Top 10 beaches of the world

Nungwi Beach in Zanzibar Tanzania. Gavin McOwan writes: 'The powder-white sand is so fine it literally squeaks between your toes.' Photograph: Ras Nungwi Beach Hotel

The Cook Islands, south Pacific. 'It takes forever to get to this coral atoll, necklaced by an azure lagoon.' Photograph: Corbis

Las Islas Cies, Galicia, Spain. 'The wilder, stunning Atlantic coastline of Galicia, just north of Portugal, has far more dramatic praias - with far fewer people on them.' Photograph: Turgalicia/Action images

Whitehaven Island, the Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia. 'For sheer, drop-dead gorgeousness Whitehaven is pretty special, with its super-fine, white silica sand surrounded by warm, clear azure waters'. Photograph: Tourism Australia

Palawan, the Philippines. 'Although Alex Garland's backpacker odyssey The Beach is set in Thailand, he took much of the inspiration for the location from the Philippines.' Photograph: George Tapan/Philippines Embassy

'The western island group of Palawan, which even Filipinos describe as their country's last frontier, is inconceivably exotic and tropical.' Photograph: Corbis

Tayrona National Park, Colombia. 'I've never been as instantly impressed by a beach as I was the moment I set eyes on Tayrona'. Photograph: Aviatur/Colombian Tourist Board

Arambol, Goa's northernmost beach. 'The spectacular sweeping stretch of sand is so beautiful it wins over even the most jaded and cynical of travellers.' Photograph: ewel in the Crown Holidays

Porto da Barra, Salvador, Brazil. 'The location is stunning, at the entrance of the magnificent Bahia de Todos os Santos, with a small, white colonial fort at one end and a whitewashed church sitting up on a hill at the other.' Photograph: Zeca Alkmim/Brazilian Tourist Board

Sinclair's Bay, Caithness, Scotland. 'The white sand and sparkling blue sea of Sinclair's Bay look more like the Caribbean - at least when the sun comes out.' Photograph: Ackergill Tower Hotel