TUI has created a ‘Beautiful Beach’ Index to uncover the most visually stunning beach destinations to add to your travel wishlist for 2026.
Here are the top three:
- Tunisia ranks as the home to the world’s most beautiful beach according to TUI’s Beautiful Beach Index, with Yasmine Hammamet Beach achieving the highest overall score of 8.10 out of 10. The beach scored particularly high for its balance of turquoise water, bright sand tones and natural coastal scenery, while also maintaining relatively low levels of visible concrete development.
- Türkiye follows closely behind, with İçmeler Bay Beach in Bodrum ranking for the second most beautiful beach, achieving an impressive Beautiful Beach Index score of 7.87/10. Surrounded by pine-covered mountains, the beach stood out for its vivid water saturation, golden sand colouring and balanced coastal landscapes, helping the country dominate the upper end of the ranking. Interestingly, İçmeler was originally a quiet fishing village before transforming into one of the Turkish Riviera’s most adored beach resorts.
- Saint Lucia ranks third overall thanks to the strong performance of Reduit Beach in Rodney Bay, which scored 7.83/10 in the Beautiful Beach Index. The Caribbean beach achieved some of the highest water saturation scores in the entire dataset, combined with bright sandy shoreline tones and lush surrounding scenery. Reduit Beach is one of Saint Lucia’s longest stretches of sand, running for nearly two miles along the island’s famous Rodney Bay – it is often described as Saint Lucia’s ‘classic Caribbean’ beach, making it one of the island’s most popular spots for ‘fly-and-flop’ holidays.
When looking at the individual beach rankings, Türkiye secured four spots in the overall top 10, more than any other country analysed. İçmeler Bay Beach in Bodrum ranked second overall, while Belek Beach, Gündoğdu Beach and Kadriye Beach all placed strongly thanks to their high water saturation and warm sand tones.
Across the Turkish beaches analysed, destinations consistently combined bright Mediterranean water, expansive sandy shorelines and relatively low levels of visible urban development. This balance of natural scenery and vibrant coastal colour helped Türkiye emerge as the standout country in TUI’s Beautiful Beach Index for 2026.
