Travel Uncovered - Literally

You can pack light for this trip. The latest offering from Source Events, a Miami Beach-based gay adventure-travel company, is billed as the first gay nude luxury cruise in the Mediterranean. Scheduled for mid-May, the weeklong voyage, geared toward men, will begin in Rome and continue down Italy's Amalfi coast and on to the Greek islands. Travelers can take cooking classes, mingle at afternoon cocktail parties or simply lounge on deck—all of it au naturel. Dress will be required, however, for land excursions, water sports and Olympic-themed soirees in which passengers are encouraged to dress up as gods (and goddesses). Gay men "are looking for new ways to socialize," says Source Events president Craig Smith. "When people shed their clothes, it's a great equalizer."

Nude travel has become a $400 million industry—double what it was 10 years ago—according to the American Association for Nude Recreation. And the business has increasingly gone upscale, trading rustic nudist camps for lavish resorts and extravagant cruises. Gay men have helped fuel the growth, especially baby boomers who have more disposable income, an appetite for adventure and a penchant for bucking typical notions of retirement. When Gay Naturists International started 23 years ago, it had fewer than two dozen members; today it counts some 1,300. "There is a spirituality to [naturism]. You're relating to your peers in a way that's much more honest and vulnerable," says the organization's president, Bob Sandla Jr. "And it's just plain ole fun."

—Amy Green and Arian Campo-Flores, Newsweek

23 March 2007