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Forgive us if we can’t help thinking about the prettiest beaches in the world where we’ve squished our toes in the sand.
In summer, we love swimming at the best beaches in Victoria, BC, where we live.
But come winter, with the rain pouring down outside, we indulge in some daydreaming. A beach with white powdery sand. Warm silky water rolling up ever so gently into the sweet curve of a bay. Palm trees for shade.
Perhaps you too are daydreaming of a beach you’d love to escape to right now?
Well, let’s daydream together…
Prettiest beaches in the world
As keen beach lovers, we’ve checked out many of the world’s most beautiful beaches.
The following 10 beaches rank among our favorites – all make a great base for a beach holiday.
1) Lover’s Beach, Cabo San Lucas (Mexico)
Isn’t the name of this beach romantic? It’s the perfect name.
Behind it (on the other side of the famous “Arch”) is Divorce Beach – where the undertow is so dangerous that people have died swimming there on the Pacific Ocean side. (Maybe it should be called Widow’s Beach?)
Anyway, Lover’s Beach is one of the best beaches in Cabo San Lucas.
You can only reach Lover’s Beach by boat.
For about $10 USD p.p. (return), you can hail one of the many water taxis cruising the Cabo San Lucas Bay. Just tell the boat driver when you want to be picked up to go back.
Normally, there’s no beach around the rock “Arch” formation you see here in the photo below.
But one year, a strange phenomenon occurred where sand built up, and we could walk from Lover’s Beach to Divorce Beach, then scurry through the Arch and back around the rocks to Lover’s Beach.
Experience more of Cabo: See our ultimate Los Cabos travel guide!
2) Bwejuu Beach, Zanzibar
The second in our list of the best beaches in the world that we’ve visited has also been praised by Conde Nast Traveler.
The magazine once named Bwejuu Beach one of the 30 most beautiful beaches in the world.
This beach in Zanzibar is best for swimming only at high tide.
Other times the tide rolls out so far, you can only go “reef walking.” That’s a unique adventure – with poles in hand and wearing reef shoes, we splashed ankle-deep in the sand, around small patches of reef, careful to avoid sea urchins as we looked for little fishies and shells.
We also walked for miles and miles along the endless – often empty – stretch of coral-white sand beach. Occasionally, we’d meet colorfully dressed locals.
You won’t find any large chain resorts on Bwejuu Beach – a blessing!
There are only boutique hotels like The Palms, where we blissed out in our own beach banda, sipping vanilla-infused lime martinis and listening to palms rustle in the breeze.
3) Turkbuku, Bodrum (Turkey)
A simple fishing village 20 years ago, Turkbuku is now a fashionable little place on Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula for a quiet and upscale getaway.
The beaches are tiny and pebbly (unlike some other white-sand beaches in Europe). So the small hotels have decks with jetties jutting out into the turquoise sea, with beanbag cushions or deck chairs for lounging.
When you want to swim, you climb down a ladder into the limpid water (no sand gets in your swimsuit).
On our trip to Turkey, we remember how crystal clear the water was in Bodrum – and the exotic sounds of the Muslim call to prayer coming from across the bay.
Where to stay in Bodrum? We loved Casa Dell’Arte, an art-filled boutique hotel – read our review here
4) Bora Bora, French Polynesia
We can’t tell you the name of this beach. It might not even have one!
But we can tell you this lovely beach is on one of the tiny sandy-beach coral islands (called motus) ringing the lagoon around Bora Bora.
On one visit, we stayed in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora – magical! But we snapped this shot when cruising French Polynesia, where we lazed about one day on an uninhabited motu.
5) Playa La Ropa, Zihuatanejo (Mexico)
So you’re looking for one of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico? Head to Zihuatanejo.
In this still-quaint resort destination on the Pacific Coast (northwest of Acapulco), you’ll find the sweeping curve of Playa La Ropa.
It’s one of our favorite Zihuatanejo beaches. Think a mile of clean silky-soft golden sand. Calm turquoise waters – ideal for swimming and trying SUP boarding. Cute restaurants and beach bars with chaise lounges for rent.
Don’t miss out on getting a massage right on the beach under one of the massage tents!
6) Koh Yao Noi, Thailand
Take a speedboat from Phuket to Koh Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay – and you arrive at a little island where time moves very slowly. There’s only one two-lane road around the island, with only the occasional scooter or car puttering along.
We de-stressed at the eco-chic Six Senses resort, so pleasant it was hard to leave our bungalow with pool!
But its beach, which you see here, was really inviting too. We loved the view of the huge limestone karsts rising up in the bay.
Bicycling around part of the island, we also discovered several other untouched beaches, with not a soul on them.
Recommended reading: See our guide to the most beautiful places to visit in Thailand!
7) Perissa Beach, Santorini (Greece)
Like most of Santorini’s beaches, Perissa Beach is a coarse black-sand beach, so it’s not conventionally pretty. Perhaps it’s more striking than pretty? Restaurants and beach clubs are strung along the road lining the volcanic beach.
Because the sand is so hot, wooden planks lead down to the beach chairs and umbrellas.
Wear your flip-flops from your beach chair to the water if you don’t want to burn your tootsies!
On our visits to Santorini, we’ve spent most of our time on the caldera side of the island in delightful cave hotels like Ikies, gawking at stunning sea views (often from the hotel’s infinity pool or our own little pool on our terrace).
But when we’ve wanted to be more active, it’s been fun to explore some of the interesting beaches on Santorini, like Perissa Beach.
8) Sire Beach, Lombok (Indonesia)
A 2½-hour boat ride from Bali, the Indonesian island of Lombok is scalloped with long white sand beaches (like the one shown in the photo below).
The island gets only a trickle of the tourists that Bali pulls in, so it’s not nearly as developed – some of the beaches we saw were virtually empty. You need a scooter or car to get to them, so most visitors just stay put at their hotel if they’re enjoying a beach day.
Sire Beach is one of Lombok’s most beautiful beaches, and with only one gorgeous boutique hotel – Hotel Tugu Lombok – and a few exclusive rental villas, you pretty well have it to yourself. Just put your RayBans on, because the sand is blindingly white!
9) Kantiang Beach, Koh Lanta (Thailand)
Unspoiled Koh Lanta (a one-hour speedboat ride from Krabi) is blessed with miles of pristine white-sand beaches. It’s also a paradise for scuba divers and snorkelers, and it has a national park with hiking trails too.
We hung out on Kantiang Beach at Pimalai Resort & Spa, Koh Lanta’s first luxury hotel. But you can also find a handful of other smallish hotels and restaurants on this quiet crescent-shaped beach.
We took this picture after bicycling (huffing and puffing up a steep hill!) to this perfect little beach bar.
10) Poipu Beach, Kauai (Hawaii)
Hawaii has no shortage of scenic beaches.
And to go with those beaches, there are tons of fun water activities in Hawaii – from swimming (of course!) to snorkeling to surfing.
Indeed, some of the world’s prettiest beaches are found in Hawaii. Like Hamoa Beach on the Big Island, which author James Michener thought was the most beautiful beach in all the Pacific. And Hanalei Bay Beach, a long white beach on Kauai’s north shore, where you can swim, surf and sail.
Then there’s Poipu Beach on Kauai’s south coast.
One of the best beaches in Hawaii, it’s been named “America’s Best Beach” by The Travel Channel. We love its thick golden sand into which you sink ankle-deep. A string of different crescents make up the beach – one is perfect as a natural wading pool for wee ones.
Endangered monk seals occasionally haul themselves out on the sand, and like the happy beachgoers, soak up the sun as cooling trade winds blow.
Hanging out on the beach is one of the most popular things to do in Kauai!
Kauai also boasts some great hotels – several are smack-dab on Poipu Beach. For reviews of these, see our post on 9 beautiful hotels in Kauai, most of which we’ve stayed at.
Experience more amazing beaches!
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | From secluded Colomitos beach to Yelapa Beach with the famous “pie lady,” check out the best beaches in Puerto Vallarta.
Algarve, Portugal | You’ll love the beautiful beaches in Albufeira. Some are hidden coves, with coral reefs for snorkeling. Others are edged by dramatic red cliffs.
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Photo credits: 5, 7 to 13, 19, 21 and 23 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase
Are any of your favorite beaches on our list of the top 10 beaches in the world?
We tend to think we’re pretty spoiled with the beaches in Anguilla, but it looks like Southeast Asia has some incredible beaches to explore! Have yet to get to that part of the world, but loving the contrast of the water with the gorgeous greenery!
Hah! Anguilla! Yes, we hear there are gorgeous beaches there :-). We must visit…
Looking at these gorgeous beaches makes me realise how long our winter has been this year. I definitely have a soft spot for Thailand’s beach and Mauritius has beautliful beaches too.
Now there’s a place we’d like to go to – Mauritius!
It’s great to see images of so many lovely beaches around the world. By the way, Lover’s Beach is the absolutely perfect name for a romantic beach.
We love the name for this beach too :-). But best enjoyed first thing in the morning or at sunset – more romantic when there are few other people sharing the sand with you :-).
Beautiful! We might make it to Zanzibar early next year when back in Africa.
Funny to include Ko Yao Noi, which generally has very rocky beaches. We stayed in a small place with great views and fantastic food which cost about CAD 60/night (which we found expensive at the time). We had the same great views as the above but rocky beaches…I wasn’t aware that there was a fancy resort just up the coast with nice, white beaches!
The nicest beach we’ve ever seen was in San Andres, Colombia. Don’t think I’ve ever seen such fine, white sand.
Frank (bbqboy)
Columbia, now there’s an up-and-coming travel destination! If you make it to Zanzibar, you won’t regret it :-).
Well, we know you jet off to some pretty special tropical beaches, so you must have some of your own faves :-). And we hope to add more beautiful beach visits to our travels in future…
Sigh! This is inspirational today after days of cold, rainy weather here. I love the view from the hills above the beach in Lombok. Makes we want to plan a warm getaway.
Us too! Maybe the Seychelles? Or Australia? Or South Africa and those beaches near Cape Town with lots of penguins?
What an inspiring post! One beach is more beautiful than the next!
It was fun to write! And also fun to hear about other readers’ fave beaches. Like in Australia… Got to get ourselves there :-).
I’m more of a mountain girl, so probably not qualified to comment on the best beaches, but St John, USVI was pretty spectacular. Every curve in the road brought a new postcard perfect scene into view!
Of course! The Caribbean has some beautiful beaches :-).
They all look fantastic. I would love to visit Zanzibar one day, among others. The list just got longer thanks to this post ?
Zanzibar is so exotic! The British and Europeans often visit just Zanzibar on holiday, but for North Americans it’s an awfully long way to go just for one country – for them, it would make sense to add it to the end of an African safari (that’s what we did).
Phew, I was reading through your list and it worried me that I might not have been to ANY of them until the last one: Poipu. YES! It’s a beautiful beach and super nice to snorkel in because it’s so calm. Now I have 9 more beaches to catch up on :)
Always good to have places we want to visit still! Hopefully you’ll get to visit at least some of these other beaches :-).
Another great post, it’s certainly helping me get through another cold day in the UK. The black sand beach looks like an amazing one to visit, so unusual!
I’m an Australian expat and have trouble recommending just one Australian beach. Bondi Beach is incredible because of the atmosphere, and in addition to the actual beach there’s a beautiful ocean pool called Icebergs with a view of the beach. And then there’s the likes of Hamilton Island or Whitehaven on Whitsunday Island.
Another vote for Australian beaches! We’ll have to visit :-).
I was looking for an Australian beach. With our extra long coastline, we have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world – although, maybe I’m a bit biased.
These all look tempting, but…
An Australian beach would be nice to put on our list :-). It’s just we haven’t visited Australia yet (though Janice lived in Adelaide and Perth as a child). And yes, we know you do have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world! Lucky you, you can probably still enjoy some of them now as it’s still summer for you (well, the tail end of summer)…
I don’t blame you for daydreaming about these beautiful beaches. I’d be dreaming about them too if it was raining here in California, but unfortunately it’s not. We have been hit by a heat wave in the middle of February and it’s melting hot outside. I love beaches though and I’d go to any of the ones that you have on your list. Bora Bora was on my list for a long time now, maybe I should start there. Gorgeous pictures, Janice, so inviting!
Crazy weather patterns, right! How about we trade some of our rain for your heat? You would probably really like Bora Bora and French Polynesia. Only a sour-puss could find something wrong with these beautiful islands :-).
I’m salivating over that first photo. Polynesia as well. These are all terrific beaches, and I’d love to be on a beach right now, especially as we just had a snowstorm.
We heard about your big snowstorm out east! If it’s any consolation, it’s raining again here in Vancouver today :-).