After visiting 100 countries and seven continents, we share the best beaches we’ve seen on our travels
When I first went on holiday, I was 18 years old and on the lookout for the perfect beach. You know the sort: powdery white sand and clear turquoise water set against a blazing blue sky. In those early years of travel, I saw beautiful beaches in Barbados, Tunisia, Thailand, Mexico and Dubai, but none were quite the same as the brochures and the billboards.
They were either lined with high-rise hotels (Waikiki), filled with tourists (Ko Phi Phi), or not quite as soft and powdery as the pictures would have you believe. Eventually, I concluded that all the adverts were photoshopped beyond reality and that there was no such thing as the perfect beach. And then we went to the Maldives and Fiji and Samoa, and I found what I was looking for.
The best beaches we’ve ever seen
To help you discover the same idyll, we’ve put together a list of the best beaches we’ve ever seen, accompanied by photos we took ourselves (i.e. no brochure-style retouching). We also list notable features, choosing from a list of powdery sand, clear water, secluded location, dramatic setting, unspoilt coastline and sea life.
1. Baros
Location: Baros Island, Maldives
Notable features: Powdery sand, clear water, secluded location, sea life
The private island of Baros in the Maldives is one of my favourite places in the world. Located in the North Male atoll, it is a tiny island which takes about eight minutes to circumnavigate. The entire island is carpeted with powdery white sand and the nearby reef is teeming with sea life.
We first visited in 2012 and our private sandbank dinner was likely the most memorable night of my life. We returned 10 years later, in 2022, and while the sand has somewhat receded, Baros remains one of the best beaches we’ve ever seen.
2. Muri Beach
Location: Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Notable features: Powdery sand, clear water, dramatic setting
Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands, is home to volcanic peaks, dramatic ridges and lush rainforest. When we were there in 2014, the island idyll was somewhat disturbed by the glut of bikes and scooters that ply the outer ring road.
Thankfully, there were plenty of places to find some calm, not least Muri Beach. Unlike the other…
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