The Best Caribbean Beaches for 2025, From Remote Corners of The Bahamas to Snorkeling Spots in Aruba
We’ve been ranking the best beaches in the Caribbean for more than a decade, in large part because we know how essential beaches are to the Caribbean travel experience (and we’ve visited more Caribbean beaches than any other publication on the planet.)
Because no matter what the purpose of your trip to the Caribbean, a beach will almost always play a starring role. And that’s okay. While we love to tell the story of the region beyond sun, sand and sea, when you’ve got the best beaches in the world, there’s no problem in celebrating them. To paraphrase Mel Brooks, “when you got it, flaunt it.”
Our previous beach guides have taken readers all over the region, from The Bahamas to the north to Trinidad in the southern Caribbean, from far-off stretches of sand to familiar destinations.
But we also recognize the diversity within the Caribbean beach ecosystem. Some beaches are perfect for long walks, others for getting out on the water; some are for the bon vivant, while others are all about finding seclusion.
This year, we’ve decided to do things differently. We’ve narrowed down our favorite beaches in different categories, examining countless coastlines through varying prisms, all categorized for different travel motivations.
Here is our guide to our favorite beaches in the Caribbean for 2025.
The Number One Beach for 2025: Tropic of Cancer Beach, Little Exuma, The Bahamas
It’s never easy to name the best beach in the Caribbean for 2025; but this year, we went with one of our longstanding favorites in the region: Tropic of Cancer Beach, the magical stretch of sand on far-off Little Exuma in The Bahamas. The tiny island is actually accessed by a small bridge from the “mainland” of Great Exuma, but it’s remote enough that you’ll almost never find more than a few people on this sparkling, stunning, breathtaking beach that’s actually set right on the Tropic of Cancer parallel.
Remote Beaches The beaches that require a little bit extra adventure (and sometimes an extra flight)
Cape Santa Maria, Long Island It’s not easy to get here. There’s just one flight to Long Island from the US (on Makers Air from Fort Lauderdale). But if you can make the journey, it delivers, with jaw-dropping scenery that is, for several of our editors, their new favorite beach in the whole hemisphere.
Long Bay, San Salvador You may be familiar with this beach, even if you’ve never been here. This is, after all, where Columbus made his first landing in the New World, set on the lovable San Salvador island, where using a term like uncrowded doesn’t even begin to tell the story. It’s a postcard-perfect beach, and it doesn’t seem like it’s changed much from 1492.
White Bay, Exuma Sensing a trend? If you’re looking for exotic beaches, The Bahamas is the spot — particularly the serene, out-of-the-way, fantastically beautiful Out Islands. You get to White Bay by taking a flats boat from the southern coast of Great Exuma, and when you get here you’ll find a sprawling sandbar that, coupled with the infinite shades of blue, makes you feel like you’ve found heaven itself.
Family-Friendly Beaches: The beaches that work for everyone
Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman It doesn’t matter what kind of “best beaches” list you’re doing. You can’t leave off Seven Mile Beach. The water, the sand, the length — it’s as if you created the formula for the perfect beach. But all of those ingredients make for a particularly good family beach spot, from the residential resorts that line the sand to some great little beach bars.
Baby Beach, Aruba This beach on the outskirts of Aruba’s cultural capital of San Nicolas is a wide, shallow beach that makes it perfect for all ages. And the younger travelers will get a kick out of the Flinstones-themed Big Mama Grill.
Long Bay, Turks and Caicos Whether you’re riding horses through the shallows or just wading though the water for hours, it’s a pristine, scenic, perfect Turks and Caicos beach that’s so calm it’s practically a lake.
Magens Bay, St Thomas The beach capital of St Thomas is arguably the island’s signature destination, with a mile of sugar-white sand and impressive facilities catering to every need.
Cable Beach, Nassau, The Bahamas This was the original tourism destination in The Bahamas, and thanks to the opening of the Baha Mar, it’s once again one of the region’s premier beaches. But it’s a rather good beach all on its own, with that perfect Bahamian brand of turquoise water, soft white sand and some lovely new additions, including the Baha Mar’s toes-in-the-sand food trucks.
Jolly Beach, Antigua You can travel all the way around the Caribbean and not find a beach with water this shade of blue — a kind of satin-sheen azure that no picture really does justice.
Romantic Beaches: The ones that strike a special chord
Pink Sand Beach, Harbour Island Is there a better long walk on the beach than this? Full-fledged pink sand goes on for miles at this stunner on Harbour Island, where you’re straddled by perfect turquoise water and exclusive, picturesque boutique hotels on the dune.
Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla It’s already one of the most beautiful beaches in the region, and our favorite beach on the beach-filled paradise of Anguilla. But when you set foot on the sand, and look out at the green-hilled curves across the water in St Martin, you can’t help but get caught up in the energy.
La Sagesse, Grenada There’s just something seductive about the golden sands on this crescent-shaped beach on the southeastern coast of Grenada, where the cliffs and the swaying palms make for an always-magical afternoon.
Long Bay Beach, Antigua You fall in love instantly at this stretch of sand in the eastern corner of Antigua, home to the adults-only Pineapple Beach Club but deliciously uncrowded.
Party Beaches: Beaches where the fun never stops
Orient Beach, St Martin The scene never stops at this long, beach bar-filled hotspot on the French side that literally teems with all-day beach lounges, great music and immaculate vibes.
White Bay, BVI While the story of White Bay naturally begins with the Soggy Dollar Bar, this almost impossibly white sand beach is home to a series of all-day affairs, from the painkillers at Soggy to the inspired cocktails at Hendo’s (the White Bay Wasted does it what it suggests) to the charming Gertrude’s. The secret is to do an old-fashioned beach bar crawl.
Mambo Beach, Curacao There’s always something happening at this multi-layered beach destination that’s practically its own little town. There’s everything here: shopping, rentals, four different food and beverage options from the Bonita Beach Club to the lovable Rileks Beach Bar and, oh yeah, a pretty spectacular stretch of sand, too.
Cockleshell Bay, St Kitts We’ve written extensively about the charms of this wonderful stretch of golden sand in the picturesque southeastern peninsula of St Kitts; you could spend a whole week here and not stop at all of its beach bars.
Clothing Optional Beaches: (self-explanatory)
Salines, St Barth In our opinion, this is the number one nude beach in the Caribbean – and it’s also one of the best beaches, period, with a wide stretch of white sand, scenic cliffs and stunning views across the water all the way to St Martin and Anguilla.
Orient Beach, St Martin Yes, Orient is on this list twice. Because at the very far end of the sand you’ll find the remains of the Club Orient resort, the famous (or infamous, depending on how you feel) nudist resort that’s actually still active with a classic, clothing-optional beach bar.
Hawksbill, Antigua At the edge of the beach at the Hawskbill resort in Antigua is Eden Beach, the only clothing-optional stretch of sand in all of Antigua — a quiet, secluded, private stretch that’s a haven for naturists.
Water Sports Beaches: The ones for getting out on the sea
Cabarete, Dominican Republic This is the essential Caribbean surfing town, with a cool, Euro-chic vibe and a plethora of great water-sports options that include arguably the kitesurfing capital of the Caribbean.
Lac Bay, Bonaire One of the original Caribbean windsurfing beaches, this remains a fun, bustling, scenic stretch with deliciously shallow turquoise water aided by a constant breeze.
Fishermans Huts, Aruba This stretch at the edge of Palm Beach is all about kite and windsurfing, and remains the island’s signature spot for both sports; it’s still home to the famous Aruba Hi-Winds festival, the biggest windsurfing event in the whole Caribbean.
Bathsheba, Barbados Home to Barbados’ world-famous Soup Bowl, this golden-sand beach has some of the best waves anywhere in the western Atlantic, along with some stunning rock formations that make it a must-stop for any beach lover, whether you’re hanging 10 or sipping on a 10-year-old rum.
Snorkeling Spots The ones for getting out under the sea
Anse Chastenet, St Lucia The beach at this beloved Soufriere resort (it’s sister to the legendary Jade Mountain resort, which actually uses this beach, too) has a fantastic, easy to access reef where you can spot all manner of marine flora and fauna.
Malmok, Aruba This is Aruba’s capital of snorkeling, and the sparkling blue water here on the road toward the island’s famous California Lighthouse is a pristine stretch filled with vibrant reefs.
Trunk Bay, St John You had us at underwater snorkeling trail. Trunk Bay is a wonder of the Caribbean, but you don’t really appreciate it until you get under the water to the trail, which is marked by signs along a 400-foot stretch beneath the waves.
Foodie Beaches: Beaches that aren’t just beautiful, but delicious
Le Carbet, Martinique This volcanic-sand stunner on the northwestern Caribbean coast of Martinique (it’s just a short drive from the towering Mont Pelee volcano) is home to an enviable clutch of gourmet beach bars and restaurants, led by the now world-famous Le Petibonum.
Grand Case, St Martin Sometimes it’s hard to believe there are so many outstanding restaurants on just one Caribbean street, but that’s precisely the story on Grand Case Boulevard. What some may not realize is that it’s actually perched on a rather lovely stretch of white-sand beach with calm, clear water.
St Jean, St Barth St Barth’s people-watching hotspot has some extremely good beach restaurants and bars, from the signature Eden Rock to the always-hopping Nikki Beach and the newest, perhaps best spot on the sand: Gyp Sea.
Pigeon Point, Antigua We couldn’t leave off this serene patch of sand near Nelson’s Dockyard that’s the home of this year’s number one beach bar in the Caribbean, the ridiculously tasty Catherine’s Cafe.
