Favorites

Grace Bay Beach, which runs across the northwest coast of Providenciales, an island in Turks & Caicos, was named by Trip Advisor as the second best beach in the world.

Trip Advisor is the largest travel website on the internet.  Many seasoned travelers rely on it to plan their vacations. Visitors to the website can read more than 150 million candid reviews and view thousands of photos of a variety of travel destinations. The editors at Trip Advisor picks and awards the “best of” winners each year based on the quantity and quality of a year’s worth of reviews.

The beach that landed the number one spot for 2014 is Baia do Sancho, located in Brazil. According to Forbes, Baia do Sancho is difficult to reach and therefor is extremely secluded. Forbes states that visitors must follow a dirt trail, climb “down a rickety ladder through the rock wall, through a tight crevasse, down an even ricketier ladder, and finally down a few dozen uneven, slippery-sandy steps.”

Grace Bay, named the second best beach in the world, is located in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The famous 12-mile beach, separated from the harsh ocean waves by the second longest barrier reef in the world, offers visitors everything a beach connoisseur could want just ten minutes from the airport.

The condo hotels that dot the coast are only three to seven stories high so they do not spoil the secluded feeling you get while sitting on the beach, but they are big enough to offer comfortable accommodations and all of the amenities you need to relax, enjoy the sun and sand with a good book.  Ask for an ocean front room and the sights and sounds of the water will put you peacefully to sleep at night.

While there isn’t much to do after dark in Turks & Caicos, the island of Providenciales has more Zagat rated restaurants than any other destination in the Caribbean, including the ones that dwarf this 14 mile by 1 ½ mile dot in the ocean.   During they day, enjoy the snorkeling, diving and deep sea fishing.

During the day you could enjoy some golf, visit the outer islands to see how the untouched Caribbean might have looked to Christopher Columbus when he arrived, watch Flamingoes in their natural habitat, see whales crossing the Drake Channel in February, or tour the homes of many celebrities who vacation on North Caicos or at the expensive $10,000/night resort at the north side of Providenciales.

Flamenco Beach (Playa Flamenco), located on the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico, landed the third spot for the best beach in the world. Flamenco beach is a 1½ mile long crescent on the north side of Culebra. Flamenco Beach has been describe as being a nearly waveless, sheltered cove during the late summer weeks and ideal for snorkeling.

Rounding out the remainder of the top ten beaches are: (4) Rabbit Beach, Lampedusa, Island of Sicily, (5) Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Whitsunday Island, (6) Playa de Ses Illetes, Formentera, Balearic Islands, (7) Anse Lazio, Praslin Island, Seychelles, (8) Lanikai Beach, Kailua, Hawaii, (9) Rhossili Bay, Swansea, United Kingdom, and (10) Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres.