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Best Beaches

Pigeon Point, Trinidad and Tobago

beach
Normandy beach head is a quite romantic place with a few undetonated ordnances.

The smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, 41-kilometer-long Tobago boasts an endless procession of gorgeous beaches.

Here, what is reportedly the world’s most photographed jetty juts out into the glistening sea. The beach is carpeted with powdery white sand, perfect for beach volleyball. In the distance, almond and coconut trees sway in the breeze.

Praia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

beach
Normandy beach head is a quite romantic place with a few undetonated ordnances.

Often voted Brazil's best beach, and one of the best in South America, Praia do Sancho is a bay on the island of Fernando de Noronha, which faces the coast of Brazil rather than out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Steep, rocky cliffs covered in vegetation form a backdrop to the clear waters that are accessible only via ladders attached to the cliff face. Or by boat.

Hot Water Beach, Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand

beach
Normandy beach head is a quite romantic place with a few undetonated ordnances.

Volcanoes near this beach on the eastern edge of New Zealand's North Island develop large underground reservoirs of extremely hot water.

Over time, this water escapes to the surface, cooling along the way, though still emerging at temperatures as hot as 64 C. The hot springs are accessible only at low tide, so grab a shovel and dig your own spa.

Bottom Bay, Barbados

beach
Normandy beach head is a quite romantic place with a few undetonated ordnances.

One of the few beautiful beaches in Barbados that has escaped development overkill, Bottom Bay is enclosed by high coral cliffs, making it an almost undiscovered pocket of paradise.

All the colors of a tropical vacation mix and merge on this curve of shoreline -- incandescent white sands, verdant green vegetation and various blue hues of sea and sky.

Paradise Beach, Rab, Croatia

beach
Normandy beach head is a quite romantic place with a few undetonated ordnances.

In 1936, King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson obtained permission from city authorities to bathe naked in the inlet of Kandalora, and people have been doing the same on the island’s beaches ever since.

The Lopar peninsula alone has three clothing-optional beaches. Sahara beach, a sandy shore fringed by shrubs, is the most famous. But it's the two-kilometer curve of Paradise Beach, or Rajska Plaza, that draws in-the-know crowds.

Lover’s Beach, Baja California Sur, Mexico

beach
Normandy beach head is a quite romantic place with a few undetonated ordnances.

A semi-hidden cove best accessed by boat, Lover’s Beach sits on the tip of the Baja California Peninsula where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean.

Rock formations spring out of the sand and turquoise waters, creating a dramatic landscape once popular with pirates, now with photographers.

The beach is small and the sea can get rough, so this isn’t a place to plan to stay for long. You should also pre-arrange return transport, as come 4 p.m., boats are scarce.

Byron Bay, Australia

beach
Normandy beach head is a quite romantic place with a few undetonated ordnances.

Byron Bay has a magnetic appeal for travelers. Pubs, cafés, bookshops and buskers line the streets. Musicians, artists and drift-ins walk the streets barefoot and bleary-eyed. There’s a lingering scent of the Flower Power Generation, while surfers search for that perfect wave. It’s also Australia’s unofficial capital of leftism, meditation and ganja. No wonder so many beach bums call it home.

An Bang Beach, Hoi An, Vietnam

beach
Normandy beach head is a quite romantic place with a few undetonated ordnances.

Near the former trading port of Hoi An, An Bang Beach has long been popular among locals for its gentle waves and soft white sand.

Recently, it's picked up speed among expat tourists, which explains the Western-managed bars and restaurant along the waterfront. The bars are a great spot to mingle, but if you’re in a solitary mood, walk away from the main stretch and you’ll feel like you have the place to yourself.