Kinsale, Ireland
Blue Water, Black Beer

As fair-skinned as your typical Irish lads and lasses are, you might be surprised how popular the Emerald Isle's beach towns become once the summer sun finally breaks through the mist. The water isn't Caribbean warm and the sand isn't quite powdery white, but the charms found along the Irish coast — particularly at Kinsale in County Cork — more than make up for it.

Kinsale is a small medieval town on the last bend of the River Bandon as it snakes into the Celtic Sea. It's here that small hotels like the recently renovated four-star Trident Hotel, along with dozens of bed-and-breakfasts and some of Ireland's best seafood restaurants, surround the country's prettiest harbor. Aptly named Sandycove is the town's most popular beach, but just down the road heading west are two much larger, Blue Flag-worthy strands, Garretstown and Garrylucas, where the numb and the brave join locals in late-season swimming and surfing, proving that Guinness — found in all 30 or so Kinsale pubs — is an effective antifreeze.

On any of Ireland's misty "soft days," there's still plenty to do: Whale and dolphin watching, kayaking, horseback riding, shopping for Irish linen and lace (take a peek in Granny's Bottom Drawer), hiking the Monty Pythonesque seaside Scilly Walk, or golfing the links atop the Old Head of Kinsale — a towering promontory surrounded by crashing waves and soaring kittiwakes and razorbills. The most popular summertime activity here, though, is simply strolling the picturesque harbor, enjoying the view, and anticipating your next helping of smoked salmon, steamed mussels, or seafood chowder.

Orient Bay, St. Martin
Relaxed Riviera

Orient Bay likes to position itself as the Caribbean's St. Tropez. It's not — but that isn't a bad thing. Yes, it's topless and even nude, especially at the south end in front of the famous naturist resort, Club Orient. Yes, there is a series of chair-renting beach club/restaurants spread along the sand, several playing "nightclub music" during the day. And yes, you are officially in France. Orient Bay, however, does not demand the same relentless posing, and you won't feel inadequate here if your watch isn't worth as much as your car.

It's also light on night life, settling down at dusk without the throbbing beat of St. Tropez or South Beach. This offers those who stay just steps off the beach at, say, the Esmeralda Resort, the best of both worlds: a place of plenty in the sunshine and then a peaceful retreat at night. And getting down to basics, Orient has both nicer sand and warmer water than the French Riviera.

Orient Bay, with its village of hotels and villas flowing down the inside of a wide bowl of hills on the east side of St. Martin, offers visitors more choices than any other Caribbean beach town. While it is possible to put your towel down on a blank stretch of sand, most first timers prefer to cruise the seven major beach clubs, from Boo-Boo-Jam to Kontiki, feeling the different vibes — sporty, sexy, laid-back, loud — to find the one that fits their mood. From your base, a short walk up or down the beach brings you all you could desire, including water sports (parasailing is an exhilarating way to get an overview), food, bars, and of course enough people-watching to make your eyes pop.

Naxos, Greece
Aegean Gem

When Dionysus gives a place the nod, you can be sure there's a good time to be had. In Chora, the main beach town on the Greek island of Naxos, residents insist that the god of wine and inspired madness is a local boy. Most legends agree that the patron of partyers was, at the least, married here on the most beautiful of the Cyclades, which rises from the impossibly blue Aegean Sea.

Naxos is practically undiscovered relative to nearby Mykonos and Santorini, which is just fine with those beach and culture lovers who find their way here. Arriving at Chora (also known as Naxos Town) from the sea sets the island's mythological tone, as you're greeted by the Portara, a monumental 2,500-year-old doorway to the unfinished Temple of Apollo. Inside the harbor, a chaos of whitewashed facades rises in layers beneath the Kastro, a 13th-century Venetian castle that dominates the town. Cafes and ouzeries line the waterfront while a warren of tiny streets ascends into the village. You'll feel like a mouse in a maze walking up to the castle — so it's natural to reward yourself with a hunk of fine local cheese from one of the tiny shops you'll stumble upon along the way.

Agios Georgios beach — excellent for wading, windsurfing, and alternating between sunning and sipping at its tavernas — lies just south of town, fronting the chic Nissaki Beach Hotel. A five-minute scooter ride carries you to Agios Prokopis, one of the finest beaches in all of Greece.

Also within easy reach are plenty of cultural and natural attractions, including Mount Zas, where Zeus himself is said to have been born and raised. And each summer evening, visitors converge on Chora to engage in night life mythic enough to make Dionysus proud.

Byron Bay, Australia
Sedona by the Sea

Byron Bay in Byron Shire, on the far north coast of New South Wales, is one of those places where stunning natural beauty acts as a magnet for escapees from the status quo who gather to create an alternative reality, an attempt at paradise. The beatniks who "discovered" Byron Bay are still here, though successive waves of settlers — surfers, developers, tourism promoters — have each added new layers of interest.

One thing that hasn't changed is the area's beauty. Populated by the steadfastly eco-conscious, Byron Bay is surrounded by national parks, with rainforests tumbling down to the coast, cliffs soaring above the sea, and great swaths of unspoiled beach. The climate is subtropical (Aussie seasons are reversed, so summertime here is the North American winter), and just offshore, warm currents mix with the temperate to feed a riot of marine life. Whale watching (from June to November), scuba diving, fishing, and kayaking join swimming and surfing as top picks for ocean time, with lessons available to get you up to speed in everything.

On the dry side, there are hikes, ballooning, yoga studios, alternative shops, trendy restaurants, great regional markets — at least one somewhere in a local shire every weekend — and a conga line of festivals (comedy, writers, underwater, and several top music gatherings) that extends all year.

Accommodations range from boutique hotels to rustic eco-lodges to hostels that house the lively young crowd you'll find going bananas at Cheeky Monkey's — though if you're old enough to even know what a beatnik is, you may prefer to hoist your beer at the Hotel Great Northern's traditional pub.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Playa Time

The Riviera Maya encompasses the Mexican shoreline running south from the tourist mecca of Cancun down to the pristine Sian Ka'an (Mayan for "Where the sky is born") Biosphere Reserve. Playa del Carmen is the unofficial capital of this stretch of coast, serving as a nexus between the tourist and traditional worlds.

Playa's days as a sleepy fishing village are fast fading from memory. Today, a jaded eye could glance upon the McDonald's and the crowds that periodically swoop in on cruise tours and dismiss Playa as not worth a serious look. That would be a mistake. Starting at the elemental, the beach that fronts Playa del Carmen is a big, beautiful pour of sugary white sand washed by the electric-blue Caribbean Sea. Enough watering holes are strung along the beach to satisfy the thirst of the most dedicated beach bar hopper (those in front of town tend toward traditional, while walking north you'll encounter the Eurotrend of loud house beats competing with the sound of the surf at joints like Mamita's).

From Playa, fantastic natural pursuits are as convenient as the 40-minute ferry ride to Cozumel's dramatic drift dives along sheer coral walls, and the numerous day trips to the Yucatan's cenotes, ocean parks, and jungle tours. Back in town, the center of activity is La Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue), a pedestrian-only cobbled thoroughfare wall-to-wall with restaurants, shops and small hotels. Here you can load up on souvenirs, fill up on genuine Maya cuisine and traditional Yucatán dishes at Yaxche restaurant, or just stake a claim to a café table and people-watch while you sip tequila.

Placencia, Belize
Far Out Post

A rustically developed dollop at the end of a long, slender peninsula lounging down Belize's southern coast, Placencia is a fishing village turned laid-back beach town — and it's soon to become a minor boom town. For now, the village retains much of the backwater charm that appealed to the core group of local and expat entrepreneurs who began catering to backpackers 20 years ago. Fan-cooled cottages, small shops, creole restaurants, and beach bars serving up cold Belikin beer dot the town, connected by the narrow sidewalk that serves as its main street.

Placencia's location as gateway to the southern Belize Cays — dozens of postcard-perfect castaway islets set amid the Western Hemisphere's longest barrier reef — draws divers, snorkelers, and fishermen from all over the world. The area's latest natural attraction is the chance to see the gigantic whale sharks that appear offshore around the full moons of March through June in 2008, an event second only to the Lobster Festival, which takes place in late June, just after the start of the season.

Placencia's ideal location has not gone undiscovered. Travelers today can enjoy the charms of the town and excitement of the Cays without giving up the luxury of air-conditioning and swimming pools by staying a few minutes up the peninsula at resorts like The Inn at Robert's Grove. And as a sure sign of the coming wave, Francis Ford Coppola built his latest trendsetting Belizean-Balinese fantasy, Turtle Inn, on the beach just north of town.

Wailea, Hawaii
Really Unreal

If you were going to build a luxury beach town from scratch — scratch meaning you start with one of the world's most beautiful islands, on 1,500 acres of primo real estate that includes a stretch of coastline scalloped with five beaches (one perennially ranked the best in America; the others not far behind) — you'd end up with Maui's Wailea.

You're not talking culture and quaintness here — Wailea was designed solely to achieve the highest level of comfort and indulgence, and the developers succeeded. Visitors needed a place to stay, of course, so in came Four Seasons, Fairmont, and Hilton, which all built spectacular five-star properties on oceanfront sites (the resort's next Very Important Property will be Starwood's Baccarat, scheduled to open in 2010). For guests who might want to play golf, paging Robert Trent Jones II, whose Gold course is the most challenging of Wailea's three eighteens — if it seems a bit too challenging there's also a David Leadbetter Golf Academy at the club. Spas? Check. Shopping? Try Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, etc. Hungry? Choose from restaurants like Wolfgang Puck's Spago.

One thing the developers couldn't improve upon was the natural setting, backed by Mount Haleakala, which shoulders away much of the wind and rain that might dare fall on Wailea. The beaches and cliffs fringe a crystal-blue tropical fish-filled sea, and the only enhancement humanly possible there was to lay down a walkway to make it easier for the guests at this purpose-made beach town to see how lucky they are.

St. Tropez, France
Azure Thing

Any man who can watch a barefoot 22-year-old Brigitte Bardot vamping her way around St. Tropez in the 1956 film … And God Created Woman without getting the urge to visit needs to check his pulse. Bardot set the town ablaze, and starlets and wannabes still follow her footsteps in this sensual center of the Côte d'Azur. However, the steamy behavior that had her character billed as a "demon driven temptress" wouldn't turn a head during the high season in today's St. Tropez — nicknamed "St. Trop," as in the French for "too much."

The attraction here is — undeniably — sex, whether in its purest topless-and- T-backed form or masquerading behind the wheel of a Ferrari or the black-tinted windows of a $100 million yacht. Conspicuous consumption is de rigueur: Buying $1,500 bottles of champagne simply to be sprayed on fellow revelers at beach clubs like La Voile Rouge is so commonplace that bartenders keep helmets nearby to protect themselves from flying corks.

The daytime's most incessant be-seen scene continues to be at the clubs fronting the three miles of sand along Baie de Pampelonne, south of St. Tropez proper. At night, the action moves back into the tiny town, to the infamous Les Caves du Roy and Papagayo and, in the wee hours, to Gorille. The hottest spots to bed down — usually not too long before sunrise — are the newish Benkiraï and the celebrity's default, Byblos.

And when the sun comes up, illuminating the outrageous bar bills and the behavior you may regret? Forget about it: It's St. Trop. As Bardot's Juliette says, "The problem with the future is that it always ruins the present."

Cannon Beach, Oregon
Sea Stacks and Sand Castles

The iconic Haystack Rock of Cannon Beach is like the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey: At low tide, beachgoers walk gingerly over the damp sand to gather around this 235-foot-tall lava massif, to stare up in wonder, and to seek enlightenment.

The rest of the world may think that noteworthy West Coast beaches stop at the California state line, but those who've visited Cannon Beach's extravagant expanse of brown-sugar sand, and its funky, artsy, touristy little town of the same name, know better. Haystack Rock is just one of the sea stacks off Cannon, which offers six miles of walking, wading, jogging, surfing, kiteflying, dog-running beach — more if you hike around the rocky headlands that interrupt the soft sand at both ends. Haystack is a National Wildlife Refuge and a state-designated Marine Garden, a protected home to tufted puffins, cormorants, guillemots, oystercatchers, and gulls that nest on its heights, and the sunflower sea stars and kaleidoscopic collection of nudibranchs that populate its tide pools. During the summer season, volunteers lead visitors on interpretive nature walks around the stack at low tide (the only time you can approach Haystack).

The town itself has done a good job of keeping things low-key, tilting more toward art galleries (nearly two dozen) than ticky-tacky shore tourism. The standout oceanfront hotel is the Stephanie Inn, where rooms come with fireplaces, Jacuzzis, and inspiring, enlightening views of Haystack Rock. In fact, the only things that divert visitors' attention away from the sea stacks, however ephemerally, are the amazing creations built during Cannon Beach's June sand-sculpting competition.

Cape May, New Jersey
First and Foremost

Heralded as the country's first resort beach town, Cape May was, in fact, offering its ocean breezes and miles of supple sand to sweltering Philadelphians even before there was a United States. Today, with its fame spread farther afield than just to those who live for weekends "down the Shore," Cape May draws beach buffs, birders, fishermen, and architecture fans from around the world.

Cape May owes its most distinctive attraction — a collection of Victorian buildings second only to San Francisco's — to a devastating fire in 1878. The rebuilding of private homes by some of the nation's richest families became a frenzy of "keeping up with the Wanamakers," and presented Cape May a priceless legacy. Gothic Revival, Renaissance Revival, Second Empire, Queen Anne: With 600 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places (most now accessible as bed-and-breakfasts, inns, shops, and restaurants), aficionados might well spend all their time looking up at turrets, gables, and gingerbread trim.

Of course the town offers much more than just buildings. Fishing for blues off the jetties, scanning for endangered piping plovers and 400 other bird species at the East Coast's top birding spot, and combing the beach for Cape May diamonds (naturally polished quartz) where the coast curls west and the Atlantic rolls into Delaware Bay are all time-honored pastimes.

Cape May is decidedly family oriented and unpretentious, but it's not without its pampering. Guests of Congress Hall, which once served as Benjamin Harrison's summer White House, can live it up just as much as any 19th-century industrialist, even having their lunch served in private teak-floored cabanas on the beach.