Hawaii’s Hanauma Bay is No. 1 on list of America’s top 10 beaches
Go-to beach expert Dr. Beach picked the white sand coral beach at Hanauma Bay in Oahu, Hawaii, as the best in America for 2016.
Hanauma Bay, a marine nature preserve, offers great snorkeling on the eastern end of Oahu.
About 3,000 people visit each day, which is why it closes Tuesdays to “allow the fish a day of feeding without interruption,†according to the preserve’s website.
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Of the 10 beaches selected, Coronado Beach in San Diego came in at No. 7, the only California beach to make the list.
Florida has three of the beaches on the list.
Here are the beaches you might want to put on your must-do list for summer vacation:
1. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve on Oahu, Hawaii
For $25, visitors can take a round-trip shuttle from Waikiki, which includes snorkeling gear.
2. Siesta Beach, which is a white sand beach along the Gulf of Mexico in Sarasota, Fla.
3. Kapalua Bay Beach on Maui, Hawaii
4. Ocracoke Lifeguard Beach on the Outer Banks, N.C.
5. Coast Guard Beach, part of the Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham, Mass.
6. Grayton Beach State Park in the Florida Panhandle
7. Coronado Beach in San Diego
8. Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y.
9. Caladesi Island State Park on the Gulf Coast of Florida
10. Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island, S.C.
Stephen Leatherman, who goes by the name Dr. Beach, uses 50 criteria -- including water quality, on-site amenities and sand quality -- to select the beaches for his list.
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