ViaTravelers

Search⌘K

Beach Travel

Beach travel guides covering the world’s best coastlines — from Caribbean white sand to Greek volcanic black sand — with hotel picks, swim safety notes, and seasonal advice from the ViaTravelers team.

  • Bermuda Aerial View

    Bermuda

    Bermuda is not Caribbean — it’s a British territory with pink sand beaches, 300+ shipwreck dive sites, and judges still wearing powdered wigs.

  • Beautiful white beach in Saint Lucia, Caribbean Islands

    Saint Lucia

    The Pitons look best from the water at dusk — but the real Saint Lucia is a bowl of pepperpot stew in a fishing village.

  • Aerial drone view of Caribbean resort Bavaro, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

    Dominican Republic

    Pico Duarte is the Caribbean’s highest peak and most people skip it for Punta Cana. That trade-off tells you everything about the DR.

  • The Maritime Museum of San Diego

    San Diego

    San Diego’s best move is skipping the obvious and eating your way through Barrio Logan on a Tuesday afternoon.

  • Sustainable winemaking with vineyards and wind turbines in Burgundy, France

    Saint-Tropez

    Saint-Tropez works better in May or October. July crowds and EUR30 rosé make the real town almost impossible to find.

  • Amalfi Coast Scenery

    Amalfi

    The EUR2 coastal bus delivers better views than any boat tour. Amalfi’s cathedral square alone is worth timing your itinerary around.

  • Aerial view of Rome's modern EUR district.

    Lake Garda

    Sirmione sits on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Garda — the Roman ruins and medieval castle alone justify the detour from Verona.

  • Aerial view of two roads in Venice, California

    Nice

    Cours Saleya’s morning markets smell like the best version of France. By afternoon, the same square is full of rosé and locals.

  • Boracay Beach

    Palawan

    El Nido’s limestone cliffs and lagoons are worth the rough road to get there. Puerto Princesa’s underground river is the bonus.

  • Alhambra Palace and Gardens in Granada, Spain - Historic Moorish architecture and beautiful landscaped gardens.

    Galician Coast

    The Camino ends in Santiago, but the Galician Coast keeps going — all the way to Finisterre, where pilgrims once believed the world stopped.

  • Pool at Marival Distinct Luxury Residences

    Puerto Vallarta

    Puerto Vallarta’s cobblestone Zona Romántica beats any resort pool. The street tacos on Basilio Badillo alone justify the flight.

  • Small fishing boats at harbor Marina Grande in Sorrento, Campania, Amalfi Coast, Italy.

    Sorrento

    Sorrento sits above the Bay of Naples like it knows it’s better than the Amalfi Coast — and honestly, it might be right.

  • Best Beaches of Tenerife - gold sandy Las Teresitas with scenic San Andres village. Canary islands of Spain

    Tenerife

    Mount Teide hits 3,715m and you can take a cable car most of the way up. The views over the Atlantic make everything else on the island look small.

  • Bronze sculpture of a family by Ivan Meštrović at Meštrović Gallery, Split, Croatia

    Sibenik

    Sibenik’s Cathedral of St. James was built without mortar — just interlocking stone. That detail alone tells you what kind of city this is.

  • Mexican Dish at A La Salsa,

    Todos Santos

    Todos Santos sits an hour north of Cabo but feels like a different country — art galleries, good tacos, and surf breaks without the resort crowds.

  • Pool and Rooms in BoHo Tamarindo

    Tamarindo

    Tamarindo’s surf breaks are beginner-friendly, but the real draw is Las Baulas at dusk — leatherback turtles on a near-empty beach.

  • Ruins of Tulum, Mexico and a palm tree overlooking the Caribbean Sea in the Riviera Maya

    Tulum

    The clifftop ruins at Tulum are real — but the cenotes just inland are what keep people rearranging their return flights.

  • Globe at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida

    Ios

    Ios has a party reputation that overshadows everything else — Homer’s tomb, Manganari beach, and tavernas in the Old Port worth your whole afternoon.

  • Woman on the Top of a Vehicle Looking at a Volcano

    Uvita

    The whale’s tail sandbar at Marino Ballena is real — low tide reveals the full shape, and humpbacks pass twice a year.

  • The Wagon Wheel Motel, Cuba, Missouri

    Cuba

    Ninety miles from Florida, Cuba feels like another world — crumbling Havana facades, 1950s Chevys, and son music spilling onto every corner.

  • Treehouse with the view of Diamond Beach in Nusa Penida Island

    Bali

    Skip Kuta. The Bali worth your time is Ubud at dawn, Tegallalang before the tour buses, and a temple ceremony nobody planned for.

  • Fruit Stand in Bridgetown

    Bridgetown

    Bridgetown’s street grid was designed to confuse invaders — it still confuses GPS. The colonial layers here run deeper than any other Caribbean capital.

  • Aerial view of La Salvaje Beach Barinatxe, Sopelana, Basque Country, Spain with surfers and cliffs.

    Basque Coast

    San Sebastián has more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else on earth. The pintxos bars alone justify the trip.