Top Beach Destinations Ranked Globally
Chetan Chopra ranked the world's best beaches: 1. Philippines (Palaui Island), 2. Greece (Santorini), 3. Maldives, 4. Australia, 5. Mexico (Tulum), 6. Fiji. Meanwhile, travel experts are highlighting Curacao's colorful houses and white sands as a hurricane-belt-safe destination, and Italy's La Feniglia beach is being pitched as a nature-only coastal retreat.
The top-ranked Palaui Island is a designated national park and marine reserve in the Philippines, a status that has kept it largely undeveloped. The island features a diverse landscape of volcanic cliffs, mangrove forests, and coral gardens, and is home to a Spanish-colonial era lighthouse, Cape Engaño, which was built in 1892. Santorini's famous beaches are a direct result of its volcanic history, featuring unique color palettes. Red Beach is known for its rust-colored sand and towering red cliffs, while Perissa and Perivolos are famous for their long stretches of black volcanic sand. This creates a dramatic contrast with the island's iconic white-washed architecture. The iconic white sand of the Maldives is composed of coral, not quartz, which is why it remains cool to the touch even under the hot sun. Much of this sand is the product of parrotfish, which grind up coral as they feed. The beaches themselves are in constant motion, shifting with the biannual monsoon seasons. Tulum's beaches are unique for
