THE AMERICAS
UNITED STATES
Ocean Beach, San Francisco
‘San Francisco is one of my favourite cities, but when you’ve ridden the trams, walked the streets and driven across the Golden Gate Bridge, it also has one of the best beaches. Covering the entire west side of San Francisco, Ocean Beach has a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. It’s five miles of peaceful surf and sand minutes from the city. The one thing I’d advise against is swimming in the sea — believe me, the water is freezing. I made that mistake on my first trip. Never again.’
Willie Walsh, chief executive, British Airways
Best for surfers, writers and dog walkers.
Get there BA flies to San Francisco from London Heathrow. BA offers a seven-night fly-drive to San Francisco from £795 per person (including return flights and car rental). For reservations and to book, visit ba.com/california or call +44 (0)844 493 0758.
Pfeiffer Beach, California
‘Hidden off Highway 1, in the heart of Big Sur’s dramatic coastline, is the spectacular Pfeiffer Beach. It is walled by cliffs with turquoise breakers crashing against sculptural stacks onto the purple sand. Visitors gaze at the ocean as if it were cinema — especially when the plume of a whale is spotted. At night, against the black of the ocean, the heavens are so starry, it’s dizzying. Buy a picnic from the bakery at the top of the canyon, and afterwards check into the nearby Post Ranch Inn, which is as mesmerising as the beach itself, with suites overhanging the cliffs.’
Kerry Smith, editor, High Life
Best for romantics.
Get there BA flies to San Francisco from London Heathrow. BA offers a seven-night fly-drive to San Francisco from £795 per person (including return flights and car rental). For more details and reservations, visit ba.com/california or call +44 (0)844 493 0758.
Ocean Grove, New Jersey
‘I am reluctant to pass on my favourite beach as it’s a place where old-world charm lives on. Ocean Grove is a tiny Victorian town in New Jersey and its visitors are old-timers or artists escaping Manhattan’s heat (the beaches close on Sunday mornings so people can go to church). It’s a taste of Americana with drugstore soda fountains and great surfing waves. It’s not glamorous, but I love it and spend a month there every summer with my family. The highlight of the day is always sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair, eating ice-cream cones and watching the world go by.’
Janine di Giovanni, journalist and author
Best for time travellers.
Get there BA flies to JFK from London Heathrow and London City and to Newark from London Heathrow. BA offers a seven-night fly-drive to New York from £365 per person including return flights from Heathrow and car rental. For reservations, visit ba.com/newyork or call +44 (0)844 493 0758.
Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles
‘This is where I go to escape the mayhem of filming America’s Got Talent in Hollywood. It’s a delightful, charming, quiet, rather English kind of beach where you can swim, surf, eat fresh crabsticks from the local store, feed the birds, chuck a Frisbee around and totally chill out.’
Piers Morgan, TV judge
Best for couples.
Get there BA flies to LA from London Heathrow. BA offers four nights at the four-star Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel, from £1,809 per person. For reservations and to book, visit ba.com/losangeles or call +44 (0)844 493 0758.
Ehukai Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii
‘Home to the infamous reef, the Banzai Pipeline, this is the ultimate beach for surfers and non-surfers. Yes, it has golden sand, yes, palm trees sway but during winter months there is nowhere on earth you can get so close to waves of such drama. If you’re not an elite surfer, stay on the sand. Barely 50 yards away, the most feared tubular surfing wave will be eating surfers up and spitting them out in a rainbow haze of glory. Imax movie theatres eat your heart out. This is ground-shaking, death-defying live action. With sand between your toes.’
Alex Dick-Read, editor, Surfer’s Path
Best for thrill-seekers.
Get there BA flies to Los Angeles from London Heathrow and from Los Angeles to Honolulu as a codeshare with American Airlines.
PERU
The Paracas Peninsula
‘Three hours’ drive south of Lima, the Paracas Peninsula beaches have astonishing desert scenery and amazing wildlife. The nearby Ballestas Islands are called “the poor man’s Galápagos”.’
Hilary Bradt MBE, founder, Bradt Travel Guides
Best for nature lovers — they’ll be in seventh heaven.
Get there BA flies to Miami from London Heathrow and from Miami to Lima as a codeshare with American Airlines.
CUBA
Santiago
‘My favourite memory of a beach was a night spent camping on a deserted beach with my daughter and grand-daughters along the coastline near Santiago. It’s a magnificent site, overlooked by the Sierra Maestra’s intricate arrangement of wooded spurs and peaks. Wonderful solitude with mountains almost down to the sea. Particularly appealing as no one else, apart from local fishermen, ever ventures to this coast.’
Dervla Murphy, travel writer and author of The Island that Dared: Journeys in Cuba.
Best for loners.
BRAZIL
Golfinhos Bay, Fernando De Noronha
‘An eco paradise just off the coast of Brazil, Fernando de Noronha has more than its fair share of clear azure waters and white sandy beaches… and hundreds and hundreds of dolphins. Best of all, only 500 visitors are allowed on the island a day, so you (almost) get it all to yourself.’
Joanna Hunter, editor, bahighlife.com
Best for honeymooners, divers, dolphin fans.
Get there BA flies to Rio de Janeiro from Heathrow.
CANADA
Stanley Park, Vancouver
‘I get very bored on beaches. So my best ones tend to be urban with loads to look at, like South Beach in Miami. However, my current favourite is the third one along in Stanley Park, Vancouver. Beautiful views, easy to cycle to and you’re only minutes from civilisation in my favourite city on earth.’
Dom Joly, comedian and travel writer
Best for urbanites.
Get there BA flies to Vancouver from London Heathrow. BA offers four nights at the five-star Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel, from £1,169 per person (including flights and accommodation). Visit ba.com/vancouver or call +44 (0)844 493 0758.
