We are thinking of visiting Croatia next summer with my 3 teenagers. Are there any non-clothing optional beaches? It seems like Croatia attracts alot of natural beachgoers and I know my teens would not be comfortable with this. I know Croatia is very popular with Europeans for summer vacation and am wondering if we Americans will feel totally out of place.
Any non-nude beaches in Croatia?
Recent Activity
View all Europe activity »
- 1 It's been said before; Italia in 20 days...
- 2 50 Terminal Change in Frankfurt
- 3 Interesting/ time worthy WWII sites in Europe
- 4 French nationality
- 5 Day Trips from Sarlat
- 6 Early stages of planning for Turkey, need advice...
- 7 2 weeks in Spain
- 8 North York Moors in September
- 9
Trulli Foodie Puglia-two weeks to eat through!!!
- 10 Must Sees / Hotels: Copenhagen, Berlin, Vienna, Stutgart,
- 11 Turkey assistance
- 12 Restaurants in the 11th
- 13 What area of London to stay in for one month with kids?
- 14 Would a mom, dad and three sons (17, 20, 23) enjoy this trip?
- 15 Should I get a Visa?
- 16 Hotel in London
- 17 tour de france
- 18 Italian hotels
- 19 What kind of cheese should we eat in Venice?
- 20 Ischia - last minute detail questions
- 21
Gertie in Eastern Europe
- 22 Istanbul
- 23 places to visit around toulouse
- 24 Is Rosetta Stone worth the cost for upcoming trip to France?
- 25 Looking for a good "castle hotel" in Edinburgh

Why do you think your teens wouldn't be confortable? I'm sure it will be quite a revealing experience for them.
Poor choice of words. May be unvealing is more appropriate.
Sounds like my kinda country!
For some reason there have always been many nude beaches in Croatia, already in 1960s and 1970s when it first became a popular holiday country. But of course there are also "normal" beaches, where women may or may not be topless. But I don´t suppose you meant that even topless would me you feel out of place?
I was 17 and my brother 15 when we visited Croatia one summer with our parents. That was our first experience with a beach where a small percentage of women went topless. I think my folks joked about it, but that was that. After the initial novelty/shock/whatever passes, it's really no big deal. Just a human body!
Not to diminish your discomfort, but should you see some beach nudity, rest assured your teens will probably not be scarred for life by the experience. We saw so many magazines on newsstands in Zagreb and elsewhere with topless women on the cover - before we even got to a beach - that I'm sure my parents just figured it was not worth the effort to shelter us from something that was impossible to get away from.
All that said, I'm sorry I don't have any specific beach info for you, but I'm sure others do! Also - there are so many Americans going to Croatia now I don't think you'll feel out of place at all.
naive...I expect the teenagers will be more comfortable than the parents. Almost nudity is a part or non-part of current teenage attire. don't like the play? leave! Croatia is a wonderful place to visit. Don't miss your chance because of a minor glitch.
I was in Barcelona this past summer and I noticed that a lot of the American kids felt uncomfortable on the nude beach. They walked up and down the beach with their baggy shorts on shaking their heads. It's not the nudity but the first time you see something different.
Haven't been to Croatia (would love to go, though!) so don't have any first-hand experience, but just wanted to comment that I don't think I've been to any beach in Europe where there weren't at least a few topless women, and have been to quite a few where there was considerably more nudity than that.
What is it about that that your teens "wouldn't be comfortable" with? Is it maybe YOU who's got some fear about that? My kids got used to it in about 2 minutes. I'd wager yours will, too. Compared to the normal "come hither" attire of most teenage girls in the USA these days, partial nudity is actually pretty refreshing.
There are plenty of beaches in Croatia where people aren't nude. If you see an "FKK" sign, that means there will be nudity, otherwise you'll be ok.
Which areas of Croatia will you be in? Perhaps I can recommend some specific ones....
When we took our teenage daughter to Italy there were several European women sunbathing topless at the hotel in AnaCapri. For about two seconds my daughter looked surprised..not shocked just surprised and than didn't seem to think any more about it. The one person carrying on about it was an older Englishman, made quite a fool out of himself actually.
Acutally, some of the bodies you see could leave anyone, teen or adult, scarred for life! Shudder!!!!
Nude beaches are a good way for your teens to learn that human bodies come in all shapes and sizes and ages etc. If anything, it will make them less insecure about their bodies. This is a good thing.

Or are you uncomfortable with the thought of your precious virgin teens showing themselves off to all of Croatia?
Brenny, I'm afraid I don't have any answers to your questions, but I'm just posting to give you my best wishes in hopes that you will actually have your question answered instead of having to be psychoanalyzed and such.
Besides educational, it's funny to watch
As someone who has a propensity to head toward the nudist beaches (damn strapmarks!), I have to say that it can definitely be quite the most distasteful thing in the world! I'll be back there as soon as I lose 10lbs or so - until then shall remain covered up. I just wish that others thought the same way...!!!
Seriously though, are you referring to nudist beaches or beaches where topless sunbathing is the norm? Either way, just ask them? Any titillation would be short-lived and would probably lead to a far healthier attitude toward bodily forms...
by the language of the OP, i think it is clear that he is talking about full nudity.
i've been to croatia only once and i did see quite a bit of nudity on the beaches. i know there are nude beaches (marked FKK) but it seemed that just about all the beaches were relaxed about it...so basically, the nude beach will be almost all nude whilst the "normal" beaches will have the occasional nude bather. some beaches seemed to have patches that were more nudist than others. topless everywhere (of course).
in short, if you don't want risk of nudity, i would choose another destination.
for the last part of the question..about feeling out of place...i think you are on your own with this. one's sense of modesty is a very personal thing and i doubt anyone in this forum can be much help.
To get back to the beginning, I too am a bit puzzled by your question, so pardon me.
By asking if there are any non-nude beaches implies that the majority of the beaches in Croatia are nude. Of course they're not. Unless specifically designated as such (and a few are), they're just like beaches anywhere, with an assortment of people in various states of dress/undress, but still clothed. As others have mentioned, toplessness amongst women on European beaches is quite normal and something you quickly get used to. Many beaches do have a clothing optional section, but those areas are well marked and out of view so you have less of a chance of accidentally wandering onto them.
You don't say where exactly in Croatia you are going and it is a very long coastal country with many beaches. I visited several on and between Dubrovnik, Split, Hvar and Brac. Some are large public types while others are coves hidden along the roadside where you may well be the only ones enjoying them.
The famous 'Zlatni Rat' featured on many Croatia promotional posters is one of the prettiest, very crowded and enjoyable. I spent 3 days there. It has a marked-off CO zone at one end.
I will give you this piece of Croatian beach advice, however. Sand beaches are rare; the vast majority are pebble beaches (even though from afar they look like white powdered sand arcs) and can hurt your feet. Take rubber slippers or water shoes as well as something firm - like a straw mat - to lie on. The water was also much cooler than I expected for September.
We were in Croatia in July with our 15 year old son. We drove from Dubrovnik all the way up the coast stopping at many beaches. We never saw any total nudity nor did we see many topless women. Some women may sunbathe topless, but then they put their tops on to go into the water. Croatia is a beautiful country and well worth a visit.
From my seat here in Dubrovnik, I can almost see the main city beach just south of the Old Town. Too bad it's November and empty...
Anyway, as one poster said, beaches here are like beaches anywhere in Europe in terms of what people are wearing. In fact, in my experience, the % of topless women here (less than 5% I say) is much lower than what I have seen on most other Med beaches.
As for all-nude beaches, these are common but also clearly marked and almost always at the end of the beach or "around the corner", i.e. out of plain view.
This is simply not an issue to spend anytime worring about.
But do bring the sandals, as the beaches are usually rocky. The benefit of this is the crystal clear water.
Minceta, How I envy you your seat in Dubrovnik! What a lovely home you have. Am I correct in saying that I think most of the nude bathers are not Croatian? I got the impression it was the tourists who bared it all.
That is correct, the vast majority of nude sunbathers here are not local. Neither my girlfriend or I know one person who is into this.
I've seen this 100's of times ...but I still keep seeing RUDE
Oh please tell us someone: What does FKK stand for? Or must I guess?
jody? what's rude?
Anyone who has ever been to a beach in Europe has probably seen some nudity. I was 16 the first time I went to a European beach, yet I grew up to be a sane, normal adult. (OK, maybe that's debatable.) I admit that it was a bit of a shock the first time I saw it, but only because I'm American and I'm wasn't used to seeing it. I think it took me about 10 minutes to get over it and realize that if you've seen one, then you've seen them all. Your kids will not be harmed by seeing nudity. They're going to see a naked person sooner or later anyway, assuming they haven't already.
FKK: Frei Körper Kultur
A German word. It means: free body culture.
...and the fact that the Croatians put the sign up in a German Acronym tells you who most of the nude sunbathers are!
There are lots of NON-nude beaches in Harvatska (Croatia), but topless females are found just about everywhere. Some beaches have clearly marked FKK sections at the far end so that the prudish Americans don't have to walk past them. Even the biggest nude "camps" have clothing optional sections and clothing mandatory sections that are separated and clearly marked off. Most of the nudists are Germans, Hungarians, Austrians, Dutch and Danes with a few other nationalities thrown into the mix for variety. The amazing thing is that most of them speak english. Nude beaches does not equate with sex on the beach (except a few very secluded places that you have to know about to find.) Wherever you go, just try to relax and don't freak out if you see someone take off his or her clothes; most people change on the beach without a second thought.
Few years ago when I took my then 9 years old grandchild to a beach at Grau du Roi, in South France there were few topless women around.
He, to my surprise did not bat an eyelash and was quite comfortable with topless ladies around.
Geez, get over it and learn from it.
The Louvre is full of nudity.
Since brennynp has remained silent, it is reasonable to imagine that the post was a troll just to start the discussion here.
And of course it's only now that I noticed that this thread is five years old.
And this thread was almost 5 years old and forgotten until stukin topped it!