Trio of Australian beaches named in ‘World’s Most Beautiful Beaches’ survey
Byron Bay, Bondi and Whitehaven Beach placed in top 20
Three of Australia’s best known beaches have all been named in a survey by UK-based online beauty retailer Cult Beauty to find the world’s top 20 most beautiful beaches.
Interestingly, and perhaps a result that may have its detractors, Byron Bay’s Main Beach, came in at number two, while Bondi and Queensland’s Whitehaven Beach earned fifth and 20th places, respectively.
Methodology for the study was based on analysed Instagram data and the number of Google articles containing the world ‘beautiful’ for 100 beaches around the world to determine which was in fact the most beautiful.
Based on that, the study found that Venice Beach, California is the most beautiful beach in the world with the highest number of Instagram posts and over 5.4 million articles online containing the world ‘beautiful’.
Byron Bay’s second place was based on its Main Beach having the highest number of Google search results, more than 6.92 million, containing the world ‘beautiful’.
The Philippines’ El Nido came in third place with 1.2 million Instagram posts and 3.9 million articles.
The full list of the top 20 most beautiful beaches is as follows:
Ranking | Name of beach | Location | Number of Instagram posts | Number of Google articles containing the word ‘beautiful’ | Total Score |
1 | Venice Beach | California, United States | 4,300,000 | 5,410,000 | 89.08 |
2 | Main Beach | Byron Bay, Australia | 3,100,100 | 6,920,000 | 86.05 |
3 | El Nido | Palawan, Philippines | 1,200,000 | 3,950,000 | 42.48 |
4 | Panama City Beach | Florida, United States | 911,000 | 4,380,000 | 42.23 |
5 | Bondi Beach | Sydney, Australia | 1,800,000 | 2,230,000 | 37.02 |
6 | Sunrise Beach | Koh Lipe, Thailand | 126,000 | 3,180,000 | 24.43 |
7 | Bandon | Oregon, United States | 33,500 | 1,830,000 | 13.59 |
8 | Long Beach | Phu Quoc, Vietnam | 35,000 | 1,540,000 | 11.51 |
9 | Los Roques | Venezuela | 606,000 | 330,000 | 9.40 |
10 | Hot Water Beach | Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand | 41,800 | 988,000 | 7.60 |
11 | The Baths | Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands | 1,000 | 1,040,000 | 7.50 |
12 | Maya Bay | Ko Phi Phi, Thailand | 420,000 | 342,000 | 7.33 |
13 | Tulum | Mexico | 452,000 | 276,000 | 7.22 |
14 | Jeffreys Bay | South Africa | 94,000 | 847,000 | 7.19 |
15 | Unawatuna | Sri Lanka | 224,000 | 619,000 | 7.05 |
16 | Rarotonga | Cook Islands | 50 | 959,000 | 6.91 |
17 | Grace Bay | Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands | 414 | 733,000 | 5.28 |
18 | Crane Beach | Barbados | 29,800 | 624,000 | 4.83 |
19 | Boulders Beach | Cape Town | 142,000 | 440,000 | 4.80 |
20 | Whitehaven Beach | Queensland, Australia | 215,000 | 322,000 | 4.80 |
Commenting on the study, a spokesperson from Cult Beauty said with worldwide travel back up and running it seems that many people are on the lookout for the perfect summer holiday destination.
“We all want to post the perfect beach shot on our social media accounts. Our study reveals the most Insta-worthy destinations so rest assured that you will be able to get the most beautiful snaps if you’re planning on going to one of these destinations,” the spokesperson said.
Cult Beauty is a UK-based online beauty retailer with a brand focus on sustainable beauty and transparency within the industry.
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
