Baía do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha

Often voted the most beautiful beach in the world: a cove of golden sand at the foot of green cliffs, with clear turquoise water full of fish, turtles and rays for snorkelling. The descent is part of the adventure: ladders in a narrow crack in the cliff lead down to the beach.

Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago 350 km off the north-east coast of Brazil, mostly a protected marine national park, with around 230 kinds of fish, sharks, sea turtles and spinner dolphins. Visitors pay a daily environmental tax plus a national park fee, and numbers are limited, so it's expensive. Book accommodation and tours well ahead. Flights go from Recife and Natal.