Avoid Baggage Fees With Nude Vacations

April 13, 2010— -- Spirit Airline's latest baggage fee -- up to $45 for the privilege of stuffing your bag into an overhead bin -- has at least one travel group hoping vacationers will start packing light... very light.

The American Association of Nude Recreation advocates vacation at nudist resorts and says the rising baggage costs make these so-called "Nakations" even more attractive.

Spend a week at a nudist resort and all you'll need -- sunscreen, cap, sunglasses, shoes and toiletries -- will fit in a bag easily stowed under the seat in front of you, said Erich Schuttauf, executive director for the AANR.

Nakations are not just for aging hippies, but for Gen X-ers and echo-boomers as well, according to the AANR. It says that 23 percent of echo boomers and 18 percent of X-ers are looking for a nude recreation experience, proving that the times they are a-changing.

"Obviously, we have tons of boomers," said Donna Daniels, owner of Castaways Travel, a clothing-optional travel company that is a division of Fox Travel, an American Express agency in Houston. But they get younger travelers, too: Castaways' clients range in age from mid 30s to 70s.

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What's the appeal?

Well, clothes can be a cause of stress for some folks. Lose your clothes; lose your stress, and not worrying about your baggage reduces anxiety even further.

Who goes to nudist resorts? Bankers, bus drivers, lawyers, housewives, families, you name it, they're here, according to Carolyn Hawkins, the AANR's public relations coordinator.

"You have all walks of life here," she says. "The good thing about it is that you don't know the banker from the bus driver if they're not wearing their clothes."

Hmm. She's got a point.

Sounds good, but, boy, a lot of us are pretty self-conscious when it comes to walking around buck-naked. But some people are just natural nudists.

Tabitha Pearth, 26, Kissimmee, Fla., is one of them. She grew up on a lake and lived in a swimsuit most of the time and has always found clothing constraining.

"As soon as I walk through my door at home, I take them off," she says.

She'd never heard of nudist resorts, but when she ran across one in the phone book, she was an immediate convert. She and her husband, Regis, 36, just got back from a nude cruise.

Herman Galon, 38, also of Kissimmee, started out "not wearing anything as I slept," then moved on to watching TV in the nude, "Holy cow!" he thought, "this is the most relaxed I've every been!"

Then he discovered nude resorts and cruises, where he could sit by the pool, order a drink, play tennis and do anything else he could think of.