Unless you're lucky enough to have visited some of the unique shorelines below you'll probably be used to seeing - at best - golden beaches on your travels. In fact a lot of people believe golden sands to be the only option when it comes to beaches. To prove otherwise, and to show off a few of the world's most uniquely coloured stretches of sand, we present the following selection....
Punalu'u Beach

One of only 2 green sand beaches in the world, the truly magnificent sight of Papakolea Beach can be experienced by travelling to Hawaii's Ka'u district. Again, the unique colour of its sand can be attributed to volcanic activity - specifically, the green hue belongs to the abundance of olivine crystals which have been produced as a result of a nearby cinder cone erupting and eroding.
Hyams Beach

The hills surrounding Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, California, are rich in Manganese Garnet. A result of this being washed down onto the beach is the colour scheme you can see above - the entire stretch of sand has become a shifting, pink and purple canvas. Although it's probably inedible, I can't help picturing a bowl of Raspberry Ripple ice-cream every time I see it.
Kaihalulu



You won't find many beaches elsewhere in the world with sand as red as this one. Kaihalulu, or Red Sand Beach, is situated on the island of Maui and can thank the neighbouring cindercone hill for its intensely deep red appearance.