Discover the world's top 30 island beaches

Spain
Playa de las Salinas, Ibiza
Every beach is a party beach on Ibiza, but this is the hippest. Wow Factor: A mile-long stretch of sand backed by pines, it’s where people who have the stamina to party all day after partying all night come to dance — and to pretend they don’t notice just how little some people can get away with wearing to the beach. Visitors with an interest in either should come in the summer or not at all. Best Bed: To party where you sleep, stay at urban funky El Hotel Pacha, connected with Club Pacha, an institution among Ibiza dance venues (34-971-315-963; elhotelpacha.com; doubles, $488).

Tanzania
Bwejuu, Zanzibar
This 12-mile beach on the southeast coast is populated mostly by locals—fishermen wading to their boats, brightly dressed women husking coconuts or gathering seaweed, kids with dreams knocking around a deflated soccer ball. Wow Factor: Zanzibar is one of the most exotic of African islands, and Bwejuu is its wide and blindingly white beach. Best Bed: You’ll find a few guesthouses, but for pampered luxury stay at The Palms, six large villas associated with the more modest Breezes Beach Club (225-777-437-007; palms-zanzibar.com; doubles, $1,235, all-inclusive).

Thailand
Kamala Beach, Phuket
The western shores are thick with beaches, and many of those beaches are thick with commerce — food vendors, souvenir kiosks, girlie bars, and other distractions. It is possible to escape the commotion by retreating to an exclusive resort, but you risk missing the local color. Wow Factor: Kamala is the antidote. The beach itself is much like Phuket’s others, and mostly obscured under the regimented rows of chaise longues, but Kamala Bay’s main street is a convivial integration of seafood restaurants, shops, and bars that are notably tamer than nearby Patong’s strip. Best Bed: If you’re keen to experience well-appointed pampering, you needn’t go far: The luxurious Chedi is a short ride up the coast (66-76-236-550; phuket.com/chedi; doubles, $160–$250).

Tonga
Mounu Island, Vava‘u
A luxurious eco-resort — for real. Mounu Island utilizes solar power, and rainwater is filtered for drinking. Wow Factor: The white beach that fringes this 6.5-acre coral atoll always feels deserted, even when the sole resort is full, because Mounu has only four units and a communal fale (a traditional Tongan house) where gourmet meals are served every evening. Bonus: Turtles nest here in summer, and there are two boats for humpback whale–watching from July through November. Best Bed: You can sometimes even see the humpbacks from your own fale (676-59070; mounuisland.com; doubles, $150–$175).

United States
South Beach, Florida
Rollerblades and prominent pecs are as essential as sunblock on the southern stretch of Miami Beach. Wow Factor: SoBe can be rowdy, but it is 23 blocks long, with plenty of quiet spots to plant an umbrella. Best Bed: There are many to choose from. The Ritz-Carlton, a restored Morris Lapidus–designed hotel, is smack on the white beach (786-276-4000; ritzcarlton.com; doubles, $399–$675). The hotel scene here is as hyper as the nightlife, but the all-suite Sanctuary South Beach makes good on its name (305-673-5455; sanctuarysobe.com; suites, $175–$225).
Fair Warning: Traffic is constant. Walk or ride the Electric Wave bus on Washington Avenue.

Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
The “little collection of cottages under coconut trees” that Mark Twain admired has become the world’s most famous island beach, with more than 100 hotels along a two-mile shore. Wow Factor: There’s no such thing as boredom in Waikiki. The gentle surf invites haoles of an amusing range of skills to give it a try. Join them, or choose your vantage point at a beachside café or bar. The shops, restaurants, and parks of Honolulu are a block away. Best Bed: Choices include a Gold List classic: the Halekulani, a century old this year (800-367-2343; halekulani.com; doubles, $405–$635).

Gibson Beach, Sagaponack, New York
The reports of toplessness at Gibson Beach, titillating though they may be, are sadly exaggerated. Wow Factor: With no amenities of any kind, this wild swath of dunes, surf, and fabulously wealthy homes is one Hamptons beach that attracts more thongs than throngs. Best Bed: Southampton’s tall-hedged, big-lawn Village Latch Inn hits the right notes of grandeur and privilege befitting the area (631-283-2160; villagelatch.com; doubles, $250–$425). For something longer-term, Roy Scheider’s beachfront property is reportedly for sale for $18.75 million. Perhaps he’s gonna need a bigger house.
Fair Warning: With minimal parking, bicycling is a preferred transport.

Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
The horses that once ran wild on this low-lying barrier island are now fenced in. Wow Factor: Unlike the horses, a wide, wild, big-surf beach still runs virtually the entire length of this 16-mile-long stretch in the southernmost section of the 75-mile Cape Hatteras National Seashore (nps.gov). Best Bed: Skip the beach campgrounds in favor of Ocracoke village, where Captain’s Landing delivers harbor views from your private deck (252-928-1999; thecaptainslanding.com; doubles, $200–$260).
Hint: Arrive via the free ferry from Hatteras Island.

South Padre Island, Texas
No wonder this barrier-island strand is America’s number-one spring-break party beach. It’s plenty warm by March, and it’s legal to drink beer from a keg on the beach. Wow Factor: You don’t need a college degree to recognize that the water here is as clear as any on the Gulf Coast. Best Bed: The Sheraton is on the beach, with great views, although before making a reservation, ask how the construction work is going (956-761-6551; starwoodhotels.com; doubles, $199–$289).

Venezuela
Cayo de Agua, Los Roques
Bring an umbrella and claim your own sandy realm in this sparsely populated archipelago of several hundred small islands — most, unlike Cayo de Agua, unnamed. Wow Factor: Los Roques has some of the most pristine beaches in the Caribbean. Best Bed: The all-inclusive Macanao Lodge will drop guests off for the day at various islands as part of its service (58-212-708-9898; macanaolodge.com; doubles, $380).
Hint: Arrange day-trips from the main — and only inhabited — island, Gran Roque.

–Mike Di Paola, Ron Hall, Beata Loyfman, Bob Payne, and Gully Wells

For more travel news and tips, check out the Conde Nast Traveler Web site.

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