Hulopoe Beach, Lanai, Hawaii by Matthew Barker

This is where Bill Gates came for his honeymoon, an island of 3,000 inhabitants and a marine sanctuary full of dolphins, humpback whales and rare sea turtles. Dr Stephen Leatherman, America’s Dr Beach, acclaimed it as the country’s best beach in 1997.

They say: “There is no denying it - Hulopoe Beach is among the best in the country, if not the world.” (New York Post)

We say: Not so long ago a private beach, and there’s still a whiff of exclusivity here; the connoisseur’s choice over the frat-party excesses of Waikiki.