Life's a beach and then some, especially true if it's a weekday morning in early January and your friends are text'ing you reminders to feed their cat as they're getting ready to vamoose for warmer climes and you're not.
But mustn't grumble.
I've been lucky enough to do a bit of travelling in the last year and I can always live vicariously for the moment through my friends - and through such lists as the Traveller's Choice 2011 - Best Beaches Award (an annual endeavour from Trip Advisor. It's the perfect diversion on a nippy January day.
I liken Trip Advisor's list to the People's Choice Awards, only this particularly roll call celebrates beaches not boy bands and B-movies. And, quite frankly, I'm happy to read any release that doesn't refer to Justin Beiber! (Apologies to my young nieces.)
I wasn't too surprised to discover that the Traveller's Choice list of 25 contains not less than four Florida beaches and an equal number from Mexico. Some of the honorees were new to me, always a good thing. I was unfamiliar with Ayia Napa in Cyprus and while I've been to half a dozen beaches in Greece, Skiathos (#22) was off my radar.
So here's the round-up, according to followers of Trip Advisor, of the 25 Best Beaches in world for 2011.
1. Providenciales Beach (in the Turks and Caicos Island).
Providenciales Beach (Courtesy: TC Villas)
2. Boracay, Philippines
3. Palm/Eagle Beach, Aruba
4. Negril, Jamaica
Tulum, Mexico (Photo: R. Imufomot)
6. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
7. Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman
8. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
9. Cape May, New Jersey
10. Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
11. MaldivesLocated on the equator, south of Sri Lanka.
12. Panama City Beach, Florida
13. Miami Beach, Florida
14. Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Bora Bora, French Polynesia (Photo: Yves Picq)
15. Isla Mujeres, Mexico
16. Sanibel Island, Florida
17. Playa del Carmen, Mexico
18. Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico
20. Cancun, Mexico
Cancun, Mexico (Photo: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sanchez)
21.Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba
22. Skiathos, Greece
23. Clearwater, Florida
24. Honolulu, Hawaii
Koh Phangan, Thailand (Photo: Dan Taylor)
So, is there a spectacular beach missing from the above list?
Based on my own travels, I'd rank the beach front in Mombasa, Kenya, near the top. But then my criteria probably differs. (Can camels, monkeys and wizened fisherman be found on any of the above 25 beaches? Perhaps not. It all depends what turns your crank when hanging out on a beach. To be honest with, any beach would make me happy today. The temperatures in my part of Ontario are going to nose-dive tomorrow.
What's your favourite beach in the world? What's missing from this list? I'd love to know.
I'm also curious: how many of these 25 have you been to?
