Beach Reviews

Spain’s liveliest beach bars are Cafe Mambo and Cafe del Mar in Ibiza, Tumbao and Tangana in Tarifa, and Ocean Club in Marbella. Barcelona’s are cheapest but close earliest.

Spain's cheapest beach coasts are the Costa Calida and Costa de Almeria. Travel in May, June or September, eat the menu del dia at about 14 euros, and skip 10-euro sunbeds on free public sand.

Spain's hidden beaches: Gulpiyuri, Playa del Silencio, Praia das Catedrais, the Cies Islands, Cala Macarelleta, Los Muertos, Castell and Coll Baix. Three need permits or a shuttle.

Mexico's cheapest beach towns are Puerto Escondido, Mazunte, Mazatlán, La Paz, Progreso and Bacalar at roughly US$40–70 a day. Cancún and Tulum cost double for the same sand.

Mexico's best snorkeling and diving: Cozumel's Palancar and Santa Rosa walls, Cabo Pulmo in Baja, Akumal turtles, MUSA off Isla Mujeres, Puerto Morelos and the Tulum cenotes.

Mexico's best beach stays for couples in 2026: Rosewood Mayakoba, La Casa Que Canta, Hotel Escondido, Casa Las Tortugas, Privilege Aluxes and Hotel El Ganzo. Four are adults-only.

Mexico beach resorts in 2026: budget all-inclusives run USD 200-400 a night for two, luxury starts near USD 800, and Los Cabos averages USD 425-530 with almost no budget tier.

Zicatela is expert-only; La Punta, Sayulita, Troncones and Los Cerritos are the beginner waves. Barra de la Cruz and Scorpion Bay reward the drive. Seasons decide everything.

Solo travel in the Caribbean works best on Puerto Rico, Barbados, Curacao, Aruba, the USVI and Cayman — walkable, bus-linked, Level 1 advisories. The real cost is the single supplement.

The best Caribbean markets: Castries (St Lucia), Marigot (St Martin), St George’s spice market (Grenada) and Willemstad’s Floating Market. Go before 9am, bring cash, skip conch and coral.

Four Caribbean ferry chains work without a plane: the Virgin Islands from $25, Guadeloupe to St. Lucia on L’Express des Îles, the Grenadines, and St. Maarten to Anguilla in 20 minutes.

Caribbean wellness retreats ranked: BodyHoliday St. Lucia includes a daily treatment, COMO Parrot Cay and Six Senses La Sagesse run the deepest programmes, Sivananda Bahamas is the budget pick.

The Caribbean's historical beaches worth a detour: Salt River Bay on St. Croix, Long Bay on San Salvador, Port Royal, Playa Girón, English Harbour, Pigeon Island and Holetown.

Caribbean beach weddings cost about $500–$600 per guest in 2026. Barbados and the Dominican Republic have no residency wait; Jamaica and the Bahamas need ~24 hours.

The best child-friendly Caribbean beaches: Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos has the calmest water, Aruba the most reliable weather, and the Bahamas the biggest water park.

The best Caribbean adventure sports by beach: shore diving in Bonaire, kitesurfing at Cabarete, surfing Rincon and the Soup Bowl, and stingray snorkeling at Grand Cayman.

For a Caribbean honeymoon in 2026, St. Lucia leads for drama (the Pitons), Turks and Caicos for Grace Bay's calm water, and Aruba for reliable, hurricane-free weather.

The Caribbean's biggest beach festivals in 2026: Trinidad Carnival (Feb 16–17), Barbados Crop Over's Grand Kadooment (Aug 3), Antigua and Aruba Carnival, Reggae Sumfest, and Bahamian Junkanoo.

The Caribbean’s most sustainable beach resorts run on solar, wind, or micro-hydro: Bucuti & Tara in Aruba, Rosalie Bay and Jungle Bay in Dominica, Tiamo in the Bahamas, and GoldenEye in Jamaica.

Bonaire, Trunk Bay, Buck Island, Belize’s Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley, the Bight Reef, Eden Rock and Buccoo Reef rank as the Caribbean’s best snorkeling spots.

Vietnam has no nude beaches and no naturist resorts. What that means on Vietnamese beaches, where bikinis are fine and where to cover up, and the nearest legal alternatives.

Uruguay has two official nude beaches: Playa Chihuahua near Punta del Este and La Sirena in Rocha. Both are legal and government-designated; nudity is banned everywhere else.

The US Virgin Islands have no nude beaches: territorial law makes public exposure an offence, with a fine of up to $100 or 90 days. The law, the best beaches, and legal alternatives nearby.

Thailand has no nude beaches. Section 388 of the Criminal Code fines indecent exposure in public up to 5,000 baht. What that means on Thai beaches, and the nearest legal alternatives.