Best Beaches in the World

Dangerous Rips | Sunbathing | Mosquitoes

Information and pictures of the world's best beaches:

Criteria for best beaches choice: weather, water, sand, facilities, access, people.
Not included: shopping or hotel quality!

Beach pictures:

To check the best months on the world's beaches:

Wet seasons, particularly in the tropics: cheaper yes, but they do stuff beach holidays up!

Many tour operators and even guide books are pretty casual about recommending best beaches in any season, reasoning that during the rainy season it only pours down for a short time.
This is true, but unfortunately there are other side effects to wet season weather that can change a great beach holiday into a dismal waste of time and money. [The Bugcrew have recent personal experience of the right South Pacific at the wrong time - not our fault!]. e.g.
- High winds can make seas choppy, inter-island travel and fishing trips unpleasant, snorkelling waters murky with drifting sand and windsurfing or sailing impractical for all except pros. Even swimming becomes an exercise in battling muddy blue waves rather than floating tranquilly in clear turquoise waters. Furthermore, flotsam, jetsam and seaweed blown onto shores makes even the best beaches look grubby and unattractive.
- Constant clouds ruin the sunny seaside ambience, sunbathing possibilities shrink and photos look dull and dreary.
- High humidity creates an uncomfortably damp environment in rooms that are not well air-conditioned.
- Stagnant pools of water create the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes, though high winds will prevent them from flying.
- Not often but occasionally it will rain for several days at a time, and then your beach paradise is really down the tubes and your bed, book or a bar are the only solution.
So, the moral is to check the best/worst seasons before you book your expensive trip and pay attention to the information!
Whether you buy the guide book first, see the Best Beaches calendar to the right or visit the Bug's Destination Finder, don't risk the rainy season unless you have no choice!

Blue Flag and bacterial pollution information.

Jellyfish problems.

Dangerous sea currents, aka rips:

In October '07 three parents drowned in a whirlpool off Tonel beach on Portugal's Atlantic coast.
Whirlpools are an extreme example of dangerous currents but fundamentally need to be handled in the same way as any undertow - also known as a rip; they rarely drag people down, only around and around.

Monster waves are clearly visible but powerful rips that cycle water back to the ocean are equally dangerous, can easily take swimmers out with them and are invisible to the inexperienced eye. Resistance is futile.
Parents should exercise caution on unfamiliar beaches. Beaches that are monitored by life guards around the world generally flag safe areas to swim - which may be narrow and crowded - as opposed to surf zones which can seem attractively uncrowded but conceal dangerous rips. Most surfers are strong swimmers, know how to handle rips, and of course have a board to hang on to, so don't think you can share their space.

What to do if caught in a rip: DO NOT PANIC. Desperate and exhausting thrashing is the killer as rips don't usually drag swimmers under, even the whirlpool version, just away from the beach. If you fight the current you will tire rapidly and may lose the ability to keep your head up.
Rips do not flow indefinitely, they lose power within 5-40 metres though this may seem a long way when you're trapped there, but just go with the flow. When the drag loosens, swim a few metres parallel to the beach i.e. away from the rip and then a safe return is possible.
Alternatively, calmly wave a hand and call for help, perhaps from a surfer.

Sunbathing on the Best Beaches in the World?

Try not to lie in the sun in the middle of the day while on a beach holiday. This may not only win you a prize in the melanoma lottery, but will give you wrinkles and sagging skin at an early age and add an unpleasant red highlight to your tan; in fact it may burn the tan off altogether.
You will brown up more smoothly and enduringly if you hit the sun before 11am and after 3pm. And you may live longer too.
In addition, be careful when swimming, snorkelling [wear a T shirt and put waterproof sunblock on other exposed areas, especially the backs of your legs, back of the neck and balding heads], motorcycling and getting wrecked on the beach.
Force yourself to drink water, lots of it, if you want to avoid headaches and lethargy from dehydration.
Water requirements generally are six glasses per day, so multiply that by at least three for baking beaches or other toasty environments.

Facts:
Most at risk are fair haired/skinned folk or those with a lot of freckles or moles, but everyone - including those with dark skin - can get skin cancer from the sun.
The UK has 75,000 new cases of skin cancer every year, Australia 380,000 [the highest in the world] but the UK sees more melanoma deaths as British are less experienced at recognising symptoms and leave things too late. Catch a melanoma early and it can be removed.

Here's the ABCDE of danger moles:
Asymetry - two halves have a different shape.
Border - the edges are irregular.
Colour - different shades or colours.
Diameters - most melanomas are at least 6mm in diameter. Watch for changing size or shape.
Expert - if in doubt check with a doctor, preferably a dermatologist.

More hazards on and around the world's beaches: Mosquitoes | Shark Attacks | Blue-Ringed Octopus