Trunk Bay in US Virgin Islands named best beach in the world, Italy, Greece among top 5
The World’s 50 Best Beaches list was revealed on Tuesday after over 1,000 travel professionals across the globe voted on destinations that exude maximum relaxation and beauty.
Trunk Bay in the U.S. Virgin Islands was awarded the No. 1 spot on the list in 2024.
"It’s hard to argue with Trunk Bay," Bobby Heard, co-founder and CEO of the World’s 50 Best Beaches, told Fox News Digital over the phone.
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"It just so happens that Trunk Bay beach is in the perfect direction, so basically, wind never impacts it. It’s almost always perfect."
Heard is native to Canada and formerly a resident of the Caribbean, but he sets out as a globetrotter year-round to select breathtaking beach rankings for travelers everywhere. He's worked in the travel space for 20 years.
"Since we started working on it, we really built a lot of relationships, mainly with influencers," he said.
Last year, 750 ultimate travelers tapped into tabulating beaches across the globe.
This year, Heard enlisted 1,000 experts to complete the task.
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"We’re traveling full time as well," Heard said. Over the last year, since the release of the 2023 list and the winner, Lucky Bay in Australia, was awarded, Heard has been traveling the planet and visiting many beaches himself.
In 2020, the first list is to be released.
However, COVID-19 derailed Heard and his team’s plans to reveal the beaches as people everywhere were hunkered down in their homes and travel was at a standstill.
While the list is a newer initiative, Heard intends on driving up excitement and inquisition surrounding the reveal annually.
"You would think that you get to this point where everything has been discovered," he said. "It could not be further from the truth. We expect every year, our list is going to get more and more interesting. The discovery of beaches is going to continue to accelerate."
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Heard said 80-90% of the best beaches in the world have yet to be discovered and some are presently unnamed.
Part of the World’s 50 Best Beaches mode of operation is to enter previous winners from the list into a hall of fame that they refer to as the Best of the Best. Once a beach is named, it is no longer eligible to return.
"They get, let’s say, retired," Heard said.
Retiring destinations offer beach lovers and goers around the world a look into a portfolio of sandy dunes they may not know even exist.
Among the top five also include Cala Mariolu in Italy, Meads Bay in Anguilla, Entalula Beach in the Philippines and Voutoumi Beach in Greece.
"We have people who visit beaches almost every day of the year to vote," Heard said.
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