In November 2020, we wrote a blog post about what naturist vacations could look like in 2021. It’s funny to re-read this because it was only the first year of the COVID pandemic and we seemed positive or ignorant enough to think that only a few months later we would wake up in an – although very much changed – free world.
We were wrong about the two basics of that post really… 2021 was very similar, if not worse than, the year before and once the pandemic was finally behind us, it seemed like not all that much had changed. Maybe it’s because we’re in the UK right now, but the term “carry on” comes to mind. Because that’s what we did. We literally just carried on.
Nevertheless, we do believe that the way we travel and the way we experience social nudity does change over time. Pandemic or no pandemic. And we like making guesses, even though it could happen that when we re-read this in several years, we’ll once again be proved to be completely wrong.
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Staycations become micro-resorts
One thing we were right about in 2020 was that staycations became a thing, although not in the form of that time. During the pandemic, a lot of people opted to rent a private accommodation with enough privacy to be naked instead of going to a resort full of possibly contagious people. Today, we see this same trend continue, but with larger groups.
Instead of meeting at a resort, friends just decide to rent a villa on Airbnb and turn it into their own naked resort. We can easily see the benefits of having a place with like-minded people. There’s no list of rules you need to follow, you can just make up your own. No annoying neighbours that want silence at 10 pm or party until sunrise (depending on what your preference is). You’re only getting naked with people you trust and you don’t need to fear running into your boss or the Amazon guy.
In the swingers world, the concept of “take-overs” (where a group takes over a complete hotel) has been a thing for a while and we also see this happen in the non-sexual social nudity world. Or we just want to see this happen, if you’re reading this, please keep in mind that we have few statistics that prove our ideas and that most of it is based on conversations, things we’ve seen, and a final touch of wishful thinking.
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Commercial resorts are here to stay
It’s not because “private naked vacations” or takeovers gain popularity that resorts will suffer from this. Well, at least not all of them. Although there are still a lot of naturists who believe in the volunteering system and who are happy with next than nothing when it comes to facilities, we feel like this group is decreasing in size, especially when there is an alternative.
During our travels, we found quite some overpriced clothes-free resorts. You pay more, sometimes significantly, than what you’d pay at a similar-looking clothed place. Basically, you’re paying extra for the fact that you can be naked. That’s not really fair and exactly where commercial resorts often make a difference. It’s true that commercial resort owners often care more for money than for their guests, but they tend to have a decent business plan that offers fair value for the price.
The only naked resort in the country can charge whatever they want, that’s a monopoly. But when two or three new resorts open up, things can change drastically. Guests can expect better service and facilities for a lower price, and owners can expect an increase in interest. We’ve seen this happen in several different countries. When the number of resorts grows, so does the number of naked vacationers.
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Events will boom
Resorts that organise activities perform better than resorts that don’t. That is a fact. It’s a common misconception that only giving people a place where they can be naked is enough. Especially the younger generations (to which we still like to include ourselves) like to do more than just have a nap next to the pool. In recent years, these activities started to live a life on their own.
The first time we noticed this was when we got in touch with non-landed clubs, and associations of naturists that don’t have their own place. The only thing they can do is organise activities for their members. This is already quite a thing in the USA and in most of Latin America, but we also see this growing in Europe and Australia. Many of these events are just a half-day or full-day thing, but that’s only until someone does better.
At the moment you’re reading this, we’re either about to arrive at, are at, or have already left Every Body Festival. A 4-day naked gathering in Dorset, UK. And this is just one of the several multi-day naked events that are being organised year after year in this country. Throughout the years, several people have told us that naked events spread over several days would never work. Today, they are being proved wrong and we’re certain that naked festivals will become a much bigger thing over the next years.
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Nude and clothed hand in hand
It’s not a secret that we are fans of the clothing-optional system, where everyone can just choose how much or how little they are wearing. This doesn’t mean that every clothes-free place should suddenly become clothes-optional. There are a lot of people who only feel comfortable naked if everyone else is naked as well, and we totally respect that. Nevertheless, allowing nudity but not enforcing it does make the barrier significantly lower.
A few days ago, we were in Glastonbury at a place called White Spring. Glastonbury is a very holistic town and the spring is said to be healing. Whether you believe that or not is completely up to you, but what’s interesting is that many people decide to bathe naked. What’s even more interesting is that when we were there, the gender balance of naked bathers was excellent, something that can’t be said about the nude beaches we visited.
The main reason why we think it’s like that is because nudity is not the central purpose. The main reason why people go there is for the healing purposes of the spring and doing it naked just improves that experience. A while ago, we also wrote a blog post about this. Long story short, if you give people a reason to get naked, other than just the sake of being naked, they are more likely to accept it and enjoy it.
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Ask for it
The other day, we were talking to the owner of a (non-naked) campground. He had divided his domain in different sections, a family area, an adults-only area, and a quiet area. You can guess what our question was… So what about a naked area?
He was very interested in that idea, but of course, he had to think about his business. He couldn’t care less about what people would think about this “possible” nude area. But it needed to be filled. We were just two people. If ten or fifteen or who knows how many people had asked the same question, we’re pretty certain that it would happen.
Sometimes we believe that we need to be happy with what we have. But the more we travel and the more we talk to people, the more it feels like maybe we’re just too afraid to ask for more. When we send messages to Airbnb owners saying that it’s important for us is that we can be naked, the negative responses are very few. Of course, sometimes they say it’s not possible because of space or neighbours, but they are always understanding. Naked vacations are a thing, and a lot of people realise this. So if you can’t find what you’re looking for, it may help to just ask.
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The main problem with a clothes optional/free site is the extra cost added by greedy owners / hosts ! Come to Honduras soon please as this country is so backward in its society &the church holds sway !!!
Resorts are businesses and they depend on the supply and demand principle. The only way to get better and cheaper resorts is by adding new ones.
that still does not the people who are not rich or paid for by others !!
sorry – help the people !!!
I have stayed at a lot of AirBNBs but I have never asked if I could stay naked. How would you phrase that?
the last place was basement and all the windows barely were above ground. So no one could see in. It was pretty neat.