Photo Credit: Susan J. Wallace via beachodat.blogspot.com

This summer, instead of heading to the same beach year after year, why not go to one of the world’s most unique beaches, like the pink sands on Harbour Island in the Bahamas pictured above, famous for its pink-hued beaches, which are found all along the east side of the island.

Pfeiffer State Beach, Big Sur

Photo Credit: metapicture.com

Big Sur on California’s Central Coast, is home to Pfeiffer State Beach, a rare purple sand beach, with its purple hue derived from the manganese garnet deposits that are found in the surrounding rocks.

Shell Beach, L’Haridon Bight, Western Australia

Photo Credit: CDN

Shell Beach, located in the Shark Bay region of Western Australia, covers a nearly 69-mile long stretch of coast along the L’Haridon Bight. It’s one of only two beaches in the world made entirely from shells.

Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, California

Photo Credit: artinnaturephotography.com

This beach on the breathtaking Mendocino Coast of California in Fort Bragg, is made up of hundreds of thousands of small, smooth, colored pieces of “sea glass.” The site was once the city dump where people tossed their trash. Over the next several decades the pounding waves cleaned the beach, breaking down everything but glass and pottery, resulting in those beautiful pieces that cover it today.

Mudhdhoo Island, Maldives

Photo Credit: wixstatic.com

This beach in the Maldives looks like something out of a science-fiction fairytale. The organisms creating the blue glow are ostracod crustaceans, and not phytoplankton as they’re commonly mistaken for. Ostraccods emit light for seconds to even a minute or longer, whereas phytoplankton typically emit just a quick flash of light.