--- title: "Beaches: Destinations & Places" url: "https://viatravelers.com/activity-type/beaches/page/2/?format=markdown" type: "archive" --- # Beaches: Destinations & Places > Beach-focused travel content — coastline rankings, swim conditions, beach club reviews, and quiet-cove alternatives across the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Pacific. - [Gros Islet Castries](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/grosisletcastries/) — A lively fishing town in northern St. Lucia — known for its Friday-night street party (the 'jump-up'), nearby Rodney Bay and Reduit Beach, and easy access to Pigeon Island. - [Historic Center Šibenik](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/historic-center-sibenik/) — Šibenik's medieval old town on the Dalmatian coast — a maze of stone stairways crowned by the UNESCO-listed Cathedral of St. James, built entirely of interlocking stone. - [Fira](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/fira-santorini/) — Fira is the capital of Santorini, Greece, built along the volcanic caldera rim with panoramic views, the Archaeological Museum of Thera, and a historic cable car connecting the port. - [Historic Center of San Sebastián](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/old-town-san-sebastian/) — San Sebastián's Parte Vieja — a dense grid of cobbled lanes between Mount Urgull and La Concha Bay, packed with the Basque coast's most celebrated pintxos bars. - [Downtown San Jose](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/downtown-san-jose/) — Costa Rica's capital core around the Plaza de la Cultura — the 1897 National Theatre, the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, and the buzzing food scene of nearby Barrio Escalante. - [Old San Juan](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/old-san-juan-san-juan/) — Puerto Rico's 500-year-old colonial core — blue-cobblestone streets, pastel row houses, and the UNESCO-listed El Morro and San Cristóbal fortresses above the Atlantic. - [Centro San Juan Del Sur](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/centro-san-juan-del-sur/) — The colorful center of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua's top Pacific surf town — a horseshoe bay of fishing pangas and beach bars, a gateway to Playa Maderas and Coco. - [Little Italy](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/little-italy-san-diego/) — A italian, foodie, waterfront neighborhood ideal for Foodies, couples, urban explorers. - [North Park](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/north-park/) — A hipster, brewery-rich, diverse neighborhood ideal for Beer enthusiasts, hipsters, foodies. - [Mission Bay](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/mission-bay/) — A modern, waterfront, tech-hub neighborhood ideal for Tech workers, sports fans, young professionals. - [Intra Muros Saint Malo](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/intramurossaintmalo/) — Saint-Malo's walled old town in Brittany — a granite corsair city ringed by 2 km of medieval ramparts, rebuilt after WWII, with cobbled lanes of shops and seafood restaurants. - [La Ponche Saint Tropez](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/laponchesainttropez/) — Saint-Tropez's historic fishing quarter northeast of the old port — narrow cobblestone lanes and honey-colored houses that drew Brigitte Bardot and the artists who made the town famous. - [Downtown San Antonio](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/downtown-san-antonio/) — The heart of San Antonio — the UNESCO-listed Alamo and the restaurant-lined River Walk winding below street level along the San Antonio River. - [Gaslamp Quarter San Diego](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/gaslampquartersandiego/) — San Diego's 16-block Victorian historic district — gas-lamp-lined streets of restored 19th-century buildings now packed with restaurants, rooftop bars, and nightlife. - [Ostiense](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/ostiense-rome/) — A post-industrial, street art, gritty neighborhood ideal for street art fans, foodies, students. - [Playa Del Carmen Riviera Maya](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/playadelcarmenrivieramaya/) — The heart of Playa del Carmen on the Riviera Maya — the pedestrian Quinta Avenida promenade of shops and restaurants running parallel to a wide white-sand Caribbean beach. - [Manuel Antonio Quepos](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/manuelantonioquepos/) — Costa Rica's most popular national park near Quepos — white-sand beaches backed by rainforest, home to sloths and the endangered Central American squirrel monkey. - [Ravello Center Ravello](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/ravellocenterravello/) — A clifftop Amalfi Coast town known as the 'city of music' — the gardens of 13th-century Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone's Terrace of Infinity, home to the summer Ravello Festival. - [Old Town Rhodes](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/old-town-rhodes/) — Europe's oldest inhabited medieval city — a UNESCO-listed maze inside the Knights of St. John's 14th-century walls, with the Palace of the Grand Master and the Street of the Knights. - [Zona Romantica Puerto Vallarta](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/zonaromanticapuertovallarta/) — Puerto Vallarta's Old Town south of the Río Cuale — cobblestone streets, Los Muertos Beach and its sailboat pier, and the heart of the city's dining, nightlife, and LGBTQ+ scene. - [Bari Vecchia](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/bari-vecchia-bari/) — A local, authentic, charming neighborhood ideal for history buffs, foodies, couples. - [Old Town (Bari Vecchia)](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/old-town-bari-vecchia-cm5qqoi1400c5760yooguz0jn/) — Bari's labyrinthine old town in Puglia — stone alleys where nonne hand-roll orecchiette on the street, anchored by the Romanesque Basilica di San Nicola and its saint's relics. - [Bavaro Punta Cana](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/bavaropuntacana/) — The resort strip of Punta Cana on the Dominican Republic's east coast — a long white-sand, palm-backed Caribbean beach lined with all-inclusive resorts and adventure parks. - [Downtown Quepos](https://viatravelers.com/neighborhoods/downtown-quepos-quepos/) — The working-town gateway to Manuel Antonio National Park — a Costa Rican Pacific port with the Marina Pez Vela, a seafront Malecón, fresh seafood, and budget-friendly Tico eats.