Winter Sun Without Clothes: Where to Go Naked from December to March

Last week, we travelled for 30 hours straight. After visiting our friends and family in Belgium, we took a flight to Madrid, from where we connected to Mexico City. After a six-hour wait at a horrible time of the day, we could finally cover the last leg towards Zipolite.

Along the way, we were wondering why we were doing all this effort. But soon after we got settled in at Casablanca guesthouse, dropped on our bed and stared through the window over the Pacific Ocean, a smile appeared on our faces. We knew that it had all been worth it.

As Europeans, if we want to spend some time in the nude during the winter months, there’s always going to be some travel involved. But it doesn’t necessarily need to be this far. Here are the options.

While most of Europe requires you to wear a thick jacket in winter, the Spanish Mediterranean coast manages to keep its microclimate. Especially the part between Alicante and the Portuguese border, which also happens to have a few great naturist spots. Alicante has a number of small resorts. About three hours further south is the naturist village Vera Playa, and another few hours further is the lovely Costa Natura resort. All along the way are a variety of nude beaches for you to enjoy. Expect a warm winter sun during the day, but after it sets, you’ll want that jacket anyway.

A bit more reliable are the Canary Islands, thanks to their ideal location off the Moroccan coast. This archipelago is Europe’s number one naturist winter destination, and each of the seven islands has its own vibe. Go to Gran Canaria for a resort-style vacation and one of Europe’s most famous nude beaches. Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are then again a better option if wild clothing-optional beaches are more your thing. These islands get lots of sunshine during the day, and temperatures typically hit the mid-twenties (°C). Nights are cooler at about 15-17 °C.

We started writing this blog post from a European perspective, but also most North American naturists need to travel if they want to get naked in winter. Except for those living in Florida. In fact, December to March is Florida’s dry season and peak tourist period with mild temperatures and low humidity. The state also happens to be the nudist capital of the USA, with a few nude beaches and plenty of nudist resorts, including some of America’s most famous, like Cypress Cove and Lake Como resort.

We’ve heard that Texas can be an agreeable clothes-free winter destination as well, but we’ve not been there yet, so we can’t vouch for it. What we can tell you is that if you head a little further south into Mexico, a world of nude options opens up. There’s Zipolite on the Pacific coast where you find Mexico’s only official nude beach and over 20 clothing-optional resorts. On the Caribbean side, although there are a few unofficial nude beaches, the naturist scene is more upscale and resort-focused in places like Hidden Beach Resort and Playa Sonrisa.

Of all the Caribbean Islands, Saint Martin is known to be the most nude-friendly with the world-famous Orient Beach, a number of other nude beaches like Happy Bay and Cupecoy, and a handful of lovely clothing-optional boutique hotels like The Paradise Peak and Jardin d’O.

Boutique hotel naturism is a thing in this part of the world, and something you can also find on the islands of Roatan, Curaçao, and Guadeloupe. The exception is New Cambium in the Dominican Republic, which is a villa-style domain with a strong focus on natural and eco-friendly living. Also in the Caribbean, December to March is the best season for clothes-free vacations with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures.

On the other side of the world map, the clothes-free options are fewer, but that doesn’t mean they are less interesting. At its peak, a few years ago, Bali was home to three naturist resorts. Unfortunately, only one is still standing: Bali Natur, a small 4-room guesthouse. We wouldn’t say that this resort is a reason to fly all the way to Bali, but if you happen to be there, it’s definitely worth a detour.

For going naked in Asia, Thailand is really the number one destination. Public nudity is illegal, but accepted inside private resorts, and there are quite a few of those. Top of the bill is Dragonfly Resort in Pattaya, competing for first place with the coastal Oriental Beach Resort. Others are city-style places like Chan Resort in Pattaya, Barefeet Resort in Bangkok, and Peace Blue Resort in Phuket. In Thailand, it’s totally possible to organise a trip with stays in naturist resorts along the way.

December to March is Thailand’s dry season with temperatures easily hitting the thirties (°C) and lots of sunshine. In Bali, this is the wet season, so expect occasional strong rain showers. Often these come as a welcome surprise, though, because it’s also very warm this time of the year and they turn the island into a million shades of green.

We’re hopping over the equator, and suddenly we’re in summertime again. Australia has official nude beaches in all states except for Queensland, and naturist clubs with a handful of rentals can be found near most cities. The coasts of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia are particularly great to visit this time of the year. For reliable very hot and dry weather, you may want to fly into Perth and visit the west coast instead. In the north of the country it will get very hot and humid, so you may want to keep that for spring or autumn instead.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand has no official nude beaches, but nudity is legal on any beach as long as you don’t disturb or offend anyone. What this means in practice is that there are a number of beaches with a naturist tradition, and it’s recommended to do your research. All over the North and South Islands are naturist clubs with rentals to stay at. Especially on the North Island, you can expect decent naturist weather from December to March. The South Island is a bit colder, but still, this time of the year is considered high season here too.

December to March is also considered summertime in South Africa, the only country on the African continent with clothes-free options. The flagship resort is SunEden, conveniently located at a less than 2-hour drive from Johannesburg International Airport. Other resorts are more rustic, like Kiepersolkloof near Rustenburg, Bare Necessities in Swellendam, or Bird of Paradise near Pretoria. Yet, all of them have a number of rentals for you to stay at. South Africa has a few nude beaches, but they are far apart and not easy to get to. The exception is Sandy Bay beach in Cape Town.

If South Africa is on your bucket list, but you don’t feel much for organising it all on your own, why not come to one of our Clothes-Free Safaris? The 2027 edition sold out very quickly, but you can now already get your name on the list to be the first to hear about upcoming trips.

Over in South America, pretty much every country that has some coastline also has a nude beach. But with that, most has been said. For actual clothes-free vacations, Brazil is your best choice, with several official nude beaches and a number of resorts, of which the most popular ones are Colina do Sol in the south and Tambaba Guesthouse up north. The latter is conveniently located at Brazil’s most famous nude beach.

Even though you might see nothing but snow through the window when you look up from your screen, at least you now know that there are options. They will probably require some travel, and you may wonder whether it’s all worth it. But trust us… It is!