Do you consider yourself a “beach person”?
Not all beaches are created equal
A background tune for reading this newsletter:
A beach vacation — it’s everyone’s dream destination, right? Well, maybe not so much.
Confession: I only mildly enjoyed beaches until I moved to Brazil.
In the great debate of “lakes vs. oceans,” growing up in the Midwest of the U.S., I always came down on the side of lakes. My family would take infrequent trips to the ocean on the east coast of the U.S. to places like Outer Banks, but to me, the sandy shores of Lake Erie or state park lakes were far preferable. No need to worry about big waves or sharks or salty water getting in my eyes.
Trips to Europe inched me more towards the appreciation of beaches, with smooth seas of clear blue water and stunning scenery. As beautiful as beaches in Italy and Croatia are, you’re still contending with mostly rocky beaches and small real estate for squeezing your towel in.
Then I moved to Brazil, and like the skies parting to reveal a blue sunny sky, it all became clear. I became a Beach Person.
You’re familiar enough with Brazil to know the beaches are famously top notch — even the unremarkable beaches are leagues ahead of any East Coast beach north of Florida. But what really makes it enjoyable is the culture around the beach.
Most beaches have stands or “barracas” selling drinks like ice cold beer, caipirinhas, or coconut juice, and there will often be seafood dishes like fried squid. No need to bring a chair, table or umbrella, since you can sit at the ones set up on the sand by the barraca for the price of ordering something off the menu. On more popular beaches, vendors walk by selling popsicles, açaí, grilled meat and cheese on sticks, even sunglasses.
And let’s talk beach bodies. In Brazil, every body is a beach body. Yes, people are in great shape overall, but you don’t need to have a six pack to wear a notoriously small Brazilian bathing suit, and there’s something democratic about that. You don’t need to get “beach body ready” to enjoy the beach, because going to the beach is a year-round activity in most of the country. In fact, you’ll stand out more if you’re covered up.
Now that I’ve been spoiled by the beach experience in Brazil, other beaches feel like so much work. If you also don’t consider yourself a beach bum, I say… travel! Each beach culture in each region is different, from California to Senegal to Greece to Southeast Asia. There will be one out there for you. And if you want a guarantee, you can always come to Brazil 😉
xoxo
Brandy
Good Trip Founder
Other Beaches We Love:
Playa Cerritos in Baja California, Mexico
It's completely off the grid but with access to all the amenities you could possibly need. There are several affordable places to rent surf boards, umbrellas, and a small hotel to get food and a cold beer. If you go in February you're likely to see tons of whales out in the bay as well!
- Stephanie, Good Trip Advisor
Wollongong Beach, NSW, Australia
Sweeping views of the Pacific aside, this beach is a reminder of some of my most vacation-y vacations I had growing up — visiting family and being on school break. And it’s the only place I can really develop any sort of tan.
- Natalie, Good Trip Contributing Editor
Additional reader rec: Yallingup, Western Australia
Lido West, Long Island
Give me a slice of pizza, an afternoon at Lido West followed by some Marvel soft serve and finish the day off with dinner and drinks on the Nautical Mile with my family..
- Sarah, Good Trip Advisor
Local’s Corner
This week we venture to Marlborough, New Zealand to chat with Anna McCarty, a winemaker at the first Māori-owned and operated wine label, Tohu.
Tohu is a part of Kono Wines, whose core value manaakitanga encapsulates care and respect for people and relationships, including the natural environment.
If you’d like to try their wine, the Kono Wine Sauvignon Blanc is a great place to start sipping!
Her favorite local spot within a 15 minute walk/short drive of her home:
I absolutely love Rarangi Beach on Marlborough’s East Coast. It’s definitely not your typical idyllic white sand sort of beach, it’s very much rough and stony and exposed to the elements. Every Sunday morning without fail I take my dog Dylan out there for a long walk to clear my head and reconnect with nature.
Her favorite local-to-Marlborough or New Zealand snack or food she can't get enough of:
Possibly doesn’t count as a snack so much but I get massive cravings for greenshell mussels sourced from the Marlborough Sounds. My favourite way to prepare them is to steam them open with a little white wine and stock and then leaving the mussel in the half shell, grill lightly with a small dollop of herby garlic butter until just melted. It’s absolute perfection with a glass of Kono Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc!
The movie people should check out to get a feel for Marlborough or New Zealand:
I’d highly recommend A Seat at the Table. This documentary is an outright visual feast that highlights the stories behind New Zealand's world-famous wine industry. It’ll most certainly whet your appetite for New Zealand’s stunning scenery as well as our incredible wines.
An ideal day for her in Marlborough:
To start with I would grab a pie from the Burleigh Pie Shop in Blenheim before heading out to Picton where I’d pick up a coffee, and enjoy them both sitting on the waterfront while watching the sailboats head out towards the Marlborough Sounds. Pies for breakfast might not be the healthiest option so after that I’d head out for a walk along the Snout Track from Picton to Bob’s Bay. You don’t have to go too far along the track to feel like you’re right in the heart of the Marlborough Sounds, and the views are breath-taking.
After heading back into Blenheim I’d swap the car for my bike and venture out to a local cellar door to two to see how the vintages from other wineries are shaping up. Lunch would be on the patio at Harvest which is the restaurant for the Marlborough Lodge. The building is a converted historic Victorian convent with beautiful park-like grounds set amongst the vines and the food is sublime.
Later that evening I’d stop into 5tapped – an eclectic motorbike workshop/bar - for a quick craft beer before heading to catch a gig at The Plant, which is a tempeh factory during the day and small intimate music venue by night (they also do amazing vegan meals pre-show).
The song she has on repeat:
I’ve recently got back into vinyl and I’m rediscovering the joy of listening to whole albums. I’m slowly building up a collection of records starting mostly with old classics from the ‘70s and ‘80s so there’s lots of stuff like Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell being played at my house at the moment.
Where she wants to travel next, post-COVID:
Without a doubt it would have to be Sri Lanka. I read a travel article back in 2019 (pre-COVID!) that highlighted the amazing beaches, inspiring train journeys, the diverse wildlife, the welcoming culture, and of course the famous tea, and I was 100 percent sold on the spot. I have no idea when I’ll actually get there but the pandemic has at least allowed me a little more time to save up for when the time eventually comes!
The place she’s traveled to that she’d like to go back to:
I went to South Korea to teach English right after I finished studying. It was quite a culture shock at the time. Over the last few years I’ve really got back into cooking Korean food and I love making my own kimchi (plus I hate to admit it but one of my guilty pleasures is watching K-pop videos on YouTube!!!!), so I’d be really excited to go back and rediscover Seoul. I think the city and culture would have changed a lot since I was last there so I guess it will feel both familiar and very different at the same time.
Read All About It
Meeting new people is an essential part of traveling, in our opinion. Even when staying in our own towns, sparking up a conversation with a stranger can give us the same feelings we get when traveling: learning new perspectives, hearing stories, and making connections.
But… how do we do that again? We love this piece by Joe Keohane, “How to Become a Master at Talking to Strangers.”
Our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: the weekend…
