Most Unusual Beaches

Beaches usually consist of the sea, sand, and other elements like plants, hills, and sometimes mountains. But there are beaches that are quite out of the ordinary and they are the ones that should be worthy of your next visit!

This crescent-shaped beach has green sands which contain green silicate deposit called olivine, which emerged from the littoral cone that encloses the bay. Since olivine is classified as a semi-precious stone, it’s like you’re trampling on jewels!

Swimming and surfing are possible; still, be careful of the waves for they can become very strong. It will take visitors 2-3 hours of hiking to get to the beach and the terrain can be quite rough. Since the beach is isolated, it is utterly undeveloped so make sure you leave before it gets dark, unless you’re going to camp there overnight. Papakolea Beach is one of only four green sand beaches in the world.

pink beach indonesia

This might be the most beautiful and romantic beach you’ll ever see. Aptly called Pink Beach, it is located on the Komodo Island, the home of the fearsome Komodo dragon. The pink sands are the result of red coral mixed with seawater, plus the sunlight’s reflection giving the sands their unique color. Needless to say, it is a popular tourist spot.

Now let’s move on from pink to red! Aptly named the Red Beach (what else?) it is arguably one of the most beautiful beaches in Santorini, Greece. And it is just about five minutes away from the ancient site of Akrotiri. The walk down to the beach can be quite steep, but the views of the red volcanic shores can be very well worth the trek.

Tired of the sand or pebble beaches? Then go to the Shark Bay region in Western Australia for the Shell Beach! And why are the shells unusually abundant in this area? It’s partly because of the local climate and the high salinity of the seawater allows the cockle shells to proliferate in high numbers since this kind of environment is not adaptable to the cockle’s predators.

Shell Beach is one of the only two beaches of this kind in the world.

Seeing those large rocks at a particular beach in New Zealand, like you’re on another planet, or still living in the Jurassic era. The Moeraki Boulders are a group of spherical rocks — some standing solitary and some in clusters — and many of them are unusually large like some dinosaur eggs. They’re lying along the Koekohe Beach facing the Pacific Ocean.

If you want your beach tour to be more magical, why not try to go to the islands of Maldives? You’ll see the incredibly small and glowing thingies covering the stretch of beach at night. These millions of tiny organisms on the beach are called bioluminescent phytoplankton, which emits a glow similar to that of the fireflies’. When stressed or agitated by outside factors (such as crashing waves), these organisms have the tendency to radiate that light — talk about exuding grace under pressure there! They can light up the honeymooners’ romantic moments on the beach at night.

black sand beach iceland

Vík í Mýrdal, or simply Vík, is a village in the southernmost part of Iceland which faces the vast and open Atlantic Ocean. And like other places in Iceland, it is known for its desolate beauty. Vík has stretches of black sand beaches which are considered one of the wettest parts of the country. A particular black sand beach there called Reynishverfi is known for its amazing basalt columns, the Reynisdrangar. According to local folklore, the Reynisdrangar are the remains of the two-night trolls who attempted to pull a three-masted ship to the shore. However, it took the trolls too long to pull the ship that dawn loomed on them, thus turning them into stones.

The Reynishverfi is one of the most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world.

Located in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California (120 miles north of San Francisco), the Glass Beach was a product of dumping garbage for many years. Combined with the forces of nature through pounding surf, the trash has become a treasure — you can see the glittering and colorful sea glass pebbles along the shoreline.

Spending time on the icy shores won’t be your usual idea of a beach vacation. But if you want to make a fresh change from the normal tropical seaside trip, maybe Jokulsarlon in Iceland will be the place. Jokulsarlon is a vast glacial lake in southeastern Iceland, and it has grown in size in varying rates due to the melting of the glaciers. From the receding glaciers, you will get to see the astoundingly shaped and colored ice which floats in the lagoon. They look like they are straight out of a winter fairy tale.

The lake is open to the sea by way of a narrow but deep channel on where lumps of these icy bodies get washed out with every outgoing tide. The warmer seawater partly melts the glaciers and smooths them before washing the re-formed glaciers back into the volcanic beaches where they finally melt away. The combination of the incredible ice sculptures, the waters, the black sand beaches — add the aurora borealis which is common in the Northern Hemisphere — makes the whole scene dreamlike.

Karaikal Beach (or Karaikal Sandy Beach) is said to be one of the best natural sandy beaches in Southern India (on the South Tamil Nadu coast). It is noted for its spectacular sunrise and sunset views, and a host of water sports that tourists can enjoy. It is now made more accessible by the widening of the 2-kilometer road along the Arasalar river and made safer at night by the illumination of the road with sodium vapor lamps.

Situated on the Dutch side of Saint Martin island (Sint Maarten) in the Caribbean, Maho Beach has some element of danger: it is very, very close to a busy international airport. So don’t expect the beach to be a typical quiet haven to relax and chill. Not only will you experience jet noise, but you’ll also see the low-flying jumbo commercial planes so close above the beach! So close that you can be thrown into the water (or worse, hit onto the low concrete fences) due to the jet blast — so some caution there if you plan to go to Maho Beach. If you’re brave enough, you may watch the jet landing or taking off — up close. Otherwise, run for safety every time a plane approaches!