NetNude - Israel Report

Israel Report

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Israel

A Time In Israel:

Thinking of Israel? Thought of taking in the Holy Land? Do some real history? But no, as a naturist what kind of vacation would that be?

From being in Israel for 5 months and living the nudist lifestyle, I certainly had major concerns when I accepted the contract position there. Would my nudist lifestyle be on hold for 5 months? As I found out promptly upon arrival, most of my thoughts were way out of date. The women do not cover themselves from head to toe, wrong country, or wrong century for Israel. And no, not all the men, in fact, very few, are in constant prayer. So I was awakened when I arrived in the modern city of Tel-Aviv as well as pleasantly surprised when I took my first walk on the beach. It is not legal to be nude as is the law in many countries, however, as told to me there, "we have a lot bigger concerns than the occasional topless woman on the main beach or a couple of nudes on a secluded beach". As one beach patrol officer said to me when I questioned this aspect, "if your naked or almost naked, what can you be hiding?" After he said that, nudism in Israel looked like a good option.

Of course while there I was not a closet nudist. I realized a long time ago that when you travel many locals are aware of "nudist spots" even if they don't go themselves. Depending on how you approach the subject with them, they are not offended and most often a very helpful source of information.

So where do you go, or, where did I go? Well, the most frequented beach was just north of Tel-Aviv called Tel-Baruch. During the weekdays you will find total nudity and on the weekends, occasional nudity with a fair amount of topfree women. Getting there is easy as well as access to the beach. From anywhere in Tel-Aviv you can take a cab for about 12 NIS (new Israeli shekels) or for the more challenging person, take the bus. There are two buses that go that far north and the info is easy to get by calling the bus info number found in all the travel info. Once at the beach area, go to the main beach, walk north until you come to a small rock barrier, which is the end of the "formal" beach, continue walking 100 meters or so, lay out your towel and enjoy the beach. I found I preferred this beach to the formal beaches not only because of the possible nudity but also because there were no rock barriers placed in the water and therefore the beach water was nicer in that it had larger waves to play in, lots of fun, especially in the nude! Also during the week, this seemed to be a "dedicated" nude beach, you will find the greater percentage nude, so, being the brave soul I was, I would often stray away from my area and walk 1 or 2 km's along the beach again in the nude of course. Another reason for liking this beach is that if I got the munchies or thirsty I could head south to the formal beach and grab a hotdog or bag of chips and of course a "cold one" at the outdoor bar. If I decided to stay the entire day (as the evenings were wonderful on the beach), I would take casual shorts with me and spend the evening at the outdoor bar which not only served my favorite lager but also had a great menu of seafood.

From Tel-Aviv you can reach just about any place in Israel by public transportation at very reasonable cost with the exception of Friday night and Satur-day. And I say Satur-day in this manner because at night the public buses are once again on the road. So from Friday at about 7:00pm to Saturday 7:00pm you can only take taxi cabs and of course they charge a premium during this time. This of course is also there weekend. Of course rental cars are available, you just have to pick them up before 7:00pm Friday. You may want to take that option if you plan on doing anything with the INS (Israeli Naturist Society) since they, like most of us, do group activities during the weekend. When I was there, they were meeting about twice a month at various beaches or at the Dead Sea. The INS is not a large group as they are just fresh on their feet as an organization. However, they have the ability, people, attitude and places to go are their assets. They would have few acceptance problems and obtain growth in leaps and bounds. If you want to find out more about them I would suggest contacting them at: www.hameyyasdim.co.il/INS-CHEN.

During my 5 month stay I did not get out with the group, mostly due to work and transportation conflicts. However that did not stop me from trying out the beaches they recommended.

Another place not far from Tel-Aviv is the beach at Beit Yanai, again to the north and easily accessible by bus and a short walk from the bus stop. The cost of the bus is 15 NIS return or by taxi, 120 NIS return. I recommend the bus! Take the bus to Kibbutz Beit Yanai, you'll be dropped off at the side of the main highway, walk south to the bridge, cross the highway and continue walking west through the streets of the Kibbutz to the bluffs (about 20 minutes). Walk along the bluffs until you find a path that descends to the beach, find yourself a spot anywhere that is 500 meters from the main beach area and enjoy.

Lounging in the Dead Sea

Another place I visited and well worth the travel is the Dead Sea. Not only is the travel there a small history lesson of Biblical times, but try and imagine doing the same trip by camel or walking. Once more I found the bus both an easy and somewhat entertaining way of getting there. Take a bus from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem (one leaves every 20 minutes) and then another bus from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea (the actual bus will be going to Elat). Cost of the trip will run about 60 NIS and well worth every shekel. During the trip, try and stay awake to enjoy the view to contemplate how one could live in such a vast, naked land, naked. If you have the time and want to make the most of the adventure take a light sleeping bag with you for the beach, then at night just meters away from the beach, spread it over some low shrubs and camp. You more than likely will not be the only one there doing that. Don't expect a roaring fire unless you have a way of making salt burn. If your not into the camping thing, the hostel is only a short walk from the beach. From where the bus drops you off, walk north (from where you came) about 1 km, then head for the sea, or jump the rock wall, walk to the sea's edge and walk north for the km. You'll recognize the site where most go nude by a small grove of trees. There is also a small fresh water spring, not drinkable because of the sulfur, but what you will want when you get out of the sea. Find yourself a spot on the rocky beach and work on the tan. A very high recommendation is to bring lots of sunscreen and water, and I mean lots.

Now if you were thinking of going in for a swim, forget it, the water's too thick. You can certainly go in, but I might recommend taking a magazine with you so while you are bobbing in the water you will have something to read. Another recommendation that should not be taken lightly is DO NOT SHAVE before going in the Dead Sea. Once in the water you will feel every little cut you never knew you had.

Of course your visit to the Dead Sea is not complete without taking in a mud bath. If there are other visitors there, just watch them, somewhere, close to the shore there are mud pools in the Dead Sea. The mud is highly recommended for health reasons, so go for it. Apply a good amount to yourself, let it dry on for a while and then rinse off. You can rinse off either in the fresh water ( a bit cooler than the sea) or in the sea itself.

There is lots to see and do in Israel, and although I checked out many areas for nude sunbathing, I found these 3 as well as my back yard (even with the neighbors able to view) the best places to go. So wherever your travels take you - be adventurous, do something in the nude daily.