TripAdvisor Names the World's Best Beaches (PHOTOS)

TripAdvisor, the travel planning and booking site, announced the winners of its Travelers' Choice Awards for Best Beaches on Wednesday, and Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos came in first place in their world rankings. 

Located on the north shore of Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, Grace Bay was praised by one reviewer in the TripAdvisor community for its "unbelievably clear, clean water with hundreds of shades of blues and greens and white sugar sand."

This year, Grace Bay just edged out Baia do Sancho in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, which had topped the TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards for two years running.  

The other beaches in the top 10 worldwide, listed in order of their ranking, were Playa Paraiso in Cuba, Anse Lazio in the Seychelles, Cayo de Agua in Venezuela, Flamenco Beach in Puerto Rico, Playa de Ses Illetes in Spain, Ngapali Beach in Myanmar, West Bay Beach in Honduras, and Nacpan Beach in the Philippines. 

The winning beaches were selected based on the quality and quantity of user reviews and ratings of beaches over a year-long period. 

"We know travelers around the globe love sun and sand vacations, so we've tapped the TripAdvisor community to help us identify the world's best beaches," said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor, in a public statement. "The 2016 Travelers' Choice Beaches award-winners will inspire many to book their next getaway, knowing that these beautiful spots are the very best from the TripAdvisor global community."

In addition to its global list of top beaches, the site also ranked award-winning beaches for the United States, the United Kingdom, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, the South Pacific and Europe, honoring 343 beaches in total.

The top beach in Europe (which also came in seventh place on the world list) was Playa de Ses Illetes in Formentera, Spain and the top beach in Asia was Ngapali Beach in Myanmar.  The top beach in the United States was Clearwater Beach in Florida, which one reviewer wrote "needs to be added to the 'Wonders of the World' list as it's absolutely breathtaking. Beach, pier, water sports, restaurants, hotels - this area has it all." 

(For More Travel, Follow us on Facebook)