h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Never haveing travelled to exotic beaches where the sand is white, I can only relate to those beaches I've actually spent time on. The beaches in and around Vancouver. Brackley Beach in PEI (my all time favourite) -few people, relatively warm Atlantic water and lots of sand dunes. The uninhabited beaches of Lake Superior and the beach outside my door on Lake Ontario. I do, however, dream of going to Australia's Great Barrier Reef area, Figi, New Zealand, the east coast of Africa and the southern tip of Africa. I've been to the Meditteranean -too crowded, Yalta in the former USSR, dtoo rocky and cold the beaches of the inner Hebrides- beautiful, dthe west coast of Ireland lusciously barren. All of these places I've been to I'vebeen alone and really didn't want to share the moments with anyone. However, I would like to take my oldest daughter Darby to the west coast of Ireland where she was concieved.

Hi There,
Just thought I'd add my thoughts about beaches.
Australia is the best I have seen by far. I've only seen the East coast, including the GBR, and every bend on the coast road opens up vistas of new and ever more spectacular sweeping sand. Even the 'tacky' Surfers' Paradise will remain in your memory.
The best thing about Aussie beaches is how clean they are. The water's warm and there are no crowds. Anywhere. Well, maybe Bondi I guess. There aren't enough people in the whole of Australia to make the beaches crowded.
At around 4pm, they do fill up a bit with kids having just come home from school, but still barely noticeable. What a life.

Don't go to New Zealand for the beaches. It's probably my favourite place for spectacular scenery, but the beaches do not compare. They are clean, but usually uninviting brown sand, or shingle.

Fiji is great, but we found the Coral Coast not quite as idyllic as the postcards suggest! Almost empty, fabulous sunsets, but a bit "windswept". Having said that, we arrived 3 days after a cyclone, so there you go.

My all-time favourite beach though, has to be Sandwood Bay in the far Northwest of Scotland. You have to walk 5 miles from the nearest car park, and can wild-camp by the side of a nearby loch. I think I saw 10 people in 4 days. Totally unspoilt and spectacular coastal scenery.