9 most colorful beaches in the world
By Kaeli Conforti | Budget Travel
Rainbow Beach, Australia (Chee-onn Leong/Dreamstime)(Chee-onn Leong/Dreamstime)
Most beaches need umbrellas and blankets to brighten up the
landscape. Not these nine stretches of sand. From iconic pink sand
beaches in the Bahamas to a green beach in Hawaii, we've rounded up nine
beaches around the world that you have to see to believe—and we show
you exactly how to get there.
MULTICOLORED SAND
Rainbow
Beach makes up for its small size (just 0.62 miles) with its many
colors. There are 74 different hues, a clandestine combination of
erosion and iron oxide buildup that has been occurring since the last
ice age, and the makeup changes. There is a sad romantic story behind
the colors as well. According to an ancient Aboriginal legend, the sands
became colorful as a result of the rainbow spirit falling onto the
large 656-foot tall beachside cliffs after losing a battle over a
beautiful woman, leaving his beautiful colors to rest on the beach for
all of eternity.
See it for yourself: Rainbow Beach is a
three-hour drive north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast of northeast
Queensland. Greyhound Australia offers shuttle bus service to Rainbow
Beach from Brisbane International Airport—prices for a round-trip adult
ticket start from $114 per person including taxes. Another bus company,
Premier Motor Services, offers similar routes for from $60 per person
for a round-trip ticket.
Papakōlea Beach (Galina Barskaya/Dreamstime)
GREEN SAND
Papakōlea Beach, Big Island of Hawaii
Located
on the southern tip of Hawaii's Big Island, Papakōlea Beach is more
commonly referred to as Green Sand Beach. And for good reason. The sand
here is made of tiny olivine crystals from the surrounding lava rocks
that are trapped in the 49,000-year-old Pu'u Mahana cinder cone by the
waters of Mahana Bay. The density of the olivine crystals keeps them
from being washed away by the tide, resulting in a striking olive-green
accumulation along the coastline. Swimming is allowed but waves on the
windy southern coast can be particularly strong. And while it's
tempting, it's bad form to take the sand home with you.
See
it for yourself: Papakōlea Beach is equidistant from both Kona and
Hilo, and well worth the scenic two-hour-and-15-minute drive on Highway
11 (look for signs for Ka Lae, or South Point between mile markers 69
and 70). You can also take the two-mile hike along the southernmost
point in the U.S.A. for a glimpse of the uniquely olive-green sand.
(Tomas Pavelka/Dreamstime)BLACK SAND
Muriwai Black Sand Beach, New Zealand
Black
sand beaches are typically a result of an island's explosive volcanic
past—the rich color is a result of a mixture of iron, titanium, and
several other volcanic materials. New Zealand's stunning Muriwai Black
Sand Beach is a 37-mile stretch of sparkling black sand and home to New
Zealand's largest colony of Gannet birds. Hike up the scenic trail at
the southern end of the beach to two viewing platforms for great ocean
views and a peek at the birds in their natural habitat, where nearly
1,200 pairs nest between August and March each year.
See it for
yourself: Just a 40-minute ride west of downtown Auckland, Muriwai Black
Sand Beach can be a day trip, or book a room at the Lodge Escape at
Muriwai for from $120 a night. Feeling gutsy? Try a two-hour lesson from
the Muriwai Surf School (from $60 per person including equipment).
(Roman Rodionov/Dreamstime)RED SAND
Santorini's
Red Beach (also called Kokkini Beach) is set at the base of giant red
cliffs that rise high over crystal-blue Mediterranean waters. The
colorful red sand is a result of the surrounding iron-rich black and red
lava rocks left over from the ancient volcanic activity of Thira, the
impressive volcano that erupted and essentially shaped Santorini in 1450
B.C. Nowadays, the beach is popular with sunbathers, though you'll want
to rent beach chairs to avoid sitting directly on the coarse sand. And
it's best to visit in the early morning hours—the sand heats up under
the warm Mediterranean sun.
See it for yourself: The easiest way
to reach Red Beach is by boat from Akrotíri or Períssa on Santorini.
Pair your trip to the beach with a visit to the ancient Minoan Ruins of
Akrotiri, a 10-minute walk away.
(Photo: Mike’s Birds/Flickr)PINK SAND
Pink Sand Beach, Harbour Island, Eleuthera, Bahamas
A
lot goes into making this Pink Sand Beach so… pink. The three-and-a
half-mile-long stretch gets its hue from thousands of broken coral
pieces, shells, and calcium carbonate materials left behind by
foraminifera (tiny marine creatures with red and pink shells) that live
in the coral reefs that surround the beach. The pink sands can also be
found on Harbour Island's Atlantic side and along the Exuma
Sound—Lighthouse Beach, Surfer's Beach, Winding Bay Beach, and French
Leave Beach are also famous for their rosy sand.
See it for
yourself: Several flights to Eleuthera are available through Bahamasair
from South Florida, or opt for one of several ferries or water taxis
from the other Bahamian islands. The five-hour Eleuthera Express from
Nassau costs $35 per person one-way. To get to Harbor Island from North
Eleuthera Airport, take a 10-minute taxi ride (about $5 per person) to
the boat dock and a 10-minute water taxi (also about $5 per person)
across to Harbor Island—bicycles, scooters, and golf carts are available
for rental once on the island, while walking tends to be the preferred
form of transportation.
(Mariusz Jurgielewicz/Dreamstime)PURPLE SAND
Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, California
Have
you ever heard of purple sand? Head to the northern coastline of
Pfeiffer Beach, where patches of violet and deep-purple sand can be
found. The source is large deposits of quartz and manganese garnet
originating in the nearby hills being washed down from the creek to its
final resting place along the Pacific. The purple sand is more likely to
be seen after storms during the winter. Swimming is not recommended
because of strong currents and a number of sharp purple rocks offshore,
which also contribute to the beach's rare coloration.
See it for
yourself: Pfeiffer Beach is located just outside Big Sur State Park
about an hour south of Monterey, or roughly two hours and 45 minutes
south of San Francisco
along Pacific Coast Highway 1. Keep an eye out for Sycamore Canyon Road
just past mile marker 45.64 and continue through Los Padres National
Forest—if you are driving from Northern California, turn right
approximately 0.66 miles after you see the park ranger station. Parking
is available for $5 per vehicle.
(Photo: Daygum/Wikimedia Commons)ORANGE SAND
Porto Ferro, Sardinia, Italy
The
northern corner of Italy's island of Sardinia is home to Porto Ferro, a
one-and-a-quarter-mile stretch of oddly orange-colored sand thanks to a
unique mixture of the area's native orange limestone, crushed shells,
and other volcanic deposits. You can also find 65-foot-tall
ochre-colored sand dunes behind the beach on the way to Lake Baratz,
Sardinia's only natural salt lake. The area is known for its scenic bike
and hiking paths, and three Spanish lookout towers—Torre Negra, Torre
Bianca, and Torre de Bantine Sale—that date back to the 1600s. Boating
is the best way to explore this pristine area of Sardinia, which is also
a popular spot for diving, surfing, and windsurfing.
See it for
yourself: Ryanair offers affordable round-trip flights from many Italian
cities to the town of Alghero on Sardinia, with prices from Rome's
Ciampino Airport starting at around $69 per person. Once on the island
of Sardinia, Porto Ferro is just 19 miles outside Alghero—drive
northwest toward the town of Capo Caccia, turn right, and continue up
the coast to reach Porto Ferro.
(Photo: mathewingram/Flickr)WHITE SAND
A
lot of places boast that they have white-sand beaches, but it doesn't
get much whiter than Crescent Beach, located on Siesta Key, a barrier
island just off the coast of Sarasota, FL. The sand here is 99 percent
pure quartz, which has traveled down Florida's rivers from the
Appalachian Mountains. The best part about this sand's fine texture: Not
only does it feel like you're walking through powdered sugar, but
because of its unique quartz makeup, it will never heat up no matter how
hot the Florida sun beats down. You'll also find coral and other
diverse rock formations at the southern end of the beach at Point of
Rocks that make this a great area for diving and snorkeling. Alas, it
turns out there may be one beach with whiter sand: Hyams Beach in
Australia is now listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having
the whitest sand in the world.
See it for yourself: Siesta Key is
about a 20-minute drive from Sarasota-Bradenton International
Airport—travel south on U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail) to Siesta Drive, turn
right and go over the bridge to Siesta Key, bear left at the first
traffic light, follow State Highway 758, and make a right at the second
traffic light at Beach Road. Park in the lot on the left and walk five
minutes south to reach Crescent Beach.
(Photo: renedrivers/Flickr)GRAY SAND
Shelter Cove, Humboldt County, California
One
word best describes Shelter Cove: remote. It's worth the trip to see
the gray-colored sand, the result of years of erosion of the nearby
gray-shale cliffs along the shore. The area is also known for its scenic
coastal drives, hikes, and an abundant source of wildlife at the nearby
68,000-acre King Range National Conservation Area, home to sea lions,
bald eagles, and Roosevelt elk—even Bigfoot himself has been spotted
roaming the woods here.
See it for yourself: Make the
four-and-a-half-hour drive north from San Francisco on Highway 101 to
Northern California's Humboldt County. Shelter Cove is along "The Lost
Coast" just above Mendocino County and about an hour south of Humboldt
Redwoods State Park. Look for the Redway-Shelter Cove exit on U.S.
Highway 101 and drive onto Briceland Road to get to the northern part of
the beach.
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