The Rankings
The narrowest beaches we have measured.
The same measurement as the widest list, read from the other end: mean width of sand from the mapped shape of each beach we have rated.
Bring a small towel.
130 beaches, in order
Italy · Baunei, Sardinia
No. 1
Cala Goloritzé
10 m wide, 65 m long
A landslide made it in 1962. Now you need an app to get in.
Cala Goloritzé was created by a landslide in 1962, at the base of a ravine on Sardinia's eastern coast. Three of the four lists we read name it, and one calls it the most beautiful beach in Italy. You reach it on foot, from the Su Porteddu car park on the Golgo plateau: about 3.5 km and 500 metres down, an hour and a half in and two hours back. Boats cannot land you (a 2026 guide says motorboats may not moor within 300 metres) and you may not leave by boat. In 2026 you book in the Heart of Sardinia app and pay €7, by the official Baunei tourism site; one guide puts the limit at 250 people on the beach at once. Wikipedia says 800 would come on a peak-season day if they could.
Best: August (27.6 °C), then July and September →
No photo we can show yet
Croatia · Brač
No. 2
Murvica
11 m wide, 135 m long
Zlatni Rat's quiet neighbour: cliffs, vineyards and pines.
Murvica is a short drive west of Bol on Brač, down a short but steep descent, and far less busy than Zlatni Rat next door, in Vogue's words, with cliffs, vineyards and pines around it. Facilities are limited: a seasonal bar with ice cream and cold drinks, and a roadside shop whose hours one guide calls unreliable. Bring what you need. We measured 135 metres.
Best: July and August (25.7 °C each), then September →
No photo we can show yet
Thailand · Ko Lipe
No. 3
Sunset Beach (Ko Lipe)
12 m wide, 360 m long
Quiet all day, then the whole island turns up at six.
Sunset Beach faces directly west, which makes it one of Ko Lipe's favourite places to watch the sun go down. It is quieter than the rest of the island until then, when the crowds come from everywhere. It is rockier and more rugged than Sunrise Beach; we measured 360 metres of it. You can walk from Walking Street, on a path that can be uneven, or take a motorbike taxi for a flat 50 baht. A few beach bars and bungalow resorts line it. Outside November to April the island effectively closes.
Best: August (31.1 °C), then July and May →
Greece · Santorini
No. 4
Red Beach, Santorini
12 m wide, 323 m long
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 →
Croatia · Lopud
No. 5
Šunj
12 m wide, 259 m long
A car-free island, a golf cart, and sand for small children.
Šunj is on Lopud, a car-free island near Dubrovnik. The ferry from Gruž port takes just under an hour, stopping at Šipan, for about €10 return. From the harbour it is a 25-minute walk, or a golf-cart taxi for €3. It is a favourite with families with small children, with loungers to hire, toilets, showers and a small restaurant; the eastern end is kept for naturists. We measured 259 metres of sand; sources say anything from 200 to 800.
Best: August (25.8 °C), then July and September →
No photo we can show yet
Croatia · Makarska
No. 6
Nugal
13 m wide, 112 m long
A cove with its own waterfall, at the end of a cliffside path.
Nugal is a pebble cove south-east of Makarska with its own waterfall, about 30 feet high, fed by a stream off Mount Biokovo. You reach it by a stony coastal path of 30 to 40 minutes from Makarska or from Tučepi, or by kayak or boat. Parts of the path run along narrow cliff edges that one walker calls a bit dangerous if you are not careful. There are no facilities, though boat taxis sell water and fruit, around €5 a bottle. Wikipedia calls it an all-nude beach; a 2025 blogger says partly. We measured 112 metres.
Best: July and August (26.1 °C each), then September →
Croatia · Konavle
No. 7
Pasjača
15 m wide, 91 m long
Made from the rubble of a tunnel, thrown off a 200-metre cliff. Check the path before you go.
Pasjača exists because of a drainage tunnel: in the middle of the last century, the earth and stone dug out to drain the Konavle fields were thrown into the sea from the edge of a 200-metre cliff, and the waves turned them into a beach. In April 2025 a large rockfall buried the path down, and a regional paper reported the beach could be reached only by sea; a July 2026 article still advises checking whether the path is passable before you go. It is 40 minutes' drive south of Dubrovnik, at the village of Popovići, where an asphalt road from Cavtat ends in parking for about 50 cars. The way down is a steep, narrow, winding path and a small tunnel carved through the rock. Nothing is provided: bring water, a towel and a roll-up mat. Its remoteness keeps it quieter than most beaches nearby. We measured 91 metres; Wikipedia says 80.
Best: July and August (26.0 °C each), then September →
Croatia · Vis
No. 8
Stiniva
15 m wide, 45 m long
A pebble floor inside a ring of cliffs, with a 16-foot door to the sea.
Stiniva is on the south side of Vis, near the village of Žužeca. Sheer rock walls almost close it in; the only gap is a cliff gate about 16 feet wide that opens it to the sea. Most people arrive by boat and swim through. The land route is a steep 30-minute path down that CNN calls somewhat treacherous, not for the young, the clumsy or the sandaled. There is a small bar and nothing else. By late morning it is full of swimmers and snorkellers, so set out early. We measured 45 metres of pebbles.
Best: August (25.2 °C), then July and September →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 9
Amed (Jemeluk Bay)
17 m wide, 1,899 m long
A postbox on the seabed, and stones on the way in.
The thing to see at Amed is under water. At Jemeluk Bay there is a working postbox on the seabed, several statues and a small temple-like structure. The beach above it is volcanic pebble: smooth stones the size of grapefruit, slippery and uneven where you walk in. Most of the warungs have basic freshwater showers for customers. There is almost no proper parking for cars, so the usual advice is to be dropped off and walk down. It is two and a half to three hours from Ubud or Canggu.
Best: November (30.1 °C), then April and December →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 10
Padang Padang Beach
17 m wide, 147 m long
IDR 15,000 to squeeze through a rock.
Padang Padang, also called Labuan Sait, is a small cove we measured at 147 metres long and 17 wide. You pay IDR 15,000 in cash, then walk down roughly 120 steps on a narrow stone staircase that winds through a crevice in the rock. Going down is fine; the guide says the climb back up is what gets people. The beach is small and ringed by cliffs, so it fills quickly. A narrow channel through the rock funnels water in and out and makes a strong, predictable rip in the exact place where visitors wade in.
Best: April (29.9 °C), then December and March →
No photo we can show yet
Croatia · Lubenice, Cres
No. 11
Sveti Ivan
19 m wide, 107 m long
An hour down a rocky path, and the same hour back up.
Sveti Ivan lies below the clifftop village of Lubenice on Cres. You reach it by boat or on foot: a steep, rocky descent of 40 minutes to an hour, depending on who is timing it, and then you hike back up the same way. There is nothing on the beach, so bring water and a towel. The effort keeps it uncrowded even in peak season. We measured 107 metres.
Best: July (24.7 °C), then August and September →
No photo we can show yet
Philippines · Boracay
No. 12
Bulabog Beach
19 m wide, 1,664 m long
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 →
Italy · Liguria
No. 13
San Fruttuoso
19 m wide, 64 m long
No road goes here. Everyone comes anyway, by boat.
San Fruttuoso has no road. You get there by hiking the steep wooded trails from Portofino, or by ferry or private boat from Rapallo or Camogli. Lonely Planet calls it the best beach for scuba divers and wildly popular, which is quite a combination for a cove we measured at 64 metres. Near the beach are a basic cafe and a couple of restaurants.
Best: July and August (26.5 °C each), then June →
Mexico · La Paz, Baja California Sur
No. 14
Playa Balandra
20 m wide, 392 m long
A protected bay with two entry slots a day, 450 people each.
Balandra is the beach the most lists agree on in Mexico: six of the seven we read. It is a protected natural area about 25 minutes' drive north of downtown La Paz, not in Cabo San Lucas, whatever the internet says. Entry is controlled by CONANP: every adult needs a paid digital bracelet, 125 pesos for one slot, and a reservation for one of two daily slots, 8am to noon or 1pm to 5pm, with 450 people per slot. In high season, December to April and holidays, slots can sell out. Inside there are no shops, no restaurants and no gear to rent. We measured 392 metres of sand.
Best: September (30.0 °C), then August and October →
Croatia · Stara Baška, Krk
No. 15
Oprna
20 m wide, 134 m long
A short steep path, €30 loungers, and a bar in summer.
Oprna is a bay on Krk, about 2.6 km north-west of Stara Baška. You park above it and walk down a short but steep path, sturdy shoes advised, or arrive by boat. Entry is free; loungers and umbrellas run about €30 for the day, and there is a simple beach bar in summer. It is remote enough to stay quiet. We measured 134 metres.
Best: July (24.5 °C), then September and August →
Philippines · Panglao, Bohol
No. 16
Alona Beach
21 m wide, 837 m long
Named after one naked run in 1973. Busy ever since.
Alona Beach is named after the actress Alona Alegre, who ran naked along it in 1973 for the film Esteban. It sits at the south-west tip of Panglao Island, Bohol, about 2 km from Bohol-Panglao International Airport and 20 km from Tagbilaran port: white sand, rocky cliffs and a coral reef that makes it a popular dive spot. Lonely Planet says family-friendly resorts line it. A taxi from the Tagbilaran ferry terminal costs ₱500 to 600, a tricycle ₱350 to 450. The underwater current can be strong at times and turns the water cloudy. It is Panglao's most popular spot. We measured 837 metres.
Best: June and August (30.1 °C), then May →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 17
Pandawa Beach
22 m wide, 846 m long
Six statues in a cliff, and a ticket booth.
Carved into one side of the cliff above Pandawa are six large statues, each in its own niche, and the five Pandawa brothers are where the beach gets its name. It is no longer the quiet spot it was a decade ago. There is one main road down and you can drive almost to the beachfront. Seven lifeguards cover five points along the beach through the day. The entrance fee in 2026 is IDR 25,000 for an international adult, and the older prices of 10,000 and 15,000 are still all over the internet.
Best: April (29.9 °C), then March and December →
No photo we can show yet
Philippines · Pagudpud, Luzon
No. 18
Saud Beach
22 m wide, 1,570 m long
Boracay before the beer towers, according to the neighbours.
Saud Beach is in Pagudpud, at the top of Luzon. Rough Guides says locals will happily remind you this is what Boracay looked like before the beer towers and bars moved in. Fly an hour from Manila to Laoag, then drive two hours. A modest number of guesthouses and restaurants are built as nipa huts. Wikivoyage calls it a heart-shaped cove popular with Filipino and foreign visitors. Typhoons often hit northern Luzon from July to September. We measured 1,570 metres.
Best: June (30.8 °C), then May and July →
Portugal · Lagoa
No. 19
Praia da Marinha
22 m wide, 224 m long
The postcard is real. So are the 200 steps.
Praia da Marinha is the Algarve's postcard: ochre limestone cliffs, sea stacks and the double-arch formation that appears on postcards across Portugal, seen first from the clifftop. The way down is 200-odd steps cut into the rock. At the bottom is a small crescent of golden sand; we measured 224 metres of it, 22 wide. The snorkelling around the base of the rocks is some of the clearest on this coast, the guide says, with visibility to 15 metres on calm days. The Seven Hanging Valleys Trail starts or ends here, 5.7 km of clifftop path east to Praia de Vale Centeanes.
Best: August (19.2 °C), then October and July →
Thailand · Krabi
No. 20
Railay Beach
22 m wide, 611 m long
No road goes there. The longtail drops you in knee-deep water.
There is no road to Railay. A shared longtail from Ao Nang takes 10 to 15 minutes, costs 100 baht a person each way (about 150 after 6pm), and lands straight on the sand at Railay West: there is no pier, so you step out into knee-deep water. Three of the four Thailand lists we read name it. By mid-morning the sand fills and the boats keep landing all day. The tide comes in a long way, sharp rocks near the waterline have cut a few people, and beginner climbing courses on Railay East run 1,000 to 1,500 baht for a half day. We measured 611 metres of West beach.
Best: April (31.3 °C), then May and March →
Peru · Piura
No. 21
Playa Máncora
23 m wide, 1,174 m long
Peru's party beach, 1,200 km north of Lima, and nobody pretends otherwise.
The beach is the town's own strip, 1,174 metres of it, and at high tide the Pacific comes up close to the streets. Lonely Planet calls it a rowdy surf-and-party hangout and says plainly that it is no great hideaway. The national tourism board, which is paid to be kind, calls it "famous for its nightlife, its youthful atmosphere and, of course, its waves". Famous for its nightlife and its youthful atmosphere. You have met one. The quiet beaches are to the south, and so, in the morning, is everyone's regret.
Best: March (27.7 °C), then February and April →
Thailand · Ko Pha Ngan
No. 22
Bottle Beach
23 m wide, 518 m long
A longtail or a 90-minute jungle trail. After the last boat, it is yours.
Bottle Beach, Hat Khuat, has no road. You arrive by longtail from Chaloklum, about 15 minutes and 100 to 150 baht a head, or on foot along a jungle trail of 60 to 90 minutes. The boats depend on the sea and can stop in rough weather. There are a few simple bungalow operations and beach restaurants, and little else, so bring cash. Day-trippers see a busy beach; anyone who stays the night has it near enough to themselves once the boats have gone. We measured 518 metres of sand.
Best: May (31.3 °C), then April and June →
Italy · Salento, Puglia
No. 23
Pescoluse
23 m wide, 2,484 m long
Five kilometres of the finest sand in the Salento, and a nickname to live up to.
Pescoluse is five kilometres of white sand on the Ionian Sea, and its nickname is the Maldives of Salento, for water Lonely Planet calls clear and limpid. Italian Wikipedia says its sand is very fine and very light, the finest in the Salento. The polygon we measured is 2,484 metres of it. Along the beach are lifeguards, kiosks and restaurants, boat and raft rental, gelaterie and hotels.
Best: July (27.1 °C), then August and September →
Croatia · Brela
No. 24
Punta Rata
24 m wide, 306 m long
All four lists agree, and so do the families who arrive by nine.
Punta Rata is just over a kilometre north of Brela, about an hour's drive from Split, and all four lists we read name it. This part of Brela has been protected since 1964. There is a car park beside it, with a daily fee, and showers, toilets, loungers, lifeguards and several bars and restaurants. It is a family beach and gets packed in July and August. Dogs are allowed, but sometimes restricted when it is busy. We measured 306 metres; Lonely Planet says 300.
Best: July (26.2 °C), then August and September →
Greece · Crete
No. 25
Balos Beach
24 m wide, 106 m long
Eight kilometres of dirt road, and you still have to share.
Balos is a shallow turquoise lagoon on the north-west coast of Crete, with pink in the sand in patches. Getting to it by land means eight kilometres of unpaved road, a €1 fee at the gate, about €3 for parking and a walk down the hill of five to ten minutes. The road is narrow, runs close to drops, and does not always leave room to turn around. On the beach there are no permanent shops or restaurants. It is extremely popular anyway: busy in July and August, and still busy in late October. The patch of sand the map labels Balos Beach measures 106 metres.
Best: August (26.0 °C), then September and July →
Thailand · Ko Lipe
No. 26
Sunrise Beach (Ko Lipe)
24 m wide, 1,492 m long
A national park fee, a 1.5-hour speedboat, and room for everyone.
Sunrise Beach is the long one on Ko Lipe, 1,492 metres by our measurement, and big enough to find your own patch even in high season. It is inside Tarutao National Park, so foreign visitors pay ฿200 an adult and ฿100 a child, and rangers check the ticket on snorkel trips. Speedboats run from Pak Bara pier in about an hour and a half for about ฿700. Walking Street links it with Pattaya Beach on the south coast, five minutes from the restaurants and dive shops. The island is generally only reachable from mid-October to mid-May.
Best: August (31.1 °C), then July and May →
Mexico · Oaxaca
No. 27
Playa Mazunte
25 m wide, 1,208 m long
Palm shade, simple restaurants, and a sea that keeps you honest.
Mazunte is a wide, open beach on the Oaxaca coast with palm trees for shade and a line of simple beachfront restaurants. You get there from Pochutla by taxi (about M$60), colectivo truck (M$15) or bus (M$10). Waves and currents can make it a tough place to swim, and currents are strong throughout the region, so watch the conditions. One visitor in April, the slow season, found the town quieter than usual. We measured 1,208 metres of sand.
Best: August (31.1 °C), then July and September →
Thailand · Ko Samui
No. 28
Lamai Beach
25 m wide, 3,356 m long
Faces east. Come for the sunrise, not the snorkelling.
Lamai is on Ko Samui's southeast coast, about 6 km south of Chaweng and 25 to 30 minutes from the airport, and it faces east, so come for the sunrise. We measured 3,356 metres of it. There is no entrance fee and no set hours, and parking at the public entry point is free if you find a space. Expect stones and broken shells in patches and waves a touch livelier than Chaweng's. The snorkelling is poor. October to December bring the heaviest rain and the roughest sea; December to March is the crush.
Best: May (31.4 °C), then June and April →
Thailand · Ko Phi Phi Leh
No. 29
Maya Bay
25 m wide, 265 m long
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 →
Mexico · Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo
No. 30
Akumal Bay
26 m wide, 951 m long
Free beach, guided turtles, and no tours on Mondays.
Akumal Bay is the turtle beach of the Riviera Maya. The beach is free; the main turtle field in the bay is guided only, with a licensed cooperative, at most six people per guide, about 45 minutes in the water, life vest on, no touching and no chasing. In 2026 the licensed circuit runs about $25 to $40 a person, roughly 8am to 5pm, and there are no guided tours on Mondays, a rest day for the reef. A colectivo from Playa del Carmen costs 40 to 50 pesos and drops you at the pedestrian bridge; parking is about 100 pesos a day. If someone on the highway sells you an official entrance ticket, keep walking.
Best: August (30.4 °C), then September and July →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 31
Dreamland Beach
26 m wide, 905 m long
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 →
Italy · Realmonte, Sicily
No. 32
Scala dei Turchi
26 m wide, 878 m long
A white cliff you may look at, in timed slots, but not lie on.
Scala dei Turchi is a white cliff above a beach near Realmonte, about 15 minutes from Agrigento. Entry to the cliff path is capped at 50 people every 20 minutes, 1,800 a day, for €6 a person, free for children up to 12. On the cliff itself, sunbathing, loitering and laying out towels are strictly prohibited, and climbing it vertically is banned. Swimming and towels belong on the free beaches and the beach clubs next to it. The sources disagree on the ticket: one page updated in October 2026 says it is sold only on site, another from June says to book a timed slot online.
Best: September (26.2 °C), then July and August →
Greece · Skiathos
No. 33
Koukounaries Beach
26 m wide, 669 m long
A lake and a bird reserve behind the sunbeds.
Behind the Blue Flag sand at Koukounaries is a nature reserve with a lake, Strofylia, and rare birds in the migration season. In front of it are pedalos, a ski and dive school, water rides and beach bars. It is one of the most popular beaches on Skiathos and about 30 minutes from Skiathos Town by a bus that leaves roughly every 15 minutes in summer. The advice is to avoid Sundays, when the day-trip boats arrive and free space gets hard to find. We measured 669 metres of sand.
Best: July (26.6 °C), then August and September →
Croatia · Dubrovnik
No. 34
Sveti Jakov
27 m wide, 97 m long
160 steps down from a church, and Dubrovnik's crowds stay up there.
Sveti Jakov is the Dubrovnik beach for people avoiding the Dubrovnik beach. It is a 20 to 30 minute walk from the Old Town, or bus no. 8 from Pile Gate to Sveti Jakov church, then 160 stone steps down behind it, and back up. There is a restaurant, a bar, free showers, and sunbeds and umbrellas at €15 each for the day. Parking by the church is limited. We measured 97 metres of it.
Best: August (25.9 °C), then July and September →
Greece · Mykonos
No. 35
Platys Gialos
27 m wide, 284 m long
Calm water, €150 sunbeds, a boat to everywhere else.
Platys Gialos faces south and is sheltered from the Meltemi wind, which keeps the water calm and, on the hottest days, the air still. Sunbeds cost €40 to €150 depending on the section. Two mini-markets on the beach mean you do not have to pay restaurant prices for water. Its real use is as a port: a €20 water-taxi day pass hops between five beaches on the south coast. The bus from Mykonos Town runs every 30 minutes in summer and takes 10 to 15 minutes. In July and August it is busy by 11am. We measured 284 metres of sand.
Best: August (25.0 °C), then September and July →
Philippines · Boracay
No. 36
Puka Beach
27 m wide, 1,118 m long
Boracay's quiet end, where the island's jewellery comes from.
Puka Beach is a quiet stretch of white sand at the northern tip of Boracay, and the place where locals gather the small puka shells used in jewellery sold on the island. The sand is coarser than White Beach's, and the beach is relatively empty. A tricycle back to D'Mall should cost around ₱40. We measured 1,118 metres.
Best: May (30.5 °C), then June and July →
Portugal · Lagos
No. 37
Praia do Camilo
27 m wide, 66 m long
Two hundred steps, and the entrance is off limits.
Praia do Camilo, or Camilo Beach, has closed pedestrian access and a bathing restriction in Lagos. Winter storms damaged the slope and the staircase. We measured 66 metres of sand below them, which is a very small beach to have such a firm door policy. Respect the barriers. The official notices checked on 17 October 2026 give no reopening date.
Best: August (18.8 °C), then July and June →
Thailand · Similan Islands
No. 38
Donald Duck Bay
28 m wide, 239 m long
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 →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 39
Nyang Nyang Beach
30 m wide, 1,312 m long
More than 500 steps down, and the same back.
The way to Nyang Nyang is a long staircase of more than 500 steps, down through green hills and rice terraces from a small parking area near Uluwatu. Crowds are low all year. There are no toilets, food stalls or shops on the beach, so what you carry down is what you have. The waves are powerful and there are no lifeguards. We measured 1.3 km of sand, which is a lot of beach per person.
Best: March (29.9 °C), then December and April →
Australia · Torquay, Victoria
No. 40
Bells Beach
30 m wide, 371 m long
The world's longest-running surf contest, and water cold enough to keep it honest.
Bells Beach is home to the Rip Curl Pro, the longest-running continuous surfing competition in the world, held every Easter. It is five minutes from Torquay and about an hour's drive from Melbourne, on the Great Ocean Road, and the beach and coastal reserve are heritage-listed in Victoria. Surfers watch the waves from the car park, then head down the weathered steps. There is a public toilet at the car park. Lonely Planet calls the water usually frigid. We measured 371 metres of sand.
Best: March (19.9 °C), then January and February →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 41
Lovina Beach
30 m wide, 450 m long
Black sand, dolphins at sunrise, three hours from everyone.
Lovina is in the north of Bali, a little over three hours from Seminyak, and that distance does most of the work. The sand is black and volcanic, the water is described as calm, and the thing people get up for is dolphins at sunrise. Even in July and August, the peak, the guide says you should not have to worry much about bumping elbows. The fee is IDR 5,000, given as parking.
Best: November (30.5 °C), then April and May →
No photo we can show yet
Australia · Kangaroo Island, South Australia
No. 42
Stokes Bay
30 m wide, 490 m long
The front door is a maze of caves. The reward is an empty beach.
To reach Stokes Bay, Time Out says, you crawl through a maze of caves. It is on the north coast of Kangaroo Island, a 40-minute drive from Kingscote, the largest of a run of coves along that shore. There is a toilet block and a café near the car park. Lonely Planet says to time your visit for low tide and keep an eye on the sea. Time Out calls it free from crowds. We measured 490 metres; Lonely Planet says 500.
Best: February (21.8 °C), then January and March →
Portugal · Sintra Coast
No. 43
Praia da Ursa
30 m wide, 832 m long
Book the flight now.
Marinha's wilder, uglier, more committed sister. You get there via a dirt path and a rope-assisted scramble down a cliff that redefines "beach access." The reward: a raw, unmanaged cove with sea stacks that look like gods left their chess game half-finished. No sunbeds. No snack bar. No lifeguard. No pretense. This is what every Algarve beach looked like before someone built a road to it.
Best: May–Jun, Sept–Oct →
Portugal · The Algarve
No. 44
Benagil Cave
30 m wide, 137 m long
Overrated.
The Insta-famous sea cave with the hole in the roof. You've seen the photo. Here's what the photo doesn't include: a queue of kayaks and paddleboards outside the cave like it's a Costco, a floor that's wet rock, water that's cold and chest-deep, and a ceiling that's been photographed so many times it has its own agent. The cave is genuinely impressive geologically. The experience is a theme park ride without the ride.
Best: May, Sept–Oct for fewer crowds →
Philippines · Palompon, Leyte
No. 45
Kalanggaman Island
30 m wide, 789 m long
A sandbar between two islands that has banned your shampoo.
Kalanggaman is a sandbar in the sea between Leyte and Cebu, named from the local word langgam, which means bird. Two of the four Philippines lists we read name it. You register and book a boat at the Eco-Tourism Office in Palompon, and the crossing takes about an hour; a self-organised visit needs a reservation on the booking portal before the tour date. The local government provides restrooms, grilling stations and cottages. The environmental fee is around PHP 150 for day visitors. Soap, shampoo and detergent are strictly prohibited. Wikipedia gives its length as 753 metres; we measured 789.
Best: May and June (30.7 °C), then July →
No photo we can show yet
Philippines · Mati, Mindanao
No. 46
Dahican Beach
31 m wide, 1,445 m long
Three kinds of turtle nest here. The skimboarders are just visiting.
Three of the world's seven marine turtle species nest on Dahican, in Mati on Mindanao. Fly to Davao City, then it is three hours by van or bus to Mati City. Public access is at Amihan Beach Park on Dahican Lawigan Road, where you may pay ₱50 to park. A boardwalk runs along the shore, and a loyal community of surfers and skimboarders gives it a youthful buzz. We measured 1,445 metres.
Best: July (30.2 °C), then June and August →
Greece · Zakynthos
No. 47
Navagio Beach, Zakynthos
31 m wide, 128 m long
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 →
No photo we can show yet
Thailand · Phuket
No. 48
Freedom Beach
31 m wide, 329 m long
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 →
Mexico · near Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
No. 49
Yelapa
31 m wide, 519 m long
No road. A 30-minute boat, fish tacos, and a return time to remember.
Yelapa has no road big enough for ordinary vehicles. The only way in is a water taxi, about 30 minutes from Puerto Vallarta or from Boca de Tomatlán. The beach is long and the tourists are sparse, in Condé Nast Traveler's words, and a thatched-roof beach bar, Angelina's Gardens Beach Club, serves fish tacos and beer. The water taxis keep set schedules, so confirm your ride back. We measured 519 metres of sand.
Best: September (31.1 °C), then July and August →
Philippines · Boracay
No. 50
White Beach
31 m wide, 4,190 m long
Four kilometres of powder, and the whole island turns up for sunset.
Boracay's White Beach is a four-kilometre ribbon of powder-fine sand on the island's western shore, split into three numbered Stations. A path runs its full length behind a line of coconut palms, and D'Mall, just inland, has restaurants, dive shops, pharmacies, ATMs and a small grocery. The sand is free: no gate, no ticket. Foreign visitors pay an environmental fee of around PHP 300 once per stay, plus a terminal fee of roughly PHP 150 each way at the Caticlan jetty. For part of the year a seasonal seaweed, lumot, drifts into the shallows. Station 2 gets genuinely crowded at sunset. We measured 4,190 metres of it.
Best: May (30.5 °C), then June and July →
Spain · Formentera
No. 51
Ses Illetes
32 m wide, 1,072 m long
Free on foot, €6 by car, and Ibiza's day-trippers by noon.
Ses Illetes is Formentera's famous strip, inside a natural park: on foot or by bicycle it is free, cars pay €4 to €6 at the entrance and motorbikes €2 to €4. The car park has only 384 spaces and fills quickly in high season; there are 1,132 for motorbikes. A bus runs every half hour from La Savina, €8 return. Formentera is 30 minutes by ferry from Ibiza, which is the problem in peak summer, when Ibiza's day-trippers take the sand. We measured 1,072 metres of it.
Best: August (27.5 °C), then July and September →
No photo we can show yet
Philippines · Romblon
No. 52
Bonbon Beach
32 m wide, 539 m long
A beach with a walkway to the next island. The tide sets the hours.
Bonbon Beach is a short tricycle ride from the main town on Romblon. In 2025, says the Philippine Information Agency, it rose from 48th to 38th on a world top-50 beach list that called it a laid-back paradise known for the sandbar to Bangug Island. At low tide you can walk that sandbar to the islet. Lonely Planet calls it low-key, with soft sand and calm water. We measured 539 metres.
Best: May (30.5 °C), then June and August →
Portugal · Aljezur
No. 53
Praia da Arrifana
32 m wide, 703 m long
Everyone's first pick, tide permitting.
Arrifana is the one beach in Portugal that all three of the lists we read agree on. It sits below a clifftop village inside the Vicentine Coast Natural Park, about 10 km from Aljezur, at the bottom of a road that winds down the cliff. On the headland are the remains of a fort built in 1635, destroyed by the 1755 earthquake, rebuilt, damaged again and abandoned. We measured 703 metres of sand. At high tide the sea pushes up to the rocks under the cliff and leaves little room to sit, and it is very busy in May and from July to September.
Best: August (18.8 °C), then July and October →
No photo we can show yet
Indonesia · Bali
No. 54
Nunggalan Beach
32 m wide, 1,835 m long
A twenty-minute walk to a shipwreck and nobody.
Nunggalan takes about 20 minutes to walk down to and about 30 to walk back up from. At the bottom there is a long stretch of golden sand, an old shipwreck rusting into it, and almost no one else. There are no vendors and no beach clubs. The waves are often strong, and the emptiness that makes the beach is also the reason to be careful in the water: few people will be around if there is trouble. It also goes by Shipwreck Beach and Secret Beach.
Best: March (29.9 °C), then December and April →
Italy · Syracuse, Sicily
No. 55
Fontane Bianche
32 m wide, 821 m long
Freshwater springs come up through the seabed. The town has 900 people.
Fontane Bianche is about 12 km from Syracuse: a 3 km stretch of beach, in Lonely Planet's words, with freshwater springs that flow up from the seabed. The town behind it is tiny, about 900 people. The piece of sand we measured is 821 metres. Its sea was the warmest of Italy's ten in 2025.
Best: July (28.2 °C), then August and September →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 56
Canggu Beach
33 m wide, 1,204 m long
Popular, black and stronger than it looks.
Canggu is one of the most popular beaches on the island: long stretches of black sand, strong surf breaks, new villas and rice terraces behind. Three of the four best-of lists name it. The map also carries the name Batu Bolong for the same sand. What the photographs cannot show is the water. Lonely Planet's warning is that strong currents often lie under seemingly calm water here. There is a small shop on every corner selling cold drinks, so you will not go thirsty while you decide.
Best: December (30.0 °C), then April and February →
Italy · Stintino, Sardinia
No. 57
La Pelosa
34 m wide, 417 m long
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 →
Spain · Menorca
No. 58
Cala Pregonda
34 m wide, 233 m long
No toilets, no food, no signal, and clothing is optional.
Cala Pregonda is on Menorca, a 40-minute drive from the airport and then a 15 to 20 minute walk from the car park. There are no toilets, no food vendors, no umbrellas or sunbeds and not even reliable phone signal, so arrive early with shade, food and drink. Going naked is customary on Menorca's remote beaches, in Condé Nast Traveler's words. Remote as it is, it can get crowded in summer. We measured 233 metres of sand.
Best: August (27.2 °C), then July and September →
Italy · Amalfi Coast
No. 59
Atrani Beach
35 m wide, 131 m long
Ten minutes through a tunnel from Amalfi, and the pebbles want shoes.
Atrani's beach sits directly below the village, separated from the houses only by a narrow road. From Amalfi a short pedestrian tunnel gets you there in under ten minutes. It is small, we measured 131 metres, and mostly pebbly, so water shoes help; there are free areas and lidos, and in 2022 two chairs and an umbrella cost €40 for the day. Outside the main summer season the beach clubs close. One guide calls it probably the only sand on the Amalfi coast. Another says pebbles. We print both.
Best: July (27.1 °C), then August and September →
Portugal · Lagoa
No. 60
Praia do Carvalho
35 m wide, 74 m long
You enter through a tunnel somebody carved by hand.
There is no path to Praia do Carvalho. There is a tunnel, hand-carved through the cliff: roughly thirty steep, uneven steps with a rope for a handrail, slippery when wet. A sign at the entrance reminds you that rock falls are common. Then you are on 74 metres of sand with no bar, no toilets, no showers and nothing to rent. One guide says it is less crowded than Marinha and Benagil even in peak season. Another says it is surprisingly popular for a beach this tricky to find. Both are describing the same 74 metres. Hard to find, harder to get into, and somehow never alone.
Best: August (19.2 °C), then July and June →
Portugal · Albufeira
No. 61
Praia do Castelo
35 m wide, 183 m long
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 →
Portugal · Lagos
No. 62
Praia de Dona Ana
35 m wide, 191 m long
Golden cliffs, with a staircase that believes in leg day.
Praia de Dona Ana, or Dona Ana Beach, is a cliff-backed cove in Lagos reached by stairs. The rockwork is the reason to come, and the staircase collects its fee in calves. Our mapped sand polygon measures 191 metres long, so this is the cove option in our Lagos comparison. If step-free access matters, compare Meia Praia and Luz's official accessibility listings before choosing your route.
Best: August (18.8 °C), then July and June →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 63
Sanur Beach
36 m wide, 3,351 m long
Flat, long and up early.
Sanur is a stretch of coast about 7 km long on Bali's east side, linked end to end by a flat beachfront path that people jog, cycle and beach-hop along. The piece of it the map draws as one beach measures 3.4 km. A few warungs at Sunrise Beach serve early breakfast on the sand. July and August are the busiest months, with families and the kite festival crowds. At the northern end, Padang Galak, there are no loungers or cafés: wide sand and big waves, better for a walk than a swim.
Best: April (30.1 °C), then March and December →
Peru · Paracas, Ica
No. 64
La Mina Beach
36 m wide, 187 m long
187 metres of sand inside a national reserve, guarded by cliffs.
La Mina is the shortest of Peru's ten, 187 metres by our measurement, in the Paracas National Reserve in the Ica region. Cliffs guard it from the open sea. You pay the reserve's entrance fee to reach it. The guide's packing list: a windbreaker, sunscreen and proper water shoes.
Best: February (18.9 °C), then March and April →
Mexico · Quintana Roo
No. 65
Isla Holbox
37 m wide, 5,841 m long
No cars allowed. A golf cart from the ferry, and sunset over the Gulf.
Holbox is an island, and cars are not allowed on it. The last leg is always the ferry from Chiquilá, about 30 minutes across; in high season ferries leave about every half hour from 6am to 9:30pm. From the dock, a golf-cart taxi to a beachfront hotel cost one traveller 100 pesos in 2023. The beach has plenty of restaurants and bars for watching the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. The beach polygon we measured, mapped as Punta Cocos and Bonita Playa, is 5.8 km long. On the walk out to Mosquito Point, get back to firm ground before high tide covers the sandbar.
Best: September (29.3 °C), then October and August →
Philippines · El Nido, Palawan
No. 66
Nacpan Beach
37 m wide, 3,227 m long
Four kilometres of golden sand that somehow never fills up.
Lonely Planet calls Nacpan a 4 km crescent of creamy golden sand, just north of the karst-lined bay at El Nido. It is an easy 45-minute drive from El Nido town; the last stretch of road is muddy and bumpy but not difficult. Small huts along the sand sell food and drinks. A 2025 guide listed a 50 PHP entrance fee, and a 2026 guide says there is none, so carry the 50. Afternoon wind can build a small chop, and there are no lifeguards. Rough Guides finds it less crowded than its fame suggests. We measured 3,227 metres.
Best: June (30.0 °C), then May and August →
Mexico · Oaxaca
No. 67
Playa Zipolite
38 m wide, 1,421 m long
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 →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 68
Seminyak Beach
38 m wide, 3,596 m long
Three kilometres of sunset, and you swim where the flags say.
Seminyak runs for about 3 km along Bali's west coast, from near Double Six up to Petitenget and Batu Belig. The sections blend into one another and you can walk the whole thing in under an hour. It gets packed, with loud music, especially at sunset. There are lifeguards, board rentals, showers and toilets. The lifeguards matter: the guide says to swim only in the flagged areas, usually around Double Six and Petitenget, because the currents can be strong even for confident swimmers.
Best: December (30.0 °C), then April and February →
Italy · Sardinia
No. 69
Chia
38 m wide, 266 m long
Coves of light sand, three lagoons, and flamingos.
Chia is a string of coves in Sardinia, an hour's drive from Cagliari airport: beaches of fine or coarse light sand between small rocky promontories, in Wikipedia's description. Behind them are three coastal lagoons, used by pink flamingos and other protected species. We measured one cove, 266 metres of sand.
Best: August (26.6 °C), then July and September →
Italy · Palermo, Sicily
No. 70
Mondello
38 m wide, 1,421 m long
Palermo's beach, in a bay between two mountains.
Mondello is a semicircular bay about 1.5 km long between two promontories, Mount Pellegrino and Mount Gallo, 12 km from Palermo and separated from the city by the Parco della Favorita. We measured 1,421 metres of sand. The town around it has all the services: shops, restaurants, cafes and beach bars. Of the ten, its sea was the second warmest in 2025.
Best: July (28.0 °C), then August and September →
Australia · Perth, Western Australia
No. 71
Cottesloe Beach
39 m wide, 388 m long
Perth's own beach, 25 minutes from the city and 600,000 visits a year.
Cottesloe Beach, Mudurup in the Noongar language, is one of the most iconic places in Western Australia, a 25-minute drive from Perth's centre. Wikipedia puts visitors at around 600,000 a year, a figure it flags as needing a citation. There are toilets, showers, change rooms, cafés and restaurants. Wikipedia says the beach spans 1.5 km; the mapped stretch we measured is 388 metres.
Best: February (24.8 °C), then January and March →
Portugal · Sagres
No. 72
Praia do Beliche
40 m wide, 380 m long
The last south-facing beach before the Algarve runs out.
Visit Portugal calls Beliche the most westerly of the south-facing beaches on the Algarve. It is signposted off the N268 between Sagres and Cabo de São Vicente, at the bottom of a concrete staircase of about 100 steps, with a free car park of around 20 spaces at the top. The guide says it is rarely crowded: the descent and the lack of facilities keep casual visitors away. It also says that outside calm summer days with lifeguards present, you should treat it as a surf beach with strong currents. Quiet, a hundred steps down, and not as gentle as it looks.
Best: August (18.5 °C), then July and June →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 73
Jimbaran Beach
43 m wide, 2,992 m long
Dinner on the sand, with everybody.
Jimbaran is the beach where, at sunset, the grills start smoking and the sand turns into one long row of tables. It is very crowded right before sunset for exactly that reason. The map labels this stretch Kedongan Beach; the lists call it Jimbaran, and so does everyone else. We measured 3 km of it. In December and January the ocean currents can bring in huge amounts of rubbish, which is not the season the photographs were taken in.
Best: April (29.9 °C), then December and March →
No photo we can show yet
Thailand · Phuket
No. 74
Bang Tao Beach
43 m wide, 5,230 m long
The same shade costs 100 baht or 2,000, depending on who rents it.
Bang Tao is long: roughly 7 km in one guide's words, 5,230 metres in the polygon we measured. Beach clubs, bars and restaurants have piled in over the years and the prices vary wildly along it: a sunbed from a small vendor is about 100 baht, while a big-name club charges about 2,000 for the same bit of shade. Even in high season you can walk a few minutes and find a patch with nobody on it. September is off-season, with rain, rougher water and a duller sea than the photos.
Best: April (30.5 °C), then May and March →
No photo we can show yet
Peru · Piura
No. 75
Playa Pocitas
44 m wide, 3,328 m long
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 →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 76
Kuta Beach
44 m wide, 1,982 m long
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 →
Mexico · Isla Mujeres
No. 77
Playa Norte
47 m wide, 442 m long
Waist-deep for a hundred metres, and the day-trippers leave at five.
Playa Norte is the beach at the north end of Isla Mujeres, twenty minutes by ferry from Puerto Juárez with boats about every half hour. Town, ferry terminal and beach are all within a fifteen-minute walk. At the north end the water stays waist-deep for a hundred metres and has almost no waves. There is no shade after midday except the beach clubs' parasols. Day-trippers arrive around eleven and leave by five; outside those hours the island belongs to the people staying on it. Take the last ferry seriously.
Best: August (30.1 °C), then September and October →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 78
Nusa Dua Beach
47 m wide, 4,692 m long
A public beach behind a security check.
Nusa Dua Beach sits inside a gated resort area. You pass security checks at the main entrance, and after that the beach is free and open to anyone. The result is what its own guide calls quiet and orderly. We measured 4.7 km of sand, the biggest mapped beach in Bali. Type the name into a map and you may be sent to a hotel entrance, because several pins share it. At low tide the water gets very shallow in places and shows sharp coral, which is worth knowing before you wade in.
Best: March (30.0 °C), then April and December →
Croatia · Bol, Brač
No. 79
Zlatni Rat
48 m wide, 423 m long
A beach that changes shape in a storm, and moves its tip in hours.
Zlatni Rat, the Golden Horn, is the beach on all four of the Croatia lists we read: a spit of fine, soft pebbles reaching out from Bol on Brač. In a storm with strong winds and waves, its tip can shift from one side to the other in a matter of hours. A pine-scented promenade leads there from Bol, 15 minutes by the official page and 30 by Lonely Planet, and a tourist train runs every half hour. There are boats, kayaks and boards to rent, loungers, and two restaurants beside it. The current at the tip can be mildly hazardous for swimmers who head far south, and the western edge is traditionally clothing-optional. We measured 423 metres of it.
Best: July and August (25.7 °C each), then September →
Indonesia · Bali
No. 80
Legian Beach
48 m wide, 1,373 m long
Kuta's quieter little sister, by her own description.
Legian is described as the much more peaceful and less crowded little sister of Kuta Beach. We measured 1.4 km of it. Like Seminyak it can have rough surf, and the advice is to check the weather and the conditions before heading out. Flags fly at the lifeguard towers. One of the four best-of lists we read names it.
Best: December (30.0 °C), then April and February →
Spain · Ribadeo, Galicia
No. 81
Praia das Catedrais
49 m wide, 744 m long
Thirty-metre arches you can walk under, until the tide says otherwise.
Praia das Catedrais, the Beach of the Cathedrals, is about ten kilometres west of Ribadeo, in Galicia. At low tide you can walk among slate and schist arches 30 metres high, shaped like the flying buttresses of a cathedral. Go at low tide, when the sand is fully exposed: the coast is almost flat, so the water covers the beach again very quickly. At Easter and from July 1 to September 30 you need to reserve a free permit. We measured 744 metres; Lonely Planet says 1.5 km.
Best: September (19.8 °C), then August and July →
Portugal · Albufeira
No. 82
Praia da Galé
50 m wide, 492 m long
One long beach, split in two and named after the compass.
Visit Portugal says the long stretch of sand at Galé is divided into an East and a West beach, named after their respective locations. That is the whole naming system. The polygon we measured is 492 metres long and 50 wide. Each beach is about 50 steps down from the clifftop, both have seasonal bars and restaurants from Easter through October, and the guide calls the place popular but manageable: it fills later and less intensely than Albufeira's main beaches.
Best: August (19.5 °C), then July and June →
Portugal · Lagos
No. 83
Praia da Luz
50 m wide, 647 m long
The fishing village became a resort, and the beach followed.
Praia da Luz is the beach in front of Luz village in the municipality of Lagos. Visit Portugal describes a former fishing community that became a popular summer destination, with easy beach access and accessible facilities. Our mapped sand polygon measures 647 metres. The village has made a serious commitment to lying down, and the beach is conveniently involved. Check your entry point and the facilities you need before travelling.
Best: August (18.8 °C), then July and June →
Mexico · Cancún
No. 84
Playa Delfines
50 m wide, 11,617 m long
Free, open around the clock, and the waves are the price.
Playa Delfines, also called El Mirador, is Cancún's free public beach: no entry fee, free parking for over 50 cars, open 24 hours, with lifeguards from 9am to 5pm, free toilets and showers. Get there by the R1 or R2 bus, a taxi or your own car. The main risk is the waves, moderate to strong, and the rip currents can be strong too, so its own guide says to swim with caution, follow the flags, and not bring small children or weak swimmers. Weekdays are much quieter than weekends. OpenStreetMap maps it as one long shape with Playa Marlín, Ballenas and Gaviota Azul, 11.6 km of Cancún's hotel-zone beach, so that is the length we measured.
Best: October (29.4 °C), then September and August →
Thailand · Phuket
No. 85
Patong Beach
52 m wide, 2,578 m long
Three kilometres of sand with a wall of bars behind it. Respect the red flag.
Patong is Phuket's busiest stretch of coast: about three kilometres of white sand, in one guide's count (2,578 metres in the polygon we measured), with a wall of restaurants, shops and bars behind it. Loungers, vendors and jet-ski, parasailing and banana-boat operators run most of its length. From May to October the southwest monsoon churns the surf, the red flags go up, and the advice is to stay out of the water when they do.
Best: April (30.5 °C), then May and March →
Greece · Kefalonia
No. 86
Myrtos Beach
56 m wide, 748 m long
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 →
Greece · Crete
No. 87
Elafonisi Beach
56 m wide, 412 m long
Pink in places, protected everywhere.
Elafonisi is second on Greece's fame list and the one beach here with a find no other has: its sand is pink in places, from the crushed shells of microscopic organisms called foraminifera. It is a protected nature reserve, and loggerhead turtles nest on it, so parts are fenced off. The road in is paved, narrow and full of turns, about an hour and a half from Chania airport. There is one taverna near the entrance selling snacks, two beach bars, free changing booths and toilets that cost 50 cents. It is very crowded in July and August. We measured 412 metres of sand.
Best: August (26.4 °C), then September and July →
Spain · Cabo de Gata, Almería
No. 88
Playa de Mónsul
57 m wide, 459 m long
Indiana Jones was here. The car park was not built for the rest of us.
Mónsul is in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, 45 minutes' drive from Almería airport, and it was the backdrop for some scenes in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. You reach it on a four-kilometre dirt road, and parking is limited. Being inside a natural park, it has no man-made facilities at all. We measured 459 metres of sand.
Best: August (26.3 °C), then July and September →
Australia · Jervis Bay, New South Wales
No. 89
Hyams Beach
58 m wide, 2,710 m long
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 · Noosa, Queensland
No. 90
Noosa Main Beach
58 m wide, 1,421 m long
The calm one, a minute from the cafés. Everyone else knows too.
Noosa Main Beach is the best choice for swimmers who need protection from the surf, says Noosa's own guide: it is patrolled, and the headland cuts the swell. It is a one-minute walk from Hastings Street, with toilets, showers, cafés, restaurants and the national park next door, and it is set up for accessible beach access. The trade-off is that it is the most crowded beach in the region. We measured 1,421 metres.
Best: February (27.2 °C), then January and March →
Peru · Piura
No. 91
Playa Lobitos
59 m wide, 1,166 m long
A ghost town at the westernmost point of continental South America, with surf.
Lobitos is a former port and military base on the coast not far from the Ecuadorian border, now often called a ghost town for its abandoned buildings. Lonely Planet calls it a hub for perfect waves at the westernmost point of continental South America. Most streets have no names, so drivers find your room by its name. The main break gets crowded when the swell is below about two metres; the two other points nearby are much quieter.
Best: February (26.8 °C), then March and April →
Portugal · Sintra
No. 92
Praia da Adraga
60 m wide, 292 m long
It was a secret once.
Praia da Adraga is near Almoçageme, in Sintra. The guide that calls it something of a secret also says it is less of one every year, and tells you to avoid weekends. At low tide you can explore a string of caves at the southern end. The water is very clean, on a Blue Flag beach, and the waves are often strong, so it is better for looking at than swimming in. There is a well-regarded fish restaurant on the beach. The first car park is free; when it is full, the overflow costs €3.50 an hour. We measured 292 metres of sand.
Best: August (17.6 °C), then November and October →
No photo we can show yet
Peru · Piura
No. 93
Playa Vichayito
60 m wide, 1,583 m long
No rocks, gentler waves, and the way in is a green sign at kilometre 1155.
Vichayito is 1,583 metres of sand about 8 km from Máncora, 60 metres wide on average by our measurement. The way in is a little sign with green letters at kilometre 1155 of the old North Pan-American Highway, among the hostel signs. One guide says there are no rocks and the waves are gentler, which makes it good for swimming. Along the road are hostels, bungalows, budget hospedajes and cevicherías.
Best: March (27.7 °C), then February and April →
Portugal · Comporta
No. 94
Praia da Comporta
63 m wide, 396 m long
Rice fields behind, mosquitoes in July.
Praia da Comporta is about 120 km south of Lisbon, 80 to 90 minutes by car, past rice fields and over preserved dunes. In summer it is at its peak: the beach is busy, the restaurants are open, the sun loungers are out. A set of loungers and an umbrella runs around €40 a day at the beach club, by reviewers' accounts. The rice fields that make the drive pretty are also a breeding ground for mosquitoes, at their worst in July and August. The guide's own advice is spring or autumn. We measured 396 metres of sand.
Best: August (19.0 °C), then July and June →
Italy · Sicily
No. 95
San Vito Lo Capo
63 m wide, 1,466 m long
Seventy per cent of it is rented out. Get to the rest before nine.
San Vito Lo Capo is a long Sicilian town beach, almost 3 km in one guide's count; the piece we measured is 1,466 metres. Roughly 70% of it is private lido, paid clubs with umbrellas, loungers, showers and a bar, and the other 30% is free, mostly at the southern end near Macari. A lido umbrella and two loungers ran about €28 to €30 a day in June 2026 and about €35 in August. The same guide's view of August: the water often runs murky from churned sand, prices peak, the free spots are gone by 9am, and half of Italy lands here.
Best: July (27.7 °C), then August and September →
Greece · Rhodes
No. 96
Prasonisi Beach, Rhodes
64 m wide, 443 m long
Two seas, one beach, and the wind decides which one you get.
At the southern tip of Rhodes a strip of sand runs out to an islet with the Aegean on one side and the Mediterranean on the other, and you can stand where they meet. One side is gentle and one side is rough. The guides disagree about which is which, which tells you something about the wind. It blows constantly; this is why the beach is full of surf schools and board rentals and why nobody here has ever had a relaxed afternoon. Two sides, a constant wind, no evening plans. You know the type.
Best: August (27.4 °C), then September and July →
Portugal · Ericeira
No. 97
Praia de Ribeira d'Ilhas
65 m wide, 180 m long
A world surfing reserve, and a car park with a view.
Ribeira d'Ilhas is the most popular wave of the Ericeira World Surfing Reserve, which was classified in 2011 among the first surfing reserves in the world. It is 2 km north of Ericeira, with a large car park on the clifftop overlooking the bay and stairs down that take about a minute. It is a reef break. The reef gets shallow on the inside section at low tide, the line-up has rules and some localism, and it is crowded all year on days with swell. If you surf, you already know all this. If you do not, there is a restaurant at the top with a view of people who do. We measured 180 metres of sand.
Best: August (17.8 °C), then November and October →
Spain · Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
No. 98
Playa de Las Canteras
65 m wide, 2,651 m long
A city beach with its own reef wall 200 metres out.
Las Canteras is Las Palmas' city beach, 2,651 metres by our measurement, with a pedestrian promenade, the Paseo de Las Canteras, along its length and a Blue Flag. About 200 metres offshore, parallel to the shore, runs a natural reef the locals call La Barra, which calms the water behind it. The southern arc is not protected by the reef and takes the waves, and the surfers go there.
Best: August (23.7 °C), then September and October →
Mexico · Tulum
No. 99
Playa Paraíso
67 m wide, 1,610 m long
Ruins on the cliff, a hard closing time, and not a swim beach.
Playa Paraíso is the beach below the ruins at Tulum. One 2026 guide says you reach it only through the archaeological zone, with its ticket; two others say there is no fee, and we print both. It opens daily from 8am to 5pm, with a hard closing time; arrive at 8 to walk the cliff path before the day-trippers. There are changing rooms and a beach club with cold drinks. The same guide calls it not a swim beach: rip currents and unpredictable waves make it unsuitable for young or inexperienced swimmers, and from May to October the sargassum can be severe.
Best: August (30.5 °C), then September and July →
Peru · Tumbes
No. 100
Playa Punta Sal
72 m wide, 1,533 m long
Walk half an hour past the resorts and the beach empties out.
Punta Sal is 1,533 metres of sand by our measurement, with resorts and holiday homes along it. You come in through a security checkpoint off the Pan-American Highway, and the sand stays open to everyone: one guide notes that it is against the law in Peru to block access to the water. Walk about 30 minutes past the resorts and you reach wide stretches with very few people. Its sea was the warmest of the ten in 2025.
Best: March (28.1 °C), then February and April →
Peru · Chiclayo
No. 101
Playa de Pimentel
72 m wide, 2,571 m long
Fishermen still go out on reed boats, south of the pier.
Pimentel is 11 km from Chiclayo: 2,571 metres of sand with a boardwalk, food stalls and a 695-metre pier refurbished for walking and line fishing. North of the pier is the modern part. South of it are the restaurants, the boats and the caballitos de totora: residents go out to fish riding or kneeling on reed boats.
Best: February (24.3 °C), then March and April →
Mexico · El Pescadero, Baja California Sur
No. 102
Playa Los Cerritos
73 m wide, 4,062 m long
One of the few Pacific beaches at the tip of Baja where you can swim.
Cerritos is about 40 to 45 km northwest of Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19, around 45 minutes by car, and one of the few swimmable beaches on the Pacific side of the tip of Baja. The rips and waves are not as strong as on other beaches nearby, and one part is usually calm enough to swim. It is one of the most developed beaches in the area, with a bar and restaurant, and the vendors are not pushy. Bring pesos: ATMs are scarce in El Pescadero. The polygon we measured, which also carries the name San Pedrito, is 4,062 metres long.
Best: September (29.6 °C), then August and October →
Portugal · Albufeira
No. 103
Praia do Peneco, Albufeira
75 m wide, 356 m long
You reach it through a tunnel, or by a 28-metre elevator.
Praia do Peneco is Albufeira's town beach, and the town built it two front doors. From the centre of the Old Town a tunnel cut into the cliff at the end of Rua 5 de Outubro comes out on the sand. From the western end there are stone steps or an elevator, 28 metres tall, inaugurated in 2008, thirteen people at a time. It is the most crowded of Albufeira's beaches, and its own tourism site says the size lets everyone find a spot reasonably apart from other sunbathers. The same site warns that the water gets deep close to the shoreline. Easy to get into, and deeper than it looks.
Best: August (19.5 °C), then July and June →
Philippines · Calaguas Islands
No. 104
Mahabang Buhangin
76 m wide, 1,085 m long
Fourteen hours from Manila, no signal, and the widest sand on our list.
Mahabang Buhangin, in the Calaguas Islands, is the widest of our ten Philippine beaches: 76 metres of sand on average. Getting there from Manila takes about 14 hours of zigzagging bus routes and long boat rides. There is no phone signal and no ATM, so bring cash. From July to December, typhoon season often brings rough seas and cancelled boats. Rough Guides calls it pretty secluded. We measured 1,085 metres.
Best: June (30.6 °C), then July and August →
Australia · Darwin, Northern Territory
No. 105
Mindil Beach
78 m wide, 1,048 m long
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 →
Peru · Piura
No. 106
Playa Los Órganos
80 m wide, 1,557 m long
Surf lesson, snorkel, hand-pole fishing or a whale. Pick one.
Los Órganos is a fishing village beach, 1,557 metres long by our measurement, and Lonely Planet's pick for variety: tranquil water for children, surf lessons, snorkelling, hand-pole fishing and whale-watching tours, all from the same village.
Best: March (27.7 °C), then February and April →
Australia · Whitsunday Island, Queensland
No. 107
Whitehaven Beach
81 m wide, 5,517 m long
Sand that is 98 per cent silica, and worth every minute of the boat.
Whitehaven's sand is 98 per cent silica, which Time Out says makes it whiter and softer than pretty much anywhere in the world. It runs along Whitsunday Island, reached only by boat, seaplane or helicopter from Airlie Beach or Hamilton Island; the boat takes 30 to 60 minutes, and most day trips also stop at Hill Inlet. There are toilets at the Hill Inlet Lookout and near the South Whitehaven campground. Yachts anchor, seaplanes land and the crowds come ashore together. Queensland Parks lists warnings for crocodiles, marine stingers and sharks across the national park. Lonely Planet and Wikipedia give it as 7 km; the stretch we measured is 5,517 metres.
Best: January (29.0 °C), then December and November →
Spain · Cíes Islands, Galicia
No. 108
Playa de Rodas
81 m wide, 1,091 m long
A permit, a 45-minute ferry, and Atlantic water at 14 °C.
Rodas is the main beach of the Cíes Islands, off Vigo: a short walk from the pier on Monteagudo Island and the longest stretch of sand on the island, 1,091 metres by our measurement. The islands are a protected area. Before you board you need a free Xunta de Galicia permit, and visitors are capped at 450 a day for most of the year and 1,800 in peak summer. You carry out all your waste. The ferry from Vigo takes 45 minutes. The water is notoriously cold, frigid even in August; Lonely Planet puts this corner of the Atlantic at 14 °C on average.
Best: June (18.0 °C), then September and August →
Greece · Samos
No. 109
Potami Beach
83 m wide, 685 m long
Lonely Planet's pick, and the locals' beach.
In 2020 Lonely Planet named Potami one of the ten best beaches in Europe. On Samos it is mostly known as the beach people from Karlovasi go to. It is about 34 km west of Samos Town, a 45 to 50 minute drive, and you can also walk to it from Karlovasi port through Paleo Karlovasi. There is a beach bar with umbrellas and service. The way into the water is steep and the sea often has waves, which can make getting in hard on a rough day. We measured 685 metres of beach.
Best: August (26.1 °C), then July and September →
Portugal · Vila do Bispo
No. 110
Praia da Cordoama
88 m wide, 401 m long
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 →
Portugal · Albufeira
No. 111
Praia da Falésia
89 m wide, 1,334 m long
Six kilometres, most of it spoken for.
Praia da Falésia runs for six kilometres under sandstone cliffs that go from cream to deep terracotta, between Pine Cliffs near Vilamoura and Olhos de Água. Walking it end to end takes two to three hours. The piece the map labels Falésia measures 1.3 km. There are cliff stairs at Pine Cliffs, 60 steps, and at Açoteias, 80, and a flat way in from the village at Olhos de Água. From April to October the crowding index runs at 81 to 98%, and the guide itself suggests a quieter beach instead. East of Açoteias there are no facilities at all.
Best: August (20.1 °C), then July and October →
Portugal · The Algarve
No. 112
Praia do Amado (Sagres side)
89 m wide, 774 m long
Worth a detour.
Wild coast beach on the western edge of the Algarve — wide, dune-backed, cold-water, surf-driven. No sunbeds. No resort. Just a beach café, a pack of surfers, and an Atlantic that doesn't care about your comfort. The cliffs behind are a nature reserve. The sky here does things — sunsets that make atheists reconsider. This is the Algarve for people who found the southern coast too tame.
Best: May–Oct for beach; Sept–Nov for surf →
Australia · Sydney, New South Wales
No. 113
Bondi Beach
94 m wide, 868 m long
The pool at the end is as famous as the beach. Swim between the flags.
Bondi is 7 km east of Sydney's centre. At its southern end the turquoise Bondi Icebergs pool is as renowned as the beach itself, with hardy locals doing laps year-round as waves crash over the edge. The pavilion has public toilets, change rooms and showers. Parking nearby is limited, so take public transport. Dangerous rip currents occur here: always swim between the flags. Lonely Planet calls it crowded and overexposed, and also a place where people live their lives outdoors. Wikipedia gives it as about 1 km; we measured 868 metres.
Best: February (22.9 °C), then April and March →
Spain · Tarifa, Cádiz
No. 114
Playa de Bolonia
98 m wide, 3,592 m long
A 30-metre dune at one end and a Roman town at the other.
Bolonia is the one beach all four of our Spain lists agree on. It runs over 3 km, 3,592 metres by our measurement, 25 minutes' drive from Tarifa. At one end is the Duna de Bolonia, 30 metres high; beside the dunes are the well-preserved ruins of a Roman town, Baelo Claudia. Most people go to the north-western end, by the ruins, which is kept for bathers. There are no sunbeds or umbrellas to hire, just a few chiringuitos and restaurants behind the sand. When the easterly Levante blows, the gusts make big waves for surfers.
Best: August (22.8 °C), then July and June →
Portugal · Aveiro
No. 115
Praia de São Jacinto
100 m wide, 7,030 m long
Seven kilometres, and a ferry to keep it that way.
Praia de São Jacinto measures 7 km long and about 100 m wide on the map, on the fringe of a dune nature reserve near Aveiro. The quick way in from Aveiro is a ferry across the estuary; by car you go the long way round, by Torreira or Ovar. That detour is the reason given for why it is much quieter than Aveiro's other beaches. One source calls it the opposite of a small urban beach that puts you towel to towel with strangers. The lifeguards do not cover its full length, and it has the coldest winter water in our Portuguese records: 13.8°C in January.
Best: August (19.2 °C), then July and June →
Portugal · Lagos
No. 116
Meia Praia
108 m wide, 3,082 m long
A beach long enough to justify its own train stop.
Meia Praia is the long sandy bay in Lagos, with dunes behind it and a railway halt beside the beach. Visit Portugal describes about five kilometres between the marina and the Alvor estuary. Our named OpenStreetMap polygon measures 3,082 metres, which is a mapped extent rather than a fresh measurement of the entire bay. Meia Praia has room to commit to the horizontal lifestyle. Check the access point and services you plan to use.
Best: August (18.9 °C), then July and June →
Spain · San Sebastián
No. 117
La Concha
109 m wide, 1,110 m long
A city beach that keeps a storm up its sleeve, and arrives in 20 minutes.
La Concha is San Sebastián's city beach, 1,110 metres of it by our measurement, and for all that it feels surprisingly relaxed, one guide says. In season, lifeguards patrol and swimming zones are flagged; there are free toilets, showers and changing rooms, and umbrellas, tents and loungers rent for €15 a day. Two things to know: at high tide the sea takes back much of the sand, along with anything left too close, and a galerna, a sudden coastal storm, can form offshore and reach the beach in under 20 minutes.
Best: July and August (23.2 °C each), then September →
No photo we can show yet
Peru · Punta Hermosa, Lima
No. 118
Playa El Silencio
110 m wide, 1,111 m long
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 →
Greece · Crete
No. 119
Falasarna Beach
111 m wide, 908 m long
Big enough that August does not fill it.
Falasarna faces directly west on the west coast of Crete, about 59 km from Chania and 17 km from Kissamos. It is large enough, by its guide's account, to never feel overcrowded even in August. We measured 908 metres of sand, 111 wide. There are beach bars and tavernas along the central and southern sections, and a standard set of two sunbeds and an umbrella runs €15 to €25. There is no sheltering lagoon here, so on windy days the waves grow considerably, which matters most for families with small children. On the first or second Saturday of August there is a beach party with a DJ.
Best: August (25.6 °C), then September and July →
Australia · Cape Le Grand, Western Australia
No. 120
Lucky Bay
117 m wide, 2,207 m long
White sand, turquoise water, and the locals are kangaroos.
Lonely Planet says most visitors don't believe it until they see it: kangaroos bounding down a white sand beach. Lucky Bay is in Cape Le Grand National Park, 60 km from Esperance on Western Australia's south coast, known for bright white sand and turquoise water. There are basic toilets at the car park and a 56-site bush camping ground; a per-vehicle park entry fee and a camping fee apply. The park agency says the beaches are notoriously treacherous for vehicles, and it is easy to get bogged. It gets busy in summer. We measured 2,207 metres of sand, 117 metres wide on average.
Best: March (21.5 °C), then January and February →
No photo we can show yet
Peru · Lima
No. 121
Playa Las Lagunas de Puerto Viejo
126 m wide, 2,352 m long
The biggest of the ten, an hour and a half from Lima, with birds next door.
By our measurement this is the largest of Peru's ten: 2,352 metres long, 126 metres wide on average, 296,625 square metres of sand. It is an hour and a half from Lima. Wetlands beside the beach host a variety of migratory birds. Some come for the surf; Lonely Planet sells it as the weekend getaway.
Best: February (21.7 °C), then March and January →
Spain · Santa Cruz de Tenerife
No. 122
Playa de Las Teresitas
128 m wide, 1,141 m long
Golden sand, shipped in from the Sahara.
Las Teresitas is close to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and its golden sand was shipped in from the Sahara. It has parking for over 100 cars, a bus service, a paddle area, bars, restaurants and facilities, and Lonely Planet calls it popular for its chilled atmosphere and chiringuitos. We measured 1,141 metres of sand, 128 wide on average.
Best: August (24.3 °C), then September and October →
Portugal · The Algarve
No. 123
Praia de Carvalhal
142 m wide, 319 m long
Only if you're already there.
A wide, dune-backed beach on the Carvoeiro-to-Armação stretch — attractive, accessible, and exactly the kind of beach that exists in a thousand places but is pleasant in all of them. Wooden boardwalks over the dunes, two beach restaurants doing respectable grilled fish, and sand enough that the crowd spreads. Nothing to write home about. Plenty to come back to.
Best: May–Oct →
Australia · Broome, Western Australia
No. 124
Cable Beach
148 m wide, 5,682 m long
Twenty-two kilometres of white sand, named after a phone line.
Cable Beach is named after the telegraph cable laid between Broome and Java in 1889. It is a 22 km stretch of white sand on the Indian Ocean, a five-minute drive or 30-minute walk from Broome town centre, and Time Out notes it was ranked third best in the world in TripAdvisor's 2023 awards. There are toilets, a picnic area, a café and a car park; 4WDs may drive on the sand from the northern end of the car park. Box jellyfish may be present from November to April, so take care swimming then. At that length, there is room to find a quiet spot even in the busy dry season. The stretch we measured is 5,682 metres of the 22 km.
Best: March (32.7 °C), then January and December →
Spain · Fuerteventura
No. 125
Playa de Cofete
157 m wide, 6,266 m long
An hour of gravel road to one of the Canaries' great unspoilt beaches.
Cofete is on Fuerteventura's wild side, at the end of about an hour's drive on a narrow, winding, very bumpy gravel road to Cofete village; without a car there is an infrequent bus on the same road. One guide calls it one of the most famous unspoilt beaches in the Canary Islands. The polygon we measured is 6,266 metres long and 157 wide on average, among the biggest in our survey of Spain.
Best: August and September (23.1 °C each), then October →
Portugal · Nazaré
No. 126
Praia do Norte
157 m wide, 4,110 m long
Do not get close to this beach.
Praia do Norte is the beach on the north side of Nazaré where the biggest waves ever surfed have been ridden. The record, 26.2 metres, was set here in October 2020. The waves come from the Nazaré Canyon, an underwater canyon about 5,000 metres deep whose upper end begins roughly one kilometre off the town. We measured 4.1 km of sand. You can walk down to it by a dirt road, and the local guide's advice for that is blunt: do not get too close, because several tourists have drowned here, carried away by waves. Most people watch from the hillside and from the Fort of São Miguel Arcanjo. The big waves come between October and March. In summer they are, in the guide's word, normal.
Best: August (18.3 °C), then June and July →
Portugal · The Algarve
No. 127
Praia de Odeceixe
165 m wide, 454 m long
Worth a detour.
The last beach in the Algarve before you tip into the Alentejo, and the one that resets your standards. A river meets the sea here — you can swim in the warm creek with toddlers on one side, or brave the cold Atlantic on the other, separated by 50 meters of sand. The village behind it is a single street of white houses with a windmill. It's what the Algarve was before the budget airlines. Come here to remember.
Best: June–Sept →
Portugal · Aljezur
No. 128
Praia de Odeceixe
165 m wide, 454 m long
A river on one side, the Atlantic on the other.
Odeceixe is the northernmost beach in the Algarve, right on the border with the Alentejo, where a calm river lagoon meets the Atlantic surf. That gives it two kinds of water. The ocean side stays at 16 to 19°C even in summer, with currents running along the beach, and the advice is to swim only in the lifeguarded zone. We measured 454 metres of sand, 165 wide, which is a lot of beach to cross before you get wet. A car is essential: there is no public transport, and the car park fills by mid-morning in peak season.
Best: August (18.6 °C), then October and November →
Portugal · Portimão
No. 129
Praia da Rocha
170 m wide, 1,259 m long
The beach in every Algarve brochure, and it knows it.
Praia da Rocha is the one in the photographs. Visit Portugal says so itself: this is regularly where the Algarve shoots its publicity. Our polygon measures 1,259 metres of it, 170 metres wide on average. How long it really is depends on who you ask: one guide says 1.5 km, the tourist board says some 3, and we got 1.26. Sunbeds run the full length. The guide that knows it best says that if you want tranquillity and empty sand, this is the wrong beach. Famous for its pictures, and no two sources agree on its measurements.
Best: August (19.1 °C), then July and June →
Peru · Cañete
No. 130
Playa Cerro Azul
171 m wide, 913 m long
The Beach Boys sang about it in 1962. The wave moves every year.
Cerro Azul is a fishing village and former port 131 km south of Lima. The Beach Boys mentioned it in their first major hit, Surfin' Safari, in 1962. South of the pier is Puerto Viejo, the old port, with the holiday homes and most of the surfing, on left breaks. North of the pier the beach is longer and sandier.
Best: February (22.4 °C), then March and January →