{"id":86055,"date":"2026-04-28T20:56:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T20:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/the-worlds-50-best-beaches-arent-exactly-what-youd-expect\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T20:56:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T20:56:48","slug":"the-worlds-50-best-beaches-arent-exactly-what-youd-expect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/the-worlds-50-best-beaches-arent-exactly-what-youd-expect\/","title":{"rendered":"The World&#8217;s 50 Best Beaches Aren&#8217;t Exactly What You&#8217;d Expect"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>From remote sandbars only accessible at low tide to cliff-framed coves only reachable by hiking, the best beaches of 2026 span the world over. They also highlight a major theme: travelers are looking for places that aren\u2019t crowded and still feel a little unconventional and unexpected. In fact, several beaches are within national parks, ensuring you won\u2019t find towering hotels or margarita-slinging beach bars nearby. <\/p>\n<p>The full list is available at the best beaches website, but these are five of the most varied \u2014 and unexpected \u2014 entries to make the list.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Entalula Beach, Philippines (#1)<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_890213\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890213\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890213 wow-me lazy\" alt=\"best beaches of 2026 - entalula beach\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/shutterstock_1634681440.jpg\"\/><noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890213\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890213\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/shutterstock_1634681440.jpg\" alt=\"best beaches of 2026 - entalula beach\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-890213\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: travelwild\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Palawan is already known for having some of the country\u2019s best beaches, but Entalula manages to feel quieter than most. It\u2019s usually accessed via multi-beach island hopping tours from El Nido, and since most guests don\u2019t stay very long, travelers who do set out to spend the day at Entalula will probably have it mostly to themselves.<\/p>\n<p>The beach itself is framed by jagged limestone cliffs that drop almost vertically to the sand, creating a private-feeling retreat. The sand is bright white, the water deep blue and turquoise, and there\u2019s basically no development in the area. Expect drama and seclusion if you make the effort to reach it. To get there on your own, you\u2019ll need to book a private boat from El Nido and pay for it to stay so you have a ride back home. A few companies offer the service, though you may not find it listed on their websites.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Nosy Iranja, Madagascar (#4)<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_890214\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890214\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890214 wow-me lazy\" alt=\"madagascar beach - best beaches\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2400\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/david-bruyndonckx-pF6Ed5m95lc-unsplash.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890214\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890214\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/david-bruyndonckx-pF6Ed5m95lc-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"madagascar beach - best beaches\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2400\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-890214\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: travelwild\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Nosy Iranja looks like two separate islands at first glance. But when the tide shifts, you\u2019ll see a long, narrow strip of white sand appear between them.<\/p>\n<p>This sandbar is fully walkable at low tide so you can cross between both sides, surrounded by shallow water. But a few hours later, the sandbar will disappear again, making a very limited window for guests to experience its beauty. The setting is also quite remote, requiring a boat trip from Nosy Be, which helps preserve the sense that you\u2019ve stumbled onto something temporary, undiscovered, and even a little surreal. You can book private or group tours, most of which include lunch and drinks.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Boulders Beach, South Africa (#45)<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_890210\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890210\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890210 wow-me lazy\" alt=\"best beaches of 2026 -boulders south africa\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2400\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/South-Africa-Boulder-Beach-Penguin-1-copy.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890210\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890210\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/South-Africa-Boulder-Beach-Penguin-1-copy.jpg\" alt=\"best beaches of 2026 -boulders south africa\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2400\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-890210\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Suzie Dundas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Boulders Beach isn\u2019t a place to lay out in the sand \u2014 in fact, you might get in trouble if you do. That\u2019s because the beach is home to a huge colony of African penguins, which nest directly along the shoreline and often wander across the sand. The beach itself is broken up by huge granite boulders that create small, protected coves, but the defining experience is sharing the space with animals you don\u2019t typically associate with a beach vacation. There\u2019s a small entry fee to visit and boardwalks raised across the sand so visitors can see the penguins without impeding their movement or behavior. There\u2019s also an official gift shop, as well as lots of roadside vendors selling all manner of penguin-themed goodies.<\/p>\n<p>If you do want to hit the beach, you can lay out at the beaches next door (Waters Edge Beach or Seaforth Beach).<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Pink Beach, Indonesia (#22)<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_890215\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890215\" alt=\"pink sand beach komodo\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890215 wow-me lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/hongbin-4t8ar23MmJs-unsplash.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890215\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/hongbin-4t8ar23MmJs-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"pink sand beach komodo\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890215\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-890215\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Hongbin\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pink-sand beaches exist in a few places around the world, but this one in Komodo National Park is perhaps the pinkest of the pink. The sand gets its blush tone from crushed red coral that mixes with the white sand, with the actual shade of pink changing depending on the light. It\u2019s easier to see from far away, but you can notice it while you\u2019re relaxing on the sand, too.<\/p>\n<p>Since it\u2019s in the national park, there\u2019s no real development, and visitors will need to arrive by boat on tours from nearby Labuan Bajo, the main gateway town on Flores Island. Komodo has recently tightened tourism regulations to further protect the endangered Komodo dragons, so make your plans to visit as far in advance as possible.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Baths, British Virgin Islands (#31)<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_890211\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890211\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890211 wow-me lazy\" alt=\"best beaches of 2026 - the baths\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/shutterstock_208687345.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-890211\" class=\"size-full wp-image-890211\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/04\/shutterstock_208687345.jpg\" alt=\"best beaches of 2026 - the baths\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-890211\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: TravelPhotoBloggers\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>At The Baths, the actual beach is almost less notable than the stunning rock formations. Massive granite boulders, many of which are stacked or wedged together, are dotted across the shoreline and into the water. It creates a network of grottos, narrow passages, and hidden pools that come and go with the tides. Visiting is much more of an adventure experience than your normal beach, with lots of climbing and squatting, plus some fixed ladders and ropes in areas to move around the boulders. The experience is less about laying out in the sun and more about exploring the terrain. At some points, you\u2019ll feel like you\u2019re in a cave, but then moments later, you\u2019ll step back out onto the sunny shore.<\/p>\n<p>To reach the Baths, you\u2019ll first need to get to the island of Virgin Gorda, then take a 10-15-minute taxi ride to the beach itself. It\u2019s also sometimes visited on tours from Tortola, the British Virgin Islands\u2019 main tourism hub. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-ender wow-me lazy\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\" style=\"width:15px;height:15px;\" src=\"https:\/\/d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.net\/assets\/images\/matador-logo-small-2017-bw@3.png\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-ender\" src=\"https:\/\/d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.net\/assets\/images\/matador-logo-small-2017-bw@3.png\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\" style=\"width:15px;height:15px;\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>window.dataLayer=window.dataLayer||[],dataLayer.push({\"gtm.start\":(new Date).getTime(),event:\"gtm.js\"}),window.GoogleAnalyticsObject=\"ga\",window.ga=window.ga||function(){(ga.q=ga.q||[]).push(arguments)},ga.l=1*new Date,window.allGa=function(){},window.fbq=window.fbq||function(){fbq.callMethod?fbq.callMethod.apply(fbq,arguments):fbq.queue.push(arguments)},window._fbq||(window._fbq=fbq),fbq.push=fbq,fbq.loaded=!0,fbq.version=\"2.0\",fbq.queue=[],window.mnTrack=()=>{},window.enableTracking=()=>{function a(){dataLayer.push(arguments)}if(window.isTrackingConsentNeeded=!1,window.dataLayer=window.dataLayer||[],dataLayer.push({eu_c:2}),[\"https:\/\/www.google-analytics.com\/analytics.js\",\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtm.js?id=GTM-59BP9J\",\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js\",\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=G-QKD85ZJNHR\"].forEach(function(a){var e=document.createElement(\"script\");e.async=!0,e.src=a,document.head.appendChild(e)}),window.ua_enabled)for(var e of window.ga_properties)ga(\"create\",e.tracking_id,e.cookie_domain,{name:e.name,allowLinker:!0});if(window.ga4_enabled){var n={};for(var o in window.ga_custom_vars)n[window.ga_dimension_definitions[o]]=o;a(\"js\",new Date),a(\"config\",\"G-QKD85ZJNHR\",{custom_map:n})}for(var o in window.ga_custom_vars)window.ua_enabled&&ga(\"set\",window.ga_dimension_definitions[o],ga_custom_vars[o]),window.ga4_enabled&&a(\"event\",o+\"_dimension\",{[o]:ga_custom_vars[o]});if(allGa=function(){if(arguments.length){var a=[].slice.call(arguments);ga(function(){for(var e=a[0],n=ga.getAll(),o=0;o<n.length;o++)a[0]=n[o].get(\"name\")+\".\"+e,ga.apply(ga,a)})}},allGa(\"set\",\"anonymizeIp\",!0),mnTrack=(e=\"\",n={})=>{if(window.ga4_enabled&&!n.no_ga4&&a(\"event\",e,n),n.no_ga4&&delete n.no_ga4,window.ua_enabled){var o=[\"send\",\"event\"];\"page_view\"===e?(o[0]=\"send\",o[1]=\"pageview\",o[2]=void 0!==n.slug?n.slug:\"\",o=o.concat(n)):(o[2]=e,o[3]=void 0!==n.action?n.action:\"\",o[4]=void 0!==n.label?n.label:\"\",o[5]=void 0!==n.value?n.value:0,o[6]=void 0!==n.nonInteraction?{nonInteraction:1}:{}),allGa.apply(!1,o)}},mnTrack(\"page_view\",{no_ga4:!0}),fbq(\"dataProcessingOptions\",[\"LDU\"],0,0),fbq(\"init\",\"890302741001574\"),fbq(\"track\",\"PageView\"),!window.disableAds){var t=document.getElementsByTagName(\"script\")[0],i=document.createElement(\"script\");i.async=!0,i.src=\"https:\/\/securepubads.g.doubleclick.net\/tag\/js\/gpt.js\",t.parentNode.insertBefore(i,t)}},\/(^| )(CONSENT=2|EU=\\(null\\))(;|$)\/.test(document.cookie)?enableTracking():window.isTrackingConsentNeeded=!\/(^| )CONSENT=0(;|$)\/.test(document.cookie);<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From remote sandbars only accessible at low tide to cliff-framed coves only reachable by hiking, the best beaches of 2026 span the world over. They also highlight a major theme: travelers are looking for places that aren\u2019t crowded and still feel a little unconventional and unexpected. In fact, several beaches are within national parks, ensuring [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shutterstock_208687345-1200x900.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}