Mediterranean beaches:
- Greece: Still good up to late September, beach pictures
- Turkish beaches, Turkey beach pictures are also good for a last summer fling before close-down.
- French
beaches are now suddenly cheap[ish] and cheerful as the bling set leave the Côte d'Azur and head back to Paris, London and Berlin, though St Tropez is still stuffed with Scandinavians; Corsica
beaches [an island] are particularly special and Nice's huge stony bay, while not very cuddly offers great shoreside attractions.
- Spain's beaches are low cost and now that August's tourists have staggered back to the dole queues and temperatures are perfect it's looking pretty good. The Balearic Islands - Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza - are cheap to reach with package deals, less expensive than most of Europe enjoy a superb climate with plenty of sun and host some of the Mediterranean's best beaches.
- Italy: Not a country of great beaches but the translucent waters, golden rocks and culture of Sardinia and Lampedusa islands are worth the travel trouble.
- Sidi Abdel Rahman or Marsa Matrouh, Egypt, offer long strands of brilliant white sand
along the coast west from Alexandria, but not a lot of facilities so adventurers required [stay in Alex and rent a car for day trips?]. Alternatively head for Egypt's Red Sea if comfort, coral and mass-tourism is more your thing.
- Croatia beaches, not the Med, but the nearby Adriatic and one of Europe's fresh destinations, home to a handful of lovely, secluded and low cost beaches.
Pacific
Ocean beaches. See also Pacific
Beach Pictures
-Chile: Anakena beach, Easter
Island. Not huge but soft sand, clear sea,
palm trees and six huge moai watching your backs.
- Matira, Bora
Bora, French Polynesia. One of South Pacific's
most revered beaches.
- Fiji: Yasawa
Islands beaches, a group of islands with small, fine
sandy beaches and low cost backpacker resorts.
- Cook
Islands: One Foot Island, islet of Aitutaki Island.
- American Samoa: South coast of Ofu Island. A dramatic landscape
with few visitors.
- Western Samoa: Lefaga and Aleipata beaches, Upolu island.
Not well known but two of the most attractive beaches in the
Pacific.
- Tonga: Ha'apai Beach, Foa
island, Ha'apai islands. Perhaps the least costly destination
in the Pacific with the most welcoming locals, but hell to get there.
 Australia
[Northern Coasts]:
- it's winter and water is chilly in southern Australia, so go north-east or north-west but don't expect much surf. Beyond Brisbane on the east coast, due to toxic jellies and the odd shark tourists tend to be either dressed in wetsuits or swim in free, attractive, salt-water lagoons. The north-west shores above Perth are home to the amazing Ningaloo Reef and massive stretches of dazzling, people-free sand.
Atlantic
Ocean beaches:
- Portugal, hosts numerous soft-sand beaches; on the Atlantic coast for surf and size, Algarve for warmth, facilities and toddler-friendly surf.
- France's Atlantic coast has great stretches of soft sand and surfing, such as La Rochelle, Arcachon,
Biarritz
and St
Jean de Luz.
- Spain's Canary Islands, enjoy endless sunshine and beaches of all types - activities, nudist, family, surfing, wild town sand, back-to-nature coves.
Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are the sunniest and La Palma the wettest.
- Morocco: Essaouira's beaches are huge though a little plain, high surf and wind-swept [so brilliant for windsurfers and surfers], but the town is gorgeous, culture-rich and popular with independent
travelers.
- Brazil is blessed with many massive, fine beaches, such as Rio's magnificent Copacabana - perhaps the world's best city beach, and life is lively and low cost though the seas are usually rough and cold.
Malaysia beaches:
- Berjaya Tioman Beach Resort, a secluded, palm-fringed beach, or
Kampung Juara for serenity, Tioman Island.
- Long Beach, Kecil Island, Perhentian Islands, popular
with budget travelers.
- Redang Island, Redang archipelago, with a superb marine park
is perfect for scuba and snorkel folk.
- Turtle Beach and Golden Beach, Similajau National Park, Sarawak.
A pain to get to but some of Malaysia's best
beaches.
Vietnam beaches:
- China
Beach, between Da Nang and Hoi An. An endless and unspoilt white
strand.
- Nha Trang on the 'Vietnamese Riviera' is a delightful little town, with a splendid white sandy beach.
Indian
Ocean:
- Madagascar: Ile Sainte Marie is an idyllic island resort fringed by peaceful beaches.
- Mauritius: Flic en Flac, Trou aux Biches and Paradis beach. Less fantasy and much less costly than the neighbouring Seychelles
but with high quality resorts that look after romantics as well as families.
- Tanzania: Zanzibar's best beaches are on the north and east coasts, though experienced travellers often enjoy neighbouring Mafia Island's isolation.
A perfect way to end the holiday after doing a Tanzania wildlife safari.
Beaches that are probably not a good idea in September:
Caribbean beaches:
Depends on the island but rain, wind and choppy seas, even hurricanes may be visiting while lots of tourists won't be. Very low cost but risky!
Mexico beaches:
Nope! Storm season may mean choppy seas, cloud, wind,
rain, seaweed on the beach, closed facilities at alia.
Thailand beaches:
also see
Beach pictures,
Beaches map
May - Oct is the worst time to go, especially on the Andaman
[west] Coast [big rains].
The Gulf [east] Coast has much less rains than the west
coast but longer, from June - Dec.
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