29 Beaches, Lakeshores and Coastal Views from Around the World

What makes a beach day exciting depends on the person packing the bag. One traveller wants a long walk, another wants a lively promenade and someone else is happiest watching the light change across the water.

The twenty-nine entries below range from named beaches to lakes, islands and coastal viewpoints. Start with six settings explored in more detail, then use the full gallery to find the kind of day that appeals to you. A city promenade, a boat landing and a mountain lake need different plans. Choose the activity first and check the actual conditions, especially before treating clear water or an attractive shore as somewhere suitable to swim.

1. Whitehaven Beach, Australia: watch the meeting of sand and water

Whitehaven Beach and nearby Hill Inlet are part of the Whitsunday Islands setting in Queensland. The widely photographed swirls come from the changing relationship between pale sand and tidal water.

The Queensland Parks visitor guide helps distinguish beach time from walking and lookout options. Compare boat itineraries carefully: a photograph of Hill Inlet does not mean every excursion includes the same landing or viewpoint.

Best for: travellers who enjoy a landscape that changes with the tide, with enough time to look rather than hurry through a photo stop.

2. Le Morne, Mauritius: understand an aerial illusion

The apparent underwater waterfall near Le Morne is a visual effect created by the seabed, sand and water seen from above. It is not a waterfall pouring down an open hole in the ocean.

Our Mauritius underwater-waterfall article explains the effect. Enjoy the coastal setting on its own terms, and if you consider a sightseeing flight, compare the actual route and conditions instead of expecting the view from every point on the shore.

Best for: people interested in how perspective changes a familiar landscape.

3. Luskentyre, Scotland: make room for a long look

Luskentyre on Harris offers a broad coastal landscape with sand, channels and distant hills. The local tourism description explains how low tide opens out the view.

Bring the clothing for the weather you have, not the tropical holiday suggested by a turquoise photograph. A walk and a warm drink afterwards can be the perfect plan. Keep vehicles in appropriate parking areas and protect the dunes and neighbouring land.

Best for: a spacious, unhurried outing within an island journey.

4. Myrtos, Greece: enjoy the view and assess the sea separately

Myrtos on Kefalonia is striking from above, where the pale beach curves beneath steep slopes. The experience at water level depends on the day’s wind and sea conditions.

Use our Myrtos planning guide to understand the approach and the difference between a viewpoint stop and time on the beach. If swimming conditions are unsuitable, the visit can still be worthwhile without entering the water.

Best for: travellers who want a dramatic coastal setting and can keep their plans flexible.

5. Copacabana, Brazil: a beach within a city

Copacabana offers an urban beach experience, with the promenade and surrounding neighbourhood forming part of the day. It belongs in a different category from an isolated cove reached by boat.

Combine beach time with a considered city itinerary using our Rio de Janeiro guide. Carry only what you need for the outing and choose a convenient meeting point if travelling with others.

Best for: visitors who enjoy the energy of a city alongside the sea.

6. La Digue, Seychelles: take pleasure in the granite landscape

The granite boulders along La Digue’s coast give individual stretches of shore their own shape and character. Explore without assuming every appealing cove has the same access or water conditions.

Our clear-water beach comparison offers more context for matching a beach to your plans. Leave space for the small pleasures too: shade, a slow walk and time to notice the coast beyond the most familiar photograph.

Beaches, lakes and viewpoints

The original list includes freshwater lakes, whole regions, resorts and viewpoints as well as beaches. Not every scene is a swimming destination. The distinction helps explain the photographs without promising the same activity everywhere.

1–5. Mauritius, Whitehaven, Siargao, Cocoa Island and Sardinia

The Mauritius underwater-waterfall image is an optical impression seen from above, not a literal waterfall dropping beneath the sea. Whitehaven identifies a particular beach, while the historical Dedon resort name identifies a property on Siargao. Cocoa Island and Sardinia operate at different geographical scales again. A whole island is not one beach.

6–10. Jervis Bay, Sveti Stefan, Ao Nang, Lake Como and Navagio

Jervis Bay and Ao Nang describe broader coastal settings. Sveti Stefan’s built island-like form is central to its image. Lake Como is freshwater, while Navagio is a specific coastal cove on Zakynthos. The photograph of an inviting shore does not establish current access to it.

11–15. Mykonos, Lake Braies, Land’s End, Anse Source d’Argent and Assos

Mykonos is an island with multiple beaches. Lake Braies, also called Pragser Wildsee, belongs to South Tyrol and is a lake rather than a seaside beach. Land’s End in Baja California, the granite-framed shore on La Digue and the Kefalonian village of Assos offer three different coastal compositions.

16–20. Punaluʻu, Luskentyre, Lago del Predil, Tahoe and Pag

Punaluʻu’s dark shore contrasts with Luskentyre’s pale sand. Lago del Predil and Lake Tahoe return the sequence to freshwater mountain settings. Pag is another island-scale entry. Colour and water clarity in a photograph do not describe temperature, currents or conditions on a later day.

21–25. Twelve Apostles, Copacabana, Moeraki, Cable Beach and Big Sur

The Twelve Apostles entry is a view of offshore rock formations, while Copacabana is a major urban beach. Moeraki is known for its rounded boulders. Cable Beach supplies a broad shore, and the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park image is best understood as a scenic coastal view rather than a general invitation to descend to the sand.

26–29. Algarve, Cathedral Cove, Zlatni Rat and Glass Beach

The Algarve is a region containing many distinct shores. Cathedral Cove is a particular New Zealand location, and Zlatni Rat is a named beach on Brač. Glass Beach closes the sequence with a shoreline whose small surface details are as important to the image as its wider outline.

Three questions make a coastal photograph more useful

Is this a named beach, a broad region or a viewpoint? Is the water fresh or salt? Was the photograph made from a place accessible to an ordinary visitor? These questions establish what the image actually represents before it becomes part of a travel plan.

The photographs invite several different kinds of outing. Copacabana suggests time in a city as well as beside the sea; the Twelve Apostles draw attention to coastal landforms; the freshwater lakes change the setting again. Use the captions and credits to keep those places distinct. Then look up the route or activity you want at the named location. A wider view may be best appreciated from an established lookout, without trying to reach the exact patch of shore visible below.