Tripadvisor places Baia do Sancho, 220 miles off the South American coast, as its No.1.
If you ask anyone outside Brazil to name a beach in the South American country, not many would offer up Baia do Sancho. While most visitors descend on Rio’s Copacabana or Ipanema, Tripadvisor’s No. 1 on its latest list of the world’s top beaches takes us 220 miles off Brazil’s northeast coast.
The island of Fernando de Noronha may not top the list of must-visit locations for your average tourist heading to Brazil, but it is home to Baia do Sancho, the best beach in the world, according to Trip Advisor.
Located on a group of volcanic islands, the stretch of largely unspoilt white sand is accessible by boat, or by descending a metal ladder, the area renowned for its jagged coastline. Once there, visitors are met by the clearest of turquoise waters along with a range of wildlife, some of which you may not want to encounter while swimming: along with the sea turtles, rays and dolphins, reef sharks are known to swim near the picture postcard location in the South Atlantic.
The rankings were produced by analysing millions of Tripadvisor reviews submitted over 12 months, looking at both the quality and quantity of rating for each location. Unsurprisingly, the list includes three from the Caribbean, with the No. 2 spot taken by Eagle Beach in Aruba, located around 20 miles off the coast of Venezuela. At over 1000 metres long, Eagle Beach offers everything you’d expect of a Caribbean hotspot: swaying palm trees, white sands, and beautifully warm waters.
At No. 5 is Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos, famously making Trip Advisor’s top ten every year for two decades, helped by its claim of having no rocks, no seaweed and no pollution, while its own barrier reef a mile offshore ensures the water is calm and safe. No. 9 on the list is a short hop west from Grace Bay: Varadero Beach in Cuba is situated on a peninsula on the north of the island, with the Straits of Florida on one side, and the Bay of Cardenas the other, described by some visitors as hypnotic.
The European contingent is somewhat surprisingly led at No. 4 by a location in Iceland, hardly noted for its beach destinations, but Reynisfjara is no ordinary stretch of sand, black sand, a backdrop many may recall seeing in Game of Thrones. Sea stacks abound along with basalt columns and you may even get the chance to catch the Northern Lights, one reviewer saying it “felt like being trapped inside a dream”.
More notable European destinations are found in sixth spot, Praia del Falésia in Portugal, and at No. 8, Spiaggia dei Conigli on Sicily’s Lampedusa Island.
The top 10 list also includes one Australian location, one on an Indian island, and one beach in the United States: the 14 miles of Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia, are noted for the sunset camel rides visitors enjoy; Radhanagar Beach on Havelock Island in the Andaman Sea is closer to Thailand than the Indian mainland, but offers particularly memorable sunsets; Maui’s Ka’anapali Beach has three miles of white sand and you can view cliff diving at Pu’u Keka’a.
According to Sarah Firshein, Head of Editorial at Tripadvisor: “Whether you’re looking to pack a windbreaker or a swimsuit, our list has something for a wide range of travellers – and it might even convince the most ardent beach skeptics to embrace some time on the sand.”
