A Queensland beach where swimmers need to wear stinger suits for eight months of the year has been voted the best in the world for 2025.
Whitehaven Beach, on Whitsunday Island, is home to marine stingers, including jellyfish, from October to May when the water temperatures are warmer, making the use of stinger suits highly advisable.
This month, global travel site Big 7 Travel revealed Whitehaven had topped its annual list of the 50 best beaches in the world, beating Anse Source d’Argent in Seychelles and Ksamil Beach in Albania to first place.
Now in its seventh year, the list is based on “past media results”, “social media buzz”, and insights from the editorial team.
The Queensland 7km stretch of beach, which is renowned for its pure-white silica sands and turquoise waters, is described by the Queensland government as “one of the world’s greatest natural treasures”.
“With its unique white-silica sands, brilliant aquamarine waters, secluded beach camp sites and incredible walking tracks, this world-famous beach will steal your heart,” the state government boasts.
According to a Whitsundays tourism marketer, Nathan Johnston, box jellyfish and Irukandji are the harmful stingers in the Whitsundays. But the chances of being stung are low, espeically, if you are wearing a stinger suit and carrying vinegar with you to treat stings.
“As an old skipper once told me … ‘Stinger suits are like wearing a seatbelt in a car: the chance is low you will need it, but if needed, it will save your life’,” Johnston says.
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Your say
But can a beach where you need to don a suit before swimming really be the best in the world?
Guardian Australia wants to hear from our readers. What is your favourite beach in the world, and why?
To kick us off, I will share my own: Bull Pup Beach on the south coast of New South Wales. It’s only accessible via a walking track, which means you can often have the tiny sparkling clean beach all to yourself.
