For many people, beaches are the ultimate place to be during their well deserved holidays. Whether one prefers beaches for long romantic walks in the evening, relaxing tanning hours during a sunny day or just for all sorts of sporting activities, the beach is worldwide known as the most defining symbol for vacations.
The good news is that beaches are not rare at all. Most bodies of water feature beaches. But not all beaches are alike. They can consist of pebbles, shingle, gravel and most importantly sand. Sandy beaches are the most common form of beach and typically occur by the sea or ocean (though sandy lake beaches are also anything but rare). The sandy beaches are unsurprisingly the most popular type of beaches and the preferred destination for sea tourists.
But beaches also differ greatly in size. They can be relatively small hidden spots, but also impressively long areas stretching tens of tens of kilometers/miles. Usually, it is along those long beaches where tourism booms most. Hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, etc. all long to be located near the beaches.
The following ranking will show you where on our planet you can find the longest beaches in the world.
The 10 Longest Beaches in the World
1. Praia do Cassino, Brazil
Praia do Cassino (“Cassino Beach”) is the longest beach in the world. The beach is located in the Southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It stretches over a length of 254 km / 158 miles from North of the town of Cassino (after which the beach is named) all the way South until it is interrupted by the river Arroyo Chuy which marks the border between Brazil and Uruguay.
2. Padre Island Beach, USA
Padre Island Beach is the second longest beach in the world. At the same time, it is also the longest beach in the United States of America. The beach marks the coast of Padre Island, a thin island just off the Texan mainland. It stretches from the seaside part of Corpus Christi, Texas all the way down to the Brazos Santiago Pass, almost reaching the U.S.-Mexican border. The beach hence reaches an impressive length of 182 km / 113 miles.
3. Ninety Mile Beach, Australia
Credit: Roni / CC BY-SA 4.0
Its name does not give the Ninety Mile Beach in Australia enough credit, because the beach actually even measures 94 miles or 151 km. This makes the beach the longest of the Pacific Ocean. It is located in the Australian state of Victoria on the Southeastern coast of the country, east of Melbourne and south of three of Australia’s biggest national parks (Yarra Ranges National Park, Snowy River National Park & Kosciuszko National Park). You can find several small seaside towns right at the beach.
4. Cox’s Bazar Beach, Bangladesh
CC BY-SA 3.0
Cox’s Bazar Beach is the fourth among the longest beaches in the world. At the same time, the beach is the longest one of the Indian Ocean and in all of Asia. The beach is named after the city of Cox’s Bazar, located in the Bangladeshi Chittagong Division. It is there where the beach starts. It then stretches South alongside Himchari National Park before it gets interrupted by the Reju Canal after a length of 120 km / 75 miles.
5. Grand Strand, USA
Source: The Smithonian Channel
Grand Strand is another American beach featured in the Top 10 of the longest beaches in the world. Grand Strand is also the longest beach on the U.S. Eastcoast stretching over a length of 97 km or 60 miles on the coast of the U.S. state of South Carolina from Little River to Winyah Bay. The beach most famously features Myrtle Beach, a popular tourism town in the region.
6. Ninety Mile Beach, New Zealand
You are not seeing double, there actually is another Ninety Mile Beach. Unlike the Australian version the New Zealander beach does not actually deserve the name though, as it is “only” 55 miles long. The beach was likely named by a confusion of the metric with the imperial system, as the beach does have a length of almost 90 kilometers (88 to be exact). This is still an impressive length for the beach which is located in New Zealand’s Northernmost Northland state.
7. Playa Novillero, Mexico
Playa Novillero (“Novillero Beach”) is the seventh longest beach in the world. The beach measures impressive 82 km / 51 miles in length and is therefore the longest beach on the North American Westcoast. The beach stretches from the Teacapan Estuary, which marks the border between the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Nayarit, all the way down South to the Agua Brava Lagoon in Nayarit.
8. Virginia Beach, USA
Another beach in the USA is part of the 10 longest beaches in the world. Virginia Beach is also known as the longest pleasure beaches anywhere on the planet. Especially in the Virginian part you will hardly find any spot of the beach without a hotel, restaurant, bar or other recreational establishment right by the beach. Virginia Beach stretches from the city of the same name in Virgina all the way down to Oregon Inlet in North Carolina.
9. Long Beach, USA
Long Beach is yet another American beach to be included in the Top 10 of the longest beaches in the world. The beach measures 45 km / 28 miles in length and is located on the Long Beach Peninsula in the Northwestern U.S. state of Washington, right by the Pacific Ocean. Unlike the other American beaches in this ranking, Long Beach does not feature a big tourism infrastructure and has largely remained natural with only a few small towns settling by the beach.
10. Ibeno Beach, Nigeria
Credit: Hotels.ng
Ibeno Beach measures 34 km / 21 miles in length which makes the beach the longest one in Africa. The beach is located in Nigeria’s Southeastern state of Akwa Ibom. It stretches from the town of Kwa Ibo in the West all the way to the Easternmost corner of Akwa Ibom, just by the river border with the neighboring State of Cross River.
The 10 Longest Beaches in the World
| Top 10 Longest Beaches in the World: |
|---|
| 1. PRAIA DO CASSINO, Brazil 254 km / 158 miles |
| 2. PADRE ISLAND BEACH, United States 182 km / 113 miles |
| 3. NINETY MILE BEACH, Australia 151 km / 94 miles |
| 4. COX’S BAZAR BEACH, Bangladesh 120 km / 75 miles |
| 5. GRAND STRAND, United States 97 km / 60 miles |
| 6. NINETY MILE BEACH, New Zealand 88 km / 55 miles |
| 7. PLAYA NOVILLERO, Mexico 82 km / 51 miles |
| 8. VIRGINIA BEACH, United States 56 km / 35 miles |
| 9. LONG BEACH, United States 45 km / 28 miles |
| 10. IBENO BEACH, Nigeria 34 km / 21 miles |
The 10 longest beaches in the world by length, measured by beaches that are uninterrupted by any bodies of water, streets, buildings, etc.