Dare to be Bare

When we visited St. Martin in the Caribbean 3 years ago, we visited a little isle off the shore named Ile Pinel. A sort of large sandbar, it had a beach restaurant or two, with lounge chairs from each restaurant dotting the shores. Children ran up and down the calm beach, enjoying the almost total lack of surf. It was great fun watching them, particularly since many of the tots were naked and completely carefree. And being on the French side of the St. Martin, in many cases, the moms were topless too.

While we'd never done the topless thing before, given that our 9-month old daughter was still nursing, all of a sudden it seemed like a fabulous concept. Instead of trying to be inconspicuous and looking all the more obvious for covering a baby in 90-degree weather, we were able to feed her in peace. No one looked askance or seemed to notice, and we're sure D appreciated being able to fall asleep with a sea breeze caressing her face instead of a blanket.

Thanks to Kelly Amabile over at Gadling, we've just learned that there's a guide to nude beaches for your, ahem, perusal. Aptly titled Bare Beaches, this book was originally published in Great Britain (who said the Brits were prudes?), and the authors also penned Bare Britain - interesting, because we would never have thought there was enough to fill a book about Britain alone.

While Ile Pinel was only topless, perhaps you're looking for even more freedom, and even if you may not feel that nude beaches are for young ones, many families visit them - and the beaches to accommodate them are out there. The book includes a list of the most family-friendly spots, and other cool lists include celebs who like to bare it all (which we rather figured was all of them, so it should be interesting to see who made the cut...) There's also a blog that posts continual updates, should your quest for a nude beach be so urgent as to demand immediate attention.

How's that for a family vacation idea?


Bare Beaches, $32 (including postage)
available at barebeaches.com