FASCINATING BEACHES ALL OVER THE WORLD!
1. Dune du Pyla, France
This beach is Europe’s tallest dune at over 100 metres. It’s an hour’s drive from Bordeaux and is literally dazzling. You will shield your eyes as much from the shimmering heat haze as the pristine sand. After you’ve taken in the panoramic views over the Atlantic and pine forests behind, there are miles of beaches to explore along the Bassin d’Arcachon. Take a ferry from Arcachon pier to Cap Ferret for the best view of the dune. To eat, head to the oyster cabanes, where fishermen set up tables and serve oysters, prawns, paté, bread and rosé wine.
2. Glass Beach, California
A beach made from years of dumped litter sounds like a hellhole but, at Glass beach, on the Mendocino coast in California, the result is quite beautiful. From 1906 to 1967, glass, appliances and even vehicles were chucked into the sea. A clean-up programme removed all the metal and non-biodegradable waste, and the waves broke down the glass and pottery, which washed up as jewel-like, translucent stones. Nowadays, the beach is part of MacKerricher state park, and visitors are forbidden for removing the sea-glass baubles.
3. Starfish Beach, Panama
Panama has three archipelagos: San Blas is pricey to get to, the Pearl Islands are pricey to stay on, but Bocas del Toro, just south of Costa Rica on the Caribbean side, puts virgin beach utopia within a backpacker budget. From the funky town hub of Bocas on Isla Colón, boat taxis cross between the 10 inhabited islands and some 300 islands and islets, although this protected beach, gloriously decorated with a liberal smattering of starfish, is on Colón itself.
4. Flamenco Beach, Puerto Rico
If asked to design the perfect tropical beach, Playa Flamenco on Culebra island, off the east coast of Puerto Rico, is probably what you would come up with. It’s a U-shaped cove with white sand, warm turquoise water, palm trees, lush vegetation and a peaceful lagoon. The island’s undeveloped state is partly thanks to the US military, which used to use it as a gunnery range – a rusting Sherman tank remains in the middle of the sand. It makes a day trip by ferry from Fajardo on the Puerto Rico mainland ($4.50 return): a shuttle bus runs from the ferry port. Culebra has an excellent government-run campsite right on the sand at the western side of the bay. It’s quite basic, with showers open only three hours a day, but pitch your tent under mangroves ($20 for up to six people), stock up on water, pina coladas and local snacks (comida criolla) and you may never want to leave. If you do, though, there are bikes to hire.
5. Playa del Amor (Hidden Beach), Mexico
An underground beach sounds like the stuff of legend, but the Marietas Islands, where Hidden Beach lies, were used as a military testing ground by the Mexican government in the early 1900s, and it’s suspected that a bomb may have created the crater in which it sits. Access to this crescent within a gaping circular hole in the landscape, is by swimming or kayaking through a long tunnel. Many operators run boat trips here from Puerto Vallarta ($76 with ecotoursvallarta.com), but the sea is rough and you have to swim in beside treacherous rocks. But it’s stunning – Jacques Cousteau was a fan – with the bonus of possibly spotting a humpback whale on the way.
6. Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Sugar sand, palms, breeze, sea that’s 26-29C year round and the colour of peppermint mouthwash... Bora Bora is a cliched vision of the heavenly beach. Even if you never get to go, this is one for the mental image bank at least – use it when meditating. Matira has to win as the only public beach on the island, and somewhere you could mingle with locals. The Bora Bora Hotel Eden Beach (bungalows from £1,852 a week half-board including transfers, boraborahotel.com), built on its own coral isle, has its own private beach that may be a grain prettier, for its view of beautiful rock peak Otemanu.
7. Cala Gonone, Sardinia
It’s not difficult to find a stunning beach on Sardinia, but finding one that caters for families on a modest budget is more of a challenge. Cala Gonone ticks all of the right boxes. White pebble-and-sand beaches, with sun loungers and parasols for rent, calm, turquoise waters for swimming and snorkelling, a long seafront promenade lined with low-key trattorias – and none of the bling that accompanies the glitzier Costa Smeralda to the north. When the charms of Cala Gonone’s two small but perfectly formed beaches pall, there are daily boat trips to the Bue Marino caves and more remote beaches, such as Cala Luna and Cala Fuili, further south.
8. Mellon Udrigle, Highlands
Up a little cul-de-sac road from the A832 coastal road, this delightful sheltered sandy beach has great views across Gruinard Bay. The regulars have been keeping this place quiet for half a century, a task made easier by the croft campsite’s determination to remain simple – don’t expect hot showers, shops or any facilities. It’s a friendly, tranquil location perfect for a few days under canvas. There are other beaches to explore nearby, plus the renowned Inverewe Gardens, but the real pleasure is just to play on the beach or fish from the rocks either side.
9. Pedn Vounder, Cornwall
The far west of Cornwall is a land of stone circles and tiny coves. Superb tidal sands reach from Logan Rock to Porthcurno and form a vast sand bar that traps and warms seawater in shallow lagoons. There are rocks to dive from and you can wade or swim to several smaller coves. The beach is semi-naturist, and a tricky final descent over rocks keeps it wild and special. There is a tiny cafe in Treen village serving breakfast and local breads. On wet evenings you can hole up in the ancient Logan Rock Inn.
10. Praia da Fortaleza, Brazil
Ilha do Mel, or Honey Island, is a car-free place where nothing happens in a hurry, though that’s not to say nothing happens at all. Mile after mile of gorgeous beach can be found up and down the island, some good for surfing, others for lounging and one or two for hiking. A decent trek from the main drag of hostels, bars and restaurant takes you to a well-preserved sea fort on the north-east shore that’s great for photos. It’s perhaps best to go there on the first day while you still have some energy – Ilha do Mel has a helluva party scene.
11. Tekek beach, Malaysia
On the east side of the Malay peninsula lies Tioman, one of south-east Asia’s more tranquil islands. It doesn’t attract as many Singha-and-mushroom-fuelled backpackers as its Thai cousins, but if you want a hammock and a chance to relax, this is the place to be. The beaches are clean and the snorkelling top class, with gear available from hostels and shops just back from the shore. In the evenings, barbecues and low-key parties break out along the beach.
12. Amanohashidate, Japan
When you think of Kyoto you understandably think of a busy city, shrines and temples, but the name applies to the entire prefecture that has borders that stretch all the way to the Japan Sea. It’s there you’ll find the sensational Amanohashidate, the “bridge to Heaven”. This two-mile-long sandbar is covered in pine trees and has been revered for centuries. Most visitors walk across, then take a funicular up a hill on the far side, but stray from the path and you’ll have the beaches to yourself, with crystal-clear waters gently lapping on golden sands, nudging pine cones down the coast.
13. Tortuga Bay, Galapagos
Puerto Ayora, the largest and most populous town in the Galapagos, is a fairly charmless place, but it’s also just a 20-minute walk from Tortuga Bay, one of the world’s very best beaches. Follow a path out of town, past bushes filled with Darwin’s finches and lava lizards scuttling across rocks and you emerge on to talcum powder sand. The rough water is great for surfing, but a challenge for swimmers, so instead take in the pelicans, marine iguanas and the feeling that you’re first to discover this amazing place.
14. Chesterman Beach, Vancouver Island
You could almost pick any beach off the ocean side of Vancouver Island, but Chesterman has the edge. It’s the kind of place where you might see kids pedalling along barefoot with a surfboard under one arm. With a bit of luck, and keen eyesight, you might spot orcas out beyond the breakers. Easier to find is the Carving Shed, where local craftsmen turn out exquisite sculptures and traditional canoes. At low tide a sandspit, the Tombolo, gets you out to Frank Island, with great views back to the beach.
15. Nemto Island, Papua New Guinea
A four-day kayak paddle will get you to Nemto from Nusa Island off the north coast of New Ireland, 600 miles east of Papua New Guinea. It is an astonishing journey, taking in fine beaches, sunken second world war planes and pristine reefs. But Nemto is the big treat: an island with the population of two, surrounded by white sands shadowed by palms that cackle with parrots. The reason this island is untouched lies with local superstitions about strange beasts that inhabit the interior. And if that sounds like King Kong and it means nobody comes near the place, all the better.
16. Vanua Balavu, Northern Lau, Fiji
A private yacht would be handy for getting here. Failing that, take the weekly flight from Fiji’s capital, Suva, to this craggy, elongated pinch of paradise. There are a few gorgeous sandy stretches, and if another visitor appears, you’d be very surprised. The population is just 1,200 and, in a good year, they get about two dozen visitors. Picnic on the sand, snorkel on magnificent reefs where sea shells the size of Bluebeard’s treasure chest gape up at the rays and sea snakes. As you’d expect, local cuisine relies on seafood, including a giant crab that cracks coconuts as if they were hazelnuts.
17. Druidstone, Wales
Ever dreamed of galloping across the sand with your horse splashing in the waves? Head to Pembrokeshire with Nolton Stables, which will match your ability (beginner through to Dothraki) to one of its 60 horses and ponies, and take you riding on the brilliantly named Druidstone beach on the St David’s peninsula. Sugar cubes not included.
18. Freights Bay, Barbados
With its warm water and hazard-free beach bottom, Freights, on the south coast of Barbados, has some of the world’s best beginner-friendly waves, though clearly it will cost you a bit more to learn there than back home in Croyde. When the swell hits, the long peeling, left-hand waves break at under a metre high, making it the ideal place to master surfing along the open face of a wave rather than straightlining back to the beach. The vibe is super-chilled, with friendly locals and some of the world’s best rum punch.
19. Ses Salines, Ibiza
Although set within a nature reserve, this small haven of sun and sand comes with a soundtrack of gently thudding bass drums, because it is licensed to party until just after sunset. As the sun dips towards the horizon, bikini-clad dancers mingle with sunbathers on the ticklishly soft sand. (Those in search of something quieter will be happy to know that the secret beaches of Punta de Ses Portes are a short stroll along a footpath from the far end of the beach.) For an afternoon of classic, bouncy house, try Melon Bomb DJs’ secret parties at the Jockey Club.
20. Maamigili Island, Maldives
Maamigili is one of the inhabited islands of Raa Atoll in Maldives. The island measures 750 meters in length and 500 meters in width for 100 hectares of pristine coral reef. Loama Resort Maldives at Maamigili is the hotel accommodation situated on the island. The Resort boasts a collection of historical artifacts at Loama Museum, a nation’s heritage site with ancient baths and wells and the Loama Art Gallery with contemporary local art. Maamigili can be reached via a scenic 45-minute seaplane ride from the capital Malé and through the new Irufu domestic airport which is 15 minutes away from the island by speed boat.
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