There are many gorgeous beaches on earth. We had the privilege of visiting many of them in the pacific as well as the Caribbean.
Here is a ranked list of beautiful beaches around the world from our experience each with its own shade of blue!
1. Bora Bora – French Polynesia
Stunning blue/turquoise waters like no where else on earth, shadowed by a giant mountain with palm trees gracing the shores. If there is a heaven on earth , this is it! This is the quintessential tropical island with nary an imperfection!
Bora Bora is located in South Pacific Ocean northwest of Tahiti. It is surrounded by islets, lagoon and coral reef. At the center is Mt Otemanu, which is remnant of an ancient volcano. Colorful corals harboring thousands of tiny fishes and diverse marine life make this place a divers paradise.
The color of lagoon has shades of turquoise blue which brightens and glows when sky is clear as if a perfect cut diamond! Most of the resorts have overwater bungalows, staying at these bungalows is an experience not to be missed. Family with kids will love this destination as the water is very shallow and resorts offer lots of kid friendly activities.
During our visit to Bora Bora we stayed at Hilton Bora Bora resort and spa. For more information on our stay at Bora Bora refer : Bora Bora
2. Turks and Caicos – Caribbean Islands
Providenciales, has been voted #1 Island in 2015 based on TripAdvisor Travellers choice and Grace bay has been voted the best beach on earth in 2016. Providenciales covers 38 miles, to the north lies beautiful Grace Bay and to the south lies lake like Chalk Sound with turqoise water surrounding small cays. Taylor bay and Sapodilla bay lie to the south of the island and are kid friendly.
Chalk Sound is famous for its turquoise colors. We haven’t seen such colors anywhere else other than Bora Bora.
For more information on things to do in Turks and Caicos refer : Turks and Caicos
3. St John – Caribbean Islands
St John is one of the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea. 60% of the island is national park. Only way to reach this island is to take a boat from St Thomas, a bigger island wth an airport.
The Trunk bay and the Caneel bay have best beaches with white sands in contrast to crystal blue water. We consider Trunk Bay to be the second best beach from our travels.
The water is shallow for a few miles and is a delight for snorkeling lovers and family with kids! We stayed at the beautiful Westin st John which has its own beach.
For more information on our stay at St John refer : St John
4. Cancun and Isla Mujeres-Mexico.
Cancun is a mexican city bordering Caribbean Sea and is famous for its resorts and beaches. During our visit to Cancun we stayed at The Ritz Carlton which had one of the best beaches in Cancun.
Isla Mujeres an island located 1 hr from Cancun by ferry has beautiful beaches like Playa del Norte. We consider this one to be the third best beach almost on par with Trunk Bay.
This beach has an amazingly long stretch of shallow bluish white waters ideal for spending a day.
Beaches on shores of Mayan remains in Tulum were also beautiful. Tulum is about 2 hr drive from Cancun. For more info on our stay at Mexico refer : Mexico
5. St Thomas – Caribbean Islands
St Thomas is the main island of the US Virgin islands cluster and has an airport with service to mainland as well as Puerto Rico. We flew here from Puerto Rico.
St Thomas downtown/ Charlotte Amalie has cruise ship port so this island is more crowded than St John. Charlotte Amalie’s buildings have old Danish architecture, as it was founded by the Danish.
The Magen’s Bay and Lindquist beach are two of the beaches we could visit. Maggens bay has lush surroundings while lyndquist beach is sparsely crowded making it ideal for families.
For more information on our stay at St Thomas refer : St Thomas
6. Oahu – Hawaii
Oahu is the oldest of Hawaiian islands, Honolulu is its capital. We visited the Waikiki beach in Honolulu and Kaneohe bay beach both of which were very beautiful. Beaches in Hawaii are not only beautiful; they have a very tropical feel to it. Best time to visit Hawaii is when temperature is low i.e between January and April.
For more information on our stay at Oahu refer : Oahu
7. Puerto Rico – Caribbean Islands
Puerto Rico is a Caribbean Island in US territory famous for its white sand beaches and coral reefs. It is also famous for scuba diving, snorkeling and surfing.
We visited the Luquillo beach which is somewhat secluded yet stunning. We stayed in Wyndham Grand Rio Mar resort which has a nice beach too. For more information on our stay at Puerto Rico refer : PuertoRico
8. Kauai – Hawaii
The coconut beach and the Hanalei bay beach were both beautiful! Hanalei bay is lush while cocount beach is easily accesible.
For more information on our stay at Kauai refer : Kauai
9. Maui – Hawaii
While Maui has many famous beaches like Wailea (stunningly soft sand; we visited this one while staying at Grand Wailea) and Kanapali ( which is where most of the big resorts are); one which takes the cake is Kahana beach.
Easy access, less crowd, nice colors and views! For more information on our stay at Maui refer : Maui
10. San Diego – California
Our hometown gets an honorable mention. Not tropical by any means, but excellent weather and beautiful sorroundings more than make up for it. La Jolla shores and Coronado beach are our favorites. For more information on things to do in San Diego refer : San Diego
11. South Beach, Miami
South Beach Miami unlike any beaches on the Mainland US has green hues to it making it beautiful in sun. It is a very crowded place though.
For more information on things to do in Florida refer : Florida