We have frequent flyer miles to use and would like to travel and stay somehwere this time with a beautiful and quiet beach experience...at the end of September of next year. We have traveled in Europe and have done the tourist thing, but just want to relax this time. My main question is - where are there beaches as beautiful and calm and turquoise as in the CARIBBEAN??? We are spoiled, I guess, with that. We were on the Italian Riviera recently and were a little disappointed with the rocky beach and the temperature of the water...though it was still quite lovely. Any suggestions would be great - even somewhere other than Europe! THANKS to all.

The most beautiful beaches I have ever seen are in southern Thailand on the Gulf of Siam. In Europe, those in the Pays Basque and also in San Sebastian, are pretty spectacular. Lots of people were swimming in Sanse in mid-October this year; the water is clear and turquise colored and the beaches are wide swathes of white sand.

Well, the most beautiful beaches I've seen in Europe are in Cornwall -- but that probably wouldn't pass your temperature requirement.

Cote D'Azur is an abvious answer, but you have to know where to go for the sandy beach layout you prefer (Antibes as an example).

That said, if all you want is to relax, go back to the Caribbean and save your FF miles for when you want to explore.

Does it HAVE to be "calm" all the time...could you settle for a little periodic hot dog surf?

I suggest visiting the Dominican Republic or the Dalmatian coast. I've never visited either place but they both seem good to me. Not sure about the water temperature situation on the Dalmatian coast though.

Beautiful sandy beaches can be found on the shores of the Baltic Sea and on the North and East Frisian Islands in the North Sea. These won't met your temperature requirement either.

Go to the Caribbean.

The most beautiful beaches I have seen in Europe are on the island of Formentera in the Spanish Balerics.

The most beautiful beach I have seen anywhere is Whitehaven Beach, http://tinyurl.com/y48r9n, Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia.

True. I really think that since you require a beach like the ones there are in the Caribbean then you should go to the Caribbean not Europe. But I don't suggest going to Curacao if you want smooth, sandy beaches as they've got coral and rocks (not as rocky as the So. of France beaches though).

You're posting in the Europe forum, so I'll provide a European suggestion. While parts of the Turquoise Coast are probably too built up for your taste, I expect you can find a beautiful beach in September in Turkey. This webpage seems to provide some candid advice on beaches in Turkey: http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/s...ach/index.html

While visiting relatives, I went to two beach towns that had gorgeous sandy beaches and crystal clear water. They were Formia, Italy and Vasto, Italy. These two places are definitely off the American beaten path, but many Dutch and German tourists regularly vacation there.

Formia had a nice combination of mountains overlooking the water. Vasto had some medieval buildings and a fishing village. There is a good market selling freshly caught seafood, and you can take a boat to visit the Tremiti Islands.

Ostia, Italy is supposed to have very good sandy beaches with great Roman ruins.