1. Noordwijk Beach
   Cathedrals Beach
2. Las Islas Cies
   75-Mile Beach

Located at Fraser Island off of southeast Queensland, you'll find 75-Mile Beach. In 1935, the shipwrecked vessel Maheno washed ashore and it's been tarnishing under Australia's sun ever since.

1. Piscinas Beach
   Pink Sands Beach
2. Maho Beach
   Copacabana Beach

The coral reef at Pink Sands Beach at Harbour Island in the Bahamas guards the ecosystem against the turbulent waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Located in Dunmore Town, Pink Sands is part of one of the earliest outposts of the Bahamas.

1. Block Island
   Sleeping Bear Point
2. Ofu Beach
   Hidden Beach

Ancient artifacts dating back to 1000 B.C. have been discovered at To'aga Site, an area found behind Ofu Beach. White sands, mountain ridges and boulders of Ofu Beach are a part of the 2,600 miles that comprise the National Park of American Samoa.

1. Langkawi
   Lyme Regis
2. Cape Henlopen
   Crane Beach

Crane Beach is a remote fixture of St. Philip parish in Barbados. Dunes and cliffs accompany the pink sandy beaches of Crane Beach, which dominates the island's southeast coastline.

1. One Foot Island
   Tayrona National Park
2. Horseshoe Bay
   Anguilla

The rocky Horseshoe Bay is Bermuda's best-known beach, posted 650 miles off the coastline of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Horseshoe's tallest rock is 60 feet high. Bermuda is a small island that spans 21 miles.

1. Baia Dos Porcos
   Lazy Beach
2. Harbour Island
   Phi Phi Islands

Brazil's Baia dos Porcos is well known for white grainy beaches and rock fragments that shoot up from blue waters. Baia dos Porcos is located in the Fernando Noronha volcanic archipelago.

1. Tenerife
   Phra Nang Beach
2. Nai Harn Beach
   Maya Bay

Sixty-mile-long Tenerife is the most populous of the Canary Islands. In 1936, Francisco Franco was banished to the islands, which he used as his base to devise a scheme to topple Spain's government.

1. Yalong Bay
   Clifton Beach
2. Anse Lazio
   Great Santa Cruz Island

Pricey Yalong Bay is four miles of blue water and white sand that beautify the tropical island of Hainan, China's southern island. Hanian has two other beaches: Dadonghai and Sanya Bay.

1. Natadola Beach
   Yapak Beach
2. White Beach
   Secret Lagoon Beach

Energetic waves at Natadola Beach make for good surfing. The shoreline at Natadola Beach is filled with white sands and hugs the Pacific Ocean on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. The region boasts 35 acres of tropical flora.

1. Main Beach
   Westhampton Beach
2. East Hampton Beach
   Large Beach, Biarritz

Regarded as one of the best surfing destinations in all of Europe, Large Beach in Biarritz, France is a slice of the commune's rocky beaches beaten by the wild waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Biarritz is a former whaling port off of France's southwest coast.

1. Playa del Amor
   Red Beach
2. Maroma
   Playa Paraiso

The red-rock landscape of Red Beach at Santorini in Greece is due to natural volcanic formations, while the rock sculptures at the beach's edge are recent additions. Known as a nudist hub, Red Beach was started by a group of European bohemians in the 1960s.

1. Reynisfjara Beach
   Marconi Beach
2. Gay Head
   Crane Beach

The basalt sea stacks at Reynisfjara Beach were created when very hot lava from volcanic activity met the cold waters of the ocean. In addition to ink-black sand, the beach is renowned for its powerful waves.

1. Coast Guard Beach
   Cape Cod
2. Cas Abao Beach
   Varkala Beach

Cas Abao Beach is a secluded Caribbean destination spot on the island of Curacao. Snorkeling is a popular activity at the beach's section of the ocean, where you'll spot abundant coral, tropical fish, sponges and other underwater wildlife.

1. Varca Beach
   Agonda Beach
2. Randhanagar Beach
   Palolem Beach

India's Agonda Beach is a quiet beach, as few tourists venture to this remote destination. Agonda Beach is home to a sea turtle conservation center that protects the eggs of the Olive Ridley species.

1. Negril Beach
   Mandrem Beach
2. Cavelossim Beach
   Benaulim Beach

Negril's seven-mile beach is the longest and one of the most attractive of Jamaica. In addition to dramatic rock cliffs and secluded seaside spots for hedonists, Negril's waters include remnants from Spanish as well and English ships that date as far back as the 15th century.

1. Popham Beach
   Arambol Beach
2. Poipu Beach
   Honaunau Bay

In 1607, early English settlers constructed Maine's first ship near Popham Beach. The beach community is very quiet, and its long stretch of sandy pristine shoreline tends to stay uncrowded.

1. Red Sand Beach
   Waikiki Beach
2. Lanikai Beach
   Assateague Island

Assateague Island is known for its wild horse population. Because of their short stature, the horses are classified as ponies. The animals have adapted to island conditions, including nutrient deficiencies, for hundreds of years.

1. Kapalua
   Red Beach
2. Blue Bay
   Navagio Beach

The 872-acre Blue Bay Marine Park in Mauritius has 108 species of coral, 30 species of echinoderms and 233 mollusk species. Blue Bay Beach includes the blue waters of the Indian Ocean.

1. South Beach
   Sidari
2. Bowman's Beach
   Siest Key Beach

South Beach is a beach community in Miami that was once dubbed "God's Waiting Room" because it included a large retiree population. Views from art-deco styled buildings overlook the town's bright stretch of beach.

1. St. Joseph State Park
   Perdido Key SRA
2. Grayton Beach
   Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach is one of six island towns that comprise North Carolina's Brunswick Islands. Sunset Beach visitors are encouraged to submit messages about their hopes and dreams in the Kindred Spirit mailbox that Frank Nesmith, an island local, set up at the beach's west end in the 1970s.

1. Bahia Honda SRA
   Cannon Beach
2. Barbuda
   Carmel City Beach

Haystack Rock is the main draw at Oregon's Cannon Beach, which is posted at the northern end of the coast. Haystack Rock is a massive basalt stone that emerges from the beach's north end.

1. Newport Beach
   Laguna Beach
2. Hyams Beach
   El Nido

El Nido in the Philippines boasts unique limestone formations that decorate the beach's landscape. El Nido and surrounding islands are the most famous shipwreck diving destinations in the world.

1. Nungwi
   Maldives
2. Zoni Beach
   Shi Shi Beach

An assortment of birds call Zonich Beach in Culebra, Puerto Rico home. Accessible by ferry or airplane, the seven-by-three-mile long island offers secluded strolls along pink sandy beaches and plenty of snorkeling sites.

1. Trunk Bay
   Grace Bay
2. Ipanema Beach
   Railay Beach

Brazil's Ipanema Beach gained notoriety during the 1960s as the hype of the city's Copacabana Beach began to dim. Stretching just over a mile long, Ipanema is a favorite destination for Rio's most sophisticated visitors.

1. Matira Point
   Camps Bay
2. Ipanema Beach
   Anse Source d'Argent

Anse Source d'Argent at La Digue in Seychelles includes massive boulders, and the region's lush greenery contrasts its bright, white sand. The waters are a crystal-clear tone of turquoise which makes it easy to see numerous tropical fish scurrying about.

1. Zoni Beach
   El Nido
2. Cannon Beach
   Camps Bay

Camp's Bay is a wealthy suburb of Cape Town, South Africa with fine-grained pale sand beaches that rim the coast. Pricey beachfront homes are a brief walk away from fine-dining establishments that also dot the seaboard.

1. Sunset Beach
   Matira Point
2. South Beach
   Blue Bay

If you care to witness reef sharks getting hand feed, then head over to Matira Point, Bora Bora's majestic beach commune. Matira Point lies at the southern tip of the French Polynesian island.

1. Assateague Island
   Railay Beach
2. Popham Beach
   Negril Beach

Limestone-rich Railay Beach in southern Thailand used to be one of the country's most popular cliff-climbing destinations until the activity was banned. Railay Beach lies at the Phra Nang Peninsula.

1. Dhanushkodi Beach
   Agonda Beach
2. Grace Bay
   Reynisfjara Beach

Grace Bay Beach is one of the main draws of Turks and Caicos. The skies at Grace Bay are filled with sun 319 days of the year, and the 12-mile-long beach is powdered with soft sand.

1. Papakolea Beach
   Shipwreck Beach
2. Red Beach
   Trunk Bay

Some visitors claim to see the contour of a heart when viewing St. John's Trunk Bay from above. Beneath the ocean's surface, exotic fish chase deep-sea swimmers along Trunk Bay's snorkeling trail that stretches for a quarter of a mile.

1. Corniche
   Shi Shi Beach
2. St. Tropez
   Biarritz Beach

Located a four-and-a-half-hour car drive away from Seattle is Shi Shi Beach, which Washington's Olympic National Park acquired in 1983. Shi Shi Beach has been named the state's most attractive ocean landscape.

1. Clearwater Beach
   Natadola Beach
2. Nungwi
   Cas Abao Beach

Weak tides at Nungwi allow for peaceful snorkeling and swimming in the beach's clear blue waters. Nungwi is the scuba-diving mecca of Zanzibar's share of the Indian Ocean and it has an abundant sea turtle population.

1. Yalong Bay
   Tenerife
2. Baia Dos Porcos
   Whitehaven Beach

Voted one of the best beaches on Earth, Whitehaven Beach at Australia's Whitsunday Island is four miles of white silica sand and blue-green water. Silica does not retain heat, which is ideal for strolling barefoot on the beach under the hot sun.

1. Horseshoe Bay
   Cat Island
2. Pelican Beach
   Crane Beach

Cat Island in the Bahamas is named for the pirate Arthur Catt, who established sugar and cotton plantations there. The English arrived at the island in 1649, and set up a colony in 1717.

1. Cat Island
   Pink Sands Beach
2. South Water Caye
   Whitehaven Beach

Propped on a barrier reef, South Water Caye features numerous deep-water sites, including wall dives and ocean drops. The South Water Caye Marine Reserve is filled with exotic creatures, such as blue tang, coral and angelfish.

1. 75-Mile Beach
   Clearwater Beach
2. Ofu Beach
   Noordwijk Beach

Florida's Clearwater Beach is considered one of the best beaches of the United States. It one of the few places in the world to receive the Blue Wave Award for meeting high standards in cleanliness, environmental protection and water quality.

1. Long Beach
   St. Tropez
2. Phra Nang Beach
   Maya Bay

St. Tropez is a popular beach destination that punctuates the French Riviera; the area attracts 6 million visitors every year. The resort spot was featured in the 1956 Brigitte Bardot film "And God Created Woman."

1. White Beach
   East Hampton Beach
2. Navagio Beach
   Cavelossim Beach

Surrounded by steep cliffs on three sides, Greece's Navagio Beach is accessible by boat. The location is known for the Panagiotis, a small shipwreck that has been washed ashore since the 1980s.

1. Papakolea Beach
   Arambol Beach
2. Lanikai Beach
   Siest Key Beach

Majestic olive-colored cliffs surround Hawaii's Papakolea Beach. The cove's sand is comprised of small crystals called olivine, which is from the 49,000-year-old Puu Mahana cinder cone located nearby.

1. Perdido Key SRA
   El Nido
2. Grace Bay
   Dhanushkodi Beach

Dhanushkodi Beach flecks the tip of Pamban Island in southeast India. The virtual ghost town that includes the remote beach paradise was flattened by a destructive hurricane in 1964.