Unusual Beaches

Do you always picture the beautiful white sand and blue water of the Caribbean when you think of a beach escape? Here are some more unusual colors you might consider visiting.

Pink Sand Beach, Bahamas - Considered one of the most breathtaking in the world. It is a mixture of fine golden sand and pulverized coral and shells.
Punalu Beach, The Big Island, Hawaii - One of the rare black sand beaches. The black sand is from molten lava that poured into the ocean and cooled rapidly. (I was on this beach in Nov 2009 and it was very different from the white sand beaches I was used to. The black sand ranged from rocks to pebbles to fine granular sand)
Kaihalulu, Maui - On the far side of Ka'uiki Hill south of Hana Bay on Maui. The sand gets its red-black color from the crumbling cindercone hill that surrounds the bay.
Papakolea Beach, Hawaii - Green Sand Beach is one of only two beaches with olive-green sand in the world. The unusual green color of the sand comes from a semi-precious stone called olivine that surrounds Papakolea Beach that the ocean has eroded. .
Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, California - Purple Sand Beach has beautiful views of rocks and sea stacks. The purple sand comes from manganese garnet particles washing down the hillside.