Introducing the World Beach Map

Where are the Best Beaches in the World, and how do you find them? Welcome to our site which not only chooses the top three beaches at vacation destinations all over the globe, but we pride ourselves in giving you relevant data and pictures from people just like you; not the flashy tourism brochures which can crop and paint over reality. We love beaches, and have been fortunate to visit hundreds in our travels. And people have been gracious enough to send us their favorites and tell us why they think that the beaches are worth a visit.

You will notice that we give conditions of the beach, along with things we found you can do at the beach, and if we recommend you spend the time to visit. There are many beaches that are just off the beaten path or only known by locals that are out of this world. Many never hear of them because they are secluded, or near any commerce. But we found them and now you can, too!

Start by clicking on the map below where you want to visit. We're bound to have what you are looking for. You'll find comments from other visitors as well. Explore now and welcome to Three Best Beaches!


Click on an area of the map above and wander off into the wonderland of the World's Best Beaches. We did the work - you can do the choosing. And if we don't have your beach, we've made it easy to send us a message asking for it to be included.

In fact, if you own or operate a resort or bed and breakfast anywhere in the world near a beach, we'd love to hear from you as our readers enjoy the many stories we already have in the pages of Three Best Beaches of hidden paradises around the globe.

It all started with Three Best Beaches. We flew to the vacation beach destination and then did exhaustive homework from photos to restaurants to must see attractions. We graded, and still grade sand conditions, drive to the beach, parking, and best times to go.

For example - this awesome beach in Brazil is hidden away down a semi-steep trail. You'd never know it was there unless you asked the locals, as we did. With a dozen other beaches in the area, this one was our hands down favorite. You can read more about it, here. These are the gems that keep our readers coming back.

From three beaches, we expanded, by demand, to ALL the best beaches at the location. And as we grew, we had to depend on local reports until we get our team out to check. But you have the opportunity to report as well. Any beach you have been to, simply comment about it at the bottom of the page and that will be added to the material on that beach.

We also have a great feature - the Beach List! When you're on the Beach List, you're notified of great deals we come across, plus any security items we learn. Travel in confidence and save money by subscribing right now to the Beach List. You'll find the link to the left under the heading Suggest a Beach.

Our travels have taken us to Kauai, Hawaii, where we enjoyed some of the most breath- taking beaches in the world. And one thing is nice about Hawaii; it's relatively safe. We found it clean and the water simply sparkling. Read more about that, and a complete spread on every beach in Maui, here.

We've been featured on TV, most recently, on BBC's World Service. Their program "Click" gave us a full review sending viewers to check out some of the top beaches of the world. And they made a nice comment about the many, many videos we feature on the website. Make sure you check them out when you view the beach you want to visit.

Our visit to Aruba took us back to the island fifteen times where we ventured to almost every inch of shoreline. This tiny island in the Caribbean is huge with contrasts. On our first visit, we were in awe how cactus could grow in the tropics. One shore of Aruba is shallow, pristine white sand beaches, while the other side is rocky, deep and rough seas that open to the Caribbean Sea. Yet on this rocky north shore, we found an area rich in elk horn coral so large and beautiful it seemed we were in a fantasy land.

In the Maldives, we enjoyed every minute of the wonderful peacefulness of a group of islands that are literally in the middle of nowhere. And each island is home to a resort - at least the small islands. Talk about feeling isolate and remote! But God has had His handiwork in these island that are a must-see if you are a beach lover. Take a look at Maldives, here.

And Zanzibar has everyone talking. We can't stop our chatter about how fascinating this island of spices is home to both extreme wealth and old fishing villages that date back hundreds of years. The people here are just charming and make for a delightful experience if you are ever privileged to go. The beach area is very close to old parts of Zanzibar and you'll get to see first hand the people and the way they live. Visit those beaches, here.

We're expanding Australia. Many beaches and flavors in the land down under. In fact, we get requests all the time to review beaches that are off the beaten path. Australia is home to one of the longest beaches in the world. So put on your Vitamin A Swimwear and come visit this paradise..... Beaches Down Under - what everyone is talking about.

If you'd like more information about Three Best Beaches, or about a beach in particular, just write us - in the Suggest a Beach area - and we'll reply. And thanks for joining our community here. We appreciate you!

Here are a few of the TOP beaches we've reported on. Start with South Beach, Miami.

Daytona Beach, Florida - Spring Break Beach

Daytona Beach, Florida having an identity crisis? Indeed - the place in our dreams has beaches miles long, all-day sunshine, and surf, but it's going through a makeover. While you can't see it everywhere, this town, after years of being the number one Spring Break destination, is trying to upgrade its image. Spring Break in Florida is now officially up north - in Panama City Beach. For some, that's good news. For others, not so good - low revenues. But for you as a beach lover, Daytona Beach, Florida, is one of the funnest beaches we've found on all our journeys. You can actually drive your car right on the sand here.

And do they have the beaches. Here we found 23 miles of wide beaches with hard-packed sand - and 18 of those miles are open to automobile traffic. That's what put Daytona on the map - beach driving! Remember those old black and white shows on TV with the cars racing along the ocean shore. It all started here. And continues!

Daytona Beach has become synonymous with Spring Break, so much so that MTV has come here since the '80's to broadcast from the beach and gave us the impression that Daytona Beach was one huge oceanside Animal House. Even though they still come in the thousands, the peak was in 1989, when over 400,000 students showed up. With only 20,000 hotel rooms - you do the math. Some locals cared only about the fun and money, with money taking a front seat. Others saw their precious Daytona going to the dogs.

The city has done a lot to change the image - trying to turn interest to the major-league baseball spring training and the Daytona Beach NASCAR racing event. Still, 200,000 come here each Spring Break, spaced out over a four to six week period. The most rowdy and wild party animals now call Panama City Beach up in Florida's Panhandle their Spring Break home. What was nice about Daytona was you could expect pretty decent weather during Spring. Whereas Panama City is so far north, you can have some pretty chilly Spring Breaks. For you, this means when you plan a visit during the Spring months, you'll enjoy wonderful weather with low humidity and pleasant days.

The Beach - The 23 miles of beautiful sand starts at Ormond Beach and runs down to Ponce Inlet. In the middle sits Daytona Beach. This thing is spectacular at low tide. It's almost 500 feet wide! Vehicles, including RV's and trucks under 33' are allowed on 18 of those 23 miles.

We noted the sand here to be very fine. It's of quartz origin and packs tightly. So hard is the sand that cars once raced here! But tourists can still drive (although no more than 10 mph) on the famous beach. On a nice day, you'll see over 10,000 vehicles roaming the beach.

But more than cars, we saw volleyball, jogging, surfing, and bicycling. And swimming here is great. The bank slopes slightly so even little ones will enjoy the shallow water. Watch for the waves - bodysurfing of Daytona Beach is the best in the state.

Riptides do exist during times when the tide is going out. There are over 200 lifeguards watching over the beach - but take care. Rip currents are dangerous.

Another American beach takes top honors as the North Shore favorite. You might even catch a wave. Mokuleia Beach is... Next! >>

Cocoa Beach Florida

Think Cocoa Beach and you may think space shuttles and world class beaches. If you do - you're right on the money. Cocoa Beach is a family-friendly town with prices so low, it make great sense to headquarter here for your Florida vacation instead of Orlando. Besides, there's only so much madness you can take. Cocoa Beach will relax you - it did us. Here are the kiddos taking a break.

Cocoa Beach has a beach, is minutes away from the Kennedy Space Center and a short hop from Disney. You'll pay much more to stay near the parks and guess what? No ocean!

NASA's influx in the early 1960's put sleepy Cocoa Beach on the map. Hundreds of engineers, technicians, designers and assistants moved in and really, little has changed. You'll find the same family-run motels that seem to be stopped in time.

Beach access in Cocoa can be found at the end of many streets that run to the ocean. We found this ideal as traffic flow around the Cocoa Beach Pier is nice. Parking is ample and there are a few parks where you can spend the day.

Cocoa Beach is an All-American beach: green water, wide, coarse-grained and sometimes brown-sand beach with every race imaginable (and swimsuit size). We found most people hang out around the pier area - on Atlantic and Meade toward the north end of Cocoa Beach.

Surf is best on the north side of the pier. The beach is ideal for kids on the south side. But we didn't find any lifeguards. Make sure you're watching where your kids are. And take note of possible rip-currents. We saw signs posted for them.

If your timing is right, you just might see a rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center, just north of Cocoa. You'll know when it happens. Everybody and their brother will be looking skyward and taking in the majestic event. The orange flame in the picture here is the Space Shuttle. Click the picture for a larger view.

We're off to Aruba in the Dutch Caribbean where Palm Beach reigns supreme! Next! >>