Travel + Leisure magazine this month released for the first time a Best Beaches on Earth list, and, not surprisingly, four in Hawaii made the cut.
Of the four seaside sites, three won first place in their categories.
Kauai’s Polihale Beach received the title of best for seclusion, while Wailea Beach on Maui was No. 1 for activities. Black Sand Beach at Waianapanapa State Park on Maui was the best for its dramatic landscapes, and Hapuna Beach on Hawaii island was the third best in the world for families, according to a poll of magazine readers.
The list, which appears in this month’s magazine, also named the top five beaches for watching people and wildlife, and placed a total of 30 beaches in six categories.
Polihale, Kauai’s westernmost public beach and accessible only by cane roads more than a century old, was chosen the No. 1 secluded beach because it features seven miles of sand flanked by picturesque barrier dunes, the magazine said.
Wailea took first place in the activities category because several nearby resorts have a host of expert guides available to introduce guests to the island’s array of snorkeling, canoeing and other adventure excursions, the magazine said.
On Maui’s east side, the quarter-mile Black Sand Beach along Hana Highway won best beach for dramatic landscapes because it offers the unique sight of black sand and an abundance of spiny Hawaiian hala trees.
Readers voted Hapuna Beach No. 3 among the world’s best beaches for families, the article says, because its 200-foot width makes it the widest on island, and its well-paved parking lots, picnic pavilions and variety of concession stands are inviting to large groups.
Fourteen of the 30 beaches on the list are in the U.S.
LAST YEAR, Honolulu made its debut in Travel + Leisure magazine World’s Best Awards at No. 10 on the list of top 10 cities in the U.S. and Canada.
The islands and many of their resorts, however, are consistently featured as front-runners.
The 2012 World’s Best lists, which came out in July, recognized for the first time 97 Hall of Fame winners that have appeared on the World’s Best lists for at least a decade.
Kauai, Maui and Hawaii made the "best islands" list as hall-of-famers, and Maui jumped to fourth from ninth place in 2011. Kauai moved up to seventh from eighth place, switching places with Hawaii island.
Travel + Leisure is polling readers for its 2013 awards.
A complete list of the Best Beaches on Earth can be found at www.traveland-leisure.com/articles/best-beaches-on-earth.
