Nude Beach. The very mention of these two words often arouses feelings of titillation, embarrassment, outrage or even a combination of the three. For the thousands of people involved in the naturist movement worldwide, however, the idea of a nude beach seems, well, natural. After all, we all come into this world wearing only our birthday suits.
Nude and topless beaches first became popular along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of France in the 1950s. Since then, several beaches from Crete to the Caribbean have become "clothing optional."
Below is a list of some of the best stretche...
In Ireland cliches come to life... a green landscape brushed with rain... a wild coastline bordering a windblown sea... the sound of an Irish fiddle in a cozy village pub warmed by a turf fire and lively conversation. Scenes straight out of the movies.
Literary, poetic, gifted in the art of conversation, the Irish extend their love of language even to the names of counties and towns, which roll off the tongue like music: Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Kilkenny. For a taste of Irish culture, from the Abbey Theatre to traditional music, proceed directly to Dublin, where Joyce, Shaw, and Y...
Ten thousand years ago, glaciers pushed their way down the East Coast and left behind the rocks and soil that was to form this little paradise that we call home. The result was a cozy community (only around 800 folks in the winter), a land of stunning vistas and a very fragile ecosystem that we have had the good fortune to preserve for all to share. Because of the particular forces of nature that went to work on Block Island, no other place on earth shares its geography, nor its balance of species. A rarity, indeed.
Block Island is a rarity in another sense; it's a place that moves at ...
Antigua is an island that has always lived by the wind. In the late 18th century, when Horatio Nelson was still a captain, he made the island Great Britain's most important Caribbean naval center. Today the superbly restored dockyard that bears his name at English Harbour is home base for April's Sailing Week, the Caribbean's premier yachting event – and its most boisterous beach party.
As for beaches, Antigua's promoters like to say that the island has 365 of them, one for every day of the year. Certainly there are more beaches than you could ever stroll during a long holi...
Most people who come to Sanibel and Captiva, twin barrier islands off Florida's Gulf Coast, share a single passion: seashells. This is, after all, the home of the “Sanibel Stoop,” a posture folks assume while scouring the sandy shoreline for the more than 200 varieties of shells that wash ashore after storms. Streets here are named for shells, and the leading cultural attraction is a museum devoted to them. In fact, the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is the only one of its kind in the United States, with a remarkable collection not only from Southwest Florida but also from around the world.
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Largest of the many Islands of The Bahamas (104 x 40 miles), mysterious, mangrove-choked Andros is also the least explored, which means that you'll be sharing space with more terns and whistling tree ducks than humans--and maybe even a chickcharnie or two, those mischievous mythical inhabitants that are exclusive to this island. Reputed to be elfin creatures with three fingers, three toes, and red eyes, chickcharnies bring lifelong good luck to anyone lucky enough to see one. Andros even has its own "Loch Ness Monster," a dragon-like sea monster called the Lusca. No wonder the island was c...
Mu Ko Similan National Park: Similan is a Yawi or Malay word, which means nine or a group of nine islands. This is located in Tambon Ko Phra Thong, Amphoe Khura Buri, occupying an area of 32,000 acres. It was declared a national park on 1st September 1982.
Similan is a small group of islands comprising nine islands stretching from north to south, respectively, namely: Ko Bon, Ko Bayu, Ko Similan, Ko Payu, Ko Miang (two adjoining islands), Ko Payan, Ko Payang, and Ko Huyong. The National Parks office is located on Ko Miang. Similan is highly praised for its beautiful scenery, both onshore and...
Islands are unique ecosystems steeped in mystery, adventure and novelty. The isolation of islands effects the types of plants and animals found on them. Ninety five percent of Hawaii's plants are found nowhere else in the world. How islands are formed is equally unique. Geologically speaking, not all islands are created equally. Geographers claim two major classifications of islands: oceanic islands and continental islands.
You have to hand it to the Maldivians. Here, on a far-flung archipelago of low coral atolls in the Indian Ocean, they have raised the notion of the private island resort to a fine art. The conservative Islamic nation encompasses nearly 1,200 islands stretched over some 35,000 square miles, but the scantily clad, beach-going overseas visitors are steered (and pretty much restricted) to about 90 small resort islands. These cater to an upscale clientele looking for a tropical getaway where the thatched huts come with fine linens and haute cuisine.
So what's paradise like, Maldives-style? I...
Bring your underwater watch. Dive masters have charted more than 100 scuba and snorkeling sites on Roatan, the largest of the three major Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras, and it's easy to see why this island chain has become one of the Caribbean's diving meccas. A barrier reef (which extends north to Belize) lies just a few hundred feet offshore from the northern side of Roatan, and the warm, clear waters are home to nearly all of the tropical fish and corals of the Caribbean. Divers here have a smorgasbord of choices, from caves and canyons to swim-throughs and sand chutes.
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