Cape Santa Maria
Long Island, Long Island, Bahamas
Cape Santa Maria stretches four miles along the northern tip of Long Island in the Bahamas, bright white sand meeting water so blue it barely looks real even by Bahamian standards. A small resort sits on part of the beach, but most of the four miles stays open and empty, the kind of place locals point to when asked for the best sand in the whole out islands.
Genuinely one of the best beaches in the Bahamas by local reputation, though reaching Long Island at all requires a small plane, which keeps it from being anyone's casual day trip.
Combine a beach day here with a trip to Dean's Blue Hole nearby, one of the deepest blue holes in the world, since both are reachable from the same stretch of Long Island.
Long Island is reached by small plane from Nassau, and once there, a rental car or resort shuttle covers the drive to Cape Santa Maria.
The beach is flat, wide, and easy to walk, with resort facilities available at the developed section, though most of the four miles has no infrastructure at all.
The dry season from November through May brings the calmest weather, while hurricane season runs June through November, and the resort itself typically closes in September and October.
More Caribbean beaches
Frenchman's Cove
Port Antonio, Portland Parish, Jamaica · Caribbean
Frenchman's Cove sits in San San, just outside Port Antonio in Jamaica's Portland parish, where a shallow, clear river winds down through the resort grounds before spilling out onto a short stretch of fine white sand. Built in 1958 as one of the Caribbean's first all-inclusive resorts, the beach has since shown up in films including Lord of the Flies for its wild, cinematic backdrop.
Boston Bay Beach
Port Antonio, Portland Parish, Jamaica · Caribbean
Boston Bay sits just east of Port Antonio in Jamaica, widely credited as the birthplace of jerk cooking, with jerk huts lining the road behind a beach that also happens to have some of the most consistent surf on the island's north coast. Locals rent boards and give lessons right on the sand, and the annual Jerk Festival draws crowds here every July.
Lime Cay
Port Royal, Kingston Parish, Jamaica · Caribbean
Lime Cay sits about fifteen minutes by boat from Port Royal, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour in Jamaica, a small uninhabited sandbar island that floods partially at high tide and has no facilities of any kind. Sundays bring the biggest local crowds, with Kingston residents mooring boats offshore and bringing their own lunch and drinks for the afternoon.