Who among us, daydreaming of an idyllic day on the strand, hasn't thought of their favorite sandy spot by the shore in … England?
Is it possible the folks at Tripadvisor spent too much time quarantining this year? Or maybe they've been out in the sun too long? Somehow, the Massachusetts-based travel website/company decided Bournemouth Beach -- in Dorset, England! -- deserves a spot on the 2121 list of Top Beaches in the world.
Meanwhile, San Diego got shut out from the global competition, which is stocked with stunning beaches from around the world, to be fair.
For God's sake, there's even one from Florida -- Saint Pete Beach -- in the World Top 25! Ka'anapali Beach slid into the No. 9 spot on the world list -- we'll give them that one.
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This, of course, got us wondering: Did they check out Bournemouth last June when, according to the BBC, a "major incident was declared" and "sun-seekers" were urged to stay away and "Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council said Bournemouth Beach was 'stretched to the absolute hilt' " and "Dorset Police said there were reports of gridlocked roads, fights and overnight camping"? Sounds like a great beach day to us. See the photo above for more details.
Or maybe they were there on Tuesday, when "winter weather" had most people spotted by Getty Images photographers walking the boardwalk in nearby Boscombe Beach (next to Bournemouth) bundled up and wearing GLOVES? How many San Diegans even OWN gloves?
Hey, fun fact: Did you know that when you Google "Bournemouth Beach," the top People Also Ask … result is, "Is Bournemouth Beach a sandy beach?" That just doesn't happen when you search for "San Diego Beach."
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San Diego did get two nods -- for La Jolla Cove and Coronado -- on the Top in the U.S. list, sort of a JV squad for beaches. That list, which boasts a total of four California sites in the Top 25, is eclipsed by SEVEN in Hawaii and a just ridiculous assemblage of EIGHT from Florida.
The lists are "based on the quality and quantity of reviews and ratings from Tripadvisor travelers, as well as the volume of 'saves' gathered over a 12-month period (Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2020), according to Tripadvisor. A spokeswoman for the site said the rankings used for the beach lists were based on input from travelers posted during those12 months, as well as the quality and quantity of those reviews.
Now, if you look at the rankings each beach received averaged over the entire time the locations were listed on Tripadvisor, though, you'll see that Bournemouth got at 4.5, with La Jolla Cove dragging in at a lowly … 4.5! Oh, and Bournemouth boasts a robust 8,690 reviews and La Jolla Cove has only … 13,446! A surf of the site does not yield how many saves each beach received.
Still ... c'mon, Tripsadvisor: the BEACH Boys are from California; the BEATLES are from England.
For more San Diego snubbing, see below:
