Two categories: First, the one you hang out at regularly, and then, the finest you’ve visited on vacation, etc. Mine are:
LA JOLLA SHORES in San Diego–Usually decent waves for body/board surfing, good sand for jogging, nice tidepools at either end, two lawn areas, playground, firerings. In late July and August, hundreds of (harmless) leopard sharks come into the shallows, always fun to say you’ve gone swimming with them!
BONDI BEACH in Australia–Visited there earlier this year. Warm, clear water, good waves, great bodies on display, funky main drag with with lots of choices for food and beach gear.
JONES BEACH STATE PARK - Field 6 1/2. Quite a long blade ride from my house and once arriving at field 6, it’s still a bit of a trek: but well worth it.
ANY ARUBAN BEACH - (Arashi, Palm, Malmock, Surfside, et al): Heaven on Earth
Obviously, it depends what you’re looking for. Couple of beaches I’ve been to, any surfer would hate. The most beautiful one I ever saw was at Rendevous Bay in Anguilla. Close second was one called (creatively) the Blue Lagoon in Rangaroa, French Polynesia. Next, I’d rank a beach I don’t know the name of on Kaui in Hawaii. There’s a section of the beach in Aruba that is very nice, but it’s right by a row of hotels, so it’s sometimes a little noisy, and although it’s wide, it’s not very long. Then, just to be chauvinistic, I love Island Beach State Park right here in New Jersey. Finally, there are several areas of the Outer Banks off the Carolinas; I’m thinking specifically of a couple on Ocracoke Island.
However, like I said, a surfer would hate most of those, and so would anyone looking for any kind of nearby nightlife.
One of the neat things about some tropical beaches is that the sand is made of coral, not rock, and it doesn’t get hot and burn your bare feet!
Any part of Bigej (“Bee-gee”) Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Quiet, remote, empty…longish reef for breakers, vast stretches of clean white sand, lots of shade amongst the palms, and home of some amazing heart attack-inducing sunsets. You can bask in the sun, explore the jungle, go body surfing, visit with the local Marshallese folks, or make sand castles.
Yawndave should’ve tried Manly beach as well. The best beach I’ve ever seen is in Australia, south west coast, but as it’s always deserted I’d like to keep it way and so I can’t say where it is. The best beach seen from a distance was on the Israeli/Egyptian (old) border, basically drive through the Gaza strip and it was on the right as you headed out in to the desert It looked as if it had the lot - palm trees, gentle swell, golden sand, looked deserted but I guess that was accounted for by the “Danger, landmines” signs that were everywhere!
Welcome to Cape Town, home to some fantastic beaches!
Firstly on the Atlantic side of the peninsula we have our two best known beaches Clifton and right next door CampsBay. Further south on the peninsula we have Scarborough, great for getting away from the tourists (who crowd Cliftons and Camps Bay).
Crossing over onto the False Bay side of the peninsula we have FishHoek . Further north on on the same side is Muizenberg (where I spent every Sunday with the parents when I was a tyke)
I don’t have a hangout beach, but the most beautiful I’ve visited so far are on St. John USVI. Trunk Bay is the one you usually see in adverts, but there are otheres that are just as, if not more beautiful…
#1 - McCarty’s Cove on Lake Superior in Marquette, MI. I remember when I was a kid my mother’s rule was if the temperature got over 80 degrees, we were going to the beach. I’d anxiously wait at the thermometer hanging outside the house willing it to get to 80. When it did - whoopeee! We were going to the beach!
Now that I’m an adult, I can go any time I want! You got it! Even when it’s 75 out, I can go to the beach!
#2 - The beach/pool complex at the Hyatt Regency in Poipu Beach, HI. Absolutely gorgous pool system, people bringing you drinks with umbrellas in them, and a wonderful ocean beach. Too bad it’s halfway around the world from where I live.
“The most beautiful one I ever saw was at Rendevous Bay in Anguilla.”
We have a winner! Anguilla is a wonderful little gem of a place that not many folks know about. I love it there.
On second thought, it is really a hole with way too many people and lots of trash, and sewage in the water, and it rains all the time. Please, don’t go there. Ever.
The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia Canada. That is that place with tides that can reach 12 metres to 16 metres. Going to the beach for the day and seeing the water level change by 40 feet is quite a surreal experience. Walking out into the area that is under water for 12 hours of the day is a very cool experience. As is being there when the tide starts coming in. 40 feet over 12 hours means that the water level changes at the rate of more than 3 feet per hour on average. At times you can actually see the water rise or lowers.
No surfing (although you can ride the tidal bore in a raft) but enough for it to make it to the top of my list.
Interesting story (probably apocryphal) about Black’s. Seems a guy from D.C. in San Diego on business decided to see the sights on Black’s and undressed accordingly. Got badly sunburned in places not normally exposed and had to fly out the next morning. Guys can imagine the discomfort of flying coast to coast with those parts bound up in skivvies all day.
I live in Florida and one of the best beaches is COCOA BEACH. It runs by NASA so you get to see shuttles take off and land. The beaches are usually clean and fresh sand. It also runs along the coastline so there are many restaurants that border it. (A lot of seafood restraunts)
So peaceful, quiet, and perfect. It’s been almost 4 years since I’ve been there and I can still remember how I felt standing in neck-high water, looking straight down and seeing everything so clearly, the warm sun and the mountains all around me. Pure paradise.
Oh, no, you don’t ever want to visit. It’s very dangerous, the people are nasty and yell at you all the time. Almost no one speaks English. And crowded, whew! The little island can hardly fit all the people who live there. Really. Stay away.
Grand Isle, Louisiana has the warmest water I’ve ever been in. The only problem with Grand Isle is that it’s not really near anything, driving from New Orleans takes about three hours.
Waveland was much closer to home. We made the trip there at least twice a year when I was still living with my parents. My favorite thing to do there was to go about 50 yards offshore to a PVC pipe (tide gauge?), tie a raft to the pipe’s support and ride the waves. Talk about fun!
My mission in life is to find the perfect beach and to leave a transient impression of my ass upon the sand. It is a thankless and lifetime task that will probably never truly be complete. I will pass my notes on down to my heirs in the hope that they will carry on the great work. IMDG.
Rather than bore everyone with a full list, I’ll select two highlights from my travels so far:
The Club Med beachfront, Morea Island, Tahiti. – Pros: sand is brie colored and has powder-like texture, palm trees reaching toward the sea, reef protected, secluded (no airport), water so clear you can see the ripples in the ocean floor twelve feet below you while you are sailing over them, no rocks in the water, mostly clear skies due to the lack of mountains c/f Tahiti. Cons: Yeah, Club Med found it first.
Hakura, Maldives – Pros: Sea life (If you don’t like sharks circling your room, don’t come here), you will never be more than 1 foot above sea level (except in your room which is on stilts in the ocean with the sharks), met my first giant sea turtle here and faced down a barracuda, you can’t get here other than by ship or sea plane, the island fauna is like nothing else you will ever see, there is nothing else here – no shops no roads no TV no radio. Cons: the island will be completely submerged due to global warming in 100 years, you can walk the circumference of the island in 5 minutes, sand is slightly crunchy due to low wave action (reef is very far away), some rocks in the water for unwary swimmers.
