Top 5 Beaches Where the Sand Is the Wrong Color in the Best Way

Forget beige. These shorelines come in green, pink, black and purple, and every one of them is worth the extra trip.

1. 1

   Papakōlea Green Sand Beach — Hawaiʻi

   The olive green comes from olivine crystals in an old volcanic cone, and the rough hike in is what keeps it from feeling like a tourist trap.

2. 2

   Pink Sands Beach — Harbour Island, Bahamas

   Crushed red foraminifera shells tint three miles of sand a soft pink that looks filtered in photos and somehow looks even better in person.

3. 3

   Reynisfjara — Iceland

   Jet-black sand, basalt columns and brutal Atlantic waves. It's stunning, and it means it about the sneaker waves, so stay well back from the water.

4. 4

   Pfeiffer Beach — Big Sur, California

   Manganese garnet leaves purple streaks through the sand, and at sunset the light pours through Keyhole Arch like the coast is showing off.

5. 5

   Glass Beach — Fort Bragg, California

   An old town dump that the ocean polished into sea glass. The glass is getting scarcer, so look all you want, but leave every piece where it is.