The Rankings
The most overrated beaches, so far.
Every beach we have rated Overrated or worse. Each one is famous, and each one has a closure, a hazard or a catch on record. The reasons are on each page.
Every overrated beach points to its redemption — the hidden gem that does what the overrated one promised.
By country
The full roast list
Greece · Santorini
No. 3
Red Beach, Santorini
A cliff this photogenic should not also be throwing rocks.
Red Beach is a strip of red volcanic sand about twelve metres wide, pinned under cliffs made of rock so soft it came down in 2018, in 2023 and again in December 2025. This beach hurt people. Visitor access has been officially banned since August 2013, by the police, the port authority and the Municipality of Thira, because of the risk of falling rock; the path down from the car park has also been closed more than once. You came for the photo, so take it from the boat, where the view is better and the cliff can't reach you.
Best: August (26.0 °C), then July and September →
Greece · Zakynthos
No. 4
Navagio Beach, Zakynthos
The most photographed beach in Greece, and you are not allowed on it.
A rusted hull on 128 metres of white sand, boxed in by limestone cliffs on three sides. Everyone has the photo. Nobody has set foot on it since 2022, when the authorities closed the sand and the bay after the rockfall risk was assessed; in June 2026 they extended the ban through 31 October, and they review it about twice a year. The cliff came down once already, in 2018, and hurt seven people. So the beach is now a thing you look at: from a boat idling in the bay, or from a viewpoint on the cliff that has itself been fenced off at the edge, because people kept walking out to the part that falls.
Best: August (26.0 °C), then July and September →
Portugal · Albufeira
Praia do Castelo
Eighty steep steps to a cove named after a rock.
Praia do Castelo is named, Visit Portugal says, for a castle-shaped rock formation at its eastern end. We measured 183 metres of sand. You get there by about 80 steep steps from a clifftop car park with 15 to 20 free spaces, off a turning the guide calls easy to miss. There are no toilets, no showers and no sunbeds to rent. The cove fills quickly, and in July and August it feels busy by 11am. With any swell, waves funnel through the gap and it becomes dangerous; the guide says to check from the clifftop before you go down. Small, pretty, and it turns on you when the sea is up.
Best: August (19.5 °C), then July and June →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 8
Dreamland Beach
The dream has a resort around it now.
Surfers named it Dreamland in the 1970s. It is now officially New Kuta Beach and sits inside the Pecatu Indah resort complex, next to a golf course, and it is still open to the public. Unlike most of its neighbours it needs no staircase: a short paved path runs down from the car park. Tour groups and resort guests arrive between 11am and 3pm. A few food stalls sell cold drinks and young coconuts. The wave that made its name is still there, standing up over a steep sandbar.
Best: April (29.9 °C), then December and March →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 10
Kuta Beach
The busiest beach in Bali, with an undertow.
Kuta is described as the busiest beach in Bali, and is now best known for its party atmosphere: accommodation, bars, restaurants and nightclubs line it. We measured about 2 km of sand. The surf can be rough, producing a strong undertow and potentially dangerous rip currents. Safe swimming areas are marked with flags and lifeguards patrol parts of the beach, so there is a right place to go in and it is signposted.
Best: December (30.0 °C), then April and February →
Portugal · Vila do Bispo
No. 5
Praia da Cordoama
Two lists send you to a beach you should not swim at.
Praia da Cordoama is on two of the three best-of lists we read, and its own guide says it is not really a swimming beach: the water is cold, the currents are strong and the shorebreak can be powerful. On good days paragliders launch from the headland above it and soar on the thermals. It is deliberately undeveloped. The guide's crowding index calls it very busy from May to October, and the same guide's text says it is rarely crowded, because the remote location and the lack of facilities keep visitors away. We print both. We measured 401 metres of sand.
Best: August (18.4 °C), then October and July →
Greece · Kefalonia
No. 1
Myrtos Beach
White pebbles, two mountains, one hairpin road.
Myrtos is first on Greece's fame list. The white sand in the photographs is smooth white pebbles, set between two mountains, one of them 901 metres high. You reach it down a steep, winding road with hairpin turns, to a large car park next to the beach. There is no natural shade, and sunbeds and umbrellas are only sometimes there to rent. The seabed drops off fast, so you can be out of your depth a few steps in, and the wind can build waves and currents quickly even when the rest of Kefalonia is calm. In July and August, arrive before 10am. We measured 748 metres of beach.
Best: July (26.1 °C), then August and September →
No photo we can show yet
Peru · Piura
No. 6
Playa Pocitas
Long, thin, rocky, and quiet because it is hard to reach.
Pocitas is 3,328 metres long and 44 metres wide on average by our measurement, the most stretched-out shape of Peru's ten: about 75 times longer than it is wide. The way down is a set of stairs one visitor calls dangerous, then forgets about. On the sand are beachfront rooms and restaurants, with toilets and loungers at some bars if you order.
Best: March (27.7 °C), then February and April →
No photo we can show yet
Peru · Punta Hermosa, Lima
No. 8
Playa El Silencio
Called El Silencio. Lima comes anyway, in large numbers.
El Silencio is 45 km from downtown Lima, at kilometre 42 to 43 of the South Pan-American Highway, about 45 minutes to an hour by car. Entry is free and open around the clock. It has public restrooms with showers and changing rooms, and lifeguards in summer and at weekends. In Lonely Planet's words, it naturally attracts a large crowd of Limeño beach lovers.
Best: February (24.9 °C), then March and January →
Italy · Stintino, Sardinia
No. 7
La Pelosa
1,500 reservations a day, a QR code, and a mat under your towel.
La Pelosa is Sardinia's booking-required beach. From May 15 to October 15, 2026, entry needs a reservation, with 1,500 places a day at €3.50 a person; 500 can be booked at any time and the rest open two days ahead, and you show the QR code at the entrance. You also need a beach mat under your towel, and fines run from €25 to €500. Paid parking is about €2 an hour, capped at €20 a day. It is about 50 minutes' drive from Alghero. We measured 417 metres of sand.
Best: July (26.1 °C), then August and September →
No photo we can show yet
Thailand · Phuket
No. 4
Freedom Beach
Closed after its third drowning in 15 months. When it reopens, mind the flags.
Freedom Beach is a cove south of Patong. By land, entry is 100 baht a head, then a long jungle path and stairs down to the sand; the climb back up in the afternoon heat is what reviewers grumble about, and a shuttle truck at the top charges another 100. By sea it is a 10 to 20 minute boat ride from the south end of Patong, and with no dock you jump into the water and wade in. Part of the bay is roped off for boats, so the swimming area is smaller than it looks. It fills around midday, even on weekdays.
Best: April (30.5 °C), then May and March →
Thailand · Ko Phi Phi Leh
No. 5
Maya Bay
You may look at the water. Rangers make sure you do not swim in it.
Maya Bay is on Phi Phi Leh, where nobody stays, so every visit is a day trip from Phi Phi Don, Phuket or Krabi. Boats dock at Loh Samah Bay on the other side of the headland and walk you in on a boardwalk. Swimming inside the bay is banned, full stop, and rangers enforce it. The bay closes completely from 1 August to 30 September to let the reef recover, reopening on 1 October, and runs from 7am to 6pm the rest of the year. Entry is in the 400 baht Mu Ko Phi Phi park fee, which tours may already include.
Best: April (30.6 °C), then May and August →
Thailand · Similan Islands
No. 6
Donald Duck Bay
One hour on the sand, shared with several other boats, half the year.
Donald Duck Bay, Ao Kueak, is in the Similan Islands National Park, reachable only on park day trips and liveaboards from Khao Lak and Phuket, and only in season: the park closes from mid-May to mid-October to protect the reef and avoid rough seas. Most tours leave from Thap Lamu Pier near Khao Lak. The park fee is THB 500 an adult and THB 250 a child. On the trip one guide describes, visitors had one hour on the beach and shared it with several other boats. The World's 50 Best Beaches put it tenth in 2026.
Best: April (30.3 °C), then May and March →
Mexico · Oaxaca
No. 10
Playa Zipolite
Locals call it the Beach of the Dead. The undertow is the reason.
Zipolite is on the Oaxaca coast, and locals call it the Beach of the Dead. Wikipedia says the waves are strong in the afternoon, the undertow is always strong, and people swim here but caution is strongly advised. A volunteer lifeguard team and a flag system show where and when it is safest. From the Pochutla bus turnoff a taxi is M$200, a shared taxi M$50, a colectivo M$20. ATMs are scarce and often empty. We measured 1,421 metres of sand.
Best: August (31.1 °C), then July and September →
No photo we can show yet
Philippines · Boracay
No. 8
Bulabog Beach
Asia's best kitesurfing, by its own account. Keep your cuts out of the water.
Bulabog is Boracay's other side, and it claims to be the best kitesurfing spot in Asia. Kitesurfing schools work from the sand, and in high season the water gets overcrowded with riders. D'Mall is a five-minute walk, and White Beach a couple of minutes beyond it. The catch is the lagoon: Wikivoyage names sewage pollution as a serious disadvantage, with a smell from the water and infections from even small injuries common. We measured 1,664 metres; Wikivoyage says about 1.5 km.
Best: May (30.5 °C), then June and July →
Australia · Jervis Bay, New South Wales
No. 5
Hyams Beach
The whitest sand in Australia, says the myth. The council says the village is full.
Wikipedia says there is a myth that Hyams Beach has the whitest sand in Australia. It is a village of 112 people on Jervis Bay, 180 km south of Sydney, and a 2.5-hour drive away. On a few summer evenings it swells to 4,000 people, and there is only one road in and out, so the council closes the village once the 450 street parking spaces are effectively full. There are toilets, a playground, a café and limited parking. We measured 2,710 metres of sand.
Best: January (21.9 °C), then February and March →
Australia · Darwin, Northern Territory
No. 7
Mindil Beach
Come for the sunset market. Leave the swimming to the crocodiles.
Mindil Beach is near Darwin's city centre, and it holds the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets through the dry season, when locals, nomads and tourists flock in for the late afternoon. Park on the nearby streets or take the bus. There are public toilets near the path, and lifeguards from June to September, but saltwater crocodiles could be in the water at any time, and Tourism Australia says swimming is not recommended. We measured 1,048 metres.
Best: January (32.3 °C), then March and December →