Hollywood beach now has bragging rights as one of the best in the nation, based on the latest ranking by Tripadvisor.
The laid-back beach, known for its bustling Broadwalk and bright blue-and-yellow lifeguard towers, came in at No. 4 in the top 10 ranking.
“We who live here already knew this,” Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy said in a Facebook post Thursday. “But it’s cool to see Hollywood Beach ranked as a best beach in the USA by TripAdvisor. No. 4 beach in the USA. Though No. 1 if you ask me.”
Fort Lauderdale snagged the No. 15 spot in Tripadvisor’s annual Travelers Choice Awards.
Miami Beach, that high-profile locale to the south, didn’t make the list.
Six other beaches in Florida also made the top 25 list for 2024: Siesta Beach on Siesta Key near Sarasota (2); Clearwater Beach (12); Panama City Beach (13); St. Augustine Beach (17); and Henderson Beach State Park in Destin (18); and Bahia Honda State Park in Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys (22).
Snaring the honor for best beach in the country was Ka’anapali Beach in Lahaina Hawaii, on the island of Maui.
Other beaches ranked in the top 10 were Poipu Beach Park on Oahu in Hawaii (3); La Jolla Cove in San Diego, Calif. (5); Cannon Beach in Oregon (6); Santa Monica State Beach in Calif. (7); Driftwood Beach in Jekyll Island, Ga. (8); Coligny Beach in Hilton Head, S.C. (9); and Ocean City Beach in Maryland (10).
At the top of the best beaches in the world list was Praia da Falésia in Olhos de Agua, Portugal.
Set in the heart of the Algarve, the tiny fishing town surrounds a sandy cove and colored cliffs lapped by the Atlantic Ocean, Tripadvisor says. The gorgeous stretch of white sand is up from No. 6 in 2023.
The ratings were based on the quality and quantity of global reviews and ratings on Tripadvisor gathered over a 12-month period from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023.
Tripadvisor then overlaid its data by analyzing beaches for English-language traveler reviews referencing sustainability, such as environmentally friendly, eco-tourism and clean water in addition to requiring a four-bubble rating or higher and a minimum number of reviews over a 12-month period.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan