What TripAdvisor’s beach ranking says about Brits and Spain

From the Med to the Atlantic coastline, Spain is lined by beautiful beaches that suit a wide array of tastes

In a ritual reminiscent of the annual ‘World’s Top University Lists’, TripAdvisor’s 2015 Traveller’s Choice awards have once again thrown up a rather Anglo-centric view of the world… but this time the results are rather well founded.

While the notion that Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge really are the best universities in the world (and not just the best that English-speaking people have studied at) is debatable, TripAdvisor’s revelation that Spain has five of Europe’s top 25 beaches is less controversial…

That is, until you see that the latest ranking from the peer-reviewed travel website also puts five of Britain’s best beaches in the top 25, too.

Now, the UK does indeed have some lovely beaches – Bournemouth on a hot Saturday afternoon, southwest Wales during a crisp autumnal day, Scotland’s West Coast any time of the year – but to beat out the white sandy stretches of paradise that Greece can boast, or the cute, glistening bays of Italy, or even the barnstorming beauty of Portugal’s Algarve coast? That takes some doing.

Or, rather, it takes a committed bunch of holidaymakers keen to give their feedback on places they have enjoyed. Enter the Brits. As we know, Brits love to travel, so much so that if it’s in Europe and has a beach, you can be sure that a sunburnt, windswept or knotted hankie-wearing Brit will not be too far away.

Not only do Brits love to travel, but they also love to recommend, praise, give feedback and – where necessary – criticise, which is partly why TripAdvisor has been such a success in the UK. The prevalence of the English language also means that voices from the UK are likely to get heard more loudly, and across a wider spectrum.

Hence, any support for the beauty of Britain’s beaches is not only going to find a willing audience at home, but will also cascade to other nationalities too, perhaps eager to see another side to the UK that doesn’t involve Stonehenge, Big Ben and red buses.

Which probably goes some way towards explaining the (over?) representation of British beaches in TripAdvisor’s top 25 beaches in Europe category. There, done.

The beaches of Tarifa are famed the world over for their untamed beauty

But wait. Spain performed equally as well, if not better – easily outstripping its Iberian neighbour Portugal and its touristic rivals France, Greece and Italy. And the reason? Well, aside from the obvious fact that Spain really does have an amazing array of stunning beaches, the country is also extremely popular with holidaymakers the world over – from Brits to Brazilians.

So whether it is the Balearics (Formentera’s Plays de Ses Illetes actually topped the charts as the best beach in Spain this year), The Canaries, the southern tip of Andalucía (Tarifa’s Playa de Bolonia came in second place) or the good old Costa del Sol, Spain is shore-ly the place for beautiful beachside relaxation.

And if you were wondering, Woolacombe beach was the top-ranked British beach in the European top 25, coming in at a respectable fourth place.