10 Secret Beaches in Europe to Add to Your Bucket List

From Italy to Greece, France to Croatia, these secluded beaches in Europe offer all of the beautiful views and none of the crowds.

Editor's Note: Travel might be complicated right now, but use our inspirational trip Inspiration to plan ahead for your next bucket-list adventure. Sure, Europe has history, art, and a myriad of cultures packed into one easy-to-navigate continent, but if you're going during summer, you also need to know about its beaches. Fringing the top half of the Mediterranean Sea, there's everything on offer here, from thick, diggable sand to dramatic cliffs, teeny coves to deserted island coastlines. They're not all busy, either. Here are 10 of Europe's loveliest beaches that you can make your own.

San Giovanni di Sinis, Sardinia, Italy

The north coast of Sardinia is famous for its sugar-sanded, Maldives-style beaches, which is why everyone flocks there. But all of Sardinia's coastline is spectacular — you just have to work a little harder to reach the less obvious beaches. The east coast offers one spectacular cove after the next, but they can be steep and inaccessible, and you don't want to go rock climbing on vacation. So, my vote goes to the west coast, where the long, dune-humped Sinis peninsula dangles into the Mediterranean, about half an hour from Oristano. Ending in a natural reserve, one beach melts into the next — my favorite, just after the village of San Giovanni di Sinis, is a quick stumble across the dunes from some bar shacks, and it sits dramatically in the shadow of the ruined Roman citadel of Tharros.

Praia da Ilha de Tavira, Algarve, Portugal

The north coast of Sardinia is famous for its sugar-sanded, Maldives-style beaches, which is why everyone flocks there. But all of Sardinia's coastline is spectacular — you just have to work a little harder to reach the less obvious beaches. The east coast offers one spectacular cove after the next, but they can be steep and inaccessible, and you don't want to go rock climbing on vacation. So, my vote goes to the west coast, where the long, dune-humped Sinis peninsula dangles into the Mediterranean, about half an hour from Oristano. Ending in a natural reserve, one beach melts into the next — my favorite, just after the village of San Giovanni di Sinis, is a quick stumble across the dunes from some bar shacks, and it sits dramatically in the shadow of the ruined Roman citadel of Tharros.

Sa Riera, Costa Brava, Spain

The north coast of Sardinia is famous for its sugar-sanded, Maldives-style beaches, which is why everyone flocks there. But all of Sardinia's coastline is spectacular — you just have to work a little harder to reach the less obvious beaches. The east coast offers one spectacular cove after the next, but they can be steep and inaccessible, and you don't want to go rock climbing on vacation. So, my vote goes to the west coast, where the long, dune-humped Sinis peninsula dangles into the Mediterranean, about half an hour from Oristano. Ending in a natural reserve, one beach melts into the next — my favorite, just after the village of San Giovanni di Sinis, is a quick stumble across the dunes from some bar shacks, and it sits dramatically in the shadow of the ruined Roman citadel of Tharros.

Psili Ammos, Patmos, Greece

The north coast of Sardinia is famous for its sugar-sanded, Maldives-style beaches, which is why everyone flocks there. But all of Sardinia's coastline is spectacular — you just have to work a little harder to reach the less obvious beaches. The east coast offers one spectacular cove after the next, but they can be steep and inaccessible, and you don't want to go rock climbing on vacation. So, my vote goes to the west coast, where the long, dune-humped Sinis peninsula dangles into the Mediterranean, about half an hour from Oristano. Ending in a natural reserve, one beach melts into the next — my favorite, just after the village of San Giovanni di Sinis, is a quick stumble across the dunes from some bar shacks, and it sits dramatically in the shadow of the ruined Roman citadel of Tharros.