World's best beaches for 2017 named in annual TripAdvisor awards

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This was published 7 years ago

World's best beaches for 2017 named in annual TripAdvisor awards

By Kylie McLaughlin
Updated
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Australia may pride itself on its beaches, but we've failed to feature in the top 10 in TripAdvisor's annual list of the world's best.

Baia do Sancho is the world's best beach according to TripAdvisor, with the Brazillian beach earning the top spot in the travel review site's 2017 Travellers' Choice Awards.

Sancho Bay - the beach's English name - is often a TripAdvisor favourite. Beautiful and secluded, it is not a beach easily reached, requiring a boat, a hardy trek or a swim to reach.

1: Sancho Bay, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil.

1: Sancho Bay, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil. Credit: Getty Images

Last year's winner, Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos took a slide to second position in 2017. It's eight kilometres of white sand and turquoise water is lined with swanky but affordable resorts, making it a popular choice for less well-heeled travellers.

It contains the world's third-largest barrier reef, popular for scuba diving, and is within easy reach from Miami in the US, a 90 minute flight away.

Other worldwide beaches to make the top 10 list include Playa Paraiso in Cuba , La Concha Beach in San Sebastian, Spain and Playa Norte in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. But no Australian beaches made the top 10.

A new entrant to the top 10 is Siesta Beach in Siesta Key, Florida - where the sand is 99 per cent pure quartz, making it soft and cool to the feet even on the hottest days, rendering it the 'best sand beach in America'.

Also new to the top 10 is Galapagos Beach at Tortuga Bay in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Considered the most beautiful beach in Galapagos, you'll find it on Santa Cruz Island, which is also home to an abundance of wildlife, including sea turtles, sea lions, marine iguanas, pelicans, flamingos and lava gulls, commonly found along its shores.

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Back at home, the invincible Whitehaven Beach won top spot in TripAdvisor's Australia list for the fourth year running, a bucket-list item for beach lovers around the world. As one reviewer enthusiastically commented, Whitehaven has the "best beach, purest white sand, and bluest water I have ever seen". Which probably explains why it is also the most photographed beach in Australia.

See: Why Whitehaven beach is still a mystery to scientists

Sydney's Bondi Beach missed the cut again, instead it featured Manly - the first beach in Australia to allow daylight swimming and surfing back in 1903, according to TripAdvisor.

Queenland's beaches proved high-hitting, with six in the top 10, squeezing South Australian and Victorian beaches right out of the list.

TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards are based on the quantity and quality of traveller reviews and ratings for beaches on TripAdvisor, gathered over a 12-month period.

Take a tour of the top 10 around the world and in Australia in the gallery above.

TripAdvisor's top 10 beaches in the world

1. Baia do Sancho – Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

2. Grace Bay – Providenciales, Turks and Caicos

3. Eagle Beach, Aruba

4. Playa Paraiso – Cayo Largo, Cuba

5. Siesta Beach, Florida, US

6. La Concha Beach, San Sebastian, Spain

7. Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres, Mexico

8. Radhangar Beach, Havelock Island, India

9. Elafonissi Beach, Crete, Greece

10. Galapagos Beach at Tortuga Bay, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

TripAdvisor's top 10 beaches in Australia

1. Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, QLD

2. Surfers Paradise Beach, Surfers Paradise, QLD

3. Noosa Main Beach, Noosa, QLD

4. Manly Beach, Sydney, NSW

5. Turquoise Bay, Exmouth, WA

6. Burleigh Heads Beach, Burleigh Heads, QLD

7. Cable Beach, Broome, WA

8. Mooloolaba Beach, Mooloolaba, QLD

9. The Strand, Townsville, QLD

10. Emily Bay, Norfolk Island

Which beach is your favourite? Vote below

See also: 12 of the world's most beautiful beaches ... that you can't swim at

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