Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres

The northern tip of Isla Mujeres — a 20-minute ferry from Cancun — hosts a crescent beach of impossibly soft white sand in the most translucent shallow Caribbean water in Mexico, consistently voted the best beach in the Caribbean by international travel publications. The golf cart culture of the island and the sunset happy hours at Buho's beach bar create the most socially enjoyable small-island beach experience in the country.