Relaxing places in Australia and Pacific
A black sand beach popular with surfers. It's actually one of the few beach on Guam not protected by an inner reef.
For a beautiful beach and great snorkelling, head to Eneko Island for a daytrip. It lies 20 minutes boat ride away from Majuro and Robert Reimer's Hotel has a few bungalows there - otherwise it's inhabited. The sandy beach is stunning with tall palms and shady trees, and the reef has an impressive diverse and healthy coral garden.
The reef fringed lagoon at Majuro is just stunning, so you would think there would be plenty of white sandy beaches. The truth is, there hardly are and the few are covered in marine trash. However, the beach at the village Laura is what you are looking for. A beautiful white sandy beach with shady trees, which wraps around the very end of Majuro island. The village has turned the beach into a park with picnic tables and toilets, but they also clean it daily. As elsewhere in the Majuro atoll, snorkelling can be done anywhere.
As Yap's coast mostly is covered in lush and thick protected mangroves, there are surprisingly few sandy beaches, but this is one. It lies at the end of the village of the same name. As it's part of the village (and exposed thighs for females are taboo in Yap in general), you will probably wait with the sunbathing for another place. The village itself is nice with plenty of stone money. The road is not sealed and potholed at best.
Anibare Beach is considered one of Nauru's best beaches. It's fairly long with white sand and lots of tall and twisted limestone formations at the north end. As the bottom of the lagoon is covered with sharp stones and there can be strong undercurrents, it's not ideal to swim here. Instead, head to Anibare Harbour at the south end. Midway on the beach is an Japanese "pillbox" from WWII (picture).
Nauru is not protected by an outer reef like on an atolls, so the sea can be rough with big rolling waves come crashing over the shore reef and strong undercurrents. Anibare Harbour is protected and don't have sharp corals and stones on the bottom, so it's the main swimming spots for both kids and adults. It's particularly popular in the cooler evenings.
Another little beach on the northeastern coast. The beach park has been painted in a white theme.
At the end of the landing strip lies a small beach. There is a simple beach cafe, which might or might not be open.
Right at the end of Malakal Island is Ice Box Park, a recreational area with shade and stunning views over the azure waters. Local drunks tend to hang out here, which is understandable. Behind the building for the bureau of tourism at the far end, is a giant claim nusery. The big tanks on land are fenced off, but there is a giant claim kindergarten behind protective net in the water. From the edge it doesn't look like much, but from below you realise the whole bottom is covered in giant claims about 40 cm long.
The road leads up to a Japanese shinto shrine, where there also is a memorial for the U.S. marine corps. There are nice views over the jungle from the memorial. The trails for the Bloody Nose Ridge also start here. Don't venture outside the white markers, as the outside areas haven't been cleared for unexploded ordnances.