Turks and Caicos ranked as top beach resort

NEW YORK, (Reuters Life!) – The tiny island of  Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos has been voted the top  beach destination in the world, according to the travel website  TripAdvisor.

It ranked above such renowned beach destinations as  Honolulu and Miami Beach in the report based on travelers’  reviews and ratings to select the best destinations around the  world.

Myrtle Beach in South Carolina was the only U.S.  destination to make the top five.

“A number of factors make these beach destinations stand  out as wonderful choices,” said TripAdvisor spokesman Brooke  Ferencsik. “In addition to featuring remarkable stretches of  sand, these hotspots offer a wide variety of quality hotels,  restaurants and activities to accommodate virtually any  vacation budget, and appeal to any traveler type.”

Providenciales, which has experienced a boom in high-end  resorts with total visitors tripling since the mid-1990s, was  praised for its pristine white-sand beaches, calm, clear water  and a healthy barrier reef appealing to snorkelers and divers.

Many reviewers called its Grace Bay Beach the world’s  best.

Rounding out the top five were Boracay, in the Philippines,  Aruba’s Palm/Eagle beach, Negril in Jamaica and Tulum, Mexico.

The quaint, Victorian-tinged Cape May, at the southern tip  of New Jersey, was the only other U.S. beach among the top 10.

Grand Cayman’s famous Seven Mile Beach and Punta Cana in  the Dominican Republic placed seventh and eighth respectively.

Ayia Napra in Cyprus was the top-rated European beach  destination, followed by Skiathos, Greece.

Despite its glamorous, starry reputation, the French  Riviera didn’t even place among Europe’s top 25.