10 GREAT BEACH SPOTS AROUND THE WORLD

BY NELSON LEWIS

THE SEYCHELLES

THANKS TO ITS PALE PINK SANDS, TOWERING GRANITE BOULDERS AND SHALLOW TURQUOISE WATERS, THE BEACHES ON THIS ARCHIPELAGO ARE SOME OF THE MOST WIDELY-PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE WORLD. PROTECTED

FROM THE WAVES OF THE OCEAN BY A REEF, THE SHALLOWNESS AND CALM OF THE WATER MAKE FOR THE PERFECT PLACE TO GO SNORKELING.

MALDIVES

OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INDIAN OCEAN LIE THIS 1,102-ISLAND ARCHIPELAGO, YOU GET THE CHANCE TO SPEND YOUR NIGHTS IN A LUXURIOUS RESORT AND YOUR DAYS SWIMMING AMONG TROPICAL FISH. THE SOFT AIR HERE HELPS TO BLEND INTO A BEAUTIFUL PALM-FRINGED HAZE THAT ATTRACTS TOURISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

BORA BORA

TAHITI HAS BEEN DRAWING VISITORS SINCE BRITISH SAILORS FIRST DISCOVERED IT IN THE LATE 18TH CENTURY, AND FOR GOOD REASON. OUT OF THE MANY TAHITIAN ISLANDS, HOWEVER, BORA BORA MAY BE THE CROWN JEWEL, THANKS TO ITS ISOLATED BEACHES, INTIMATE HOTELS AND QUIET ATMOSPHERE.

THE HAMPTONS

THE HAMPTONS IS SYNONYMOUS WITH LUXURIOUS LIVING, BOASTING SOME OF THE BEST BEACHES ON LONG ISLAND. THE UNSPOILED SHORELINE, BORDERED BY WINDSWEPT DUNES AND WAVING GRASSES, BEGINS AROUND SOUTHAMPTON, RUNNING EAST TO THE END OF THE ISLAND AT MONTAUK.

LANIKAI BEACH, HAWAII

WITH HALF A MILE OF SPARKLING SAND, LUSH GREENERY, ENDLESS SUNSHINE AND SWAYING PALM TREES, LANIKAI IS ONE OF HAWAII’S MOST PICTURESQUE BEACHES. THANKS TO A NEARBY CORAL REEF, THE SURF STAYS FAIRLY CALM, AND THE WATER IS ALWAYS A POSTCARD-PERFECT COLOR.

NANTUCKET ISLAND

MUCH LIKE THE HAMPTONS, NANTUCKET HAS EARNED A REPUTATION AS A RESORT COMMUNITY FOR THE WEALTHY IN THE NORTHEAST. BUT BEYOND THAT, THIS ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF MASSACHUSETTS ALSO BOASTS A GREAT VARIETY OF BEACHES; WATERS AT SURFSIDE AND CHILDREN’S ARE RELATIVELY CALM, MADAKET BEACH HAS ROUGHER SURF AND UNFORGETTABLE SUNSETS, WHILE QUIDNET BEACH OFFERS UNPARALLELED VIEWS OF THE SANKATY HEAD LIGHTHOUSE.

FRASER ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

PERCHED ON THE COAST OF QUEENSLAND SOME 161 KILOMETERS NORTHEAST OF BRISBANE, THIS IS LARGEST SAND ISLAND IN THE WORLD, AND HOME TO A TRULY EXCEPTIONAL BEACH. AND THANKS TO ITS 1,021 SQUARE MILES OF UNSPOILED NATURAL BEAUTY, IT’S ALSO AN ECOLOGIST’S DREAM-COME-TRUE. THE HOTELS THEMSELVES ARE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE TOURISTS RANGING FROM THE MORE PAMPERED TO BACKPACKERS WHO ARE MORE INTERESTED IN ROUGHING IT.

ST. BARTHÉLEMY

WHILE THE CARIBBEAN HAS GOT PLENTY OF BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS WITH EXCEPTIONAL BEACHES, “ST. BART’S” STANDS OUT DUE TO A UNIQUE BLEND OF ISLAND RELAXATION AND FRENCH CHIC. THANKS TO BEAUTIFUL SECLUDED BEACHES, FINE FRENCH FOOD AND GRACIOUS HOTELS, THIS SPOT IS POPULAR WITH WEALTHIER TOURISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA

NOT WITHOUT GOOD REASON, THE NAME OF THIS BEACH TRANSLATES TO “THE LAND OF ONE’S WISHES”. PREVIOUSLY A REFUGE FOR PIRATES, LANGKAWI HAS SINCE BECOME A MODERN GETAWAY FOR ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO COMPLETELY ESCAPE FROM THE WORLD WHILE YOU DIVE INTO CLEAR WATERS AND DRY OFF ON WHITE SAND AND LUSH GREEN FOREST.

KAUNA’OA BAY, HAWAIIKAUNA’OA BAY IS THE QUINTESSENTIAL HAWAIIAN SPOT, WITH WHITE SAND, PALM TREES AND CALM, CLEAR, BLUE WATER. AT NIGHT, PEER OUT INTO THE WATER AND SEE IF YOU CAN CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THE MANTA RAYS SWIMMING.