When I think of beach, I think of white sand, turquoise water, sun shining and lots and lots of bird poop. However, not all beaches are similar to what I imagine. Not all beaches are the usual water, sand, rock combination. Some are in crazy locations with strange facts about them that you probably wouldn’t believe. Here are 5, crazy weird beaches you may have heard of.

1.) The Green Beach

At first glance, you may think that moss is covering every inch of sand at this beach. Not at all! At one of Hawaii’s many beaches, the sand is actually green! The reason the sand is green is definitely not because of a lot of algae. The native sand gets its bright green appearance from a nearby volcano that produces a lot of the green mineral, olivine! It is only one of 4 green beaches in the world!

2.) The Hot Water Beach

Forget baths and hot tubs, just imagine a hot bubbling beach! The water is heated by underground springs! You can sit in there all day, but that’s probably not the best idea health-wise. If you want to visit a natural hot tub, just visit the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. The water temperatures can peak at 147 degrees fahrenheit. No jacuzzies in the world can compete!

3.) The Hidden Beach

There’s a reason why this beach is called “The Hidden Beach”! (Very creative names, I know!) You wouldn’t be able to visit this beach unless you know it’s there. You have to be very high up to spot this beach on the Marietta Islands in Mexico. This beautiful beach is in a large crater, almost cave-like among the edges. You can only see the way in from high above! However, this beach has a violent past.  It was formed when the area was used by the Mexican government for bomb testing. I’m not sure why the government chose this particular spot, but all those tests led to a huge hole that was blasted into the earth! Fortunately, they don’t use this spot for tests anymore due to swimmers. Now, this beach is a beautiful swim hole!

4) Boulder’s Beach

Who knew you could sightsee penguins and soak in rays at the same time? Well, this beach in South Africa is made up of 2 inlets between granite boulders in the False Bay. It’s actually a getaway for both humans and 3,000 penguins! Located just south of Cape Town, South Africa visitors come here year round to take advantage of the wooden walkways as so to not disturb the penguins. The penguins are also very smelly though, so you may not want to get too close.

Penguins on Boulder’s Beach, 2005. Photo taken by Ms. Smith’s shipmate, John Holmes.

5.) The Glowing Beach

Who dropped a couple thousand worth’s of glow stick juice in this beach? This beach gives a spectacular, glowing view to tourists and visitors. It seems like something out of a fairy tail with its glowing blue water! The reason this water glows blue is because of phytoplankton, which glows when disturbed! Question is, who’s bugging these plankton’s? Whoever is doing so, don’t stop! The view is beautiful! These phytoplankton are quite common among the shores of the Maldives, which makes it a hot spot for tourists, especially honeymooners!

Those are 5 spectacular, unique beaches you may have never heard about! If you know about another beautiful, strange beach or have something to say about one of mine, tell me in the comments!

Have a great day!

~Sarah