BEAUTIFUL one day. Perfect the next. And clean as a whistle.The Strand Beach, a 2.2km stretch of sand minutes from the heart Townsville, has won the title of the nation’s cleanest beach for the second time in five years.The north Queensland spot beat a field of hundreds, including finalists from six states, at the Keep Beautiful Clean Beach Challenge awards in Sydney last night.Judge Chris Tola said The Strand was everything a winning beach should be, and proved environmental plans to protect it were working.”The Strand’s infrastructure ensures every aspect of this beach, from the catchment to the reef, is in the best condition possible,” he said.”The dedication to ensuring an enjoyable seaside experience for locals and visitors alike is coupled with an enthusiastic and active commitment to Townsville’s environment.”Mayor Les Tyrell said he hoped the award would draw more tourists to the site enjoyed by thousands of residents each day.Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the award showed how communities could work together to protect valued environmental assets.”This award is a testament to the success of the local government and the community in working together to achieve environmental, educational and cultural outcomes for residents and visitors,” Mr Rudd said in a statement.The Strand – which took out the national cleanest beach title in 2004 – also won the 2008 award for protection of the environment.Tathra Beach, on the NSW south coast, scooped two awards for Environmental Action and Community Action, while Scarborough Beach in Perth won two awards for Litter Prevention and Resource Recovery.
Category Archives: Beaches
Spectacular sunsets, golden beaches, palm fronds swaying in the breeze, aquamarine waters, glorious sunshine… a tropical island vacation destination can be all that and more.So, if you are looking for tips on choosing a tropical island vacation destination, here are a few for you to check out:
The Maldives: If taking long walks on a serene beach, snorkeling in blue, crystal clear waters, swimming, and relaxing in the comfort of a luxury hut in an island resort are your idea of bliss, then a tropical island vacation to Maldives is just the right thing for you. Situated in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India and Sri Lanka, the Maldives comprises of a group of islands. Regarded as the flattest islands on the planet, with less than 10 percent of the whole area being land, only 200 of the 1100 islands are inhabited. Out of these, 87 are owned by private island resorts. Apart from exploring the beach and relaxing luxuriously, you can also make a trip to Male, the capital of the Maldives and check out the city mosque, local and fish market, for a flavour of the local lifestyle. Or rent a Dhoni, a traditional type of fishing boat, and take a trip around the island. Or get an aerial view of the island via a helicopter tour. Night fishing and diving are some of the other things you can do here.
Grenada And Carriacou Islands, West Indies: Situated in the West Indies, Grenada and Carriacou provide an experience of Caribbean island life, without being as touristy as the other islands here. Grenada, which is also referred to as the spice island because of the abundance of cloves, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg and ginger available here, the aroma of which permeates the air, is relaxed and laid back. With Carriacou, the smaller of the two, being even more so. Here you will experience incredibly beautiful beaches, marvelous waterfalls, and fabulous natural beauty, along with activities like diving and snorkeling. Great places to peel off all the hassles of everyday life and soak up the divine sunshine.
Maui: Also known as the Valley Isle, Maui, an island of Hawaii, is a speck in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, and yet has the potential of offering visitors looking for a tropical island vacation experience a plethora of memorable moments such as floating weightlessly in the waters as rainbow hued tropical fish swim all around you, visiting the Haleakala, a dormant volcano looming on the horizon, exploring the tropical jungle on the road to Hana, watching the endangered sea turtles making their way to their nesting sites located in a wildlife sanctuary, watching a waterfall thundering down into a tranquil mountain pool, and exploring a whaling boat belonging to the 19-century.
Mauritius: Located a little north of the Tropic of Capricorn, is like a green emerald dropped in the middle of a turquoise blue ocean, the waters of which wash the coastline, turning them into spectacular white coral beaches, surrounded by a barrier reef. Streams and rivers flow down the mountain ranges, some of them part of a nature reserve comprising of ancient forests where wild boar, monkeys, and deer dwell, along with a number of rare species of birds, like the Mauritian Kestrel. The reefs that surround Mauritius have created lagoons where you can snorkel and swim safely to your heart’s content, along with coming across gamboling dolphins. Anybody venturing offshore, into the iridescent lagoons, is touched by enchantment!
Beautiful whites sands and cool turquoise bluish green waters are not the only factors that makes Brazilian beaches the most loved all over the world. Brazilian beaches have a lot more in store for you than well…just a beach! At any time of the year, you can find yourself getting a gorgeous suntan or partying the night away. has a plethora of beaches that can turn anyone into a beach bum! Long coastlines dotted with pretty café’s and long hours spent trying out water sports makes the Brazilian beaches a most sought after destination amongst all beach lovers. Read on to know more about Brazilian beaches and the different kinds of things each coastline has to offer.
Brazilian Beaches: Beach Lover’s Paradise
Copacabana Beach:
This Brazilian beach is a hot spot especially for the New Years evening. Copacabana is located in the southern area of Rio de Janeiro. The beauty of the Copacabana beach is enhanced with the historic forts that are seen at this Brazilian beach. Copacabana also draws a reputation for being known as one of the best beaches in the world. A fun time at Copacabana beach would mean loads of fun in the sun with fun games such as volleyball. This beach volleyball has made its mark since the year 1930. Besides, it is not only the beaches; Brazilian bikinis are a permanent feature at the Copacabana beach.
New year celebrations at this beach bring together people of various nationalities at one point. This is the time when fireworks, music and dance go on till the wee hours in the morning. This beach is also the official place for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Copacabana beach also has plenty of restaurants and diners for all the foodies out here.
Ipanema Beach:
Located in the Southern area of Rio de Janeiro, Ipanema beach has a curious mixture of different cultures. This beach like all Brazilian beaches offers white sands and loads of games and fun! A walk down the sandy shores would reveal people playing games such as beach volleyball, football etc. Swimming is also one of the popular activities at this Brazilian beach. Although the Ipanema beach is also known as the family beach, one interesting factor you can note here is one particular stretch that is known as the Gay Beach and also has a flag to denote the same. At this beach, you can find the traditional drinks such as cachaca and the Caipirinha along with beer that is sold almost everywhere.
Pipa Beach:
The Pipa beach is located in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil. Pipa attracts people because of its fine white sand and cliffs that offer a gorgeous view of the place. Pipa has a vast number of fine restaurants nightclubs that are run mostly by foreigners. This beach offers a more cosmopolitan crowd.
Ponta Verde Beach:
This beach is located in Maceió in the city of Alagoas. Ponta Verde also remains to be the most frequented beach of Brazil. This beach remains to be a popular spot because of the reefs, which contain tiny ponds that form during low tides. This is also most frequented because of a certain part of land that projects out of the sea. This land is covered entirely with a green cover.
Toque Toque Grande:
The Toque Toque Grande beach is located in the city of Sao Sebastiao in Brazil. Although Grande means big in Portuguese, this beach is barely 300m long. The Toque Toque Grande island is quite uninhabited by people. This can prove to be an ideal location for those wanting some isolation and have a love for scuba diving.
Jericoacoara Beach:
This beach is known for offering some of the most spectacular views in Brazil. It is located around 300 kms from Fortaleza. This Brazilian beach is ideal for those who are looking for something different out here. It also proves to be an ideal spot for surfing.
These are just a few Brazil beaches mentioned out here! One thing is for sure, Brazilian beaches are one the most beautiful and hippest spots across the globe!
With over 60 miles of white sand and blue waters, it is not surprising that Myrtle Beach is the number one beach destination in the United States, according to Yahoo! Travel, and is also the number one family beach in the nation. It’s also not surprising that the beautiful resorts are incredibly popular with the nearly 14 million annual visitors.
The wide variety of Myrtle Beach resorts ensures that there is a resort environment, and a price tag, to suit every need. Some resorts cater to the adult crowd, with one- or two-bedroom condos, indoor pools and exercise rooms. Other resort properties feature water parks, miniature golf courses, kiddie pools and other amenities designed with families in mind.
Because there are so many options, making separate arrangements for travel, lodging, and even activities could take hours and quickly become quite expensive. While it is possible to make your own arrangements, it is much easier, and far less time-consuming, to take advantage of a travel package.
A discount travel package can help you schedule the perfect vacation, at the perfect price, without spending hours searching features and comparing rates. Oceania Resorts searches through the many vacation offerings to bring you the best discount vacation packages for many of the local resorts, allowing you to see them all in one convenient place.
Myrtle Beach Vacation
Why should you plan a Myrtle Beach vacation? The reasons are as limitless as the possibilities in Myrtle Beach.Perhaps you’re a golfer looking to experience a combination of the more than 100 challenging golf courses. Of course, for those who prefer windmills on the back nine, Myrtle Beach is the Miniature Golf Capital of the World, featuring over 50 miniature golf courses. Golf is so popular here that vacation packages usually include golf in some way, even if it is only in the form of coupons for miniature golf courses.
Families can also have a world-class experience, there is no shortage of amusement parks and attractions, including the Hard Rock Park, the world’s first rock n roll themed amusement park. Family-oriented resorts feature a variety of activities, including kiddie pools, indoor pools, and easy access to the beach and local attractions.
Of course, if shop-till-you-drop is your idea of a perfect vacation, then Myrtle Beach will make your mouth water. There are over 300 outlet stores in the area, and Broadway at the Beach is a 350-acre shopping, dining, theater and entertainment complex.
Boracay is a beautiful tropical island located at 200 miles (315km) south of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. This island resort is one of Philippines’ most popular tourist destinations because it is consistently voted by popular scuba diving and travel magazines as one of the best scuba diving destinations in the world.There are many dive centers and operators in Boracay offering diving trips to top rated but hard to reach dive sites such as those in the Sibuyan Sea, Tablas, Romblon and Semirara. Close to Boracay are also excellent dive sites catering to divers of varying diving skills. Non diver will find snorkeling in Boracay an enriching experience because of its rich and diverse marine life near the beaches.Friday’s Rock is a nearby rocky outcrop in Boracay’s western shore. Expect to see a variety of brilliant colored soft and hard corals, flittering butterfly fish, curious wrasses, darting damsels, playful blue tangs, ominous stingrays and snappers when diving around Friday’s rock. Hidden under the rocks, crevices and corals are big scorpion fishes and lion fishes.
There are two great dive sites near the main island of Boracay, known as Punta1 and Punta2. Punta 1 is a shallower dive of the two spots and is a drop off of about 24m (80ft) and Punta 2 starts at 30m (100ft) and goes way down to about 50m (170ft). These two dive spots are home to various species of garoupas, trigger fish, angel fish, sweet-lips, tuna, barracuda and the occasional reef shark. At the southeast coast of Boracay is Crocodile Island (the island is named as such because of its shape). The island a very popular dive location and is a wall dive to about 25m (80ft) in depth. This dive site is also very rich in marine life so much so that many species of fish and corals make this location their permanent home.
Crocodile Island is also home to some poisonous banded sea snakes some of which are long as two meters (6.5ft) in length. Scuba divers need to be very careful of sea snakes because all sea snakes are poisonous and their bites lead to fatality.Another great dive location near the main island is the Laurel Island. This dive site is for the more experienced and advanced divers because the undercurrent here can be very strong and because of this, drift diving is the main scuba diving activity here. Furthermore, the strong undercurrent encourages corals to open up their brightly colored yellow and orange polyps to feed on passing planktons. Divers can also find big colorful sponges and huge waving gorgonian sea fans here.
At northern tip of Boracay is a dive site known asYapak. This is a deep wall diving location starting at about 30m(95ft) and descending into the depth of 60m (190 ft). Once again, the undercurrent here can get pretty strong. Scuba divers will encounter larger pelagic fishes here, such as barracudas and various species of sharks. Hammerhead sharks and giant manta rays are the main attractions when diving in Yapak. Other excellent dive sites around Boracay are Carabao (buffalo), Cathedral Cave, Buruanga, Black Rock and Dog Drift. Is it any wonder why Boracay is consistently rated as one of the best scuba diving site in the world?
The white sands welcome you to join the party of pure fun and to engulf you in the joy of oneness with the beautiful nature. Welcome to Daytona Beach Florida, the world’s most famous beach and one of the most sought after holiday destinations in the world. The Daytona is a 23 mile of white sand spread across covering the complete beach and complimenting the sparkling sea water which plays a vital role in making it a popular tourist destination from the early 1900’s.
Another interesting fact associated with the Dayton beach is its connection with automobiles. There are many wheel buffs who like to be on the white sands of Daytona. The automobile racing was one of the factors which were crucial increasing in Daytona’s popularity. The first incredible speed record on this beach was set in 1902 which was 52 miles per hour. It was in the year 1935 when the last land speed record was set on the beach when Sir Malcolm Campbell drove the world famous “Bluebird” at 276 miles per hour on the beach! In today’s scenario the racing on the hard packed white sand of the Daytona Beach is restricted only for a 18 mile stretch so that the visitors who do not wish cars in the company can relax and enjoy activities other than driving. And there are many not all who enjoy surfing more than driving.
Daytona Beach is full of activities all the time around the year. So it is ideally a 23 mile stretch full of fun and colorful people. There are many activities on the beach where the tourists can enjoy everything to the hilt like sunbathing, surfing, parasailing, fishing, beach volleyball, jet skiing and having a gala time the whole time. And to add to it the visitors can have many special treats like beach-dogs, sonwcones etc. on the beach itself. And for the racing champs who still miss racing on the beach can watch NASCAR racing at Daytona International Speedway. That’s not all this location provides easy access to Walt Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, Church Street Station, MGM Studios and the historical St. Augustine and Kennedy Space Station.
The number of visitors in Daytona Beach is increasing every year and that is why the hotels in this area have increased. Now finding a good stay at Daytona is not a problem unless you are here in the peak season without prior reservations. The hotels in Daytona are suitable for almost every budget and it is hardly a problem if you are on a tight one. Moreover the restaurants in this region guarantee full satisfaction of the taste buds with the delicacies they serve. From whichever continent you are you will find the food appealing. Some of the regular facilities offered by the hotels in Daytona include air conditioned rooms, car rentals, airport pick and drop facilities, swimming pools, health clubs, spas, restaurants etc. Also the nightlife in the city is a wonderful experience to have. So why are you waiting, pack your bags and set out for the white sands of the Daytona Beach.
Lagoons of a typically tropical sweetness and endless white beaches : Mauritius is a real paradise for those who want to enjoy the sea or just to soak up the sun. Here is a list of the island’s finest public beaches.
Grand Bay
One of the best areas for sailing, windsurfing and water skiing. La Cuvette beach has been recently upgraded.
Pereybere
This remarkable small cove half-way between Grand Bay and Cap Malheureux is one of the finest bathing spots on the island.
Belle Mare
Miles and miles of white and spotless beaches from Belle Mare to Trou-d’Eau Douce
Blue Bay
Blue Bay beach is one of the most popular bathing spots in the South-East of the island. An ideal spot for windsurfing and sailing.
Le Morne & Tamarin
Offer kilometres of beaches for bathing and are very popular for surfing.
Flic en Flac
White beaches fringed with filaos or Casuarina trees.
Washed Up
SPA
Bungalow
Spa Foot Bath
Beachside Bar
Air Taxi
Storm
Jetty
Fruit trees
Heron
Beach Veranda
Coral Reef
White Sand
Island Hopping
Wooden Hammock
