No Nude/Topless Beaches!
 

Please tell me there is somewhere in the Caribbean where you actually wear a complete bathing suit. I thought of going to Playadelcarmen but it seems women are topless there. I do not want my children to be in shock at the sight of naked people! Call it silly or old-fashioned but that is the way I feel. My mother-in-law visited Cancun several years ago and pretty much was in shock herself. Is Cancun this way now? Thanks

Try the Cayman Islands, we are a very conservative island indeed....

It's typically the French islands that have topless beaches. Just make sure that you choose an island that is not French. Anguilla, St. Kitts, Dutch St. Maarten, and Nevis come to mind. I've never really seen topless sunbathing on those islands.

Grand Cayman does not allow nudity of any type. The island is of British influence and more conservative than many. It's also very safe, easy to get around, and clean. Be advised though that the US$ is only worth $.80 and food is costly. However, it is worth it to me to have a nice family vacation.

Children are 'traumatized' by the human body?
I think that's a little extreme.
Modesty (everyone's definition being different) is not a social illness. It's about what's appropriate to share with strangers in public places.

I prefer not to watch people defecate or urinate in public--both normal bodily functions--but I hardly consider people who feel this way traumatized by unhealthy bodily image.

There are certain things people don't need to share in public.
The 'traumatized' people are the ones who are uncomfortable with such issues in private.
I respect people's wishes who want to go to areas where everyone agrees with toplessness or nudity or group sex or whatever. But for society to function properly, people have to respect the wishes of others. If most people feel a certain way about something, it is seldom appropriate for the minority to rule the majority. (Exceptions exist when the majority is 'wrong', e.g. slavery/racial/oppression, etc).

on Shoal Bay Beach in Anguilla in April, a young woman came strolling topless past all of the families and restaurants along the upper part of the bay. we were embarrassed, not because of her nudity, but because of her rude disregard of the fact that her island hosts do not indulge in, or invite, public nudity. i would hope my children and grandchildren would be more shocked at this than at the sight of her naked breasts.

I know this is not typical at these locations but I've seen totally nude in Bermuda ( I was staying at White Sand Castle ) and Dutch St.Maarten -Cuper Coy(sp?) beach -lots of topless & some totally nude too.Your best bet is to pick a resort that is popular with Americans , cause any place that have a lot of European tourists - you will see... some topless.

Most of the family islands of the Bahamas do not permit nude beachcoming. These less populated islands tend to be religious and uphold traditional morality. Most of them do not prefer to see women in thongs or even bikinis.

Trauma comes in many forms. I am traumatized by the sight of people tossing cigarette butts out their car windows.

To each his own.

There are a number of british islands in the Caribbean. You shouldn't see any nudity on any of them, as the british are very conservative people. Have you thought about the BVI?

I would like to clarify something.

The British, like most Europeans, are very familiar and comfortable with topless beaches.... it is, in my experience, visitors from the USA who exhibit this conservatism much more than any European country.

In fact, when I moved to Cayman many years ago (from the UK) I was totally bemused at the fact that nobody sunbathed topless.

The clarification therefore is that it is not the British who are necessarily conservative, but the historically British territories tend to be.

Cayman in particular is a most conservative country with regard to modesty of personal appearance, as you might expect from a country with several hundred churches for only around 45,000 people.

Also, as "tropigal" noted, visitors should respect the standards of modesty expected by their island hosts, which in Cayman not only means no public nudity, but also that people here are offended by people being underdressed in places of business. I have on occasion seen tourists come into a bank in a tiny two piece bikini, and even once an older man in a thong (!).... the staff were visibly upset, this is just not something they were at all comfortable with.

Just some thoughts to help one be a traveller rather than simply a tourist :)

Have you thought about Costa Rica? You won't see nudity on beaches there, and it is very beautiful with so much to do!

Any island in the Virgin Islands would be okay. Public nudity is illegal here!
Ronnie

I thought there were beaches on St. Thomas that allowed topless....Sapphire or something like that. We saw and participated in topless sunbathing on Trunk Bay (and were not the only ones)...possibly the most beautiful, picturesque beach in the Caribbean.

atticus, I'm surprised to hear you and others got away with that. As I understand it, RonUSVI has stated correctly that public nudity in the USVI is illegal. Trunk Bay is a very popular beach as well, so surprised again that nobody was policing there! We just spent two weeks in St. John and didn't see any naked folks anywhere!

Maybe they tighened up a bit. Our experience was a number of years ago....

You can really see anything anywhere. I wouldn't have thought it, but two topless sun-bathers--German girls at Rum Point in G. Cayman. Not the norm though. It didn't bother me. Of course we were without children.

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. This info will really help choose an appropriate place to take my family.

Children will not be in shock just be the sight of naked people. You know what makes them shocked? It's the reaction of the adults (you) to the nudity. If you freak out it'll make them shocked, but if you just relax and act as if it's no big deal they'll hardly notice it. Sure they'll see it but they'll assume it's something normal.

I was raised in Europe and thus seen a lot of topless and even fully nude people on the beach when I was a child. It never had any negative influence on me, so basically you're afraid of something that doesn't exist.

I don't know the property about which "me" posted in Bermuda. when I searched the name on google a property in the British Virgin Islands comes up.

As far as I know the only place where partial nudity is acceptable therein Bermuda is at Cambridge Beaches. Public beaches and nearly all hotel beaches in Bermuda forbid topless bathing and total nudity. I will never forget a male friend receiving a caution from Bermuda police for riding his moped shirtless.