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Sint Maarten - Saint Martin is famous for its nude beaches. Many visitors tried it here for the first time and never went back to a textile beach to enjoy the sun and surf. If you consider visiting Orient Beach, the island's most famous beach, read up on what to do and not to do on a 'clothing optional' beach.

st maarten st martin nude beaches 1 1260Nudists enjoying the beach on Tintamarre Island off the coast of Orient Beach

The trouble starts with the terminology: a beach that is designated to be enjoyed unencumbered by any textiles is labeled 'clothing optional' on the American side of the Atlantic Ocean. Not so in Europe, beach nudity is handled more straightforward: to enjoy the sun and surf in your birthday suit, you go to a 'Nude Beach'. Period. And if beach goers don't drop their attire within minutes of arrival, they will be chased away quickly and not with kind words.

You see, on a clothing-optional beach, there is the dilemma of two very different kinds of nudity. The first kind is the obvious one where a person doesn't wear a bathing suit. The second form of nudity concerns the exposed (nude) mind: someone stays dressed on a nude beach and attempting to mingle with nudists is perceived as a voyeur, and this is glaringly obvious to the naked people. Every naturist will assume that a dressed-up person walking among naked people is there for the wrong reasons.

Most naturists don't wear bathing suits for swimming for the same reasons that very few people take showers in their pajamas: it's just not practical and doesn't make much sense. Once used to swimming in the nude, the thought of wearing wet trunk-sized pants with happy germs breeding in a fertile environment appears absurd. It was the Surgeon General C. Everett Koop of the usually prudish USA who stated several decades ago that the only scientifically legit health advice for beach-swimming would be to do it in the nude as a sanitary matter.

But let's explore the positive aspects of the term 'clothing optional'. It is meant to take the pressure off nude beach newbies, who need some time to get comfortable. Rule No. 1: When visiting our island's most famous beach, Baie Oriental, don't come as a gawker. Settle in by renting a chair, or just lay down on a towel.

Remember this: nobody cares. It doesn't matter what your age is, what your body type is, and if you are shy or not. A clothing-optional beach lacks vanity. It is best suited for people who have overcome these concerns and are comfortable in their skin (and only their skin). There are physically attractive sun-worshippers on the beach, and it's okay to notice. But don't dare to approach someone with flirtatious intent without keeping the situation equal with regard to attire or, more importantly, lack thereof.

To overcome the initial hesitation to strip down, consider picking a spot in the second row from the water. This way, exposure to gawkers, which frequently come from cruise ships, is limited.

On the cruise ships, excursions to Orient Beach come with a warning label: "You might experience beach nudity!" This sentence seems to be the best advertisement possible to sell these tours because hordes of eager passengers walk up and down the clothing-optional beach segment of Orient, fully dressed, including shoes, commenting on the perceived pandemonium they witness. The Spanish language crowd touring the scenery appears to be blissfully unaware that their words are understood by many. Spanish is not an exotic language on SXM, and someone needs to tell them.

Beautiful Orient Beach is worth a visit, even though the once-famous naturist resort Club O was destroyed by Hurricane Irma and is now a sad background. The popular Perch Bar was replaced by a simple structure called 'Perch Bar Light'. Secure free parking is right there on the former resort's property and across the bar. Cedric and his crew are renting beach chairs and umbrellas for $7 each.

St. Maarten - St-Martin Beaches

Indigo Bay was previously known as Cay Bay - in case you try to find it on Google Maps. The complete valley is now in the hands of an ecology-conscious developer, who is carefully building quality...

Only two miles off St. Martin's eastern coast lays the uninhabited island of Tintamarre. The flat and brush covered 80-acre islet features a gorgeous beach, with a calm anchorage for the day-charter...

St Maarten - St Martin has a fairly relaxed attitude towards beach nudity. The island is the leading Caribbean destination for nudists, with Orient Beach an officially sanctioned clothing optional...

Here you're invited to rid yourself of those tell-tale tan lines. You can swim and sunbathe unencumbered in your birthday suit. On the southern end of Orient Beach you'll find the clothing optional...

Maho Beach has become one of the island's leading attractions: this is where the runway almost meets the beach, separated only by a narrow road and a flimsy fence. The location is also a great place...

Surfers, get out your boards! Guana Bay is awesome, dudes! This is the best beach in St. Maarten/St. Martin for surfing enthusiasts, and is recommended for strong swimmers only, since there is...

Terres Basses or in English 'The Lowlands' are the island's undisputed glamour neighborhood, with huge estate homes hidden by giant gates and tall walls. Paparazzi would drool to get a guest list of...

St. Martin's gastronomic capital at night, Grand Case Beach is a pleasant "town beach" while the sun is up. You may want to take pictures of the many sailboats anchored just off its shores. Several...

This half-moon shaped bay on the Windward side of the island is protected by a great snorkeling reef and is very popular for all types of surfing. A mile of undeveloped park-like beach with shallow...

Located on the southern coast of St Maarten, just around the corner from Great Bay, this small but pretty beach is well protected by the outcrop of Fort Amsterdam right on the edge of Philipsburg....

Cupecoy is Dutch St. Maarten's semi-official nude beach. Sandstone cliffs give Cupecoy beach a dramatic golden backdrop, unlike any other beach on the island. Protected from the wind, this beach is...

This wide white sand beach , close to a mile long, is back dropped by the dramatic green mountains of Dutch St. Maarten. There's plenty of room to toss a Frisbee or play some paddle ball. Its...

Conveniently close to the action of Simpson Bay with its resorts, restaurants, nightclubs and casinos, Kimsha Beach is one of the most central beaches on the island. Beach lounges and umbrellas can...

Sint Maarten - Saint Martin is famous for its nude beaches. Many visitors tried it here for the first time and never went back to a textile beach to enjoy the sun and surf. If you consider visiting...

At one time , this area was famous for its families who made their living by fishing. There are still a few fishermen who shove off, hours before dawn, in search of "the one that got away". Today,...

Just down the road from Maho Beach, this is a surfer's paradise, when the conditions are "right". Mullet Bay Beach borders on the island's only 18-hole golf course and is very popular with locals,...

Nettle Bay has beaches both on the calm lagoon and the Caribbean Sea. Since the lagoon water has not much waves, it's ideal for many watersports, especially skiing. Nettle Bay is home to a number of...

Anse Marcel has been hit hard by Hurricane Irma. The luxury resort on this location reopened under new ownership and with a new name: Secrets St. Martin Resort & Spa.

Stretching for two miles in front of the Dutch side capital, Philipsburg, a myriad of cruise ships sail into her harbor daily. The thousands of cruise ship visitors that line Great Beach every day...

One of the few areas on St-Martin not much effected by Hurricane Irma is Friar's Bay. Since this beautiful bay is well protected from the wind and heavy surf, it is ideal for the whole family....

Every hour, brightly painted local ferry boats shuttle visitors the few hundred yards from the mainland to this tiny picture-perfect tropical paradise. There are several beaches surrounding Ilet...