Review by Barb & Ron Kroll
535 Best Beaches in the US, Caribbean and Mexico
(Fodor's) ISBN 978-1400005055 1400005051
If you are looking for the best Florida beach, the best beach resort or a Caribbean yacht charter to Virgin Gorda BVI beaches, you will find it in this Fodor's travel guide.
Besides describing 535 US, Mexican, Caribbean and Florida beaches, the Fodor's guidebook helps you plan the best beach vacations. You will learn where to stay (beach resorts, condos, time-shares, motels, private villas and B&Bs) and how to get to the best beaches (driving, crewed yacht charter etc.).
The beaches guide also helps you find the best beach vacation for your interests (e.g., whale-watching, saltwater fishing, Florida Keys scuba diving).
The 325-page Fodor's beach guide organizes best beaches by location. For example, descriptions of the best Florida beaches are separated into regions from Northeast Florida to Miami Beach.
Sidebars provide additional information, such as South Beach parking tips. (Buy a parking meter card at Miami Beach Visitors Center and Publix supermarkets.)
There is no index, so you have to thumb through the reference book to find the best family beaches, the best beaches for nightlife or beaches where you can learn to surf.
More than 300 enticing color photos depict most of the best beaches, as well as things to do (e.g., surfing, snorkeling, whale-watching tours). Color illustrations help you identify tropical fish in Hawaii. Weather charts help you find the best time to go on a Miami beach vacation or a beach holiday in California, Hawaii or Mexico.
Maps help you find the best California beach along Highway 1. 535 Best Beaches also features a map of dive sites in the Florida Keys, a map showing locations of Maine lighthouses and a Bahamas map.
Throughout 535 Best Beaches, Fodor's Features provides detailed stories about water sports and island culture in beach destinations. For example, the chapter on Best Beaches in the Eastern Caribbean features yacht charters.
It explains the differences between crewed yacht charter and bareboat charters. You will learn what it costs to charter yachts and the pros and cons of doing your own yacht provisioning.
For a crewed charter, you can specify that the captain stop at the best beaches along the route. Tortola, BVI, and St. Thomas, USVI, the main charter bases, are near many of the best beaches in the Caribbean.
The introduction to 535 Best Beaches provides suggestions for luxury beach resorts (Palm Beach, Florida), cheap beach destinations (Dominican Republic all-inclusive resorts), Caribbean honeymoon destinations (private island resorts in The Grenadines) and best beaches for dining (Miami Beach).
Best Beaches Planner
When to Go
Hurricane Season
If you like
Beach Safety
What's Where
San Diego
Orange County
Los Angeles
California's Central Coast
The Monterey Bay Area
California's North Coast
The Oregon Coast
Coastal Washington
What's Where
Oahu
Maui
The Big Island
Kauai
Molokai
Lanai
What's Where
Maine
Cape Cod
Martha's Vineyard
Nantucket
New York
New Jersey
Delaware
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
What's Where
The Panhandle
Northeast Florida
Tampa Bay
Lower Gulf Coast
Palm Beach and Treasure Coast
Fort Lauderdale and Broward County
Miami and Miami Beach
The Florida Keys
Alabama
Mississippi
Texas
What's Where
New Providence Island
Grand Bahama Island
The Abacos
Andros, Bimini and the Berry Islands
Eleuthera and Harbour Island
The Exumas
The Southern Out Islands
What's Where
Cayman Islands
Dominican Republic
Jamaica
Puerto Rico
Turks and Caicos Islands
What's Where
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
British Virgin Islands
Guadeloupe
Martinique
St. Barthelemy
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Maarten/St. Martin
U.S. Virgin Islands
What's Where
Aruba
Barbados
Bonaire
Curacao
Grenada and Carriacou
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
What's Where
The Oaxaca Coast
Los Cabos
Puerto Vallarta
Pacific Coast Resorts
Acapulco
Cancun
Cozumel
The Riviera Maya
Douglas Stallings
