About 7 kilometers west of the capital city of St. John's, Eden Beach is the only established nude beach on the small island of Antigua. The beach is the southernmost and most distant of the four small beach coves that are associated with and maintained by Hawksbill Beach Resort, so it is commonly also referred to as Hawksbill Fourth Beach. None of the resort facilities overlook Eden Beach, which is a bit isolated from the rest of the resort, so Hawksbill has designated Eden as clothing optional. Even though the beach seems like a private beach, it is not. All beaches in Antigua are available to the public, so you can pass through the resort to get to the beach. Just be sure you park outside the resort entrance (or have a taxi deliver you to the gate). From there, it is a walk of about 10 minutes through the resort grounds to the nude beach. There is sign at the access to the beach informing visitors to expect to encounter nudity.

Eden Beach is about 600 meters long, and it is a beautiful sandy beach that is lined with a row of palm tress and backed by a forested hillside. There is a scattering of lounge chairs and several thatched umbrellas on the beach, but otherwise there are no amenities or facilities. It should be noted that Hawksbill is NOT a naturist resort. Except for Eden Beach, Hawksbill is a conventional resort where conventional attire is expected. Furthermore, Hawksbill is rather low key in promoting the clothing-optional beach, so only a fraction of the resort's guests make use of Eden Beach. A few dozen visitors is about as crowded as it ever gets, and half a dozen is a more typical number. The crowd at the nude beach is primarily couples—mainly British tourists, with some Germans and a few Americans in the mix. While most of those who visit the beach are guests of the resort, there are some day trippers as well. Just about everyone chooses to be naked.

Hawksbill is what is known as an all-inclusive resort, and if you want to avail yourself to food and drink at the resort, you cannot simply go up and order. Instead, you will need to buy a day pass, which, in U.S. dollars, is $40 per person (11:00 am - 4:00 pm) or $60 per person (9:00 am - 6:00 pm). In addition to one or two meals and unlimited drinks (including alcoholic beverages), you also get access to the facilities and amenities of the resort. If you do not want to pay this fee, you can still pass through the resort to get to Eden Beach. However, just remember you will need to bring everything with you since you cannot purchase anything at all on site. Many day trippers who do not pay the fee bring a small cooler with food and drink. Furthermore, non-paying visitors should be aware that the lounge chairs on the nude beach are technically for paying guests only, but that rule is often overlooked when crowds are sparse. If you do not buy a day pass, remember that you should pass through the resort grounds without lingering, like it isn't even there.

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GPS: 17.1108N, 61.9003W

city, country  Five Islands Village, Antigua

classification  1 (freely nude)

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