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When you want to stay or play naked, knowing where to go is half the battle. Sometimes a naked place is just around the corner or over the hill, but if you don't know it's there, it might as well not exist. Naked Magazine has made finding accommodations, groups, and nudist areas much easier with the publication of the sixth edition of Naked Places. It's packed with helpful and useful information. And not only is it as complete and up-to-date as possible, it is specifically for the gay market. This Naked Traveler can't praise Naked Places too highly. Well organized, nicely presented, and so informative you can spend hours doing research - in the buff, of course. Can't use Naked Places without making your place naked, too. It's well worth the price of admission and will serve you well for a long time. Naked Places opens with a guide to making your naked stays more enjoyable, wherever they might be, and the advice the editors give is on target. First of all, when planning a trip to an unfamiliar destination, they advise trying to make connections via the Web or other methods before you go. In addition to the site addresses for locations and hotels or resorts, there are often online forums or things such as Yahoo! Groups dedicated not just to naked travel but to specific sites. A bit of homework could reward you with a travel partner, a new friend, or something even more titillating. At the very least there are many gay nudist clubs throughout the USA and the world that can point you in the right direction. They might even be sponsoring a special event you could take part in. The editors offer practical pointers for naked wayfarers as well; for example, "If others aren't naked in a certain spot, you shouldn't be either" or "Just because a guy is naked, doesn't necessarily mean he is looking for more than a little sun. Respect the people around you. If two people want to hook up, so be it, but if a fella is simply looking to get naked simply to get naked, keep a distance." So, true - many a naked experience is made so much better when we all play by the same rules. They also discuss the "S" word: sex. "Golden Rule: If you must romp while in the buff, please don't do it in public. This is the major reason the nudist community is cracked down on." This rule should be part of your naked attitude. They offer a lot of other practical advice; their approach is humorous and light but their intent is to preserve the naked spaces we have and in doing so maybe win over a few more. The guide is a model of organization and serves the user well. It is divided first geographically - the USA (state by state and then its territories) - then International destinations. It's fair to say there are few naked spots on the planet that have not been uncovered by the editors. Within each geographical listing are several categories (if they exist in a particular region): (1) Nude Groups/ Clubs/ Organizations; (2) Clothing Optional Accommodations; (3) Nude Beaches/ Recreations Areas. You'll want to look at the lists of organizations for the reasons mentioned earlier. They may be a big help in planning your stay and in making nude, ... I mean new, friends. There's also the fun of reading the group names or acronyms. Some personal favorites: Go-Nuts (Gay Ottawa Nudists Under The Sun), G-Men (Iowa's Gay Men Enjoying Nudity), NY's Males Au Naturel, Bare Indy Boys, or ORGAN (Oregon Regional Gay And Naked). There are lots more. For each organization there is all the available information you need to contact or join: address, telephone, e-mail, URL and activities. Next is the list of clothing optional accommodations in an area. The guide casts a wide net, to give you the most choices. It'll tell you whether it's men only or mixed, in which parts of the hotel or B&B or resort you can shed your clothes and other tidbits. After that the guide lists nude beaches and recreation areas. Here they go one step further; they append as much information to a listing as possible, including any rules to be aware of, how the local authorities view a location, and more. Often, if Naked Magazine has done an article on a site, they include that in the text. Overall Naked Places is without a doubt the best guide to nudist groups and places available. It does a monumental job of keeping things up-to-date, also providing a form for readers to send in updated or new listings. This is one smart move because it's the guys on the ground who know what's going on. If you enjoy the naked life - and which of you doesn't? - this guide will take you to the next level and make your naked travels that much easier and more comfortable. As the folks at Naked Magazine say, "Anyone can get naked ... it's up to you to stay naked!" This guide will get you there, then it's up to you to drop your pants.  Joe DeMarco's latest projects include The Lavender Raven, an online GLBTQ mystery & more journal, at www.lavenderraven.com, as well as Mysterical-E, www.mystericale.com. Joe's website is www.josephdemarco.com Top |
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