Top 10 famous_beaches - ranked by travel authority Howard Hillman

Top 10
famous beaches

rankings you can trust

Top 10 rankings
Most famous
beaches in the world

Criterion: Fame. (Other attributes - including beauty - do not apply.)

Copacabana
Waikiki see photo
Normandy
Ipanema
Cancun
South Beach
Bondi
Tahiti
Camps Bay
Brighton

Locations and comments

Copacabana Beach

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Tightly spaced hotels and apartment buildings backdrop this sandy beach blanketed with sun worshipers. Touristy. Click Copacabana Beach to read my web page on this venue.

Waikiki Beach

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

It is lined with high-rise tourist hotels and flanked on one end by the picturesque Diamond Head, the caldera of an ancient volcano (see photo above). Touristy.

Normandy Beach

Normandy coast, France

Second World War military landings made this beach world famous. However, it was popular with beach-goers before the war - and is again today. Click Normandy Beach for my web page on this destination.

Ipanema Beach

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

It attracts younger, higher-incomed, more sophisticated beach-goers than Copacabana. And the ratio of locals to tourists is higher. It's also safer. Click Ipanema Beach to read my web page on this spot.

Cancun Beach

Cancun, Mexico

Acapulco on the Pacific coast used to be Mexico's best known beach destination. Today Cancun on the Yucatan coast boasts the honor. Tall tourist hotels hug the sandy beach.

South Beach

Miami Beach, Florida

Bi-coastals brought it fame and energy, which subsequently attracted tourists from around the globe.

Bondi Beach

Near Sydney, Australia

This is the prime day-trip beach escape for Sydney residents. You'll see sunbathers, swimmers, surfboarders, and an occasional shark.

Tahiti Beach

St Tropez, France

Despite its name, Tahiti Beach is on the French Riviera. Attractive topless bathers made it renowned.

Camps Bay

Cape Town suburb, South Africa

Cape Towners and foreigners pop in to enjoy the expansive palm-fringed white sand beach and the fun dining and drinking establishments.