The evaluation of beaches is a matter of subjective taste, whether we are talking about the sandy paradises of Bora Bora and French Polynesia or the romantic and melancholy coastlines of the Hebrides and the gray, foamy volcanic beaches of Iceland. So we in this analysis focus on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, knowing that there are many more that we could mention. We focus on the ones that modern travelers have voted for and who praise and single them out in their articles and reviews.
- SEYCHELLES
Anse Source d’Argent
In La Ding, one of the 155 islands that make up the Seychelles, the most popular tourist island nation in the Indian Ocean, is one of the most photographed paradises in the modern world. Anse Source d’Argent glows in the sunlight, pale white and unreal, with a row of granite boulders adding to the landscape even more beauty.
The offshore reef that grows parallel to the beach acts as a breakwater and stops the momentum of the Ocean, creating ideal conditions for swimming. There are not a few who have characterized it as the most beautiful beach in the world. Tourists are asked to show religious respect when approaching as Anse Source d’Argent is home to giant tortoises and many endangered bird species.
- GREECE
The Gulf of Petalia
Like tiny dots on the map of Greece, the Gulf of Petalia or simply Petalioi are a “neighborhood” of 10 small islands, stretching across the southern Euboean gulf, across from Marmari. We thus know that Greta Garbo, Maria Callas (the much-discussed vacation she took here with Pier Paolo Pasolini in the summer of 1969) and Winston Churchill, among others, swam in the waters of Petalia.
In addition, the islands are also suitable for those who like water sports, as well as diving: their seabed is also wonderful, beyond the “exotic” surface. As for Megalonisos, in addition to the lands of the two shipowner families, 200 acres belong to Picasso’s children, Claude and Paloma, who, after restoring the former royal stables about 15 years ago, spent many of their summers together with some of their internationally renowned friends. They are only 2 hours from Athens. Alternatively, you can drive to Rafina and take a boat from there to Marmari.
- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Bahia de las Aguilas
It is part of the Jaragua National Park, with its sparkling white sand stretching for 8 kilometers. Protected by law (after a backlash from citizens who fought against its fragmentation into plots that would then be sold to private individuals) it has no sunbeds, no canteens, nothing.
The waters are shallow, with a turquoise color. Its beauty attracted the interest of many large hotel companies, but the government of the Dominican Republic still does not allow its tourist exploitation. Iguanas and rare species of rodents hide in the low vegetation that surrounds it. Its underwater ecosystem is extremely rich.
- HΑWAII
Lanikai Beach & Polihale Beach
On the island of Oahu, an hour’s drive northeast of Hawaii’s capital, Honolulu, Lanikai Beach has been voted many times as one of the most beautiful beaches in the United States of America. Its easy access attracts many people, but the laws to protect it are strict and violators can be asked to pay large fines.
On another Hawaiian island, Kauai, which is characterized as one of the rainiest places in the world, is the equally beautiful but very secluded Polihale Beach. The sandy beach with an orange-yellow (especially at sunset) color is 11km long. Access is via a rough dirt road, whenever a four-wheel drive vehicle is deemed necessary.
- BRAZIL
Copacabana & Ipanema
A wall of skyscrapers (with some of the most expensive penthouses in Latin America) and in front of them a 4 km long sandy beach. Busy Copacabana is one of Rio de Janeiro’s most famous attractions. It was named in honor of the Virgin of Copacabana, patron saint of Bolivia. The beach became known for its parties and the celebration that is set up there every year to welcome the new year.
After the end of Copacabana, another impressive beach begins, that of Ipanema, where Antonio Carlos Zobim and Vinicius De Moraes were inspired, admiring the beautiful girls walking around, the big hit of bossa nova “The Girl from Ipanema”.
- SOUTH AFRICA
Camps Bay
Cape Town’s most popular beach has white sand, but it also has extremely cold water due to the currents of the Atlantic Ocean. However, from here you can enjoy one of the most impressive sunsets in the world. The wider area has other beautiful beaches, but it is quite developed for tourism and crowded.
- THAILAND
Maya Bay
Made famous by the movie “The Beach” (2000) with Leonardo DiCaprio. Located in the Phi Phi Islands, it is a closed bay, a long sandy beach with turquoise waters. The beach is protected by huge rocks clothed with the tropical vegetation of the area. The huge popularity that she gained after the release of the film almost destroyed her. To revive it and to protect its corals from tourists, many of whom wanted to take souvenirs home, the Thai government closed it to the public in the summer of 2018 and reopened it a few months ago.
According to the new data, the boats do not enter the Gulf. Passengers disembark at piers located at the back of the beach and may stay on it for a maximum of one hour daily, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The maximum allowed number of visitors per hour is 300 people. The ticket to enter the beach is around 10 euros.
- JAMAICA
Negril Seven Mile Beach
Famous for its rum and the beaches of the Caribbean island country, every year it welcomes thousands of tourists for relaxation and wild fun. For luxury vacations in hotels such as Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall, Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa, Royalton Blue Waters Montego Bay, Azul Beach Resort Negril, etc. Most of these tourists of course also take from the famous Negril Seven Mile Beach, the designated and most beautiful beach of the island, to dive in its warm waters and to enjoy a refreshing cocktail while sitting on the sand. And to think that the beach with the transparent sea and the characteristic palm trees, which today becomes a dance floor for wild parties, in the old days served as a base for the hard-nosed pirates who operated on the island.
- ARUMBA
Eagle Beach
Another one of those beaches that are characterized as unique all over the world. Looking at her photos, it’s not hard to see why. It has white sand, shallow and turquoise colored waters, it also has a few umbrellas that protect you from the hot sun, as many as you need as one does not make the landscape ugly. However, it also has turtles, which lay their eggs there, for this reason, at certain times of the year, the passage of tourists is prohibited in some parts of the beach.
At Eagle Beach there are also some Fofoti Trees from Aruba’s characteristic protected trees that look like large Bonsai. These are also its most photographed attractions.
- VANCOUVER
Long Beach
Part of the Pacific Rim National Park, Long Beach on the Canadian island of Vancouver confirms with its 16 kilometers of sand that it is not only the beaches of the South that stand out for their beauty. The dense vegetation that surrounds it (where the sand ends, the vast Canadian forests begin) makes the landscape even more beautiful. It makes the white sand, which you think has been transported from some tropical island, look even more unreal. Except here the sea is very cold. This of course does not prevent the inhabitants of the area, accustomed to lower temperatures, to enjoy (on sunny days) a swim (in the shallows, because the whales roam in the deep) or a little sunbathing.
- CORSICA
Santa Giulia
In the southern part of the island, near the touristic Porto Vecchio, the beach of Santa Giulia is an enclosed, sheltered bay. Protected from the winds and waves, it has become a favorite destination for tourists visiting the area.
The color of the waters is light, very light, blue-green. The sand is white. It is an organized beach, with sunbeds, bars and the possibility of canoeing and other water sports. For those who don’t mind the fuss, that is.
- PHILIPPINES
Puka Shell
The island of boracay has in recent years developed into one of the most touristic spots in the Philippines, mainly because of its white sand beaches, turquoise waters and coconut trees that reach the sea, giving visitors their shade.
Among them, the Puka Shell is perhaps the most impressive. It also has a few shops where the visitor can cool off or try the local cuisine. White Beach, Diniwind Beach and Tambisaan beach have their own exotic beauties.
- AUSTRALIA
Whitehaven Beach
Another protected beach, part of the Whitunday Islands National Park, located in the heart of the famous Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world. Its sand consists of almost 98% white silica, a fact that makes it shine unreal in the sunlight. It is 7 kilometers long and in its waters, depending on the sunlight and the currents that are created, all shades of blue alternate.
In online votes it was chosen as the best international beach for 2021. It is considered safe enough to swim always in the shallows, in an area where the bottom can prove to be a dangerous place for people. You can reach it by ferry, speedboat, private chartered helicopter or seaplane.
- TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS (BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORY)
Grace Bay
The very long journey takes us to British overseas territory in the Caribbean. It is said that the first European to see the Turks and Caicos Islands was Christopher Columbus on his voyage to America in 1492. The Spanish and British turned them into their colonies and exploited them cruelly like so many other exotic places. Today they attract tourists for their beautiful sea.
Grace Bay hides 12 kilometers of thick pure white sand. It also has beautiful Corals which the visitor can easily see by snorkelling, but it is good to be careful not to break them for the good of the ecosystem and because the corals can also be poisonous. Unfortunately, the intense tourist development has started to create problems in the area.
- CUBA
Varadero Beach
A trademark for the island of Cuba and one of the most famous beaches not only in the Caribbean but in the entire world, Varadero Beach stretches for approximately 22 km. Of course, it has now lost its pristine beauty as it has developed into one of the busiest resorts on the island, but it still impresses with its vibrant colors that start from the deep green of the palm trees and reach the light blue of the water.
It is a 2 hour drive from Havana. Luxury hotels such as Royalton Hicacos Varadero Resort and Spa, Melia Las Americas, Iberostar Varadero, etc. have been built around.
- MEXICO
Tulum
The area that has become known as the Mexican Riviera or the Maya Riviera is located on the Yucatan Peninsula and is washed by the Caribbean. Its visitors there admire some of the most brilliant remnants of the Mayan civilization and enjoy some of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico.
Tulum stands out among them as right on its all-white and luscious beach are the ruins of one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Mayans.
- PORTUGAL
Praia do Carvalho
They describe it as one of the “best kept secrets of the Algarve”, the county located in the South of Portugal. Except that Praia do Carvalho has ceased to be a secret for years for tourists visiting the beautiful country of the Iberian Peninsula. The beach is not big. It is surrounded by high rocks, it is almost hidden inside them and to be able to approach it you have to follow a downhill path with steps and then an artificial tunnel.
The route is not easy, but as claimed by those who have done it, it is worth it, both because the beach is wonderful and because the area is an open museum of geology, as there are many marine fossils in the rocks. Also unlike other beaches in Portugal that are open and exposed to the Atlantic Ocean and where due to the big waves and the low temperature of the water you cannot enjoy your swim, in the closed and guarded Praia do Carvalho you can comfortably take a dip.
- CROATIA
Zlatni Rat
The much-photographed “golden horn”, as its name means, is located on the island of Brac in Croatia. And it is a long narrow strip of pebbles that invades the sea. The beach changes shape slightly depending on the sea currents. The pine forest behind it gives coolness to the visitors. Croatia is a country famous for its beaches, so a visitor looking for a clean place to enjoy a swim will surely have other great options, especially in the summer months when the popular Zlatni Rat is packed with people.
