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Picture a warm, pristine paradise. White-sand beaches. Turquoise-tinged water clear as gin. And you’ve got the No. 1 beach in the world for 2022, according to Tripadvisor users.
The travel platform has just released the second of its annual Travelers’ Choice Awards for 2022: The Best of the Best Beaches.
Coming out on top is Grace Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos islands.
This lovely spot on the Atlantic Ocean isn’t exactly new to the best beach circuit. For Tripadvisor’s 2021 awards, it was ranked No. 4.
World’s top 10 best beaches for 2022
The Caribbean has the most beaches in this year’s top 10 list, and five continents are represented in the tally. Brazil is the only destination to have more than one entry, clocking in an impressive three beaches.
For 2022, the best beaches are:
1. Grace Bay Beach: Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
2. Varadero Beach: Varadero, Cuba
3. Turquoise Bay: Exmouth, Australia
4. Quarta Praia: Morro de Sao Paulo, Brazil
5. Eagle Beach: Palm - Eagle Beach, Aruba
6. Radhanagar Beach: Havelock Island, India
7. Baia do Sancho: Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
8. Trunk Bay Beach: Virgin Islands National Park, US Virgin Islands
9. Baía dos Golfinhos: Praia da Pipa, Brazil
10. Spiaggia dei Conigli: Lampedusa, Italy
Last year’s No.1 – Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island in Australia – didn’t crack the top 10 this year.
Grace Bay Beach’s appeal
Tripadvisor said in a news release that Grace Bay beach had more than 7,200 reviews to date, and that 90% of them rate it at five “bubbles,” its highest ranking.
The beach is on the northeast coast of the island of Providenciales. You may think of this as part of the Caribbean – and it’s indeed nearby – but the entire Turks and Caicos chain is technically all in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a British territory.
A barrier reef offshore helps keep Grace Bay Beach clear of seaweed and other objects, the official Turks and Caicos tourism website says. Boating and other water sports are popular in the calm, shallow waters between the beach and the reef.
Going to Turks and Caicos
Here’s what you need to know about a trip to the Turks and Caicos during the pandemic.
First, visitors from around the world are welcomed to vacation there; however, you must be fully vaccinated if you’re 16 or older to visit.
All travelers 2 and older need a negative result from a Covid-19 PCR test taken no more than three days before arrival to enter. There’s no quarantine on arrival. You must fill out a travel authorization form, and Covid-19 travel insurance is required as well.
Masks are required in all public places until February 28 for anyone 2 and older. There are no restrictions on travel between islands in the chain.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had travel advisory of Level 4 (very high risk) on the islands as of February 22. That’s the CDC’s hightest level, and the agency advises people avoid to the Turks and Caicos Islands for now.
Find out more: Visit Turks and Caicos | Travel authorization form | US Embassy | CDC Turks and Caicos advisory
Top 10 best US beaches
Tripadvisor also has a separate category just for beaches in the United States.
States with Pacific coastline win out big for 2022, with just one Gulf of Mexico beach and one Atlantic spot on the list. Hawaii kept four spots for itself. The best US beaches for 2022 are:
1. Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area: Puako, Hawaii
2. Siesta Beach: Siesta Key, Florida
3. Poipu Beach Park: Poipu, Hawaii
4. Moonstone Beach: Cambria, California
5. Kailua Beach Park: Kailua, Hawaii
6. Driftwood Beach: Jekyll Island, Georgia
7. Ruby Beach: Olympic National Park, Washington
8. Cannon Beach: Cannon Beach, Oregon
9. La Jolla Cove: La Jolla, California
10. Ho’okipa Beach Park: Paia, Hawaii
On Hawaii’s largest island, Hapuna Beach “has the perfect waves for surfing, boogie boarding and body surfing,” Tripadvisor reported its visitors as saying.
The No. 1 spot for 2021, St. Pete Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida, didn’t crack the top 10 for 2022.
How the locations are chosen
According to Tripadvisor, the selections honor the locations that are the most popular among their reviewers.
The Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards was based on the quality and quantity of reviews and ratings from Tripadvisor travelers for beaches, gathered between January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021.
A recent Tripadvisor survey revealed that 37% of travelers will take a beach trip in 2022, the platform said.
Click here to see Tripadvisor’s top 25 best beaches around the world.
Correction: A previous version of this story used an image that was misidentified by Adobe Stock. The story has been updated with an image of Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos.
