The Best Beach Vacations in Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean

Looking for beach vacation ideas? These resorts offer no-fail, keep-everyone-happy activities for a perfect beach vacation—and then some. This gallery was originally published in 2014. It has been updated with new information.

By CNT Editors

July 12, 2016

Courtesy Jade Mountain
Jade Mountain, St. Lucia
The silver sand beaches are great for snorkeling, but good luck leaving your private pool at your mountaintop suite. (from $1,495)
Courtesy Amanyara
Amanyara, Turks and Caicos
Reflecting pools, private pools, infinity pools—the only question is which to pick first. Just include time for the nearly deserted beach. (from $1,450)

Courtesy El Dorado
El Dorado Casitas Royale, Riviera Maya
The upper-floor rooms have plunge pools, and from the swim-up suites, you can slip into the lazy river that winds by your terrace and connects to the main pool. Bonus: this resort is adults only. (from $500)
Ryan Cardone/TidalStock /Alamy
St. Regis Princeville, Kauai
Contemplate life while overlooking Hanalei Bay from the resort’s 5,000-square-foot, oceanside infinity pool (from $475).

Courtesy Petit St. Vincent
Petit St. Vincent, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
This blissfully old-school, yet still luxurious private island retreat has 22 stone-and-wood cottages, where you still run a yellow flag up your private flagpole when you need something. (from $1,100)
Courtesy Villa Manzu
Villa Manzu, Costa Rica
Rent this eight-suite compound on Costa Rica's famed Peninsula Papagayo with private beach access, a movie theater, and fireworks on demand. ($16,500 per night, all-inclusive for up to 14 guests)

Courtesy Necker Island
Necker Island, British Virgin Islands
Take over Richard Branson’s own 74-acre super-luxe retreat in the BVIs, which reopened to guests in 2013 after a fire and sleeps up to 34. ($78,000 per night for up to 34 guests)
Courtesy Rock House
Rock House, Harbor Island
The bonhomie never stops on Harbor Island in the Bahamas, where the thing to do is to stay and eat at the 10-room Rock House (from $300) and then head to Beyond the Reef for sunset drinks, cracked conch, and live music on the weekend.

Courtesy Carlisle Bay
Carlisle Bay, Antigua
At this resort on a perfect curve of white sand, kids under six get their own pool; seven-to twelve-year-olds go on starfish hunts and play beach football; teenagers might wake-board or go on a shopping trip to St. John. Bonus: Standard rooms are suites big enough for a family. (from $575 for couples, from $800 for family-style suites)
Courtesy Grace Bay Club
Grace Bay Club, Turks and Caicos
Known as an intimate wedding destination, with lots of spots for the all-important ceremony: under a canopy at Grace Bay Club beach, in the enchanting gazebo, on a private catamaran, even on an uninhabited cay. A complimentary kids’ program each morning means your friends with tots in tow will thank you. (from $870)

Courtesy Rosewood Mayakobá
Rosewood Mayakobá, Riviera Maya
Guests instantaneously shift into relaxation mode at this 1,600-acre enclave surrounded by verdant jungle. Good luck choosing between your suite’s private plunge pool and the resort’s mile-long strip of pristine beach on the Caribbean sea. (from $515)
Courtesy Round Hill
Round Hill, Montego Bay
This resort virtually invented tropical seaside gentility when it opened in 1953 to guests like the Kennedys, Noel Coward and Errol Flynn, and various viscounts. Who knows? You might even bump into Ralph Lauren at the pool bar, who oversaw some of the original room redesigns. ($500)

Courtesy Playa Escondida
Playa Escondida, Mexico
Just 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta, this secluded resort boasts airy rooms on a stunning, jungle-fringed stretch of beach in the quant, surf town of Sayulita. (from $165)
Courtesy Rancho Pescadero
Rancho Pescadero, Mexico
This Baja Coast resort is nestled near the Sierra Laguna Mountains, proving that when it comes to the age-old dilemma of whether to choose a sea or mountain vacation, you can actually do both. (from $210)

Undine Pröhl
Hotel Escondido, Puerto Escondido
The village of Puerto Escondido borders Playa Zicatela, the legendary beach break known as the "Mexican Pipeline." But it’s fine to come just for the vibe: There’s plenty of it at Puerto’s beachside bars and restaurants and at the nearby Hotel Escondido, a hip property with thatched-roof cabanas and an underground dance club. (from $300)
Courtesy One&Only Ocean Club
One&Only Ocean Club, the Bahamas
The One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island in the Bahamas reminds us just how easy it can be—in this case, a straight shot to Nassau International airport from 17 American cities—to sink your toes into some of the most luxurious sands in the Caribbean by lunch. (from $735)

Courtesy Cuixmala
Cuixmala, Mexico
Cuixmala, a private estate south of Puerto Vallarta with 12 suites, three private villas, and 10 casitas, sits on a private beach backed by a 25,000-acre nature preserve. It doesn’t have a kids’ club, but who needs one when the whole family can go horseback riding and fishing, and watch sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach? (from $500)
Courtesy Parrot Cay
Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
Free yoga, sublime food, and a deserted beach at Parrot Cay in Turks and Caicos will leave you feeling like a Better Person. (from $700)

Courtesy The Cove Eleuthera
The Cove Eleuthera, the Bahamas
The Cove Eleuthera, in the Bahamas, can fly you practically to your beach chair on a private jet from Fort Lauderdale, which means you’ll be at your secluded cottage in no time, ready to seek out the two private pink beaches, go on bike rides, kayak, and feel blissfully, if briefly, unencumbered. (from $379)
Courtesy Kamalame Cay
Kamalame Cay, the Bahamas
At Kamalame Cay, a 96-acre private island just off Andros in the Bahamas, you can hide away in your very own bungalow that sits directly on the sand. (from $250)

Courtesy Sugar Beach
Sugar Beach, St. Lucia
There’s a reason celebrities descend upon Sugar Beach: It’s impeccably stylish and exclusive, and fronts some of the most beautiful waters in the Caribbean. _ (from $425)_
Courtesy El Secreto
El Secreto, Belize
Base yourself at the whitewashed El Secreto on Ambergris Caye, where you’ll soak away your stress in your individual villa’s private outdoor Jacuzzi. (from $332)

Courtesy Halekulani
Halekulani, Honolulu
Traditional Hawaiian healing techniques—using all organic products—elevate the treatments beyond mere pampering at the spa at this Honolulu resort. (from $495)