World

WINNER WINNER LONELY PLANET DINNER

What makes a good beach?

To reach an epic beach is one of the key elements of travelling.

Some like big waves and some like a peaceful bay. Some prefer crystal-clear white sand while others froth the black or even rare pink sand beaches. Some think it’s when there’s a buzzing vibe and big crowd of people wearing not much, while others like beaches that are completely deserted.

Best Beaches: 100 of the world’s most incredible beaches, is Lonely Planet’s guide to the very best beaches from around the world. It’s a beautiful coffee table chic showcasing beaches with elephants, beaches with caves, beaches with epic surf and sprawling coastlines.

Deputy Editor Sarah-Maree Cameron nominated the golden sand and rocky headlands of Avoca Beach, New South Wales.

Me? I (Editor Tim McGlone) love Dunes Beach in Exmouth, Western Australia.

A small, non-commercial wooden hut is based a little way up the beach, a social hub where barefooted people look out over the gentle left and right hand reef breaks, turtles intermittently popping their head up to say g’day.

But there can be only one winner of our Best Beaches competition, and that winner is…

Drumroll please.

Alix Campbell

“I can see it from our green-framed kitchen window. Mighty waves slap the steep limestone cliff on the left and roll onto the wide stretch of sand, which eventually forms dunes that make it seem like you’re trekking through the desert in the dead of summer. This is Bordeira Beach in Carrapateira, Portugal.”

We liked Alix’s descriptive language, which transported us right to this dramatic, south-western post of Europe (pictured above).

Congratulations Alix! We’ll be in touch.

Lonely Planet’s Best Beaches is available for $49.95 RRP from all bookstores around Australia, as well as online.