Venezuela · South America
Los Roques is the Caribbean that the Caribbean used to be — no high-rise hotels, no cruise ships, no chain restaurants, just 300 islands and cays scattered across a turquoise lagoon the size of a small country. This Venezuelan national park, reachable only by small plane from Caracas, has protected its coral reefs so effectively that the diving and snorkeling here rival anything in the Caribbean. The main settlement on Gran Roque is a cluster of colorful posadas (guesthouses) where the owner usually cooks your meals with fish caught that day. During the day, boats ferry you to empty islands — Crasqui, Madrisqui, Francisqui — where you might be the only people on an entire beach. It's not a luxury destination; it's better than that. It's an authentic one, where a day's highlight is watching pelicans dive-bomb baitfish at sunset.
Los Roques sits 160 kilometers north of Caracas — 350 islands and cays with some of the healthiest coral reefs and emptiest beaches left in the Caribbean. This guide covers the cays, the diving, the bonefishing, and how to navigate a trip to Venezuela.
Read more about this
San Andrés Island's Sea of Seven Colors is backed by one of the Americas' largest barrier reefs. From the natural aquarium at El Acuario to the Raizal seafood stew rondón, this guide covers Colombia's most remote Caribbean destination.
Read more about this
The city beaches of Cartagena are crowded and murky, but the islands offshore are a different world. From Playa Blanca's white sand to the Rosario Islands' coral reefs, this guide covers every beach option within reach of Colombia's most visited city.
Read more about this
An honest guide to clothing-optional options in Colombia - why the conservative-Catholic framework and the National Police Code produce a textile beach culture from Cartagena to San Andres, where informal nude bathing has been quietly practiced in Tayrona's remote coves, and the short-flight alternatives (Mexico's Zipolite, Brazil's Tambaba, Cuba's Cayo Largo, Bonaire's Sorobon) that actually deliver.
Read more about this
An honest guide to clothing-optional options in the Cayman Islands - why the British Overseas Territory framework and conservative Christian heritage produce a stricter beach culture than Barbados, what is and isn't tolerated at Seven Mile Beach resorts, and the short-flight alternatives (Cuba's Cayo Largo, Bonaire's Sorobon, Saint Martin's Orient Bay) that actually deliver.
Read more about this
An honest guide to Brazil's naturist coastline - the FBrN-designated beaches from Santa Catarina to Paraiba (Praia do Pinho, Tambaba, Abrico, Massarandupio, Barra Seca), the informal clothing-optional coves at Galheta and Olho de Boi, why mainstream Brazilian beaches are textile despite the fio dental myth, and how the FBrN etiquette actually works in practice.
Read more about this