SINGAPORE, 10 April 2023: Do we know where to find the best beaches in the world? Thanks to the enthusiastic travel websites that deliver the best of everything from clear blue seas to perfect sunsets or sunrises, we certainly have a good idea.
Still, unlike the Danish brewer Carlsberg, which claims to brew the world’s best beer, the beach lists forget to include that all-important word “probably” in the catch line to be on the safe side.
We have a choice of three lists so far this year, all released during the first quarter of 2023 (January to March), identifying the world’s best beaches.
Probably the most prominent was the annual best beaches list from Tripadvisor, which released its top 10 list based on “millions of reviews” on 28 February.
A longer list emerged from the respected US travel publisher Travel & Leisure. It released the good news on its top 25 beaches on 27 March.
Then there’s the UK’s World Beach Guide’s marathon presentation of 100 Best Beaches, last updated on 1 January 2023, although voting remains open today. It caught the attention of Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha last week for declaring Koh Kradan, an island beach off the coast of Trang province in southern Thailand, the world’s number one beach spot.
It’s probably the first time the tiny island Koh Kradan has risen to the top of the best beach pile, beating even four other Thailand beaches that made it to the worldbeachguide.com’s marathon selection. The other four Thailand beaches were Railay in Krabi (9th place), Freedom Beach (Mai Ngao) on Phuket island (18th), Laem Hat Beach Koh Yao, Phang Nga Bay (21st) and Ao Tanote Koh Tao, Surat Thani (44th).
The website, Worldbeachguide.com, is home-based in St Ives Cornwall, UK, under the ownership of Super Cool Beaches. Its listings appear to be based on editor expertise and feedback from site visitors who can designate stars one to five and vote for their favourite beaches. Koh Kradan topped the 100 Best Beach list having a five-star rating and 100 votes (last count 9 April).
Travel & Leisure’s best beach listing is based on the global website’s research conducted by its editors and reader feedback, while Tripadvisor’s conclusions are based on “millions” of reviews.
Here are the Q1 2023 lists released by the three ‘best beach’ players. We have added an * to identify beaches that gained a place on more than one of the three lists. Are they better than the best? Probably.
Travel & Leisure 25 Most Beautiful Beaches in the World 27 March 2023.
1 Saud Beach, Philippines
2 Elafonissi Beach, Greece
3 Nungwi Beach, Tanzania
4 Hanalei Bay, Hawaii
5 Copacabana, Brazil
6 Cape Le Grand National Park, Australia
7 Grayton Beach, Florida
8 Sotavento Beach, Spain
9 Camps Bay Beach, South Africa * T&L, WBG
10 Anse Source D’Argent, Seychelles * T&L, WBG
11 Praia de Santa Monica, Cape Verde
12 Platja de Ses Illetes, Spain
13 Cannon Beach, Oregon
14 Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia * T&L, WBG
15 Le Morne Beach, Mauritius
16 Radhanagar Beach, on Havelock Island, India * T&L, TA
17 Baia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha island, Brazil * T&L, TA
18 Bai Dam Trau, Con Dao Island, Vietnam
19 Seven Mile Beach, Cayman Islands
20 La Pelosa Beach, Italy
21 Matira Beach, French Polynesia * T&L, WBG
22 Grace Bay Beach, Turks and Caicos
23 Scala dei Turchi, Italy
24 Railay Beach, Thailand * T&L, WBG
25 Praia de Marinha, Portugal
Tripadvisor Top 10 Beaches released 28 February 2023
1 Baia do Sancho – Fernando de Noronha, Brazil * T&L, TA
2 Eagle Beach- Aruba, Caribbean
3 Cable Beach – Broome, Australia
4 Reynisfjara Beach – Vik, Iceland
5 Grace Bay Beach – Turks and Caicos, Caribbean
6 Praia da Falésia- Olhos de Agua, Portugal
7 Radhanagar Beach – Havelock Island, India *T&L, TA
8 Spiaggia dei Conigli – Sicily, Italy
9 Varadero Beach – Cuba, Caribbean
10 Ka’anapali Beach – Maui, Hawaii
WorldBeachGuide – Top 10 of 100 beaches last updated Jan 2023.
Worldbeachguide.com selects the top 100 beaches through its own research and relies to some degree on on-site visitor votes that designate a star rating of one to five while beaches accumulate votes.
1Koh Kradan, Trang, Thailand (5-star 100 votes)
2 Matira Beach Bora Bora (5-star 83 votes) * T&L, WBG
3 White Haven Beach Australia (5-star 28 votes) * T&L, WBG
4 El Nido Philippines (5-star 22 votes)
5 The Baths British Virgin Islands (5-star 51 votes)
6 Anakena, Chile (5-star 49 votes)
7 Anse Source d’Argent Seychelles (5-star 5 votes) * T&L, WBG
8 Camps Bay, South Africa, (5-star 48 votes * T&L, WBG
9 Railay Beach Thailand (5-star 1 vote) * T&L, WBG
10 Kelingking Beach, Bali, Indonesia (5-star 1 vote)
