The Naked Truth on Nude Beaches in Sardinia, Italy

Sardinia is a mecca for beach lovers, and with over 1849km of beautiful, pristine coastline it’s no wonder naked vacationers return year after year.

Did you know? It’s illegal to get butt naked on a Sardinian public beach.

That Sardinia hosts very few, secluded nude beaches (so few, in fact I can’t find any resources on legal nude beaches in Sardinia) and if caught in the buff on a beach in Italy that the fine is hefty – very hefty!

Do you know the difference between a topless beach and a nude beach?

What is a topless beach?

A topless beach is a public beach where upper body clothing is optional for men and women. Most beaches in Italy are topless beaches.¹

A general rule of thumb is to look around and see what others are doing. If there are hundreds of people on the beach – dressed in their beach best, then you should stay dressed in your beach suit.

A little incident that happened…

I first arrived on this amazing island and parked my white Canadian butt on the hot, white sand, I noticed that every other woman was topless and thought – I’m in Italy, I’ll go topless too! And I did – for a short time. In the last four years I have seen more women covering up.

Why?

I don’t have the answer to that, but maybe it has something to do with the predatory lifestyle of social media and technology.

There are just too many cameras.

My views have changed since my first outing and here’s why…

It was August, hot and full of tourists. We found our usual spot across from a rock and front door to the sea and made ourselves a little beach home.

A while later three couples arrived and set up camp, six-feet in front of us. This rattled my cage as there was plenty of space within a 50-foot radius of us – why do they always sit so close? The three girls squealed and ran into the inviting blue water as their male counterparts set up beach-camp and readied themselves to photograph the scenery.

My husband went walk-a-bout in the Sardinian bush while I tanned topless in the August heat-wave. I was lizard-like in my stance as I relaxed and listened to the three guys ramble on about how awesome everything is in Sardinia. They took out their cameras and snapped their girlfriends frolicking in the sea; they photographed each other in a series of unfortunate awkward stances and they slapped each other’s butts too many times to keep count. The boys then returned to their beach-camp to bake their white skin and snap more photos.

With their backs to me and the sun in our faces, I noticed one guy with the camera behind his back.

I thought – what the heck is he taking a photo of?

Then I realized he was taking a photo of me! We were only six-feet apart; it was obvious – too obvious. I quickly raised my middle finger, and with a slight eff of expression on my face he snapped his photo.

I’m pretty sure he got a shock when they all reviewed their beach photos and found one topless, Canadian lounge-lizard giving them the middle finger.

I felt violated by this person’s predatory act to snap my photo on the

sly. He took the photo for egotistical purposes and it’s possible that this photo is or has made its way around the internet and the thought makes me cringe – cringe because he took something of mine, without my consent.

I didn’t say anything to them and in hindsight wish I had.

Since then I have only gone topless in the company of my husband or in the off-season, as summer is busy with curious tourists who snap unwilling photos of nature at its best.

Is this why more women are covering up at the beach?

It’s why I’m covering up more – I don’t want my girls roaming cyber space for eternity.

What is a nude beach?

A nude beach is a beach where people are legally at liberty to be nude.  Generally, these beaches will be private and there will be signs stating that it’s a nude beach.

You’re wondering aren’t you? Have I gone nude on an Italian beach? Yes – and it was awesome!

But …

In Sardinia, there are few legal nude beaches.

I’ve seen people in the buff on the public beaches of Sardinia; who, without a care in the world are at ease and confident in stature and pride.

Before you go on holiday don’t you think it’s best to find out if these beaches are legal to be naked on – and if not what (if any) are the fines? I know I check strange laws before departing on vacation and certainly adhere to them while on foreign soil – why don’t others? The thought of an Italian jail cell frightens me, heck, the thought of any jail cell, in any part of the world freaks me out!

Not a nudist beach

I don’t have a problem with naked people – but there are laws you should know before taking it all off in a foreign land.

Did you know?

In 2006 the Italian Supreme Court passed a law stating that certain beaches could be designated as a nude beach. These beaches would in fact have to post signs for the weary traveler – stating the beach as a nudist beach.

This past summer in Taormina, Sicily a man was fined €1200 for going nude on a public, overcrowded beach. There were other nudists on the same beach as this man but they ran away to hide the moment the police arrived. He was the only one who had the balls to sit on his patch of sand and make the police come to him!

In Tortoli, Sardinia this year – 2 British tourists were subject to a stern warning from police for being naked on the beach.

This is the naked truth on nude beaches in Sardinia, Italy. I hope you’ve enjoyed the show.

A few questions for you …

Do you know of any legal nude beaches in Sardinia?

What is your take on going topless on the beach? Have you ever worn your birthday suit on the beach?

And lastly –  if you happen to see a photograph of a pissed-off, topless Canadian on a Sardinian beach – it’s me. Let the author know you are none to pleased with their violation of privacy!

Related articles:

12 beautiful beaches to wear your birthday suit in Sardinia, Italy

Source: Wikipedia – Nude Beach¹