By Kylie McLaughlin
The world's cheapest beach has been named in the annual Beach Price Index, with Vietnam's Cua Dai Beach identified as the best bargain spot.
The Beach Price Index by online travel specialists TravelBird measures 310 beaches from over 70 countries, and ranks them based on what a person would spend on a typical day at the beach.
The calculations were based on the price of five essential items such as the cost of a bottle of sunscreen (200 ml), a bottle of water (500 ml), a beer (330 ml bottle), lunch (including drink and dessert for one person), and an ice cream. The sum of these five essentials determined the affordability of each location.
Thailand's cheapest beach: Railay Beach, Krabi.Credit: iStock
A day at Vietnam's Cua Dai Beach would cost the average beachgoer $US13.18 ($A17.47) a day. This price includes lunch ($US7.81), icecream ($US0.88), beer ($US2.04), water ($US0.50) and sunscreen ($US1.95).
Lonely Planet might have unveiled the reason why it is be so cheap. According to their website, an abundance of new buildings has eroded much of the actual beach away, and advise to do all your swimming in a hotel pool. If you're still keen on giving it a crack, you'll find this stretch just east of Hoi An in central Vietnam, extending north to Danang.
The second and third bargain beaches, were also located in Vietnam; City Beach in Nha Trang and Long Beach on the island of Phu Quoc, where you will also find resorts but enough space to throw your towel in the sand to watch the stupendous sunsets its renowned for. Expect to spend $US13.90 and $US14.42 a day, respectively, at these locations.
Egypt and India round out the top 10 list, featuring three and four beaches apiece.
Thailand's cheapest beach came in at 18th cheapest - Railay Beach in Krabi, whose famous limestone karst cliffs are famous for rock climbing, and where you'll spend an average of $US19.33 a day.
Over in Bali, Uluwatu and Nusa Dua beaches are the cheapest, at 31st and 32nd least expensive, where you'll spend around $US20.25 per day.
In Australia, an unspoilt beach popular with surfers called Blinky Beach on Lord Howe Island is Australia's cheapest beach but it weighs in at the more expensive end at number 84 on the 'most expensive' list, as visitors will spend an average of $A54.41 per day. Palm Cove in Queensland and Cottosloe Beach in Perth are slightly pricier at positions 83 and 82.
It will come as a surprise to noone to find that Sydney's Bondi Beach is Australia's most expensive, slotting in at number 50 on the most expensive list. You'll spend an average of $A58.44 a day, the report found.
Most of the world's priciest beaches are in countries you wouldn't necessarily associate with going to the beach anyway. Norway's Kristiansand Beach is the world's most expensive, which Visit Norway describe as 'a nice sandy beach with a swim pier' near the city of Kristiansand. The beach may be damn expensive, at $US64.61 per day, but you can also rest assured that it's damned clean (a far cry from those at the other end of the list) , winning one of only five Norwegian 'Blue Flag' awards for water quality, safety and environmental management.
Two more Norwegian beaches are in the top three; the fourth Mareto Plage Publique in Moorea, French Polynesia, a white-sand beach and one of the few to offer access to the general public on the island, although you'll probably struggle to buy a beer or lunch as there are few facilities. La Plage de Maui follows hot on its heels at number 6, a beach in Tahiti that may be the most spectacular setting for an overpriced meal, ever.
Apart from a couple of beaches in Noumea, it's Sweden, Denmark, Japan and Norway that fill the top 50 most expensive beaches in this list, with the odd appearance from Fiji, California and Italy.
"It is very interesting for travellers who are planning their trip to see how much the price of spending a day at the beach varies across the world. Currency fluctuations can make a big difference in the actual cost of your holiday, so keep those in mind. For example, beaches in the UK have become almost 10 per cent more affordable for continental European visitors due to the decline of the pound after the Brexit referendum." Said TravelBird CEO Steven Klooster.
"Also, if you are keen on enjoying local food on the beach, pick Vietnam for instance, where you can enjoy delicious local food on the beach that is very affordable. Another one: in some places you pay a lot for sunscreen, so make sure you take some with you!"
The world's 10 cheapest beaches
1 Cua Dai Beach, Vietnam
2 City Beach, Vietnam
3 Long Beach, Vietnam
4 Marsa Nayzak, Egypt
5 Sunken City, Egypt
6 Varkala Beach, India
7 Benaulim Beach, India
8 Palolem Beach, India
9 Cavelossim Beach, India
10 Sharm El-Naga Bay
The 10 most expensive beaches in the world
1 Kristiansand Beach, Norway
2 Huk Beach, Norway
3 Solstranda, Norway
4 Mareto Plage Publique, French Polynesia
5 La Plage de Maui, French Polynesia
6 Akrasanden, Norway
7 Hamresanden, Norway
8 Ribersborg Beach, Sweden
9. Anse Vata, New Caledonia
10. Anse Georgette, Seychelles
Australian beaches that featured in the list, from most expensive:
50 Bondi Beach, Sydney
53 Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island
64 Manly Beach, Sydney
65 Mandalay Beach, Walpole
69 Mindil Beach, Darwin
70 The Basin, Rottnest Island
80 75 Mile Beach, Fraser Island
82 Cottesloe Beach, Perth
83 Palm Cove, Queensland
84 Blinky Beach, Lord Howe Island
Click here for the full results.
See also: TripAdvisor names the world's best beaches 2017
See also: Six of the most beautiful beaches you've never heard of
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