[This “letter” and the one which follows were written in Croatia and so can be certified as authentic Letters from Croatia. Unfortunately they have, until now, remained in draft form since my return, so please think of them as virtual holiday postcards which, like the real thing, have taken several weeks to travel through the postal system.]
Another good thing about Croatia is that the country is a leading light in the naturist movement. Croatia has far more positive ideas on the subject compared with, say, its neighbour across the Adriatic, Italy.
The term naturism (encompassing a set of ideals) is preferred to nudism (which just means without any clothes). In Croatia, naturist beaches are marked on maps and signs as FKK (meaning Freikörperkultur, meaning free body culture).
Probably Croatia’s most famous naturist resort is Koversada, in Istria, which is one of the largest in Europe. Having heard several excellent reports from people who had been there during the Yugoslavian era, we finally went there in camping (not camp) mode a few years ago and were not disappointed.
In terms of size, the naturist beach on the Island of Lokrum is tiny compared to Koversada, but it is big on quality. As you can see from the picture below, think not of rolling sand dunes, but of a series of rock terraces accessible more by intermediate-level rock-climbing techniques than normal walking.
my towel on the beach at Lokrum Island
Swimming in the ridiculously blue, unreasonably warm Adriatic is always a pleasure. As with most Croatian rocky beaches, there are various metal step ladders installed to make getting into and out of the water a more straightforward proposition.
Whenever I have been at the beach there have been a dozen or so other people around, neither too many nor too few. One Sunday in June, it did get very very crowded but there was still plenty of breathing space for all concerned.
My only complaint is that from time to time various small boats full of trippers (not strippers) pass close by. These boat-trippers give the impression that gawping at a few people who aren’t wearing swimming costumes is the highlight of an otherwise featureless tour. One type of boat-trip is the Glass Bottom Boat, but as they go past their interest in sub aqua viewing seems to be entirely superseded by an interest in staring at other varieties of bottom. Another type of trip is the Fish Lunch, supposedly involving a fish barbecue on a beach, but I suspect it is a mainly liquid lunch, judging by the idiotic behaviour as they pass the naturist beach on the return journey. With practice, certain timbres of cackling can be linked with packages of tourists from particular parts of the globe. Cameras and camcorders (strictly verboten on naturist beaches) are shamelessly deployed by these amateur paparazzi in a manner which brings the words “media feeding frenzy” to mind. Also the boat drivers come past far too close which, from the safety angle, is not too clever if you’re swimming at the time. But all this is more of an occasional irritation than a reason to write off the entire thing.
Verdict: Lokrum naturist beach – recommended.
Matathewsiasms 
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