The World’s Most Beautiful Beaches: White, Pink, Black and Glass Sand

A beach is not just the sea but the sand, rocks and plants around it. Some beaches have sand that squeaks like snow, some are pink or black, and on one the sand is replaced by glass polished by the waves. Here are beaches that appear on every list of the most beautiful, and where their colours come from.

A summer mood in a bouquet: flower baskets and spray roses.

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Six unusual beaches

• Whitehaven (Australia). A beach about seven kilometres long on Whitsunday Island. The sand is almost pure silica, brilliant white and cool underfoot.
• Navagio (Greece). Shipwreck Beach on Zakynthos: a cove among white cliffs with a rusting ship that ran aground in 1980. Because of rockfalls, access is restricted from time to time.
• Pink Sands (Bahamas). The soft pink colour comes from the tiny shells of single-celled marine organisms called foraminifera.

• Reynisfjara (Iceland). Black volcanic sand and basalt columns. It is very dangerous because of sudden large “sneaker” waves, so stay well back from the water.
• Anse Source d’Argent (Seychelles). Sculpted granite boulders, turquoise water and palms make it one of the most photographed beaches in the world.
• Glass Beach (California). Once a dump, the shore is now covered with colourful pebbles of wave-polished glass. Taking the glass is prohibited.

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Flowers on the beach

Beaches have their own flora too. On Mediterranean sand dunes the white sea daffodil (Pancratium maritimum) blooms in summer with a strong scent, and it is protected in many countries. Dune grasses and creepers bind the sand and protect the shore from erosion, so it is best to keep to paths when crossing dunes.

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If your holiday is closer to home, see Kyiv beaches, and for more natural wonders, the nature of the Maldives.

FAQ

Why is some sand pink?

It is coloured by fragments of the shells of tiny marine organisms, foraminifera, and coral.

Can you swim at Reynisfjara?

No. Because of strong waves and currents, even going close to the water is dangerous.

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Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.