10 of the world's worst beaches

Fujiazhuang Beach - Dalian, China Holding the title of China’s most crowded beach, Fujiazhuang is standing room only for the first 10 metres or so from the waters edge. Though incredibly beautiful, you may have a hard time actually seeing the beach with the number of people who frequent it. Oh, and we should probably mention that there is only one toilet block serving 10,000 people, so you can guess what you’re swimming in…

Chow Patty Beach - Mumbai, India If your idea of a relaxing day at the beach involves swimming alongside little rafts of cow manure, then Chow Patty Beach in India should be right up your alley. Cows are considered sacred in these parts, so don’t be surprised if you spot them travelling around in large numbers. When they’re not trying to steal the shade of your umbrella, you can find them roaming happily along the seaside.

Blackpool Beach - United Kingdom One of the most frequented beaches in the UK, attracting more than six million visitors annually; you’d think Blackpool Beach would be something pretty amazing. Not necessary. By many accounts, it’s just one big, trashy amusement park crowded with stag parties and drunken teenagers. Pleasure Beach is more often than not laden with litter, broken glass and drug paraphernalia.

Marunda Beach - Jakarta, Indonesia If the pungent aroma that fills your nostrils isn’t enough to deter you, the sight of the murky water will. Cooking oil dumped into the water by a nearby factory, together with rubbish dumped onto the beachfront by wind and ocean currents have created a perfect storm of contamination. Despite this, the beach is actually quite highly visited by locals. We still don’t recommend it though.

Repulse Bay - Hong Kong It may be located in one of the most expensive housing areas of Hong Kong, yet Repulse Bay is anything but the idyllic beach you’ve been seeking. The name is actually quite apt. The once white sand is now a sad, grey colour - stained by street run off and (bizarrely) liposuction fat pumped out into the ocean. Regardless of what people may tell you, it’s never safe to go back into this water…

Haina Beach - Dominican Republic With a nickname like the “Dominican Chernobyl”, its pretty safe to assume Haina Beach isn't a nice place. In fact, it’s rated as one of the 10 most polluted beaches on earth thanks to the huge amount of lead and battery acid that have been disposed here. Local children have been reported to be suffering eye problems, seizures and severe learning deficiencies as a result of the toxic waste.

Maho Beach - Saint Martin, Caribbean Welcome to plane-spotting paradise. The Princess Juliana International Airport Is located directly adjacent to Maho Beach, meaning low-flying aircraft regularly disturbing sunbathers. Due to the short runway length of just 2,180 meters incoming aircraft are basically skimming as close as possible to the beginning of the runway. If you’re present at the time of take-off it may be a good idea to move to the side of the runway, as the jet blast has been known to knock people over. Signs are posted all the around the area warning of the risk of injury and death from the strong winds.

Port Phillip Bay – Melbourne, Australia Though this isn’t one beach, we can’t help but include Port Phillip Bay in the list. As there are more than 300 stormwater drains emptying into the bay, it’s become smelly and discoloured with elevated bacterial counts and extremely unhygienic items regularly washing up along the shore. Lifeguards here tend to spend their days picking up needles, broken glass and worse. Council have installed litter traps with the hope of preventing anything larger than a cigarette butt escaping into the bay.

Gansbaai - South Africa Have you ticked everything off your bucket list? It might be a good idea to also say your goodbyes if you’re planning to visit Gansbaai in South Africa. This beach is renowned for its huge population of Great Whites. The only way to safely enter the water is within a cage, as there’s a pretty high likelihood you’ll come face to face with a shark from April through to September.

Kuta Beach - Bali It may be a surf mecca, but Kuta Beach isn't the picture perfect location you imagine. Increased coastal development in the area, combined with a waste management system that can't keep up, has resulted in huge amounts of litter being washed up on the beaches each day. Photography of the area can be quite deceptive, so it’s important to do a bit of digging to see what the reality is.