Beach: Places Worth Visiting

From calm swimming coves to surf breaks and long sandy stretches, the beaches here are sorted so you can match the spot to the day. Conditions swing with the season, so check water temperature, tides, and whether the beach is patrolled before you commit. Arriving early secures both parking and shade in the peak months.

  • Crane

    Crane Beach

    Crane Beach runs four miles of white sand 30 miles from Boston — and the dune system behind it is one of the best on the East Coast.

  • Aerial View of Carlisle Bay, Antigua

    Carlisle Bay

    Six shipwrecks sit between 12 and 55 feet of water here — close enough for snorkelers, deep enough for serious divers.

  • Bathsheba Beach, Barbados: turquoise Atlantic surf on a rocky coastline with green hills.

    Bathsheba Beach

    Bathsheba’s Soup Bowl breaks hard, the tidal pools are free, and this is the Barbados most visitors never see.

  • The North Shore Inn Entrance, Crestline, California

    North Shore

    Pipeline in January is unlike anything else — waves the size of buildings, and you can watch from the sand for free.

  • Beach Chairs at Kamari Beach Santorini, Greece

    Kamari Beach

    Kamari’s black sand is the real Santorini — no caldera crowds, just tavernas, tamarisk shade, and Mesa Vouno looming above the waterline.

  • The electric blue waters and white sand of Myrtos Beach, Kefalonia, Greece

    Myrtos Beach

    Myrtos hits different from the road above — 300m limestone cliffs, white marble pebbles, and that cobalt-to-turquoise shift you have to see to believe.