Independent climate study · 2026

Best beach
destinations 2026

Banjul leads with 8.8/10 · 12 beach months.

311Coastal destinations
🏖️Dedicated beach score
Key insights
#1 annualBanjul — 8.8/10, sea 28°C.
#1 summerLarnaca — 9.4/10.
#1 winterFreetown — 9.2/10.
Annual

🏖️ Top 25 beaches — Annual ranking

Average beach score over 12 months. Combines air + sea temperature, rainfall and sunshine. 311 coastal destinations.

RankDestinationBeach scoreAvg. seaBest monthMonths ≥7/10
🥇BanjulGambia8.8/1028°CApril (9.3)12
🥈DarwinAustralia8.6/1030°CAugust (9.4)12
🥉KomodoIndonesia8.6/1029°CAugust (9.1)12
4Labuan BajoIndonesia8.5/1030°CAugust (9.1)12
5CuraçaoCuraçao8.5/1029°CApril (8.9)12
6PattayaThailand8.5/1030°CDecember (9.1)12
7JeddahSaudi Arabia8.5/1029°CDecember (9.1)12
8Playa del CarmenMexico8.5/1029°CApril (8.8)12
9CoronPhilippines8.4/1030°CJanuary (9.1)12
10Riviera MayaMexico8.4/1029°CApril (8.8)12
11Isla HolboxMexico8.4/1026°CMarch (9.1)12
12Hua HinThailand8.4/1030°CJanuary (9.2)12
13Puerto VallartaMexico8.4/1028°CMay (9.2)12
14ArubaAruba8.4/1028°CMay (8.8)12
15ZanzibarTanzania8.4/1028°CJanuary (8.6)12
16Sharm el-SheikhEgypt8.3/1026°COctober (9.2)12
17Dar es SalaamTanzania8.3/1029°CJune (8.6)12
18Mui NeVietnam8.3/1028°CApril (9.1)12
19Koh LantaThailand8.3/1030°CFebruary (8.9)12
20CartagenaColombia8.3/1030°CMarch (8.7)12
21Koh SamuiThailand8.3/1030°CMarch (9.0)12
22ManilaPhilippines8.3/1030°CFebruary (9.1)12
23Gili IslandsIndonesia8.3/1029°CJuly (8.9)12
24BonaireCaribbean Netherlands8.3/1029°CMay (8.7)12
25Stone TownTanzania8.3/1029°CJanuary (8.8)12
Summer 2026

☀️ Top 20 beaches — Summer (June–Aug)

Best beaches for summer. Average beach score June–August.

RankDestinationBeach scoreSeaTemp.Sun/dayRain
🥇LarnacaCyprus9.4/1029°C32°C12.4h3%
🥈Tel AvivIsrael9.3/1028°C30°C11.8h1%
🥉BeirutLebanon9.3/1029°C30°C11.3h3%
4DarwinAustralia9.3/1027°C30°C10.3h4%
5CataniaItaly9.3/1028°C31°C12.3h6%
6DjerbaTunisia9.3/1028°C32°C11.4h1%
7ValenciaSpain9.2/1027°C29°C9.6h9%
8AlicanteSpain9.2/1027°C29°C10.7h6%
9BariItaly9.1/1027°C30°C11.0h16%
10TrogirCroatia9.1/1027°C31°C9.1h16%
11SorrentoItaly9.1/1027°C29°C9.1h17%
12BudvaMontenegro9.1/1027°C29°C10.8h24%
13TaorminaItaly9.1/1027°C29°C9.3h13%
14DubrovnikCroatia9.1/1026°C29°C10.7h18%
15IbizaSpain9.1/1027°C29°C10.4h6%
16PaphosCyprus9.1/1026°C30°C12.1h3%
17LecceItaly9.1/1027°C31°C9.3h13%
18AnnabaAlgeria9.1/1026°C31°C10.5h6%
19PalermoItaly9.1/1026°C29°C9.1h11%
20ThessalonikiGreece9.1/1027°C32°C10.0h15%
Winter 2026

❄️ Top 20 beaches — Winter (Dec–Feb)

Where to swim in winter? Average beach score December–February.

RankDestinationBeach scoreSeaTemp.Sun/dayRain
🥇FreetownSierra Leone9.2/1030°C29°C6.7h11%
🥈MumbaiIndia9.2/1026°C31°C9.2h2%
🥉Hua HinThailand9.1/1028°C30°C7.1h15%
4GoaIndia9.0/1028°C32°C10.1h3%
5LamuKenya9.0/1029°C30°C8.7h21%
6CoronPhilippines9.0/1029°C30°C7.7h30%
7Puerto EscondidoMexico9.0/1028°C30°C8.3h5%
8KochiIndia9.0/1030°C30°C8.0h24%
9Phu QuocVietnam8.9/1029°C30°C8.0h35%
10PattayaThailand8.9/1028°C31°C7.4h27%
11ManilaPhilippines8.9/1028°C30°C5.9h38%
12CotonouBenin8.8/1029°C30°C6.6h23%
13Koh LantaThailand8.8/1029°C31°C7.6h37%
14JeddahSaudi Arabia8.8/1027°C29°C7.8h8%
15PhuketThailand8.8/1029°C30°C7.2h38%
16Koh ChangThailand8.8/1028°C28°C7.8h26%
17MaputoMozambique8.8/1029°C30°C7.2h48%
18LangkawiMalaysia8.7/1029°C30°C7.3h42%
19LoméTogo8.7/1029°C31°C7.4h27%
20Koh Phi PhiThailand8.7/1029°C28°C7.6h34%
Beach score methodology

Beach score combines air temperature (25%), sea temperature (25%), precipitation (30%) and sunshine (20%). Sea temperature from Open-Meteo Marine API (2024 data). Only coastal destinations with marine data are included.