By Edvardas Garbenis
#1 Seychelles: Anse Lazio
Anse Lazio Beach ranks first with an impressive Healthy Beach Index of 86, highly influenced by its water quality score of 90.
This beach is lifeguarded and highly accessible. It features wheelchair-friendly pathways, public showers, ramps, bicycle racks, and restrooms for all genders and individuals with disabilities.
#2 Costa Rica: Playa Manuel Antonio
Playa Manuel Antonio (Index score 85) is one of the most visited beaches in Costa Rica. It stands out for its impressive biodiversity, with a score of 79, reflecting the rich variety of marine life in the area.
Additionally, with an air quality score of 71, Playa Manuel Antonio offers a clean and healthy atmosphere, making it an ideal destination for a rejuvenating day by the sea.
#3 United States: Siesta Beach
Siesta Beach is ranked as a top three destination for health-conscious travelers, scoring 84 on our Healthy Beach Index.
It offers Mobi-Mats. These mats provide a firmer surface for individuals who need it to cross the sand, such as those who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids.
Methodology
To create the Healthy Beach Index, we gathered data on 20 beaches that TripAdvisor ranked highly in 2024. These rankings were determined by analyzing the “quality and quantity of global reviews and ratings” on the platform over one year.
We then selected six key metrics and assigned weights (%) to them based on their importance: water quality (25%), biodiversity (25%), safety (20%), air quality (10%), accessibility (10%), and review scoring (10%).
- Clean water. The clean water category tracks four types of pollution: chemical pollution, nutrient pollution, pathogen pollution, and trash pollution. A higher score indicates cleaner water.
- Biodiversity. Aims to assess how successfully selected beaches maintain the richness and variety of marine life. A higher score means species have a lower risk of extinction, and all habitats are conserved.
- Air quality (AQI). Air quality is an essential aspect of environmental health that affects human well-being and is selected by the city where the beach is located. We normalized AQI values to fit within a 0–100 scale, where higher scores represent better air quality.
- Safety. Lifeguard services — trained lifeguards on selected beaches enhance swimmers’ safety and can prevent drowning and other accidents. Scoring criteria: 100 if the beach is lifeguarded; 0 if not.
- Accessibility. Accessibility features ensure the beach is welcoming and usable for all visitors, including those with disabilities.
- Review scoring. The overall beach rating, an average of the individual ratings given by users, provides a quick summary of the general satisfaction level among users. Scoring criteria are normalized by the formula = (review score / maximum review score) * 100.
FULL REPORT
