The 8 Best Beaches in the World

The only real beach guide on the internet brings you the 8 best beaches in the world.

Why is our beach guide different to all those others?  

Simple really, we travel the world actually visiting hundred and hundreds of beaches. We've put bums on sand, dipped toes in waters and soaked up the sun on five continents and countless islands.

The results have led to this list of the 8 best beaches in the world... 

1) Petit Anse on the Island of Mahe, Seychelles

best beach in the worldPetit Anse, Seychelles

The Seychelles has hundreds of world class beaches. You'll see beaches like Anse Source d"Argent on many of the lists of top ten beaches in the world. It's a beautiful beach but most people who make these lists have never been to ANY of the beaches in the Seychelles, while we've been to all the best ones on many of the 115 islands.

That's why Anse Souce d'Argent isn't in our top 8 list of the best beaches in the world. It's stunning but there are lovelier beaches... like Petit Anse on Mahe Island.

Petit Anse is the only beach to ever score a perfect 90 on our checklist of 9 factors (each rated out of 10). Are you a perfectionist? Then begin discovering Petit Anse now.

2) Reethirah in the Maldives

Reethi Rah, MaldivesReethi Rah, Maldives

Like the Seychelles the Maldives is an island chain with hundreds of lovely beaches. Of them all Reethi Rah is the loveliest. Here's more on this tiny island of white sands and baby blue seas.

3) Goloritzè in Sardinia

Photo by Vasile 23 - shared under Flickr's Creative Commons License.

Goloritze in SardiniaGoloritze Beach

We've written a lot about Sardinia's beautiful beaches on this website and of all the Sardinian beaches it is Goloritze that stands out. The sand is fine marble and literally shines so white you'll need to wear shades. The sea too won't be outdone by any sparkling sand... with a thousand sparkles all of its own. Jump into the sea and watch your shadow follow you about along the bottom - the water is that clear and translucent. For more on Goloritze click here.

4) Clifton, Cape Town

Clifton Beach, Cape TownClifton Beach

Mountains tower all around and huge boulders stand as sentinels between the four beaches that make up Clifton.  This is a beach unrivaled in many aspects  - it could easily be number one on our list except for the fact that even on the hottest summers day the sea is "refreshingly" chilled. Discover these four beautiful beaches for yourself here.

5) Praia do Sancho in Brazil

View of beach in Bazil with tree foliage in the foreground

I tend to prefer white sandy beaches but there are always exceptions to be made; we've featured pink beaches on Budelli island and even banana colored beaches on Anse Patates so why not golden?  The golden sands of Praia do Sancho are therefore included in our top 8 beaches of the world list. Discover more about this island off the coast of Brazil here.

6) Bird Island

Bird IslandBird Island

A tiny postage stamp of an island and yet, despite it's tiny size, there are a number of beaches where nature still rules - the island is one of only a handful of places on earth where turtles wander out of the sea in the middle of the day. The Bird Island beach that makes our top 8 is West Beach.

7) Navagio Beach on the Greek Island of Zaynthos

Navagio BeachNavagio Beach

Having Greek relatives I couldn't afford not to include a beach in Greece. Thank goodness there is one beach that really does deserve to be in our top eight list - it is Navagio beach. The photo pretty much says it all but if you want to visit yourself here's everything you need to know. 

8) Thailand's Ko Phi Phi Don 

Ko Phi Phi DonKo Phi Phi Don

Thailand only just made my list. The way that Thailand is being over-developed and super commercialized might mean that it won't be included in future. Still this beach is spectacular and Thailand does have a few other wonderful beaches too. Here are the ones still worth visiting.

Map of the Best Beaches in the World

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