My 25 Best Beaches in the World
#16
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Tennessee
Programs: SPG, Marriott, United, SWA, AA
Posts: 700
Thanks for the list you are much more well traveled than me. I was glad to see the best beach that I have seen make your list: Cap Juluca on Anguilla.
I am going to make every effort to hit Amanpulo sometime in the next year and a half.
I am going to make every effort to hit Amanpulo sometime in the next year and a half.
#17
Moderator: Delta SkyMiles, Luxury Hotels, TravelBuzz! and Italy
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 26,544
I have been to several of the beaches mentioned, including those in Seychelles. I am surprised to see that the beach at Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii hasn't been mentioned. It surely ranks among my top 5 in the world. Included in the top 5 would also be Jost Van Dyke in BVI.
#19
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Denver, CO
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Posts: 21,561
Baby Beach, Poipu Beach Park, Kauai
#20
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: LTN
Programs: Aeroflot Bonus, British Airways Executive Club
Posts: 463
Yesterday on this Forum [The Luxury Hotels and Travel Forum] someone was asking about the best beach within a couple of hours of Bangkok. I told him what I thought. Then it turned out that he wasn’t interested in the best beach, merely a luxury hotel that was on a beach.
So I started to think, what are the best beaches I have ever been to. Maybe I should get my sun hat on and compile a list.
I suspect I might I have visited more countries and lazed/strolled/swum/snorkelled off more beaches than anyone on this Forum. Age counts for a lot, you see. And that also gives me perspective. If I were writing this 20 years ago I might have included Maya Bay in Thailand or Boracay in the Philippines. Both are now closed due to unsustainable levels of visitors and, therefore, pollution. I might also have included Matira Beach on Bora Bora or Long Beach on Phi Phi Don . . . The list of disillusion goes on. Beaches are also subject to change - a hotel might suddenly ruin a fabulous wild beach (such as the Four Seasons in Nevis) or an existing charming hotel (like the Phi Phi Island resort) will expand horribly. Or a typhoon or hurricane might swoop down and destroy that precious arc of sand and its protective reef. It’s not a precise science, just an incoming tide of memory.
Here is my top 25 list. While not all of these beaches have hotels on them they offer gorgeous sand, trees for shade, scenic interest, safe swimming, sometimes a coral reef, sometimes a drop-off. They are usually remote. I could have included Copacabana or Waikiki but this isn’t that sort of list. There are gaps: While I have visited every country lying between the USA and Colombia, I am unfamiliar with their coastlines. I have yet to visit places like Fernando de Noronha, the Marshall Islands and Kiribati, where stunning beaches are to be found. I haven’t included any beaches in the Maldives because I just don’t like the Maldives.
I have restricted myself to the tropical zone and start from zero degrees longitude and work my way westwards -
Long Beach, Ascension Island
Mayreau, St Vincent & The Grenadines
Curtain Bluff, Antigua & Barbuda
Cap Juluca, Anguilla
Little Dix Bay, British Virgin Islands
Caneel Bay, US Virgin Islands
Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos Islands
Jamaica Inn, Jamaica
Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
Matavai and Mahina Bays, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Motu Tevairoa, Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Aitutaki Lagoon, Cook Islands
Lalomanu Beach, Samoa
Alofi Island, Wallis & Futuna
Champagne & Lonnoc beaches, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu
Kanumera Bay, Isle of Pines, New Caledonia
Palau Pacific Resort, Koror, Palau
Mangiatan/Sembilan Island, Flores, Indonesia
Amanpulo, Pamalican, Philippines
Tanjong Jara, Malaysia
Saman Villas, Sri Lanka
Grand Anse, La Digue, Seychelles
Aldabra Atoll, Amirantes, Seychelles
Peponi Hotel, Lamu, Kenya
Bom Bom Island Resort, Sao Tome & Principe
If I had to name just one, the ultimate beach, it would be Isle of Pines, New Caledonia.
So I started to think, what are the best beaches I have ever been to. Maybe I should get my sun hat on and compile a list.
I suspect I might I have visited more countries and lazed/strolled/swum/snorkelled off more beaches than anyone on this Forum. Age counts for a lot, you see. And that also gives me perspective. If I were writing this 20 years ago I might have included Maya Bay in Thailand or Boracay in the Philippines. Both are now closed due to unsustainable levels of visitors and, therefore, pollution. I might also have included Matira Beach on Bora Bora or Long Beach on Phi Phi Don . . . The list of disillusion goes on. Beaches are also subject to change - a hotel might suddenly ruin a fabulous wild beach (such as the Four Seasons in Nevis) or an existing charming hotel (like the Phi Phi Island resort) will expand horribly. Or a typhoon or hurricane might swoop down and destroy that precious arc of sand and its protective reef. It’s not a precise science, just an incoming tide of memory.
Here is my top 25 list. While not all of these beaches have hotels on them they offer gorgeous sand, trees for shade, scenic interest, safe swimming, sometimes a coral reef, sometimes a drop-off. They are usually remote. I could have included Copacabana or Waikiki but this isn’t that sort of list. There are gaps: While I have visited every country lying between the USA and Colombia, I am unfamiliar with their coastlines. I have yet to visit places like Fernando de Noronha, the Marshall Islands and Kiribati, where stunning beaches are to be found. I haven’t included any beaches in the Maldives because I just don’t like the Maldives.
I have restricted myself to the tropical zone and start from zero degrees longitude and work my way westwards -
Long Beach, Ascension Island
Mayreau, St Vincent & The Grenadines
Curtain Bluff, Antigua & Barbuda
Cap Juluca, Anguilla
Little Dix Bay, British Virgin Islands
Caneel Bay, US Virgin Islands
Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos Islands
Jamaica Inn, Jamaica
Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
Matavai and Mahina Bays, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Motu Tevairoa, Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Aitutaki Lagoon, Cook Islands
Lalomanu Beach, Samoa
Alofi Island, Wallis & Futuna
Champagne & Lonnoc beaches, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu
Kanumera Bay, Isle of Pines, New Caledonia
Palau Pacific Resort, Koror, Palau
Mangiatan/Sembilan Island, Flores, Indonesia
Amanpulo, Pamalican, Philippines
Tanjong Jara, Malaysia
Saman Villas, Sri Lanka
Grand Anse, La Digue, Seychelles
Aldabra Atoll, Amirantes, Seychelles
Peponi Hotel, Lamu, Kenya
Bom Bom Island Resort, Sao Tome & Principe
If I had to name just one, the ultimate beach, it would be Isle of Pines, New Caledonia.
#23
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 15
An interesting concept, but of course lacking. In Australia we regularly have publication of similar lists of "10 best / 20 best beaches" but within the country (and still many fabulous beaches are unknown). I'm sure Mexico, Brazil, Fiji, US etc etc all could fill many pages with stunning beaches.
#24
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: new york
Posts: 2
My 25 Best Beaches in the World
Lots of beautiful beaches all over the world. I have only read about them but I have good experiences in India beaches and I mention them:
1. ORA BEACH, INDONESIA
2. AKAROA, SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
3. GRAND ANSE, GRENADA
4. Goa beaches
5. Kovalam Beach
6. Mahabalipuram Beach
7. Marari Beach
8. Om Beach
9. Malpe Beach
10. Promenade Beach
11. Varkala Beach
12. Alleppey Beach
Thanks
1. ORA BEACH, INDONESIA
2. AKAROA, SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
3. GRAND ANSE, GRENADA
4. Goa beaches
5. Kovalam Beach
6. Mahabalipuram Beach
7. Marari Beach
8. Om Beach
9. Malpe Beach
10. Promenade Beach
11. Varkala Beach
12. Alleppey Beach
Thanks