best beaches

Perched on the sunny Queensland coast 161 miles (259 kilometers) northeast of Brisbane, Fraser Island is the worlds largest sand island and home to a wonderful beach. This World Heritage Site is an ecologists dream, with 640 square miles (1,664 square kilometers) of unspoiled natural paradise. Rain forests with 1,000 year old trees sprout from the sand. Lodgings here accommodate a wide range of tourists, from the backpacking ecology lover to pampered resort fans.

The name Langkawi translates into the land of ones wishes, a welcoming concept that somewhat belies the islands historic origins as a reputed refuge for pirates. Langkawi has since become a modern hideaway for the traveler seeking an escape. If your vacation wishes extend from uncrowded white sands and clear waters to lush green forests, you will find yourself content here. Datai Bay, located on Pulau Langkawi, is a heavenly retreat on the Andaman Sea.

Located on the Kohala Coast of the Aloha States Big Island, Kaunaoa Bay is the quintessential Hawaiian spot. The 0.25 mile long (0.4 kilometer long), crescent shaped beach has plenty of white sand, palm trees, and calm, clear, blue water. In addition to swimming and sunbathing, beachgoers here can snorkel or ride boogie boards. (Be careful swimming, however, because there are no lifeguards on this public beach.) At night, nestle into the sands and peer out into the water to see if you can catch a glimpse of manta rays swimming.

This isnt one beach, more like several hundred, but its impossible to pick from the more than 350 islands in the Los Roques archipelago. Whichever island youre on, from the large Cayo Grande to the diminutive Gran Roque, youll have blinding white sand and shallow, tropical waters just a few powdery footsteps away.

During the peak of summer, the beachs two crescents of sand buzz with windsurfers, kayakers and swimmers. Vendors erect wooden shacks housing bars, restaurants and shower units. The Blue Moon is a well known beach shack it hosts concerts on weekend evenings.

Jumby Bay is an ancient coral reef and rocky outpost, situated 2 miles north of Antigua. Swim with a colony of stingrays by day and get a private turtle viewing by night. With its rich wildlife, lush and abundant landscape, and pristine beaches, Jumby Bay presents itself as a secluded hideaway for the sophisticated and discerning traveler.

Home to Nathans Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, Coney Island offers nearly 3milesof sandy beaches, sunny skies and rolling waves.

This is one of the few places in the world where you can get up close and personal with wild animals in the jungle or right on the beach. Private safaris are available by 4x4, foot or boat.

Considered to have the best waves and surfing in the world, the North Shore of Oahu at Ehukai Beach Park is a surfers paradise. The area earns that title by hosting 3 competitions in November and December to make up the Triple Crown of Surfing.

Located in a converted airship hangar, the Tropical Islands Resort covers an area bigger than 8 football fields and contains a tropical sea with 660 feet of sandy beachfront. Guests can tour a village with buildings modeled after those found in Thailand, Borneo, Samoa and Bali. Theres also a 13,000 square foot lagoon with fountains, canals and a whirlpool, as well as a rain forest with more than 50,000 plants of 600 different species.