Top 10 beaches we love

Paradise Beach
If paradise means rambling white sands met by the deep-blue Aegean, beach bars bumping with Euro tunes, bikini-clad bodies dancing on tables, topless girls sprawled on the sand, and an overall hedonistic scene, Paradise Beach on the Greek isle of Mykonos is it. Dotted with thatched umbrellas and lined with bars, shops, and discos, visitors to these raucous sands enjoy the Mediterranean seascape, soak up some rays, and, come 3 p.m. each afternoon, join in the full-blown fiesta right there on the sand.

Plage Malendure
Our favorite black sands are found on the dazzling shores of Plage Malendure, at the base of steep jungle-covered mountains and the towering, still-active La Soufriére volcano on Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. This glittering sandy cove is the main point of access to the large Jacques Cousteau Underwater Park, considered one of the Caribbean’s best diving sites. Snorkeling and diving exhibitions here visit an underwater world filled with abundant aquatic life and vivid coral and fauna.

Plage de Tahiti
Sun-kissed St. Tropez, once a sleepy fishing village, has long been the most irresistible of French Riviera resort towns, attracting sunbathing beauties from Brigitte Bardot to Beyoncé. This Mediterranean mecca of summer beach lounging and late-night partying sees chic scenesters arrive in droves to stake claim to their own little sandy piece of the action. Plage de Tahiti, one of the northern beaches along the Baie de Pampelonne, is one of the best spots to bask on golden Mediterranean shores and soak up the carnival atmosphere created by flamboyant and fashionable beachcombers.

Trunk Bay
St. John may be the smallest of the three US Virgin Islands, but it is home to Trunk Bay – an extraordinary beach that’s sure to leave the biggest impression of any on the three US islands. One of the most photographed – and photogenic – beaches in the world, Trunk Bay is the crowning glory of sleepy St. John’s dozen-odd beaches, its attractive powdery sand offset by a verdant inland replete with seagrape and palm trees and a turquoise shoreline drenched in the tropical sun.

Tulum
The increasingly popular Mayan Riviera destination of Tulum, a couple of hours south of Cancun, couldn’t be more unlike its northern resort sibling. With a beach presided over by Mexico’s only waterfront Mayan ruins, the unspoiled white sands that hug the Caribbean here offer visitors the chance to get in touch with their inner chi – not the excuse to party. Indeed, what few beachfront resorts exist here tend to host yoga centers, not all-inclusive nightclubs, along the sand.

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