Naturism in Cuba

Public Nudity Laws

Comprehensive guide to public nudity laws, regulations, and penalties

Topless Sunbathing Laws

Is it legal to sunbathe topless? Country-by-country legal guide

Indecent Exposure Laws

What constitutes indecent exposure and the penalties in each country

Age Restrictions

Legal age requirements for nudity, naturist venues, and events

Photography Laws

Legal requirements for photographing nude subjects and naturist activities

Naturist Venue Regulations

Legal requirements for nudist resorts, clubs, and venues

Event Permits & Licensing

Requirements for organizing nudist events and gatherings

Cayo Santa María is a long, low cay off the north coast of central Cuba, reached by a causeway across the bay from Caibarién. Its nude bathing is concentrated on Playa Cañon, a mostly undeveloped stretch of fine white sand on the western part of the cay. The clothing-optional section starts in front of the western end of the Sol Cayo Santa Maria hotel and runs west for roughly 1.8 km toward the eastern end of the Melia Buenavista beach. The beach faces north, and the hotels sit behind protective dunes. The sand here is slightly coarser than on the cay's other beaches. On windy days the sea can be choppy, sometimes under a yellow or red flag, but there is little undertow. The Sol has dozens of palapas and loungers in its naturist zone, with attendants and drinks brought to your chair. The Melia Buenavista, an adults-only resort, has around 20 palapas at its end. Naturists began coming here in January 2002, after Hurricane Michelle wrecked the hotel they had used on Cayo Largo. Since the Sol reopened as adults-only on 1 November 2022, naturists are reported to be most of its guests. Couples dominate the crowd, and the long empty middle of Playa Cañon is popular for nude walks.

Playa Pilar is a nudist-friendly beach in Cuba. Nudity is optional.

Playa Sirena sits on the western tip of Cayo Largo del Sur, a small island in the Canarreos archipelago south of mainland Cuba. It faces west and no hotels are built on it. It is a wide, soft, white-sand beach with calm, shallow, turquoise water, and it is often listed among Cuba's most beautiful beaches. It is also the most developed of the island's beaches away from the hotels. It has a restaurant, bars, a gift shop, toilets and changing rooms, massage, palapas and loungers, and a nautical centre. Day-trippers flown or bussed in from Havana and Varadero often fill it. For that reason naturist guides do not rate Sirena as a nude beach. Nude sunbathing does happen on its quieter outskirts, especially at the east end, which runs toward Playa Paraíso about 1 km away, but there are no chairs or palapas there. Playa Paraíso and the ends of several hotel beaches are the island's real clothing-optional areas. The coast to the east is a mostly empty strip of sand that naturists walk for kilometres at low tide.