Orient Bay Beach and Nudity

[Tinkified]

The disney site says this beach is the equivalent to the European beaches where swimwear is optional. If you have been to that beach, could you tell me how much nudity was present and are there families with children there? Our daughter is 6 and hasn't seen any nudity other than her immediate family. Heard the beach is great, but if it is really not a family place due to the nudity, could you make a beach recommendation that is family friendly. Thanks

 

[Marypoppinsiam]

We have gone to Orient Beach with our DS6 and the only nudity was a couple pair of breast and that was about it. We always stay up towards the north end of the beach. The south end is where Club Orient is. My DS didn't even notice the girls because he was just to busy playing in the water and in the sand. I have heard that Dawn Beach is a good beach to go to if you are worried about the nudity.

 

[Debbie H]

It is exactly as it states, clothing optional.

 

[njmom23grls]

I've been to Orient Beach with our children and other than a very few topless women who were keeping to themselves. In fact I would say most of the "parading around" was done by folks hoping to sneek a peek at the nude resort at the other end of the beach.

 

[Amlee]

I just read some trip reports about this. One reported some extreme nudity. To the point that when they returned back to the ship(non-DCL) that their son told everyone they came in contact with (including the capt) that he saw a naked women.

Now this was the first time I had learned that Orient Bay Beach had nudity and I was surprised that I hadn't seen it brought up on the Disboards.

 

[mmouse37]

There have been numerous threads about the nudity on Orient Beach...just not lately.

We have been several times and it really is not a big deal (and I am very modest)....a few women with bare breasts and mostly some old, very wrinkled and sagging folks walking down the beach...anyone thinking they are going to get a glimpse of some hotties are sadly mistaken (unless things have dramatically changed) LOL!!!

Orient beach is a very long beautiful beach with many different beach clubs denoted by their different colored umbrellas....all the way to the right (if you are facing the water) is the nude beach....some times the folks do walk down the length of the beach but I really would not worry too much about the nudity. We brought our kids there are they hardly noticed....I think they will react like you react....if you get all worked up they will...if you just ignore it they probably will too...if they have questions I would just say that in other parts of the world they have different ideas about bathing suits/clothes....

Now, if anyone is really uncomfortable with it go somewhere else...I would never want to anyone to go if they felt that uncomfortable but it really was not a big deal at all.

 

[TiaMaria]

The disney site says this beach is the equivalent to the European beaches where swimwear is optional. If you have been to that beach, could you tell me how much nudity was present and are there families with children there? Our daughter is 6 and hasn't seen any nudity other than her immediate family. Heard the beach is great, but if it is really not a family place due to the nudity, could you make a beach recommendation that is family friendly. Thanks

Le Galion Beach just south of Orient Beach, down the road from the Butterfly Farm is reportedly (on these boards, Cruise Critic and the St. Martin websites) the best beach for families with small children on the island. Apparently it is a well kept secret. You rarely see nudity, it has a nice restaurant/beach bar (called Chez Pat)with clean restrooms, outdoor shower facilities, chair and umbrella rentals . Also there is a natural sand barrier that keeps the water pretty calm with a shallow and sandy bottom reaching out about 100 feet from shore. I've read that you arrange for your taxi driver to pick you up at a designated time and it is about $6 per person each direction (not sure if those prices are still the same). Hope this helps!

http://www.sxm-orientbeach.com/chezpat/

http://www.st-maarten-info.com/St-Maarten-Beaches/LeGalion.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7182639/page/5/

 

[MCourtney]

And for anyone reading this thread who wants to check out Orient just for the nudity (have been several times, not a big deal, and the north end is much less clothed than the south) please note that there are security people who hide and watch for tourists with cameras and videos - and will TAKE THEM from anyone filming the bare.

There are great bars/restaurants on the south end with live music, etc.

Bobo Jams is a family friendly bar/restuarant with a playground (!), good parking, is right on the beach and has dancing and a live band. The best snapper and lobster too!

 

[MnParrothead]

We were at Orient Bay Beach in 2002 when my youngest DS was 10. He was so busy building sand castles and playing in the surf that when we talked about that day a few years later he was very surprised to hear that we were at a nude beach.

As mmouse37 said, there are a few topless women laying out and some old, wrinkled folks walking down the beach.

 

[4ltlTinks]

My husband and I were there last year without the kids...there were quite a few topless women (only a couple worth gauking at guys). Before we even sat down on our loungers, an older man walked by completely nude. The kids getting there loungers next to us were a little taken aback.

 

[Dreamer04]

We did this excursion last year. We sat pretty close to where we walked on the beach-midway to the shore.

I didn't notice ANY nudity until I sensed my DH was more alert than usual. I followed his poorly disguised stare and way, way down the beach there was a beautiful woman. I said to DH, "Gee, your eyesight is pretty good for an old boy!"

Those mirrored sunglasses don't hide a thing!

But, the kids didn't notice a thing.

We are going again in February.

 

[jrabbit]

It can also server as a life lesson.

We saw a guy (had to be from one of the ships in port that day) - I mean we saw a white guy in his 50's that decided that he wanted to do as the locals and go neked. You know the skin "where the sun don't shine" had not been exposed to the sun for most of his 50 years and he didn't use any sunscreen so his "cheeks" were Flaming RED!! The Life Lesson ---- When spending any time in the sun make sure that you use sun screen!

We have NO idea how / if this guy was able to sit for many, many days. We didn't see him from the front side , but if it was as red as his back side all I can say OUCH!!!!

 

[DisneyMom&Fan]

We were at Orient beach last month - about mid-way from north to south. DH saw one woman down the beach in the water topless. He had to point her out and I had to squint to see her. That was it. I really don't think there is too much to worry about - just stay away from the nude resort and don't talk about it in front of your kids and they will never know the difference. We too are going back again in September.

Have a great trip!!

 

[Tarabra]

We were there a few years ago, and I said to my DH, "There you go, your first topless women." She was very old wrinkly and saggy. Not a pretty scene. We did see a few others, but you really just got used to it after a while. O.k. just asked DH about this and he said he saw a few good looking girls, but most of them were a fright!! None of the kids seemed to be paying much attention.

 

[dcassetta]

2 years ago my then 2 year old niece fit right in. It is still hard to get that child to keep her clothes on!

 

[Float My Boat]

It's a "family" beach as long as you are not a family from the USA. If you are a family from another country that doesn't freak out at the naked human body, you won't have any problem.

If only we Americans could be more like the Europeans. In our country, violence is acceptible on TV and in the movies, but God forbid we show a naked ****...

Sorry, I am getting off topic.

 

[elainabelle]

We have been to Orient a couple of times and last year was the first time we brought our kids, 4 and 6 (actually almost 5 and 7). We knew we would see some topless women and some completely au naturale individuals going for strolls but chose not to say anything to the kids as we didn't want to make a big deal of it.

Low and behold, wouldn't you know. After we got settled into our chairs a lovely older couple sat next to us. The women got undressed and I honestly did not know someone could have that large of breasts without their skin rupturing. She was very nice and polite and we had a few short conversations while a made a marked attempt to keep my eyes on her face. I thought for sure my kids would make a comment or have their eyes pop out. Bless their little hearts, it didn't phase them in the least. They never mentioned it. We saw other individuals throughout the day in various states of dress and the same thing, the kids kept building their sand castles.

I agree with the poster that if you have a strong reaction, your kids will have a strong reaction. I do feel that especially the younger kids just take their cues from their parents.