Beaches
Beaches belong to places, and the place is the decision that costs money. This page sorts the 9 beach destinations the directory covers the two ways the data supports — by when they are at their best, and by what they cost — and then hands you the 2 individual listings the directory holds so far.
There is no ranking here. Every figure below is read from a sourced fact sheet and carries the date it was checked; where nothing was sourced the page says so rather than estimating.
When each one is at its best
Read off every destination's sourced season. A filled block is a month the destination is at its best, not a month it is open — all of them are open all year.
| Destination | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahamas | January: in season | February: in season | March: in season | April: in season | May: in season | June: out of season | July: out of season | August: out of season | September: out of season | October: out of season | November: out of season | December: in season | December – May |
| Bali | January: out of season | February: out of season | March: out of season | April: in season | May: in season | June: in season | July: in season | August: in season | September: in season | October: in season | November: out of season | December: out of season | April – October |
| Fiji | January: out of season | February: out of season | March: out of season | April: out of season | May: in season | June: in season | July: in season | August: in season | September: in season | October: in season | November: out of season | December: out of season | May – October |
| French PolynesiaTahiti, Bora Bora | January: out of season | February: out of season | March: out of season | April: out of season | May: in season | June: in season | July: in season | August: in season | September: in season | October: in season | November: out of season | December: out of season | May – October |
| Hawaii | January: out of season | February: out of season | March: out of season | April: out of season | May: in season | June: in season | July: in season | August: in season | September: in season | October: in season | November: out of season | December: out of season | May – October |
| Maldives | January: in season | February: in season | March: in season | April: in season | May: out of season | June: out of season | July: out of season | August: out of season | September: out of season | October: out of season | November: in season | December: in season | November – April |
| Mauritius | January: out of season | February: out of season | March: out of season | April: out of season | May: in season | June: in season | July: in season | August: in season | September: in season | October: in season | November: out of season | December: out of season | May – October |
| Seychelles | January: in season | February: in season | March: in season | April: in season | May: out of season | June: out of season | July: out of season | August: out of season | September: out of season | October: out of season | November: out of season | December: in season | December – April |
| Thailand | January: in season | February: in season | March: in season | April: in season | May: out of season | June: out of season | July: out of season | August: out of season | September: out of season | October: out of season | November: in season | December: in season | November – April |
The year divides. 5 of these 9 are at their best between roughly May and October, the other 4 between November and April, and none of them is in season in both January and July. Which half of the year you can travel in narrows the list before anything else does. November is the thinnest month — only Maldives and Thailand are in season. May is the widest, with 6.
What they cost
The band is the directory's own coarse sort. The sentence under each is quoted from the fact sheet with the date it was checked, because a price without a date is not a price.
Budget
Mid-range
- Fiji
Checked 9 July 2026: inexpensive restaurant meal FJ$12; three-course dinner for two mid-range FJ$90; domestic draught beer FJ$7. Thin dataset — 176 entries from 18 contributors in twelve months, so treat as indicative rather than precise. Source
- Mauritius
Checked August 2026: inexpensive restaurant meal Rs300 (range Rs150-600); three-course dinner for two mid-range Rs2,000 (range Rs1,200-4,000); domestic draught beer Rs100. Source
- Thailand
Checked 19 September 2026: inexpensive restaurant meal ฿100 (range ฿50-200); three-course dinner for two mid-range ฿900 (range ฿600-2,500); domestic draught beer ฿70. Source
Upper
- Bahamas
Checked 7 September 2026: inexpensive restaurant meal $48.75; three-course dinner for two mid-range $165; domestic draught beer $5. 238 entries from 21 contributors. Source
- Hawaii
Checked July 2026, Honolulu: inexpensive restaurant meal $28; three-course dinner for two mid-range $140; domestic draught beer $10. Source
Luxury
- French Polynesia
No sourced figures. French Polynesia is not covered by the cost-of-living dataset used for the other destinations, so no price is claimed on any comparison involving it.
- Maldives
Checked July 2026 via Numbeo's Maldives country page. Note that resort-island pricing is effectively a closed market and diverges sharply from national averages — a resort meal is not comparable to a Malé one. Source
- Seychelles
Checked 16 July 2026: inexpensive restaurant meal SCR265; three-course dinner for two mid-range SCR1,305; domestic draught beer SCR110. Thin dataset — 130 entries from 16 contributors. Source
1 of these 9 carries no sourced price, so the band is all the page will say about them. That is a gap in the research, not a judgement about the destination.
The beach listings
2 beaches carry the six readings every listing in the directory is given. The directory is being built destination by destination, so this is a small list that grows rather than a shortlist of the best.
- Kapalua Bay
Hawaii · Maui
Golden · Sandy · Calm · None · Excellent · Busy
- Napili Bay
Hawaii · Maui
Golden · Sandy · Moderate · Beginner · Good · Busy
No beach matches all of those. Loosen one.