Our holiday was from Sunday 23rd March to Tuesday 15th April. For several months before I had been intensively studying books and the internet in order to put together the best holiday to suit my wife Ann and myself, and to attempt to avoid any serious pitfalls. The aim was to combine touring/sightseeing together with a naturist lifestyle wherever possible. Naturist beaches are few and far between in the state, and don't necessarily always coincide with places you want to visit. These were not a priority for us. We are in our mid fifties and have no one to worry about but ourselves. We used to be caravanners, and so have an open mind about accommodation so long as it's clean and preferably with private toilet facilities to cater for the ageing bladders, then we're not too fussy.
I decided the base for our first 8 nights would be Cypress Cove Nudist Resort, Kissimmee - www.suncove.com (they never seem to use 'naturist' in the states, always 'nudist'). We've visited the USA several times before, but never Florida. We've done the Disney/ Universal Studios stuff in California and didn't want to do them again. My advice to anyone intending to intensively, day after day 'do' all the visitor attractions in the Orlando area is NOT to base yourself at Cypress Cove, as you will be too busy to take advantage of all it has to offer, and there is cheaper accommodation to be had elsewhere. Perhaps you would be better considering going there to wind down afterwards.
Cypress Cove is impressive. It covers 110 hectares according to the INF guidebook, which doesn't mean much to me, but it is big. There are tarmac roads everywhere, and the site is immaculate. A large portion is taken up with permanent homes, and a further section is used for RV pitches. When we were there these were still pretty full of snowbirds (residents from the northern states and Canada who follow the sun for the winter).
The rental accommodation is in two story motel type accommodation blocks. There are five blocks, and each has eight rooms. You have a choice of a simple room with a fridge but no cooking facilities, or one with a full kitchen. The accommodation is serviced every day. The blocks are all set together and straight across the road from centre of the complex, where you find a large, heated outdoor pool, hot tub, gym (extra charge), hairdresser, masseur, shop (clothing and gifts), games/ activity room and small library. Also here is a bar open until late, which also serves basic food - sandwiches, burgers etc, which are of very indifferent quality. From here you can walk through to a smaller pool, indoor hot tub and children's playground. Further on are the main offices where there is also a small shop selling very basic provisions - milk, drinks, bread, sweets and biscuits and that's about it. You would need to go out for shopping for even the most basic self catering. Further out are tennis, volley ball, petanque and horseshoe courts, and a restaurant overlooking the huge lake. You can get breakfast and evening meals there, all cooked to a good standard. Entertainment is sometimes laid on here. Clothing is not required anywhere at any time except for people taking part in the dances which are occasionally held in the restaurant. Clothing is then compulsory. In practice, most people dress for the restaurant in the evenings, if only to combat the unfortunate American habit of having the air conditioning on full blast even when its not needed.
By the previously mentioned lake is a small sand beach, and boats are available for use at no extra charge. Swimming there is not recommended - alligators do live in the lake but are rarely seen.
Supermarkets and basic restaurants can be found in a couple of strip malls five minutes drive away in the Poinciana district, and big town facilities are available in Kissimmee, about 20 minutes away. The main theme parks lie a little further away, and Cape Canaveral (naturist beach nearby) is just over an hour's drive.
Linking Kissimmee to the Disney area is route 192, which must be the tackiest looking road in the US. It's lined with cheap food joints, restaurants, souvenir shops, 'flea markets' which sell the tackiest souvenirs invented by man, and motels. But in amongst these are also many outlet stores, which are worth seeking out. These sell major manufacturers lines, mostly sports wear, smart casual and footwear at knock down prices - these will be end of production run items, last years designs etc, and there are some good bargains to be had.
A relatively short distance south is Lake Okeechobee, second largest lake wholly within the USA. The lake is the thing that keeps the whole everglades ticking over by slowly draining its water into the Gulf of Mexico. The whole eco system has been put in great danger over the years by corrupt politicians and business interests overriding the natural balance of things but this is hardly the place to go ranting on about that.
I'd booked one night in Okeechobee town, hoping to do a wildlife tour on the lake. The only tour operator on the internet hadn't replied to my requests for information (thanks Barry) but I fully expected being able to pick up a tour when we got there. On arrival I couldn't find anything. The lake itself doesn't lend itself to sightseeing as its surrounded by a high dyke and can't be seen from the road. There are a few pull ins, but it's not really a tourist attraction - unless you're a fisherman. The dozens of campsites and many motels cater for these, but if you don't want to do any fishing, bypass Okeechobee.
The next three nights I'd booked b&b on Big Pine Key, which is about 30 miles from Key West. On route we stopped off at the State Park on Key Largo where a trip over the coral reef in a glass bottomed boat made an interesting lunch stop.
Our stay in a beautiful beach house for three nights was memorable, but expensive when compared to UK prices at $125 a night (even more expensive when compared to French and Spanish prices!) http://floridakeys.net/casagrande
Key West is a must do day trip. The whole island is built up into a very busy, vibrant small city. There is some beautiful architecture there and some good restaurants if you get away from the tourist crap on Duval Street. Incidentally, there is a clothing optional motel right in the centre of Key West - 'Deja Vu Adult Clothing Optional Resort'. I'd found this place when I was planning the trip and suspected it wasn't quite right for us. I asked about it on the URN, and the feedback I got here and elsewhere was that it can get pretty wild. They get people of all sexual orientations there, as well as frequent visits by hell's angel types who visit not to be nude but to ogle the women (or men I suppose). So, not fancying the prospect of playing 'chase me' around the property pursued by a big hairy biker I'd decided to pass on that one. I always was a spoilsport.
Our next three nights were in Everglades City http://www.florida-everglades.com/motel/. It is on the Western edge of the Everglades. The motel here is straight out of a 1950's Marilyn Monroe movie, clean and well equipped. At £40 a night it was the bargain of the tour. Everglades City is a really quaint place. Small, peaceful, 'noting ever happens here' kind of place where I don 't think anything has been altered since the 1950's. They cater mainly for Everglades tourists and fishermen. There isn't a lot of accommodation in the town as most visitors come in for the day. The National Park complex provides boat rides into the mangrove swamps and also out into the 'thousand islands' which line the coast. Beware, mosquitos can be a nuisance here.
Finally we moved on to our last 8 nights accommodation at Lake Como Clob, Lutz www.lakecomoresort.com which is just north of Tampa. There is plenty of non - theme park sightseeing to do in the area. South lie Tampa, St Petersburg and Clearwater, west is the Greek fishing port of Tarpon Springs and to the north is rural Florida. An area well worth exploring.
Lake Como claims to be the oldest nudist setup in the United States, having been formed in 1948. The present arrangement is that it is owned and run by a consortium of about 100 permanent residents. All the work there is done by these people or by the 27 staff whom they employ. Everything is run by committee, so as you can imagine, there is a lot of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.
The place is older, more basic and much more rustic that Paradise Lakes (see below) but there is continuing upgrading taking place. All the accommodation is set in a fairly compact area around the western side of the main lake. This comprises Cabins, semi permanent mobile homes and RV pitches. There are showers and toilets everywhere you go - I've never seen a site so well equipped - also picnic tables and benches scattered around.
Rental accommodation consists of three fully equipped caravans, two motel type rooms with private facilities, several motel rooms with shared facilities (in a large cabin rather than the usual brick building) and a separate self catering cabin. Some of the accommodation is getting a bit old, but all is clean and well serviced with clean towels every day.
The site was originally a farm, and the old farmhouse is the centre of the complex and houses a restaurant open 8 am to 8pm (very cheap but very basic food), large heated pool, sauna, huge hot tub, pool room and library.
The side of the restaurant overlooks one of the two lakes, as does the 'Butt Hut' bar which opens in the evenings. There is no prepare your own food for sale anywhere on the premises. Plenty of shops and restaurants are within 5 minutes drive. The main gatehouse/ office sells a few souvenirs, T shirts and sun cream.
Further out is a state of the art tennis court and volley ball complex. The tennis court is, apparently, one of the most advanced in the state and quite large tournaments are held there. Much of the property is given over to commercial orange growing (you are not allowed into the orange groves and not allowed to pick the fruit). However, a short nature trail which joggers would find useful runs around the rear of the orange grove - takes about 10 minutes to walk around.
There is a small beach by the lake, and again, boats are available but the resident 'gator discourages swimming in the lake.
A couple of general comments on the two sites:
Caliente resort - http://www.calienteresorts.com/ is about three miles back up the main road from Como. It's been under construction for about three years, and is nearing completion. A very up market place with town houses and one and two bedroom condos built to a really high specification, also Casitas (think of a caravan permanently mounted and with a stucco finish) which are also very high spec. All the facilities are not yet in place but should be completed by the end of the year. All the accommodation is privately owned I think, and much of it is let out either privately or by the management. Purchase prices are from almost £40,000 for the cheapest casita, £70,000 for a 1 bed condo to £166,000 for a townhouse. Rental prices high season £60 a night (casita) to £82 a night 2 bed condo, PLUS $20 (about £14 per day per person) membership fee. What you get for this is everything you could imagine - all those you would expect - pools, tennis, volleyball etc are already completed, and more stuff is due to be finished by the end of this year including a clubhouse, health spa, gym, nightclub and restaurant, shopping mall and 40 room hotel.
Everything we saw is well built and in very good taste, and in another two years time when all the landscaping and planting has had time to mature it will be absolutely wonderful. There is no doubt that this is going to be the state of the art, best in the world naturist resort but it comes at a high price.
Paradise Lakes - www.paradiselakes.com is just around the corner from Lake Como, about 5 minutes drive. We'd spoken to someone earlier in the trip who'd just bought a place at Caliente, who told us that Paradise was glitzy and pretentious. I have to agree with him. It's a very up market place, with a reception area to rival a 4 star hotel. The main amenities, much the same as the others, are in a fenced central area. There is a centrally located RV site and all the rental accommodation is set out in two story blocks around the perimeter.
The site is the smallest we visited, the accommodation buildings are quite tall 2 stories and you feel quite closed in when walking around as if you were in a town rather than the countryside. Lots of designer clothing, flashy jewelry and (honestly !!) gold lame posing pouches were evident and will give an idea of the place.
Prices here - from £50 a night for a studio to £85 for a 2 bedroom townhouse, plus £14 per person per day membership.
Someone at Como whom I was speaking to about the visit to Paradise Lakes summed it up perfectly when he said "They're country club, we're country folk." I know which I prefer.
So there we have it. These are just my own impression of the places visited, and there are those who will disagree. This is by no means an exhaustive list of naturist places in Florida, just the ones we experienced. Of the four places we saw we would rate Cypress Cove as the best, followed closely by Lake Como, then Caliente, with Paradise Lakes a long way behind in fourth place.
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