Walk On The Rainbow At These 9 Colorful Beaches

Santorini is part of a chain of Greek islands that were conjoined until a large volcanic eruption in 1600 BC, dubbed the Minoan eruption. The eruption left behind a string of islands, as well as plenty of black and red pulverized volcanic rock. The largest collection of red rocks mixes in with the sand on Red Beach, creating a stunning contrast against its aqua blue water.

Although it may look like a perfectly Photoshopped beach photo for your desktop computer screen, the orange color of Porto Ferro Beach is just as vibrant in real life. It gets its unique coloring from a mix of orange limestone, volcanic rock, and copious amounts of shells, offset by the clear turquoise ocean water.

The Hawaiian Island of Maui is home to many beautiful golden beaches, but the most popular is southern Makena Beach. Although this yellow-tinted sand is the most similar to "normal" beach coloring, the hue comes from calcium carbonate, broken down from seashells and marine skeletons.

This jarring green sand beach is one of only four known in the world! The area, now known as Papakōlea Green Sand Beach, on Hawaii's Big Island, was once a cinder cone volcano. When it erupted, the lava contained a high concentration of olivine, and the mineral's coloring has since stood the test of time and erosion creating this marvel.

Okay, so the sand on Vaadhoo Island isn't part of the rainbow, but we couldn't pass up the magnificent neon blue glow created when the water hits the sand. This phenomenon comes to life annually during the late summer thanks to bioluminescence plankton. The movement of waves against the Lingulodinium polyedrum plankton causes it to glow, truly creating a Sea of Stars.

Pfeiffer Beach is one of Big Sur's best-kept secrets, as it's a bit off the beaten path of Highway 1. The purple hue of the sand comes from a high concentration of manganese garnet deposits. These deposits wash down from the surrounding hills and locals say the color is most luminous after rainfall.

Pantai Merah is a beach on the infamous Komodo Island in Indonesia. Although the island is named for the Komodo dragons that roam the land, this pink beach is a big secondary draw for tourists. The sand gets its coloring from microscopic organisms called Foraminifera that leave a red pigment on the reefs. This pigment bleeds into the white sand, creating this extraordinary pink tint along the water. 

Ussuri Bay is home to this extremely unique glass beach, made of thousands of actual glass bottles that have washed up onto the beaches. The waves have eroded the pieces into smooth sand pebbles creating this beautiful rainbow coastline.

We mentioned above that many of Maui's beaches are golden, but the truth is that the volcanic activity on the island has produced some incongruous coloring. The black sand beach in Waiʻanapanapa State Park is perhaps one of the most unique. The black sand is actually millions of finely ground lava rock pebbles, created when hot volcanic lava hits the cool ocean water.