12. Pasjaca, Popovići, Croatia
PHOTO:PAWEL KLOBUKOWSKI/GETTY IMAGES
Croatia's Southern Dalmatia lays out in a maze of limestone streets, storybook buildings, and local wineries, and when you’ve walked (and sipped) it all, you can head 18 miles south of Dubrovnik to the hidden beach of Pasjača. Something of a local secret, the classically Mediterranean landscape is tucked into a range of bronze cliffs that have been carved out to create the paths and tunnels you’ll travel down to the white sand. Swim the aquamarine waters or just enjoy the awe-inspiring views from the pebbled shore.
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13. Prainha do Caniçal, Madeira, Portugal
PHOTO:PAWEL KLOBUKOWSKI/GETTY IMAGES
Europe’s nicest beaches are hidden in the untapped treasure trove of Portugal’s Madeira Islands. Yes, Madeira, like the wine, and you can enjoy a glass at the pastel cliffside beach bar that oversees the black-striped sand of Prainha do Caniçal. Get there early to scope out the perfect place for repose on the soft sand (a rarity among the country’s rocky beaches). The brisk, blue-green water washes over the entire arc of sand at high tide, but you can relax in a beach chair or at the restaurant’s cafe tables on the rock formations hugging this sweet little shoreline.