A friend of mine told me recently that my book Letters to Helen is a great beach read. This got me to thinking…we always hear about the latest books that are great beach reads, but we never talk about the beaches to read it on.

There are certainly lots to choose from! Some made up of pebbles, others of sand so soft it’s like flour. My favourite is Kits Beach in Vancouver – right in the middle of the city, and just great in summer or winter. I polled my friends for some suggestions, and these are some of their favourites:

“The New Golden Beach on the island of Paros, Greece. Great windsurfing/ regular surfing. Or the beaches of Rio de Janeiro – beautiful and hot. Spiaggia del Fornillo on the Amalfi coast was a people beach surrounded by beautiful scenery as its at the bottom of Positano which is built up into the mountains and cliffs above in rows of beautifully colored houses. Or my favorite was laying on the beach on Easter Island. Fresh fish empanadas, coconuts right out of the tree, and clear blue waters.”
– Heather, Brooklyn, NY

“Alice Lake by Squamish BC. It’s absolutely beautiful with the mountains and trees“
– Colleen, Leduc, AB

“The beach out front of Casa Del Mar in Aruba. Super hot but with a lovely breeze coming off the ocean. The water is clear and the waves they are a Rollin!!!“
– Peter, Calgary, AB

“Jolly beach on Antigua, or any beach there. There are 365 to choose from. The beach is beautiful and clean, and the waters are crystal clear and warm.“
– Leonard, Leduc, AB

“Baker Beach. It’s more of an adult beach… No sand, but lots of nice logs to lounge on.”
– Carolyn, Salt  Spring Island, BC

“Cortez Island.There is white sand and beautiful quiet beaches that you have all to yourself.A place where you can feel the wonder of the universe.A place where your problems feel like a tiny grain of sand in the big picture.“
– Rebecca, North Vancouver, BC

“Haad Yuan in Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand. Because it is beautiful and isolated (at least was isolated 8 years ago :)))“
– Lilya, Vancouver, BC

“Beddis Beach on Salt Spring! It’s kind of a trade off – very cold waters but a really nice, sandy beach!“
– Abigail, Salt Spring Island, BC

So there you go – lots of great suggestions to take your new summer book to this year! Feel free to leave your favourites in the comments.