1. Baby Beach, Aruba
Aruba is renowned for featuring some of the Caribbean's best snorkeling and diving waters, and this beach featuring a breakwater keeps the water shallow enough to enjoy snorkeling right off its beach. Kids can see octopi, crabs, lobsters and a plethora of colorful fish while swimming in the Caribbean's warm waters. De Palm Tours provides a taste of SCUBA without certification with a breathing air hose tethered above you in a raft.
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa
2. The Baths, British Virgin Islands
One of the not-to-be-missed sites in the British Virgin Islands is the stretch of beach hugging the turquoise blue waters and coves and its series of massive boulders. Climb in, around and through the boulders for more secluded stretches of sand or your own private "pool" of water, and make your way to the calm cove at the end. If you're lucky enough to arrive by boat, swim ashore -- you'll see the beach from all its welcoming angles.
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Bitter End Yacht Club
3. South Walton, Florida Panhandle
By far my favorite stretch of beach in all of the continental U.S., this white-sand is so fine that it literally squeaks when you walk on it, almost singing like the mythical Sirens beckoning your family to its shores. Not only is the sand sugar soft, it borders the most gorgeous emerald green water you've ever seen, earning the area the nickname "The Emerald Coast." The small communities along the beaches, including Seaside, WaterColor, Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach, are family-friendly and filled with cottage rentals to provide a home away from home.
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Cottages of Seaside
4. Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Outer Banks, North Carolina
The barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina provide 70 miles of dune-laced beaches running from South Nags Head to Ocracoke Island. The wide and uncluttered beaches line warm waters and plenty of places for families stake out a private day in the sun. As a preserved area, wildlife refuges, lighthouses and camping areas are also located along these beaches, providing more fun under the sun.
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Hampton Inn & Suites Outer Banks
5. Coronado Beach, San Diego, California
While Coronado may be more famous for its red-roofed grand dame hotel where Marilyn Monroe walked, ate and slept while filming the classic, "Some Like It Hot," the stretch of beach on this island just opposite San Diego that truly is memorable. With a long sandbar and fantastic waves to stoke any one of your little surfers, the large expanse of beach is family friendly and even has a nearby bike trail that runs to Imperial Beach. If you visit January through March, you may even see the migrating whales en route to Baja.
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Hotel del Coronado
6. Hapuna Beach, Big Island, Hawaii
Big Island is famous for its multi-colored beaches of black, white, green, gold and gray, as well as its calm bays that provide great swimming and snorkeling. But one beach consistently gets top billing: Hapuna Beach. The white-sand beach is off Highway 19 just north of Kona and a state park with picnicking spots. Only a half-mile long, it's one of the most popular beaches on the island -- perhaps for its 25-yard sandbar that and great snorkeling.
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Kona Village Resort
7. Outer Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
John F. Kennedy loved this stretch of sand dunes, salt ponds and soft-sand beaches so much he turned it into a national treasure: the Cape Cod National Seashore. He's not the only one who waxed on about the beauty of these shores: Thoreau devoted time and pen to the Outer Beach. While summering on Cape Cod, I've found no beaches as beautiful as those on the "forearm" facing the Atlantic Ocean stretching from Orleans, Eastham and Wellfleet. Marshes, ponds and 40 miles of untouched beaches beckon to be explored, so what are you waiting for?
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Wequassett Resort and Golf Club
8. South Beach, Miami, Florida
Miami's Art Deco South Beach appears again and again in best beaches lists for good reason: the seemingly endless stretch of sand bordering on deep blue ocean is fun for all ages. Art Deco and lifeguard stations and hotels in pinks, sea greens, yellows and sky blue color to an already colorful beach with international flair. The throes of restaurants and shops across the street from Ocean Drive provide plenty to do if the beach ever gets tiresome (never!).
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Fontainebleau Miami Beach
9. Sunset Beach, Cape May, Jersey Shore
Forget the bad images that just popped into your head when you thought "Jersey Shore." Cape May's Sunset Beach, located at the southern tip of the Jersey Shore, is a gorgeous area of Victorian mansions and cute shopping and dining. White-sand beaches feature gentle waves and in Cape May Point, kids can check out the remains of the U.S.S. Atlantus, which sank offshore during a storm in the 1920s.
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Congress Hall
10. Zuma Beach, Malibu, California
There is a reason Hollywood movie stars set up their homes along the beaches of Malibu: the Pacific shores combine beauty and privacy, not to mention gorgeous sunsets of purples, blues, pinks, reds and oranges. Just 25 north of Santa Monica, Zuma Beach's rock boulders are fun to explore at low tide, with many hollowed out after the massive pounding they receive from the powerful waves at high tide. Be sure it's low tide though! I once made the mistake of bringing breakfast out onto a boulder perch and watched a massive wave approach and drench my friends and I in water -- and our breakfast float away in the ocean!
Recommended Nearby Hotel: Terranea Resort
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