a European couple on one visit. They were playful and entertaining. Asking me to take photos of them to document their vacation find.
I have traveled domestically over the past decades, always looking for nude adventures. Hot springs are usually a good find, but swimming holes can be great find as well. Of course,  beaches were on my list.
I mostly avoided walled in nudist facilities, with Harbin and Valleyview notable exceptions.
When you have to deal with the restrictions here in Texas, the laws and proclivities elsewhere are less intimidating.
Stay Safe,
~Safebare

[jbeegoode]

DF likes variety and new places. As do my website readers, so most of the places that we report on are first time experiences. I research as best that I can, looking for water and reports of natural beauty, the weather and hints of populations of textiles. I'll spend hours checking a satellite images, write-ups, and often topo maps, before venturing out.

We haven't been out of the state or country for awhile. I have rough plans, notes and links for a trip to the northwest up the coast, hot springs tour and a trip back east. There will be an eventual European tour or two. The greek beaches seem well documented and there are a couple of trails that I've found. There seems to be a few spots in Spain. I like the idea of a legally done naked walk in the streets and use of shopping and eating out. Those seem pretty well documented.

It is always good to have a local who has been scouting an area. When we get up near Prescott we have stayed with friends and they show us around. I've even shown them some new territory, from my research. I got together with a Forest Service Ranger and a gold-miner and have a list of spots. I've found myself bushwhacking on short walks, too.

We did find a friend's place in Mexico with miles and lies of free beach at the perfect time. Zipolite is more safe and structured, but not resort-like. The mountains around there are populated with farmers along trails, which are charming, but nudity can get odd reactions, I'd think. This is a lawless area in the hills, and there could be danger for gringos alone. They grow pot and opium, there are poor and desperate people. I remember being told ho often the local Indians got ripped off carrying pot down from their farms 40 years ago. It has gotten worse, I'm told. My experience with folks in remote mountains has been all good, but there are occasions that have been reported. Hiring a guide might be an option.

The Andes have many miles of raw terrain, but some is higher and colder and some is too jungle-like. Trails are roads and not hiking for pleasure.

I just wouldn't feel so vulnerable to dangers north of the border as south. There can be language barriers, the Spanish/Castiliano speakers have numerous accents and idiums from town to town and many people are more into Native dialects, if they have Spanish at all. I once had a business negotiation going with two middle men, one with Spanish and one with Zapotecan knowledge. It was silly cumbersome.
Jbee

[ric]

We've holidayed in menorca and more recently fuerteventura, both are spanish islands with nudist beaches and I've had no troubles wandering naked in the countryside on both islands. 

I've also got a brother in law in southern spain, again theres nudist beaches.   when mother in law used to visit for a month or so after xmas id fly out for a long weekend to bring her home. Often got the chance to slip off for a morning  for a walk in nearby countryside.

We stick to spain and spanish islands cos it's close ish , we know the law and natives are tolerent...

.we don't need to explore new cultures, want flights to be shortish and feel that going back to places we know we don't waste time finding our way around.     Car hire in Europe is easy even though they drive on the wrong side of the road😮

[nuduke]

I think your question is uncharacteristically naive, Jbee!
Of course when you are in a foreign land or a completely new location it is virtually impossible to gauge what the opportunities or dangers of naturism will be without research and targetting your location to take advantage of naturist infrastructure (clubs) or terrain (beaches, wilderness).  On those occasions when I have been able to get naked in a foreign land, I have had to be very careful, even in naturist friendly Croatia where that epithet does not apply everywhere in the country!  In the UK, if you live in urban or non rural locations you have to work very hard to find places to roam. 
Remember Ian milfmog? (how could we forget!), he went to all sorts of lengths to find naked wanderings. The old SOC members (what are they caled now?...NOC) go a long drive to get together to wander naked and their routes are very well researched beforehand as I understand it.  The UK is very naturist unfriendly, irrespective of what you hear from our few naturist friends here.  Yes, encounters have not been generally problematic and yes, the police have a liberal attitude, but UK is so populous that it makes it hard to be solitary to take your clothes off.  Conversely, many of us find specific places near to home that afford naked wandering opportunities.  Many of the old TSNS crowd would walk in the margins of the day, particularly pre-dawn.  Milfmog had his wood for early morning dog walks, I have a couple of wooded places (so rarely visited in recent times), ric has his clients' gardens and Yeldew has his local woodland, for instance.  Dave Balead had his forest clearing (now felled!). 


Germany, Spain and Croatia and, in specific places, France, are known to be more nude friendly.  I have remarked before that in the 80's and 90's I and the family used to go almost annually to a place on the Costa Del Sol, Spain that was only a few hundred yards from a naturist resort and I never knew it was there! I have used an unofficial naturist beach on Crete many years ago and I believe Greece are good at providing naturist places.  Generally it's a lottery in Europe.  Doing something in an organised group or resort is the main way of enjoying naturism.


BUT...I write as one relatively much less experienced with only a handful of foreign 'hits'.  JohnP, JOhnGW, Davie, ric and others could give you, I suspect, a much more authoritative response than mine


John

[jbeegoode]

I go to Captain Barefoot and other Greece Blogs. They tell of more and less free and reliable nude beaches. It depends on the day, the year, the place.  These are not all designated, most are not designated, but tolerated, of ignored, or just a bother for authorities. Most are tradition. Many have nuisances. There is little about hiking and little about all of that space inbetween the coasts.
Jbee

[jmf]

In 2017, I spent a fortnight in Crete. On the east coast. It was in June and perfectly quiet. I could swim naked on beaches, walk naked along the coast and run naked early in the morning.

 https://randonnues.fr/parcours/crete-cote-terre/

 https://randonnues.fr/activite/crete-cote-mer/