Destination index
Beaches worth planning around
Live guides: Hilton Head, Siesta Key, Waikiki, Tybee Island, Outer Cape, Santa Monica–Venice, Los Cabos, and Gulf Shores / Orange Beach. Know the place? Search above or browse here. Still choosing? Help me choose. On the sand? At the beach.
Hilton Head Island, SC
Featured guide — Coligny to Driessen Town parks, bike paths, and Sep–Feb off-season value.
Siesta Key, Florida
Quartz sand with a morning-swim vs Sunday drum-circle split — parking and water checks matter.
Waikiki, Hawaii
Swim pockets and beginner surf, Ocean Safety habits, and Kapahulu corridor eats a short hop off Kalākaua.
Tybee Island, Georgia
Savannah’s beach town — pick the pier or the lighthouse, and treat paid parking as part of the day.
Outer Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Cape Cod National Seashore’s Atlantic face — Nauset Light, Coast Guard via Little Creek, and Marconi.
Santa Monica–Venice, California
The pier is the postcard. Sit and swim on the state beach, north or south of it — Ocean Park for playground and picnic, Venice for the boardwalk.
Los Cabos, Mexico
Two towns and a 20-mile corridor — Médano is the town swim; Chileno, Santa María, and Palmilla are the coves. The Arch is the postcard, not the swim.
Gulf Shores / Orange Beach, AL
Two cities, two parking systems, two alcohol rules — one gulf. AL-59 dumps you at Gulf Place. The pier is not a swim. The pass channel is not a swim.