Sand, reef, and the art of doing very little.
A pledge stamped in your passport, a fee hidden in your ticket and two Koror State permits: how to plan a first trip to Palau's Rock Islands and Jellyfish Lake, and what the lake looks like in 2026.
Two official fees, a two-hour ferry, homestays without hot water and the richest reefs on earth: how to plan a first trip to Raja Ampat, including what is open and what is not in 2026.
Mu Ko Similan closes by law for five months every year. Plan the 2026–27 season around the 15 October opening, daily caps, e-tickets and the day-trip-or-liveaboard choice.
Spain's Cíes Islands cap visitors at 1,800 a day and make every ferry ticket conditional on a free government permit. Here is how the authorisation, the boats and the beach actually work.
Swimming into Algar de Benagil has been banned since 2023, and since August 2024 a licensed boat or guided kayak tour is the only lawful way in - here is how to book one and when to go.
Navagio has been off-limits to landings since 2022 and the ban now runs to 31 October 2026, so plan around the clifftop viewpoint and a view-only boat trip, not a walk on the sand.
Maya Bay is no longer a swim-and-anchor beach. Plan around its August–September closure, Loh Samah landing, one-hour slots and the conservation rules that now shape every visit.
Boracay’s White Beach still delivers its famous pale sand and clear water, but the first decision is practical: sort the entry QR, accredited stay, fees and beach rules before you fly.
Plan La Pelosa around its 2026 reservation cap, the 48-hour ticket release and a strict sand-protection rule, then use the evening window or quieter Stintino beaches well.
Fernando de Noronha rewards deliberate planning: two separate visitor charges, limited tide-pool slots and seasonal seas shape everything from your beach choice to the length of your stay.
The turquoise lagoons of El Nido now come with visitor caps, timed slots, and a kayak-only entry rule, so a good trip here is planned around a permit system rather than improvised on arrival.
Superclubs built Ibiza's reputation, but the island's north coast, cliffside sunsets, and hippy markets are what keep people coming back once the bass has faded.
A spice island where a labyrinth of carved-door alleys opens onto some of the Indian Ocean's most improbable beaches — and every meal tastes of the monsoon trade winds that built it.
From a shimmering harbour crowned by two of the world's great landmarks to a World Heritage wilderness of eucalyptus haze and sandstone cliffs, ninety minutes west.
From a living Dutch fort to surf breaks, whale harbours and empty sands, the drive east from Galle is Sri Lanka's most rewarding coastal run — culture, adventure and slow afternoons in a single unbroken line of ocean.
The Cyclades' most photographed island is also its most misunderstood. Beyond the sunset scrum lies a landscape shaped by catastrophe, a wine unlike any other, and a way of eating that repays those who leave the caldera rim.
Where a city of samba, sand and granite peaks gives way, two hours down the Costa Verde, to a car-free island of rainforest and impossibly clear water.
The perfect beach doesn't exist — but the perfect beach for you does. A guide to the world's finest shorelines, sorted by what you actually want from the sand.
The south coast has been discovered many times over. Head north and east and you’ll find the Bali that the crowds forgot.
The South Island packs glaciers, fjords, and empty beaches into a space you can drive in a week — but shouldn’t. Give it two.
