I love just about nothing more to relax than lying in the sunshine on a beautiful beach in an exotic location. A lot of my travel for most of my adult life has revolved around seeking out some of the most beautiful beaches I can find around the world. Growing up in Adelaide, Australia, 20…
Continue reading: My Five Favourite Beaches Around The World
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Erm....do you mean Es Trenc rather than Sa Rapita? I'd be surprised if anyone would pick Sa Rapita over its next door beach....i mean you might....
@James - Have you ever been to the Philippines? Some of their islands, such as Palawan and Bohol, have some pretty great beaches. They have white sand, warm water, beautiful scenery and other characteristics you mentioned in this article along with being a fairly cheap country. If you have been to those, I was wondering how you think those stack up to other great beaches you have been to.
I'm surprised you didn't include Whitehaven Beach in Queensland. During all our travels, this beach was the clear standout. It's difficult to access and there are no facilities on the beach, but that didn't take away from the beauty.
In no particular order some of my favorite that I have visited.
Crandon Park Beach; Key Biscayne FL (north end is natural florida)
John D. MacArthur Beach St Park; Singer Island FL (natural florida)
Gulf Islands National Seashore; Pensacola Beach FL (Civil War fort and sugar white sands)
Long Sands Beach; York ME (Ice cold water, beautiful flat beach)
Oval Beach; Saugatuck MI (Lake Michigan, dunes, nude beach)
Parakeet Island Beach, Rottnest Island, Western Australia (just stunning)
Blacks Beach, San Diego (nude, great cliffs)
Cape Cod National Seashore, MA
South Padre Island, TX
Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks, NC
Playa El Zonte, El Salvador (black sand beach with HUGE waves)
Tulum, Mexico. (Sugar sands beach with Mayan ruins)
Now I am in a beach mood.
Such lists are usually a function of the tiny slice of the multitude of great and pristine beaches that one has been to. I would come up with a list that would include none of those listed here, so this is a YMMV sort of thing, which is already evident by comments saying that this or that beach should have been included. 😉
Some of my favorites (although I am fine with no commercial facilities at the beaches I frequent):
- Anse Lazio, Praslin, Seychelles
- Trunk Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Makapu’u, Oahu, Hawaii
- White Beach, Boracay, Philippines
- Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
- Little Beach, Maui, Hawaii
I like the beaches along the north shore of Nova Scotia in the summer. The water is warm and the beaches are empty. Some days my wife and I will go for a walk on a beach and we'll see less than a dozen other people. Occasionally none at all.
I'll admit they get busier on the weekend, with maybe 30-100 people on a 1+ km beach.
I found out that Galicia, in Spain, also have incredible beaches.
Jericoacoara in Brazil (I doubt you can speak it, James)
1- Anse Georgette, Praslin Island, Seychelles
2- One Foot Island, Aitutaki, Cook Islands
3- Praia de Conceicao, Ilha Fernando De Noronha, Brazil
Bequia in the St Vincent and Grenadines ranks high in my list.
Another good one is Ilha Grande near Rio but you had to hike across the island to reach it...
I know this list is wrong, not including any Philliphines beaches. Truly the country in the world with the most beautiful beaches.
What about Hoek van Holland or Scheveningen (NL)? I admit, the water is relatively cold, even in summer. But the beach is awesome and so are the restaurants. And it’s a rather short train ride from AMS ...
I believe you were in Florida recently. Did you go to the Clearwater/St. Pete area (by Tampa). I used to live there and they have some amazing beaches with Clearwater being a bit crowded but alot of fun things to see and then St. Pete which is more quiet. You should see both of them since there both different and my favorite is Honeymoon island which is peaceful and has an amazing beach!
I haven't been to the Caribbean though so I can't compare them to this. Maybe Lucky can since he grew up in Tampa.
@ W - I did go to Clearwater. Unfortunately it was a cold and very windy day that day so we weren't able to enjoy the beach.
Waimanalo beach on Oahu, HI
Ootu Beach on Aitutaki, Cook Islands
Elafonissi beach on Crete, Greece
Cant wait to see more of your caribbean posts.
Our favorite hands down is 7 mile beach in Negril Jamaica. To us it blows away anywhere in Hawaii,Turks and Caicos, Aruba, Grand Cayman, Bahamas, or anywhere in Mexico. We love trying to find a place we like more, but have been unsuccessful, but will keep searching!
I am shocked to see Koh Samet on your list. It's for sure not the most scenic beach according to Thais. Many Thai beaches are sadly suffering from overtourism.
What about beaches in the smaller islands around Okinawa, Japan? They are awesome! These used not to be well known for global mass tourism, but the secret is now out.
I need clarify my comment above. Tortuga Bay in the Galapagos may be our favorite beach. However its a half hour walk form the road and there are no amenities there.
Thank you so much, James! This is a fun exercise, and there truly are no "wrong" answers. All around the Yucatan Peninsula you can see the sugar white sand beaches that stretch endlessly, some punctuated by Mayan ruins. On the other Mexican coast, you can have "Arizona by the Sea" in Cabo.
I'm interested in what beach has the most beautiful people lounging around on the sand?
Finally, a Ksamil fan such as myself. I spent weeks on that beach. Koh Lipe ain't bad either. Great post OP, more like this.
It's funny what makes our lists of the "best" of anything. To me, what makes Grace Beach such a fantastic place is the fact that there isn't lots of places there spoiling it. You can walk for miles in the morning with a cup of coffee and enjoy the beautiful water, the fabulous white beach and the quiet of the whole experience.
Warwick Long Bay Beach, Bermuda. 95% of what makes Horseshoe Bay so popular (pink sand, cliffs) but maybe a quarter of the crowds. Or walk about half a mile west, towards Horseshoe Bay, and have an amazing pink sand sheltered cove all to yourself.
Drawbacks - limited services at the beach, and Bermuda isn't exactly the most affordable destination.
Yeah Queensland is nice and all until you get stung by a deadly jellyfish that infest those waters lol #Australia.
Oh mate, you NEED to visit Brazil and its beaches in Rio and in the Northeast and Fernando de Noronha. Now THATS beauty.
Living in Bangkok, I would certainly echo Ko Samet being on this list. Sadly, though, it is getting packed with tourists who don't appreciate the need to keep the island clean. Increased longtail activity is also stirring the tranquility somewhat. However, it is still my go-to for a weekend at the beach. If coming to Bangkok, don't overlook Samet, especially in favor of Pattaya (ew), Hua Hin, or Cha Am.
'We did this and while inexpensive, Albania’s roads aren’t amazing, so it;’s not the most comfortable journey.'
That should be .
'This has seasonal flights from airports like London (on BA), Dublin (Aer Lingus), Helsinki (Finnair), Munich (Lufthansa) and Geneva (Swiss) as well we charter airline flights from all over Europe.'
...as well ...
WORD on Trinity beach, the best spot in Oz.
Cant believe someone mentioned it, I have never seen anyone on that beach ever!
My list (not in order of preference) according to places we have been:
1) Praia do Sancho - Fernando de Noronha - Brazil
2) Coroa do Avião - Pernambuco - Brazil
3) Gouverneur Beach - St Barth's
4) Trunk Bay - St John - US Virgin Islands
5) Tulum - Quintana Roo - Mexico
6) Bamboo Island - Thailand
7) Kalanggaman island - Philippines (probably the most beautiful beach we have ever been)
8) Portinho da Arrabida - Portugal
9) Praia Dona Ana - Algarve - Portugal
10) Punaluʻu Beach - Big Island Hawaii - USA
11) Beach of the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
12) Beach of the Hotel Kia Ora - Rangiroa - French Polynesia
13) Beach of the Intercontinental Thalasso - French Polynesia
14) Mont Saint Michel - Normandy - France
15) Jökulsárlón - Iceland
No mention of Kenya , Diani Beach ,south of Mombasa will be mentioned by those who have visited the Kenya coast .
Actually there are many windswept beautiful beaches in Africa, just to mention a few that I have been to : Kenya, Tanzania, Moqambique , South Africa, Ghana ,Gambia. They do not have upmarket beach bars and restaurants ,we take our own drinks and food .
I can see that I really am an experienced traveller .
@James -- Thanks for this. I was one of the ones who encouraged you to write a favourite-beaches list. Always on the lookout for a good lagoon...
Out of curiosity, are there crocs at far-north-Queensland beaches?
@ Malc - there are both fresh and saltwater crocs in FNQ but in my four separate trips there I've never seen any near a beach.
If you want to see huge crocs in a controlled environment I thoroughly recommend Hartleys Crocodile Farm. It was excellent.
The beaches if Florida's panhandle rival these beaches and are a lot more convenient for most in the Eastern U.S. I recommend Santa Rosa Beach.
Little Beach, Maui
Wrecks Beach, Vancouver (yes, Canada)
Marshall's Beach, San Francisco
Maito, Jalisco, Mexico
Trinidad beach in Brazil, near Parati, about two hours from Rio.
For urban beaches nothing beats Ipanema in Rio.
Any of the beaches on the south shore of Nantucket are great as well.
As a Bangkok resident, I'm shocked to see Koh Samet on this list. While it's convenient to the capital (if you have your own car and don't have to take the 3+ hour bus ride to Rayong), the beaches are nothing special, nor are the hotels. The gay subculture is pretty amazing certain times of the year, but it's far from the most beautiful island in Thailand. Off the top of my head, I'd say Koh Wai (in the Trat archipelago), Koh Kradan (in Trang) and even Koh Lipe, as crowded as it is, have objectively better beaches. Koh Poda in Krabi is also amazing, though it's basically a day trip destination.
I agree with you in the comments above about Ishigaki. I mean, you can't even swim at Kabira Bay!
@Jason: “For urban beaches nothing beats Ipanema in Rio.”
For urban beaches, I like Ipanema and Copacabana, but I’d put them behind Promenade des Anglais Beach in Nice, France, South Beach in Miami, Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, and Barceloneta Beach in Barcelona, Spain.
My favourite beach has been Datai Bay on Langkawi, with only two hotels (The Andaman and The Datai Langkawi, with the latter also being in my top three hotels).
My favourite is Berchidda in Sardinia. it's totally wild, with just a small restaurant and 2 kilometers of white sand . there are even very beautiful beaches in Costa smeralda.
Trinity Beach in far north Queensland? Beautiful for sure, but it’s somewhat dishonest to suggest to people that they can swim in ANY northern Australian beach without the real risk of death by a Box Jellyfish sting (summer months) or a Saltwater Crocodile. Any/all FNQ beaches mean you’re sweating like a pig on the sand, unable to get in
#1. Rockley Beach Barbados
Agree that Rangali Island Maldives has great snorkeling, is pretty, and is warm but as a beach beach it's not really good enough for the list.
Wreck Beach in Vancouver is a nude beach surrounded by great natural beauty (in addition to the nudity) but the water is not "warm" unless you swim in the North Sea and is more grey than turquoise. Nice but not nice enough.
Any ideas on the best beach(es) in Vietnam? I have limited experience in both Danang and Hoi An. In my opinion the beaches in Danang were barren. The sand was fine and the water was reasonable (although not clear at all), but there was nothing attractive...flat, no trees, no shade, no topography, nothing but water and sand and sun and wind. It reminded me of some parts of Iraq, but with a big flat expanse of water in front of me. I much preferred the beaches in Hoi An, if for nothing else they had some trees and grass along the beach that you could retreat to. But I'd welcome any other suggestions. I enjoyed visiting Vietnam for work and hope to bring my family there soon, and would like to include a couple of days at a beach. And yes, I've seen the article that Tiffany(?) wrote about her Vietnam trip planning; a lot of great tips, but not much about beaches. Thank you.