My wife and I are heading down to the Cancun area later this year for a few days of romantic adult time. We’ve never been there before but have heard good things, plus it will give us a good reason to finally renew our passports.
We’re staying at the Royal Hideaway Playacar, a nice all-inclusive resort. We’d like to explore the possibility of a clothing optional or topless beach, which would be a first for us (well, I’m topless at the beach all the time, but…) I did a little poking around and it looks like there are nude resorts or non-nude resorts. Since we’re new at this we’re not ready to commit to a full nude resort for the entire five days, but would prefer to experiment by just going to a nude beach for a day, just to see if we’re comfortable with it. But it looks like it’s all or nothing.
Does anyone know of a beach we could go to down in that area just for the day, without staying at the associated resort?
I used to visit Mexico three times a year on business and often on vacations. Most Mexicans are quite modest and do not appreciate this sort of nonsense. You are going to a foreign country. Make some effort to behave with some dignity.
Nonsense? That’s a bit uncalled for and smacks of prudishness.
The OP made it clear that clothing-optional resorts exist in Mexico so it is obviously not a universal taboo.
They are wanting to act with dignity and hence are asking the question. Unless you think there is something inherently wrong with nudity I don’t see why you’d respond in this way.
FWIW I have no idea about Mexican beaches and only experience mixed-gender nudity in saunas…so much for my opinion.
It may be a bit of a hike from Cancun, but Playa Del Carmen is a very popular destination for many europeans (don’t ask me why), and in particular italians. It has been a number of years since I’ve been there (so a lot may have changed), but I seem to recall seeing some topless sunbathing when I passed through.
I did a quick Google search and it seems that as a rule, public nudity is illegal in Mexico, however, it was almost mentioned that in the interest of tourist dollars, the authorities mostly turn a blind eye (heh). They also mentioned that the beaches are all federal property so the resorts don’t have much say one way or the other.
They did mention, as you did in your OP, some private nudist resorts, but I did not click through to find out if they offer day passes, etc. Though, if it’s true that all the beaches are property of the Federal government, I don’t think they would be able to stop you from strolling over to their beach and laying out. But they may not provide towels/lounge chairs, etc.
I’ve been to Playa Del Carmen a number of times and all of the beaches I saw there had more than a few topless girls. Even the beach near downtown where we would catch boats for diving had topless girls so it seems that it’s not a taboo there.
There are two resorts in the Cancun area that are clothing optional. Desire Riveria Maya and 10 miles south of the airport and Desire Pearl near Puerto Morelos. I believe you can get a day pass at either.
Further south, at Akumal, there is Hidden Beach Resort. I know they sell day passes because I’ve met people who were visiting there for the day from the adjacent Eldorado resort.
All three of these have access to the beach. Of the three, Desire Pearl has the nicest beach. The beaches are all open to the public, so you will have to be comfortable with clothed people walking past and gawking. However, all three resorts are somewhat isolated, so there are a lot of people walking by.
Desire Resort and Spa is a nudity optional beachside hotel south of Cancun. You could contact them and ask if they provide day passes. Many hotels do.
Unless you are interested in more than nude sunbathing I’d suggest you find a spot on the beach by your hotel for your wife to go topless.
I see it sometimes on the beaches but for various reasons generally the women are relatively discreet about it. Parading will be appreciated by staff, I expect, but also frowned upon.
When I get home and can access a message board that is NSFW, I will confirm the possibility of day passes at either Desire. Corkboard, feel free to PM me with questions about any of these resorts.
Nonsense? Dignity? Thanks for your input, lamnotivan. :rolleyes:
Thanks for all the info. I did read that although the federal law prohibits nudity on the beaches, at least one (Hidden Beach Resort) is surrounded by walls which extend to the waterline. I don’t know if they can actually keep people from strolling onto their property along the beach, but maybe they can get around the law that way.
I didn’t consider the idea of a day pass but will look into that. Going to stock up on some sunscreen…
They can’t prevent people from walking on the beach. They can prevent people from walking from the beach onto the resort property. All three resorts do this with a security guard. The beach walkers aren’t really as big of a deal as you would think.
Also, all three resorts have nice pools that are partially screened from the beach with landscaping.
All three also have signs next to the beach at the edges of their property that warning of impending nudity. I’ve not seen a single soul stop and turn around when they read the sign.
I’ve been to quite a few all-inclusive resorts in and around Cancun and the general policy is topless is OK if for sunbathing, but don’t get up and walk around without your top on.
The beaches are public. Even the close off ones in artificial coves, if you can get to them. And topless is okay. It’s the resort that is private property. For example at my favorite place – the Grand Palladium – topless is okay on the beach, even for walking around, but there are warning signs at the non-adults-only pools indicating that topless is prohibited. It’s okay the adults-only pool, though.