Top 25 beaches destinations to visit at least once

In that winter season (at least in the Northern hemisphere) and,  as most of us are still waiting for the magic vaccine injections to travel more freely, I thought I would provide a list of 25 amazing beach destinations around the globe for your next vacations. This is obviously a subjective and incomplete list but those are some of my favorite seaside and travel photography spots, not in any ranked order.

Kauai Island, Hawaii USA

 Kauai tropical volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean is in my view one of the most beautiful seascapes on earth, This is an amazing vacation destination with a lot to see and do, like the amazing Kee Beach on the Na Pali coast, viewed from the Kalalau Trail.

That Iconic island is featured in many movies like Jurassic Park. Get out of the beach for some hikes and discover the view of the Kalalau Valley from the Pihea Trail near Pu’u O Kila Lookout…

Porto de Galinhas, Ipojoca Brazil

Porto de Galinhas, south of Recife,  is a famous and fantastic tourist destination. The surfboards under thatched roofs with the turquoise Atlantic Ocean background make that beach amazing for any tourist or photographer.

In Porto de Galinhas, enjoy as well a tour in the typical, colorful Ipojuca boats and perhaps get one of the Caipirinha cocktails that are sold on the beach 😎.

Goa state, India

Goa, on the southwestern coast, is one of India’s top holiday area. The Colorful boats on the white sands of the famous Palolem beach, with beautiful bungalows under palm trees in front of the Arabian sea, is a great place to chill out.

To name one specific place, Palolem beach is famous for its sunsets over the Arabian sea!

Saint Lucia island (Sainte-Lucie), Caribbean

Saint Lucia is a tropical island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It is a part of the Lesser Antilles. Sugar Beach with its coconut trees and the famous Mount Gimie (tallest Saint Lucia mountain) has the perfect pirates’ feel!

Go around that gorgeous island with many natural beauties. One of my favorite travel photography spots is Marigot Bay with its lush vegetation and sailing boats on the turquoise sea.

Algarve coast, Portugal

The Algarve is the southernmost region of continental Portugal, with Faro as a capital. That beautiful region attracts many (many) tourists all year round, for good reasons. With colorful villages (like Carvoeiro below), beautiful beaches and cliffs, and the turquoise Atlantic Ocean, this is a place to visit!

There are many gorgeous spots to see, like the famous Ponta da Piedade area in Lagos, A paradise for a travel photographer

Abu Dhabi and Dubai, U.A.E

The United Arab Emirates in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf Sea is an increasingly popular vacation spot for those who are looking for great hotels, shopping malls restaurants, and -very- warm weather 😌. Dubai remains the touristic hub of the UAE still. The iconic Burj Al Arab hotel, reflecting on Jumeirah beach and Persian Gulf Sea at twilight is still something to see …

Abu Dhabi is an increasingly popular destination as well. The white sand beach with the turquoise Persian Gulf Sea and the Emirates Palace in the background is a nice travel photography spot (even if the highlight of the city is in my view the Gand Mosque)

Southern California USA

I’ll do a dedicated post on California but just to pick one arbitrarily, Manhattan Beach pier and Roundhouse Aquarium silhouettes at sunset is a fair sample of the Los Angeles Pacific Ocean beach cities

One of my favorite spots remains however Laguna Beach, just north of San Diego, and the beautiful white sand Treasure Island beach on the turquoise Pacific Ocean

Azure coast France

I have to put on the list the French riviera known at the “Azure coast” (and not only because we live there in our Vistazur villa). The coastline from Monaco to almost Marseille is an amazing seafront vacation destination. Out of many, the gulf of Saint-Tropez area is gorgeous, and one jewel is the Porquerolles island national park with the iconic Notre Dame beach over the turquoise Mediterranean Sea.

Many hikes among the coastline will bring you to tiny beaches or rocks over the sea, like the “Pointe du Layet” small white sand beach, near le Lavandou.

Bahamas, Caribbeans

The Commonwealth of The Bahamas is a group of islands in the West Indies and a very touristic spot easily reachable from the USA. If you’re looking for luxury hotels, pools, and endless beach and entertainment activities paradise island near Nassau is by far the easiest to reach and enjoy a great vacation week in the  Caribbeans

One of the famous places there is the turquoise Cove Beach lagoon, with its white sand and beautiful vegetation and palm trees. But you will not be alone there …

Brisbane Australia

Doing any justice to the amazing Australia coastline with one spot is a mission impossible, so, as a sampling choice, Nudgee Beach Reserve near Shorncliffe pier, Brisbane, Queensland Australia is a great spot, especially with the mangrove trees on the beach and the Pacific Ocean in the background.

You can as well observe many birds on the beach…

Tuamotus, French Polynesia

You can read my post on the Tuamotus low-lying coral atolls located in French Polynesia. This very remote but mythical place is very close to what most would describe as a paradise on Earth and this is sunset on the famous Tikehau pink sand beach are one of many proofs of this…

You’ll find in Rangiroa Tuamotus atoll the peaceful dream island archetype, especially at sunset over coconut palm trees and a pier with a thatched roof silhouette…

Amalfi coast Italy

The Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline among the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Gulf of Salerno, Southern Italy. This is an amazing vacation spot for beach, culture, history, food, and much more. The famous Capri Island is an obvious highlight of the region, with its famous Faraglioni Cliffs and beautiful yachts on the turquoise Tyrrhenian Sea (great view from Mount Solaro trails)

The overall Amalfi area is a wonderful seascape with many beautiful small cities like Positano below

Barbados, Caribbean

Barbados is a beautiful island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the North America Caribbean region. Again, difficult to pick one spot but, as an example, the idyllic Discovery Bay golden sand beach at its coconut trees above the turquoise Caribbean Sea is a place to go and see …

Even if very touristic, you can still find deserted, white sand beaches like Miami Beach with its lush, vivid green vegetation and coconut trees,

Seychelles island

You can read my post on La Digue Island in the land of perpetual summer. This is in my pov one of the most beautiful places on earth and, sunrise on Anse Source d’Argent beach and granite rocks, with Praslin in the background, is one out of many proofs…

If you want to get the “pirates feel,” go to the paradisiac Grand Anse beach…

Miami Beach, Florida USA

It would be unfair not to name on that list the iconic Miami South Beach’s white sand and turquoise water spot!

Aside from the beach, obviously, visit the Art Deco district. You can even find vintage car mirroring Miami Beach on Ocean Drive…

Cape Town, South Africa

Ok, arguably, the water down there is very cold to make it a pure “beach vacation spot” but it has to be on the list for the amazing Devil’s Peak and Table Mountain. The view is great from Dolphin Beach in the Bloubergstrand Cape Town area..

Of course, you need to go down to the famous Cape of Good Hope and Dias Beach on Cape Point in the Table Mountain National Park….

Mauritius Island, Africa

You can read my post stating that heaven was copied after Mauritius for more highlights but one of the beautiful spots in my view is the Ile aux Cerfs lagoon and white sand beach.

Everywhere, you’ll find beautiful white sand beaches, turquoise Indian Ocean water, and coconut palm trees like this one near the foot of Le Morne Brabant mountain

Cozumel Island & Tulum, Mexico

Cozumel is a beautiful island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. It is an amazing spot for snorkeling, but you can as well just chill on a hammock in one of the many gorgeous sea resorts

Take a day to visit the iconic, pre-Columbian Tulum Mayan temple of the god of the winds, above the turquoise Caribbean Sea on the mainland

Galapagos, Ecuador

You will obviously go to Galapagos for its wildlife and natural wonders so it is not just a beach destination but beaches are amazing, like Garden Bay’s white sand beach on the eastern shore of Espanola Island with many cute loin seals sunbathing

It is not “just a beach. This is one of the few places on earth where sea lions are so unafraid about humans that they will come and play within the Pacific Ocean….

Sint Maarten, Caribbeans

Sint Maarten is part of the Caribbean Leeward Islands and is half Dutch, half French (Saint Martin). That gorgeous island is quite an executive (read expensive) but beautiful island. You can even for diamond shopping on the waterfront….

One experience to do is to take a bath below the planes landing at St Martin airport just above the beautiful Maho Beach’s golden sand and turquoise sea beach (cheaper than diamond chopping and kind of safe) …

Plane landing at St Martin airport, just above the beautiful Maho Beach’s golden sand and turquoise sea, in Sint Maarten, Caribbean Leeward Islands

Hawaii big island

As the Big Island is so different than Kauai, I’m nominating it as well for its beautiful white sand beaches with black lava rocks (or course go to the Volcanoes national park if you’re there)

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The seascape around the always colorful sunset with palm tree forest silhouettes and lava rocks is always an amazing show, like, for example in Pauoa Bay.

La Martinique, Caribbean Windward Islands

La Martinique is a French island in the Caribbean Sea with many resorts and gorgeous nature, as in the Sainte-Anne area for example

La Martinique is a Caribbean Windward Islands that has a lot to offer for a relaxing stay …

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio had to be on my list as well …  for the iconic Copacabana Beach, with Two Brothers Mountain and as famous Ipanema beach in the background

You will find amazing spots around those gorgeous beaches like Praya do Vidigal, near Ipanema Beach

Bora Bora, Tahiti, French Polynesia

Last but not least, Bora bora, the Polynesian romantic paradise, and probably my favorite place as a photographer. Read my post on Bora Bora. That romantic honeymoon destination, is a postcard especially from one of the many Motu with Mount Otemanu in the background, in Bora Bora lagoon.

One of the famous places is Motu Tane water, white sand, and palm tree on beautiful Bora Bora island, a honeymoon destination, near Tahiti, Polynesia, Pacific Ocean. Don’t dream, you can’t access it except if you’re wealthy enough to rent the island 😢.

This is it for my Top 25 beaches destinations to visit at least once. I hope some would inspire you to go there and I’ll probably need to do another post with 25 more dream places in the future ….