Soak Up the Sun At These Unique Beaches

 When the weather in many parts of the world is cold at the moment, images of the world's strange and beautiful beaches are sure to warm you up. Here are the weirdly stunning beaches of the world that will get you feeling toasty right in your seat!

1. Papakolea Beach, Hawaii, USA

Papakolea Beach, or the Green Sand Beach, is a beach made up entirely of green sand and is one of the only two green sand beaches in the world. The other green sand beach is in the Galapagos Islands.

The sand gets its unique color from the mineral olivine that results from previous volcanic activity. Indeed, the entire beach is located under a cinder cone, which is a hill of volcanic debris that accumulates around a volcanic vent.

The beach is only accessible by climbing the cinder cone.

2. San Alfonso del Mar Beach, Chile

This beach is sandwiched in between the largest artificial pool and the largest ocean on the planet.

The beach is part of a luxurious resort with the same name. The pool was placed on the beach because the ocean makes for dangerous and freezing swimming for the guests. The pool, of course, is saltwater in order to simulate the feeling of being in the ocean.

3. Maho Beach, Saint Maarten

Maho Beach is located on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin in the country of Sint Maarten. It is famous because of the ridiculously close proximity between the Princess Juliana International Airport and the beach. Due to the proximity of the low-flying airliners, the location is popular for plane spotters and it is one of the few places in the world where aircraft can be viewed in their flight path outside of the runway.

However, there is a danger that people standing on the beach will be blown into the water from the jet blast of the aircraft.

4. Ocean Dome, Japan

One of the more famous beaches, this beach is actually completely artificial!

It was constructed by the Seagaia resort along the coastal highway outside the city of Miyazaki. It has a fully controlled indoor climate throughout the year and sports a fake flame volcano, artificial sand, palm trees, and the world's largest retractable roof. The air temperature is always kept at 30 C (86 F) and the water is about 28 C (82.5 F). The beach can accommodate over 10,000 visitors at once, which seems more than the people that go to real beaches!

5. Plage de Saleccia, France

On a beach near St. Florent on the French island of Corsica, cows, and beachgoers share the sun. This beach of fabulous white sand and clear blue waters is rather isolated, save from the chestnut-colored cattle that rest beside sunbathers.

The cows visit the beach all year round and don't take a break in the summer when the beach is full of people. At least there is someone at the beach that will make you feel good in a bathing suit!

6. Pink Sand Beaches, Bermuda

No need to do a double-take because these outstanding beaches are real! Bermuda is known for its magnificent large and small beaches of light pink sand and turquoise waters. The sand becomes pink when shells and skeletons of coral, clams, and forams are pulverized into minuscule pieces.

These spectacular beaches are popular for weddings and other memorable events because their scenery will not soon be forgotten.

7. Playa de Gulpiyuri, Spain

Playa de Gulpiyuri is a flooded sinkhole with a small beach near Llanes, Spain. It is only 40 meters (130 feet) in length but is tidal due to a series of underground tunnels carved by the salt of the nearby Cantabrian Sea.

It is a popular tourist destination, natural monument and part of Spain's Protected Natural Areas.

8. Hot Water Beach, New Zealand

Ever heard of a hot water beach, and no, we're not talking about Miami. The Hot Water Beach is located on the eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in Zealand.

Its name comes from the underground hot springs which filter up through the sand between the high and low tides. The beach is a very popular destination for tourists and locals alike who create 'tubs' in the sand to soak up the hot water from below. The water temperature is about 64C (147F).

9. Hidden Beach on Marieta Islands, Mexico

The Hidden Beach of the Marieta Islands is a world of its own. It is located just a few miles off the coast of Mexico and was formed as a result of volcanic activity.

The islands have remained secluded over thousands of years and were only recently discovered and made into a tourist destination. The Hidden Beach has its own marine ecosystem, and the dolphins, whales and sea turtles in the water nearby are also fantastic. However, just in the waters of the Hidden Beach, there are believed to be over 103 different species of marine critters.

10. Loango's Wild Forested Beach, Gabon

In Loango National Park in western Gabon, there is a beach that remains one of the few places in the world where great mammal herds have access to the sea.

Here, you will see elephants, buffalo, and hippopotami wandering on the sand and playing in the ocean. Even gorilla families are occasionally seen foraging in the beachside trees. The beaches are also an excellent breeding ground and home to the migrant shorebirds like African Skimmers and Damara Terns.

11. Airport Beach, United Kingdom

Barra Airport is probably the only airport in the world where the planes land on the beach. It is located on the Traigh Mhor Beach on Barra Island in Scotland.

The airport is washed away by the tide once a day, so if you take a late afternoon flight there, you may see cars guiding the pilots since the airport is naturally lit. When the windsock is flying, the airport is active and it's best to steer clear of this beach.

12. Chandipur Beach, India

Want to see the sea disappear before your eyes? Or do you want the illusion of walking on water? In a phenomenon rarely seen anywhere else in the world, the sea at Chandipur Beach recedes almost 5 kilometers (3 miles) every day at low tide.

This provides the beachgoer with the opportunity to walk on the sand as if they were walking on water. In the exposed seabed, there are shells, driftwood, and little red crabs.

13. Scala Dei Turchi, Italy

The Scala dei Turchi (Stair of the Turks) is a rocky cliff beach on the coast of Realmonte in southern Sicily. It has become a tourist attraction because of the beautiful white color of the cliff rock, and because the formations make for great natural sunbeds.

The Scala was formed by marl or a sedimentary rock with a characteristic white color. It lies between two sandy beaches and is accessed through a limestone rock formation in the shape of a staircase.

14. Bowling Ball Beach, USA

On the California coast in a town called Mendocino is a coastal feature called Schooner Gulch, popularly known as the 'Bowling Ball Beach'. Thousands of rocks appear to have gathered in their very round forms to defy the tides.

They are mostly uniformly shaped and sized, and their spacing is near equal. These rocks were not placed by man, but by the mysterious power of nature. Over thousands of years, the ocean has eroded away the coast, forming the cliffs that line the shore behind the beach and leaving the bowling balls behind.

15. Glass Beach, USA

Another beach in California known as glass beach is located in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg. It is one of the most abundant sea glass beaches in the world as a result of years of dumping garbage along the coastline.

The beach is now frequented by visitors, however collecting the glass is forbidden. A Glass Festival is held every year on Memorial Day weekend. However, over time, the glass is slowly diminishing, so this beach may not remain a wonder for long.