Travel pros say 6 of the world’s best beaches are in the US

A list of “The World’s 50 Best Beaches” from FlightNetwork, the largest Canada-based online travel agency, was compiled from its survey last fall of more than 600 travel journalists, editors, bloggers and agencies.

I was one of them.

One of my favorites was the top-rated on U.S. soil, No. 10: Trunk Bay in Virgin Islands National Park on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

St. John was pummeled by a pair of hurricanes in September. All of the beaches in its national park, which covers most of the Caribbean island, were back in business as of late December.

Not only does Trunk Bay have a lovely curve of sand, but it also boasts a 225-yard-long underwater trail for snorkeling, one of my favorite pastimes.

A ferry ride from St. Thomas, it scored 7 out of 10 for remoteness. It also received 10 of 10 for untouched beauty, and for sand and water quality. That’s three of the five criteria used in the FlightNetwork rankings. Those plus the other two — annual days of sunshine and average annual temperature (140 days and 80.6 degrees at Trunk Bay) — resulted in a list of beaches on six continents. Sorry, Antarctica.

The top vote getters in U.S. states and territories:

♦Trunk Bay, U.S.V.I., No. 10

♦Flamenco Beach, Puerto Rico, No. 19

♦Honokalani Beach, Hawaii, No. 28

♦Tunnels Beach, Hawaii, No. 32

♦Lanikai Beach, Hawaii, No. 41

♦Cannon Beach, Oregon, No. 50

For the full list of beaches, visit flightnetwork.com/blog/worlds-50-best-beaches/.

Katherine Rodeghier is a freelance writer.

Related: Dr. Beach unveils best U.S. beaches of 2017 »

Pictures: 12 best beaches in Florida »

Escaping the Hawaiian tourist track on the quieter side of Oahu »

Movie fans can visit many of the real-world destinations depicted in this year’s Oscar-nominated films, from the beaches of France where “Dunkirk” took place to a historic Toronto theater where “Shape of Water” was shot.

(Beth J. Harpaz, Associated Press )