The world's best nudist beaches

You have to be quite committed to get to this beach. There’s only one way and it's via a pitch black tunnel through a mountain in the Cinque Terre National Park. Once there, you'll find a small, secluded, black pebbly beach well out of the way of prying eyes. A nice thing to do while you're there is climb up the brick staircase to the village of Corniglia, an ancient Roman hamlet. Much of the area is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so there's lots more nature to see while you're there.

The naturist beach Buhne 16 in Kampen is one of the best known nudist beaches in the country. It's on the island of Sylt, which is just off the west coast of Germany and Denmark. This beautiful golden beach lined is with striking red cliffs, and dotted with “strandkörben”, which are basket-like seats. The island of Sylt offers a variety of other options for nude bathing as well because naturism has a long tradition here. On the beach in List, for example, ardent devotees of naturist culture can warm up in a beach sauna. Many of the nudist beaches in Germany are looked after by the Freikörperkultur (FKK) which translates as Free Body Culture - a movement that supports Germany's passion for getting their kit off. 

With its countless small bays, Croatia is considered an insider tip among naturists. If you are looking for a cheap clothes-free holiday, you will find it two kilometres south of Vrsar in the Koversada Naturist Park in Istria. Nudist culture has been practised and celebrated here in the Adriatic’s best-known naturist centre ever since the 1950s. Alongside its artificial sandy beach, sheltered bays with gently sloping sun terraces invite bathers to sunbathe without their clothes.

Scandinavia has long had a proud history of naturism, so stripping off on the beach comes naturally to the Danes. This is a cool place to hang out for Copenhagen's bright young things in the summer, so expect a party atmosphere along the 700m sandy beach. The far end tends to have the fully nude sun worshippers, while the rest of the beach you can go topless if you want. You can jump into the water from one of the piers jutting out into the sea. If you're not a local - be prepared, it's going to be a bit nippy.

Es Cavallet is a nudist and gay-friendly beach. It's also popular with kite surfers - so even though you're sheltered a little by sand dunes, expect a bit of wind. It's an official nudist beach so you can take your clothes off with confidence, it's even frequented by celebrities.

Cap d'Agde is the queen of all nudist resorts. You'll find around 40,000 people stripping off here every summer - it's frequently dubbed “the world’s biggest nude town”. You can do your shopping, have a hair cut and choose some fish for dinner - all in the buff. The area is just west of the Riviera and Montpellier, and has been linked to naturism since it opened in the 1960s.

Abricó is the only nudist beach in the city of Rio. Nudists have been coming here since the 1940’s, but it's only very recently been made official. Now legislation is in place to protect those who wish to fully undress, so you can dare to bare without possible prosecution. 

The eastern part of Orient Beach on St. Martin in the Lesser Antilles is one of the few places in the Caribbean where nude bathing is allowed. A reef, three uninhabited islands, beach bars and a variety of water sports activities combined with turquoise-blue water and a white sandy beach will turn your dream of a naturist holiday into a reality.

Despite its reputation as a land of opportunity, nudism is not widely practised in the US. Nevertheless, naturist fans don’t have to forego their preference for clothes-free bathing. North of Miami, one of the most beautiful naturist beaches in the United States sprawls along the shoreline of the Atlantic Coast. Officially labelled a beach where clothing is “optional", Haulover Beach in the Sunshine State boasts fine white sand, picnic facilities and beach bars – a place with that ‘pure Florida’ feeling!