10 best beautiful secret beaches in Europe
Here comes the sun! Find your own place on the sand with our selection of 10 of the best, most beautiful secret beaches in Europe.
1. Plage de Saleccia, Corsica
Secret beaches usually take a bit of effort to get to. Unless you’ve got a yacht, you’ll have to walk across a desert to get to Saleccia. Hidden by the desolate Désert de Agriates, a sunburnt expanse of nothingness, Saleccia is the heaven after the hell, a mile-long desert island dream.
2. Traigh Eais, Barra, Scotland
Barra's is the only airport in the world with a beach for a runway (obviously, you can only land when the tide is out). The airport beach itself would be a grand place to stretch out your towel, if it wasn't for incoming aircraft, but five minutes away is Traigh Eais, a gem in a bejewelled crown of beaches in the Outer Hebrides.
3. Cala Xarraca, Ibiza, Spain
Admittedly, there are parts of Ibiza that have been somewhat spoiled by 40 years of mass tourism, but away from San Antonio, Playa d'en Bossa and the like, the White Isle hides away several beaches that rank among the best in the Med. Make mine a San Miguel!
4. Reynisfjara, Iceland
Who says beaches have to be golden or talcum powder white? Near the town of Vik in the south of Iceland, Reynisfjara is beautiful in black and blue, its sand decorated with the odd lump of ice from the Vatnajokull glacier. Which could indicate that the water might be a bit chilly for getting your tootsies wet.
5. Virgin Mary Bay, Calabria, Italy
With such a grand name, the beaches of Capo Vaticano, situated on the bootlaces of Italy in Calabria, have a lot to live up to. Fortunately they are of the highest order, and none more elevated than Virgin Mary Bay. But the Cape's biggest selling point is that it boasts the ideal climate for growing red onions.
6. Skagen, Denmark
Skagen headland is the tip of one of the world's largest spits, a 10,000 year-old stretch of sand that keeps on growing. Right at the end of the spit, you can stand with your feet in two seas - the Skagarak Sea and the Kattagat Sea, which is unusual.
7. Dune du Pyla, France
The Flanc Côté Ouest is the seaward side of the Dune du Pyla, a giant sand dune on Aquitane's Atlantic coast near Bordeaux. The beach is hidden by a 108m-high wall of sand so you have to climb up and roll down it to get there. Which takes a fair bit of effort on a hot day, or in a sandstorm, but those who dare will be rewarded with this incredible stretch of sand.
8. Melide, Spain
Spain's Atlantic coast doesn't receive as much attention as its Mediterranean counterpart, but where there aren't the crowds, there is beauty. Melide Beach is an unsung sweep in Pontevedra, Galicia, watched over by three lighthouses and frequented by very few people; just the odd surfer here to ride the waves in peace.
9. Flag Beach, Corralejo, Fuerteventura
'Hang on!' you might say, isn't Fuerteventura one of Brits' favourite summer holiday destinations? You might, but few sunseekers seek out this totally tropical turquoise beauty at the north end of this Canary island. It's a long, hot walk from the resort of Corralejo to Flag Beach, but it's most certainly worth it.
10. Dhërmi, Albania
'The Albanian Riviera' doesn't sound quite right, does it? But this stretch of the Adriatic coast has been widely-tipped to be 'the next Croatia' in terms of a beach holiday destination. So get there before the rest. Although getting there involves a nerve-jangling drive over a mountain pass. But then, you'll appreciate it more when you go for a paddle.
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