Naturist resort Oriental Beach – Travelogue
Back from the Thailand vacation there is now my detailed travel report from the nudist “Oriental Beach” in Phuket.
Through the nudist travel agency “Euronature.nl” I had found and booked the nudist facility. There are not many nudist options in Thailand on the net. The Oriental Beach is the only nudist facility that is located directly on the beach and has its own nudist beach. That appealed to me, I booked it. Since I wasn’t sure if the facility would be something for me, I only reserved for one week, then for 2 weeks in Koh Samui. I booked all flights separately.
The Oriental Beach is located off the beaten track on the small island of Koh Kho Khao. The island is part of the island of Phuket and is separated from Phuket by a waterway about 300m wide.
After arriving at Phuket Airport, I had already booked the shuttle through the travel agency. It all went smoothly. After a 90-minute drive from the flag port, past Kao Lak, a taxi bus took me to the ferry to the island. There we took an adventurous longtail ferry boat to the other side. The whole thing lasted 10 minutes. At the small ferry port, the shuttle to the hotel awaited me.
This journey takes about 10 minutes. As I said, the hotel is secluded, right on the beach. Then I stood in front of the gate to the nudist resort. At first glance, everything looked as described on the hotel’s website.
The owner himself, about whom I will tell you later, briefly informed me about the rules in the resort. There was nothing special: public sex prohibited, staff is used to being naked, nudism allowed on the beach left and right up to the markings, naked on the beach hiking outside this area possible, out of respect for the locals please tie a scarf around your neck when someone comes towards you.
That was it, keys to the apartment and off we went on our naturist holiday. I had booked the smallest option, a suite, but it was already huge and was on the first floor. The whole complex consists of about 20 suites and apartments. Everything is very spacious but sometimes quite “spoiled”. In my suite, the furniture was already badly battered, especially the bathroom was not nice. The tiles had apparently been painted over with a black paint, which smelled of tar. In my apartment there was a TV, without programs, a kitchen without any kitchen items (two glasses, no cutlery, nothing) OK, I didn’t want to cook anyway, but peeling a piece of fruit or drinking a glass on the balcony in the evening, that wasn’t possible.
The bed, on the other hand, was good. I learned from other guests during the week that the other apartments were in a similar condition.
However, the facility itself is great. From the apartment buildings you walk past the pool, pass the open restaurant and come to the really cool beach. There are loungers, beanbags, small beach huts. Everything is tastefully done and atmospherically lit in the evening. The restaurant is also beautifully located and you can look out over the beach from there.
The beach has fine sand and is almost deserted. It slowly drops into the warm sea water and is just as you would imagine a dream beach.
To the left you can see the next turbine about 500 meters away, to the right you can’t see anything, but there is also another turbine in this direction. I walked naked on the beach in both directions. If someone was really in sight, I tied a scarf around my neck, and that was it. Some of the loungers are under trees or there are parasols, because you need the shade. It was always over 30 degrees during my stay, not below 28 degrees at night. The sea also felt like it was about 28 degrees.
The food in the restaurant was almost exclusively Thai food, but delicious. Drink prices and prices for food were more expensive than outside the facility, but still much cheaper than at home. It was never paid immediately, all payments were noted and settled together at the end of the stay. I spent about 30 euros per day with dinner, lunch snack and some drinks and cocktails. Breakfast is always included in the room rate.
Due to the always warm weather, you actually don’t need any clothes inside the facility. On the first day I got dressed for dinner in the evening, on the second day I tied a scarf around my neck, and on the following evenings I only went to the restaurant completely naked.
This was also done by about 50% of the other guests. During the day, everyone is completely naked. I could have arrived with a travel bag with shower stuff and flip-flops, that would have been perfectly sufficient. The show skating, as e.g. in the Cap d ́agde, does not exist here.
There is the possibility to go past the beach to the neighboring complex for dinner. Some guests did this partly because at some point the menu was up and down, but somehow “GDR charm” prevailed there. The layout was very simple, the restaurant was uncomfortable and had the character of a train station hall. In the evening there was once a foam party on the dance floor, once a video was shown there, otherwise at 09:00 a.m. “the sidewalks were folded up” – relaxing vacation for me with a lot of sleep!
The local staff was very friendly and accommodating. They had obviously become accustomed to the naked people.
Then there was the predominantly French-speaking owner. This was simply present everywhere. Actually, I would have expected to be greeted sensibly, but at least with the small number of guests, to get the greeting of the day in return. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The man constantly spoke to his employees and gave loud instructions. As a guest, you felt constantly watched – not a restaurateur as he should actually be. But you can actually overlook that.
In summary, I can say that I have rarely seen such a beautifully situated nudist facility. You are right on the beach, you can be naked all day and always have warm weather. However, you have to be aware that you are off the beaten track and will only spend your holiday within the complex. You can rent a scooter and explore the island, that’s what I did, but there’s not that much to explore. You have to make compromises in the rooms, but the beach, pool and restaurant are very nice. For a week to relax naked, I would go there again and again. After a week, however, it would be too lonely for me. In combination with another destination in Thailand, however, the Oriental Beach is worth a recommendation. Prices are available on the homepage and vary depending on the season. I paid just under 1,000 euros for the 1 week, including breakfast.
