Butterfly Farm & Orient Beach for Kids?

[quadman]

We are sailing on our very first cruise on the Jewel April 8-16 (Eastern Caribbean) with our two girls, ages 5 and 2. We've seen good reviews of the Butterfly Farm excursion on St. Maarten, but booking the tour ("Butterfly Farm & Beach") through RCI includes Orient Beach. We are a bit concerened about exposing them to nudity. Has anyone done this excursion with kids, and if so, does the tour drop you off at the nude section of the beach? How big a deal is it?

 

Also, any comments on the best RCI excursion on Antigua for kids would be welcome. A beach experience would be fun, but not an all-day version, as our girls are fair and will burn even with great sunblock. Thanks!

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

Hi there ....we went to the Butterfly farm and you will really like it, especially with your children. My guys were about 10 and 14 when we did and even they liked it.

 

With regard to Orient beach well, it's definitely nude, people walking around that way.

 

We didn't take a ship tour there, we hired a taxi from the port. He took us to the butterfly farm a quick drive past Orient beach (that's how I know about the people walking) and a tour of the island. It was fabulous and inexpensive.

 

Whatever you decide, the Butterfly farm is definitely worth the visit! Enjoy!

[JulieMcCoy]

My teenage daughter and I went to Orient Beach by taxi a year ago and spent the day in the "clothed" section of the beach. Every once in a while, someone from the nude side would stroll by, mainly a topless woman but once or twice a fully nude man. For the most part, though, everyone wore bathing suits. I wouldn't worry about it.

[JodyLynne]

Orient Beach IS a nude beach. Suprisingly there were some children there. The kids were obviously taken aback and kept making fun of the nude folks behind their backs. (A chance you take when you decide to walk around nude, I guess)

 

Children can't help it when they've been taught that nudity is something to keep covered around others. What was really bad was the younger boys around a very attractive topless young woman. The dads really tried to keep their eyes averted when she was looking at them, but naturally stole glances and were right with the young boys in the big grins and hand motions about her breasts.

 

I have no problem if other folks want to stroll around au naturel and I obviously made the choice to take advantage of a very nice beach, knowing that some people would be nude. But, it was an unfortunate sight to see 70 and 80 year old men completely nude. That would be my biggest concern for your young girls. I guess it all depends on how much nudity they have been exposed to in the home. Especially with your husband. Obviously a very frank discussion with the 5 year old would be in order before you go.

 

Hope this helps!

[Boo Boo]

Half of Orient Beach is "au naturel", the other half is not (but this other half still allows topless sunbathing - as is normal for French/European beaches).

 

When we have been there, we have stayed down the clothed side. Generally don't pay attention to whether people have clothes on or not. One of the waiters made a remark to us about a "very fluffy" woman who went topless... guess it is unusual for very fluffy people to go topless there.

 

Still, call me odd, but in this day or equality I think that women have as much right to go topless as men. I don't choose to personally, but - if I wanted to - what is society's objection to it?

 

I wouldn't be worried about taking children to Orient Beach, but I would explain to them what it is beforehand and make sure that they behave whilst there. You don't stare/point/"make fun of" anybody whether they are naked or clothed...

 

Boo

[crusinmama06]

In Feb 05, we took an excursion off the Disney Magic to Orient Beach with LOTS of kids. You can imagine how many were there because of the Disney Ship.

 

Anyway, I had my 5 year old and 1 year old daughters with me. My friend had her 5 year old son. Orient Beach is divided into clothing and clothing optional areas. We were in the clothing area and all we saw were Eupopean style sunbathers with no tops on. (Think Discovery Channel, not Baywatch, it was not a pretty picture...lol :) )

 

None of the kids in our party even looked twice. Some people in our party wanted to walk down to the clothing optional section and they had to walk a while to get there. I couldn't even see them over on that side, they were completly out of sight.

 

So in our experience, the nudity wasn't in our face if ya know what I mean? I had alot of reservations about taking my daughters to Orient Beach, but after seeing it for myself, there was nothing to worry about.

[Boo Boo]

So in our experience, the nudity wasn't in our face if ya know what I mean? I had alot of reservations about taking my daughters to Orient Beach, but after seeing it for myself, there was nothing to worry about.

 

That is so right... certainly topless bathing (or nude bathing) is not a "sexual" thing, it is just a natural thing that nobody (with any sense) pays too much attention to.

 

As crusinmama06 says, it isn't Baywatch. There are all shapes and sizes around. Don't think this is a bad thing - lets kids know that you do not need to be ashamed of your body (even if you aren't built like Carmen Electra...).

 

Boo

[HokieMom1]

My hubby and I went on a RCI excursion to Orient Beach when we were were on the Mariner of the Seas. The beach was so beautiful we went back last year and spent a week there. I have to warn you that some of the women from the ship went topless so you may not be able to stay away from it. Also, some of the women who walk up the beach from the nude section of the beach are totally nude. If you want to stay away from the nudity you might want to go to one of the beaches on the dutch side.

[quadman]

I think we will do the Butterfly Farm and spare the DD's views of au naturel octagenarian men! :D

 

On another note, what shore excursions on Antigua do people recommend? Is there an easy-to-reach beach with calm water and is family oriented? Are the tours of the forts and Nelson's Dockyard worthwhile? Thanks for any tips people can provide!

[beachchick]

I need to clarify a common misconception. It is not that "half" of Orient beach is nude and the other half isn't. At Club Orient (far right, facing the water), everything is completely clothing optional. The rest of the beach is French/European/many other countries, as in topless women (optional, of course; it's not required). However, fully nude folks do stroll the entire length of the beach. I guess I'd say that full nudity isn't encouraged on the whole beach, but it is certainly tolerated. You will likely see topless women no matter what beach you go to on St. Martin, particularly on the French side. There is nudity on the Dutch side as well (Cupecoy, which is fully CO comes to mind, as well as Sunset Beach Bar on Maho, motto: Topless women drink for free).

 

It's really no different (save for a few scraps of cloth) from any other type of sunbathing. Tiny little thongs and teensy speedos don't exactly leave much to the imagination (and often look pretty uncomfortable when they are two sizes too small; eek).

 

I think if you tell your girls that different cultures have different customs, and if you don't make a "thing" out of it, they will probably look for a minute and then go back to whatever beach activity they were enjoying. Kids, especially that young, just really don't make a big deal out of it. (Heck, most of them are still prone to running down the hall naked or throwing off their clothes for no particular reason.)

 

Have a great time.

 

beachchick

[Schplinky]

I think children will be stunned by nudity in the same way as their parents. If they've been taught to see it as dirty, they will react in kind. If their mom or Dad is muttering under their breath, children will do likewise, with less volume control.

 

That said, we sat on the clothed area of OB and I would say we saw fewer than a couple dozen people stroll by in the nude. It's not a big deal unless you have issues with it. You will not see Pamela Anderson walking by. You will see normal people of aff ages. What a great body image lesson, in my opinion.

[Inshape]

Rent a car by the pier for 40$ for the day. Go to the butterfly farm on your own and then to Bikini beach on the far side of Orient. It is only partial topless, and not everyone is topless. It was a nice beach for kids. Other beaches on St Marteen are very windy and wavey. This was wonderful. Had bathrooms, food and nice beach!

[Chuckles_3604]

We were just at Orient Beach last week, and there was some nudity. For the most part, they were older and heavier folks. I was fortunate enough to be graced by a group of college aged girls who had nice tight bodies.

 

Back to your concerns.

 

Don't worry about it. Don't even bring up the topic. Your kids being as young as they are probably won't notice anything awry. In fact, they'll be busy playing on the beach, water and running around. If they do notice, then and only then tell them that it's fine and nothing wrong to be topless here and only here.

 

No comment on Butterfly Farm. Spent the whole at the Orient Beach with my binoculars!!! :p [Just kidding.]

[quadman]

I appreciate your comments and agree that it's best not to make too big a deal of nudity with kids. Thanks again!;)

[beachchick]

Please, everyone: All of the beaches on the French side of St. Martin do allow female topless sunbathing. It's the French custom. There is no "clothed" section on Orient beach. It is not "partially" topless. A woman may go topless anywhere along the beach. Period. There are sections where you are likely to encounter more toplessness/nudity than others, but there is no "clothing required" section.

 

beachchick

[airbysea]

beachchick - thanks for setting the record.

 

Sure Club O is a clothing optional resort, and once upon a time, that was ALL that was on Orient other than Pedros, that is how the entire beach because CLOTHING OPTIONAL. Some of the beach bars allow nude, some don't, but topless is prevelant everywhere on the beach. Nude walkers usually in the early AM will walk the entire beach.

[cruiseblue]

Thanks for all the info as I am going to Orient Beach in 4 weeks on RCI-Mariner. I am not the model figure so i am planning wearing good coverup like short and t-shirt. Will I look weird and out of place?

Is it better to crab a taxi and go on your own or book the tour with RCI?

[Schplinky]

St. Martin has one of the best piers. They have different taxi lines for Orient Beach, Dawn Beach, etc., so there is no need to take the RCL excursion. If you take a cab, you can come back whenever you like. The rates run from 5 or six dollars up to nine dollars per person per direction. The variation depends on how many are in your party. The more people you are, the less you pay per person. You will likely be sharing the can (in most cases, mini0vans) for the 20 minute drive to the beach.

 

You will not look at all out of place. The further to the left you are (looking out to the water), the further from the naturalist area you will be. You will likely see a topless or may even see bottomless person walk by but they will be in the great minority. Outside of the naturalist area, if there are 1000 people on the beach, I bet there weren't 50 who had less on than a beach in Miami or LA.

[MrsPete]

Orient Beach IS a nude beach. Suprisingly there were some children there . . . Children can't help it when they've been taught that nudity is something to keep covered around others.

I agree. American kids have been taught that you wear a bathing suit on the beach -- they're going to react and notice when people do things differently.

 

If your goal is to expose them to different cultures and have them understand that people do different things in differrent parts of the world, then Orient could be a great choice for your family. On the other hand, if you just want to go to the beach and enjoy the water, you could probably find a better option.

[Schplinky]

If you hope to avoid seeing topless sun-bathing, you are well advised to stay on the Dutch side of the island.

[cruiseblue]

Thanks Schplinky, in that case I will crab a taxi and go on my own. Can't wait ! 4 weeks can't come soon enough.