Lovely beaches in America

Enjoy a cocktail on the roof as you speed through the harbor, then shuttle to the beach – in 40 minutes flat. There’s a family-friendly beach, as well as a clothing-optional stretch at the end, where gay men go to flaunt. Bring your own lunch, or cash for the food trucks. Leave early, beaches fill up quickly. 

Only 50 miles south of Los Angeles, this tiny beach community boasts many galleries, cafes, and boutiques. There are also great hikes to secluded coves and a plethora of tide pools. The area is an ‘artist colony’, but nowadays the real estate is so expensive, few artists can actually afford to live here.

Playa Guanabo is a charming beach with palm trees. It is visited by mostly Cubans. Few crowds and no big hotels. Quinta avenida, the main street, has a lot cafés and shops.

Once the world’s largest indoor swimming complex with glass ceilings, slides, swings, trampolines and plenty of amusement. Though the oceanside baths were popular, it wasn’t profitable and was expensive to maintain. It closed in 1965 and what remains today are concrete and steel ruins. A great area to explore at sunset.

South Beach began as a coconut farm in 1870, and was developed for residences starting in 1910. A decade later, the wealthy poured in for sunshine, bringing with them the art deco architects who left their lasting marks on Ocean Drive, where restoration of these landmark hotels began in the late 1980s and continues today.