World's Top 10 Beach-Transit Connections: The Best Cities Where You Can Take Rail To the Beach!

Driving to and parking at the beach on a beautiful day can be a soul-crushing experience. So when a city has great transit connections to the beach, it can be a massive improvement in your quality of life.
This week we look at the top ten world cities that have the best transit connections to nearby beaches. Considerations include:
- Type of transit service: for this list, we are only including fully grade-separated systems. This means heavy rail: metros, subways, elevated lines, possibly monorails -- whatever you want to call them, they don't operate in a mixed traffic environment!
- Walk time to transit stop: critical, since on a trip to the beach you may be hauling some gear with you.
- Number of transit stops: the more metro stations a city has at more beaches, the better.
- Quality of transit service: How many lines stop at the beach? How frequent is the service? How long is the trip to a major transfer point on the network? How many places can the metro system get you to (i.e., how many stations on the network)?
- Quality of the beaches: A bit subjective, but how nice are the beaches? Do they have a lot of nearby amenities? How many months of "beach weather" does the city get all year?
We also touch on considerations for station siting at a beach, we look at cities where commuter or regional rail is a great option for beach trips, and we enjoy some bossa nova tunes.
We hit five continents in our travels, with stops in the US, Brazil, a variety of regions in Spain, Denmark, France, Qatar, Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Australia. Hope you enjoy the ride!
Others in the "Transit Connections" series:
To Airports in North America: • North America's Best A...
To NFL Stadiums in the US: • Top Ten Transit to NFL...
Credits:
Metro systems considered: en.wikipedia.o...
Images:
Pintxos: Image by takedahrs from Pixabay
Jeju Beach: Image by minyoung kim from Pixabay
Doha: Image by walsarabi from Pixabay
Central Park: Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
Thumbnail:
Barceloneta: Image by gorpol from Pixabay
Coney Island Subway: Image by Sue Park from Pixabay
Sentosa Express: Image by Alexander-design from Pixabay
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (KZbin music library)
End section: Ipanema Daydream by Bird Creek (KZbin music library)
Video topic based on a suggestion from viewer Greg Vassilakos. Thank you!
Contact: [e-mail]

[@adityac3239]

S. Korea is technically still at war with the north therefore satellite imagery laws are restrictive and only Korean companies have more access. In Korea, for a lot of transit direction google map isn't so useful in giving point to point direction (it can only give simple ones like metro station to other metro), so its much better to use Naver or Kakao maps

[@CityNerd]

Super interesting.

[@miles_thomas]

There are other videos here on KZbin which also explain why google maps doesn't work well generally in South Korea (local competitors to Google get better maps). And of course China mapping data is deliberately inaccurate, does not align properly to GPS.

[@collinpearsall9084]

I came here to make sure someone said it. And I look forward to the eventual end of the Korean war for many reasons, but selfishly, the maps. Also isn't China on lunar coordinates or something?

[@me-nah3343]

It was fun to live there when Pokémon Go launched and their was a hole in the blackout near the sleepy coastal town of Sokcho. Suddenly thousands of people descend on the town to play the game. I guess it uses Google maps. I never played. But it was in the news.

[@295g295]

> 7:17 < South Korea

[@johndevine2868]

I was impressed that you noticed how close Carson Beach was from Boston’s Red Line, but compared to the sky bridge from Wonderland to Revere Beach, it’s distant. Great video.

[@grzegorzkusa7541]

I said it once, I will say it again and again: I love this guy. I love his sense of humor and his laid back style. So glad YT recommended this channel to me. Cities, transit, great topics and jokes.

[@noahrowan5161]

Glad to see Boston on here- rail connections to beaches here are good enough here that my friends and I wouldn’t dare taking a car to Revere or Carson Beach. To me, normal people (like my car-loving deeply American friends) choosing to opt for transit at any point means that the service is intuitive and reasonable even to folks outside our collective transportation nerd bubble! I see the weather concerns that people have but Bostonians use the beaches on days that Californians would be shivering! It’s all relative

[@CityNerd]

All of the above. Those beaches are just so incredibly convenient by T.

[@counterfit5]

We were meeting my brother + his wife and kids in Salem to have dinner on our father's birthday. Waze thought going up Rt 1 and by Revere Beach (in August) was faster than 95/128. While that may have been true, it still took over 2 hours from RI

[@viniciusramos1288]

Having grown up in Rio, I remember when the subway line was extended to Copacabana in 1998. It was a huge deal. And then to Ipanema and Barra da Tijuca. As you said, these neighborhoods are a big part of the city with many residents, shoppers and workers. All of these stops are probably busier during the week than during the weekend. On Saturdays and especially Sundays, the trains are packed full with beach goers.

[@gregvassilakos]

Thanks for the call out! You did a commendable job of pronouncing my name. You need to do a United States list that includes light rail. Your no-light-rail criteria excludes San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. San Diego should get extra points because the light rail extension that will open in November is near a nude beach.

[@CityNerd]

Yeah, I could do that for the US. Including LRT/trams was too unwieldy for an international version, which is what I was really psyched to do. I'll keep the more inclusive US version on my list for future possibilities.

[@Accountdeactivated_1986]

San Francisco’s beach is actually accessible via an actual SUBWAY! The N Judah is a subway line that goes from downtown to RIGHT TO OCEAN BEACH! I’m actually shocked that it didn’t make the list. It’s not a light rail at all, it’s an actual subway line. And Ocean Beach is an awesome beach that’s got mild beach weather all year long. Sure, it’s not Honolulu or Rio, but it’s an actual city with an actual subway that goes to the actual beach. And nobody ever acknowledges it. Kinda sad that it got totally ignored again. Thanks for saying this

[@nicholaslipanovich827]

@@Accountdeactivated_1986 The N Judah is actually a hybrid streetcar/subway. Closer to downtown it runs underground but as you head west towards the beach and hit Cole Valley it goes above ground is not grade separated so cars actually share the lane with the N for much of the line. Still a great option to get to the beach though and a great transit line in general.

[@nicholaslipanovich827]

All of San Francisco's MUNI Metro lines are some mix of subway and above ground streetcar. The true subway system in SF is BART, which sadly doesn't get close to any beach.

[@Accountdeactivated_1986]

@@nicholaslipanovich827 sure, the N Judah is a subway/streetcar system, but it’s definitely not a “lightrail.” I’ve been to cities that have a light rail (Sacramento) and the Muni underground, as it’s called by locals, is also referred to as the subway, when downtown. Never even close to a lightrail. BART isn’t really a subway either though, it’s got a tunnel it goes through under the Bay, but if you’re going strictly by being mostly underground, it’s not. It’s mostly along tracks above the ground. I consider Muni much closer to a real subway than BART.

[@Brettski_1234]

I know buses don't count but the 333 is a good option to get to Bondi as an honourable mention. Same with the Glenelg tram in Adelaide and 96 tram in Melbourne to St Kilda

[@richardboult2187]

The bus service from Bondi juntion rail to Bondi beach runs like every 3 or 4 minutes, and then stops at numerous places along the beach. As parking gets more restricted, this is how most people get to Sydney's most famous, probably most popula Rd beach

[@dead1zed886]

Having Sydney ahead of Melbourne for beach access by rail is a crime. Melbourne has 12 stations within 400m of a sandy beach all with 10-20min headways on weekends and 5-20min headways on weekdays (compared to the 30min headway on Sydney's T4). Sydney's beach access is very lacklustre, overall though a pretty good list.

[@CityNerd]

I'll take a closer look at Melbourne. I was just looking at "heavy rail" metro systems for this list, which is maybe a bit arbitrary, but is why Melbourne doesn't show up...even though it has an absolutely massive tram network!

[@dead1zed886]

@@CityNerd Oh I was just talking about heavy rail not trams. Technically Melbourne's network isn't a metro per se, but Sydney also only has one metro line (hence the 30minutes weekend frequency to Cronulla). Most cities have heavy rail akin to the London Overground rather than actual metro systems.

[@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042]

Dead1zed I am pretty sure it was a track work timetable he was looking at, the Cronulla trains actually run every 15 minutes around 12 on a Saturday/sunday and public holiday.

[@kierannelson2581]

Agree. Many stations. Williamstown Beach, Brighton Beach, Sandringham, Hampton, Mentone, Parkdale, Mordialloc, Aspendale, Edithvale, Chelsea, Bonbeach, Carrum, Seaford, Frankston, Seaholme and Altona, all closer than many of the stations mentioned in the video.

[@kierannelson2581]

I'll also add, Perth has some stations on the Fremantle line very close to beaches. Adelaide likewise.

[@ThepoLarbear-le1yz]

Sydney is fair enough based on your methodology. But I'd argue that it would be higher on a different list. The buses to Bondi are frequent and the ferries can take you to Manly and many of the harbour facing beaches (e.g. Watsons Bay). Its probably not super unique but getting the ferry to the beach is probably the most pleasant way to spend your weekend.

[@debuthunter5389]

Yeah would require different parameters for that for sure. Heading to Manly is such a great day out!

[@RosieJ7223]

This was fascinating and fun, thanks for the info!

[@definitelynotacrab7651]

Public transportation to parks/beaches/ski resorts etc is the key hallmark of a livable city

[@warmth123]

I think you missed a dishonorable mention to Tel Aviv. It’s got great beaches, great weather and beloved by locals and tourists alike but yet the city and its metro area only have heavy rail which gets you 3 km from the beach at best.

[@CityNerd]

But there's an aqueduct on the beach!! (Just not in Tel Aviv I guess.)

[@yonirapaport330]

Light rail coming soon but I guess it's not grade separated

[@ecamarola]

I knew Rio would win this one! Chers! Great video.

[@R2_the_lime]

Was thinking about Rio the whole video, sure was a relief seeing in the top spot! I would like to make a mention to Salvador in Brazil also, the current transit isn’t very good for beaches, but they are building an extensive monorail line in the bay/west coast of the city. BYD is building it, which is the same company responsible for lines 2 and 3 of Chongqin. Anyway, thanks for the content!

[@CityNerd]

Yeah, I looked at Salvador and Porto Alegre too for this video. Good to know about Salvador...I'll keep an eye on it!

[@joaopcoutinho]

The photo you showed in the beginning for Rio is actually in the São Paulo subway. Great video though! One important point of Rio is that the beach neighborhoods you showed are also ones of the most densely populated areas, which makes the subway stops perfectly sensible! And also, if you consider the brt system it also reaches the Barra da Tijuca beach at alvorada, which is incredibly beautiful. Alvorada is probably the busiest bus station in the city! Going to beach in Rio is incredibly convenient if you’re near a subway or brt station.

[@CityNerd]

I tried to get a good photo that clearly showed Line 1 in Rio, but couldn't come up with one -- so I grabbed one from São Paulo instead! Not ideal, I know -- I just needed something that went nicely with the Bossa Nova music.

[@joc6516]

Nice video and thanks for making it. I will take you take you up on two things though. 1) Sydney. Ignoring Bondi (and it's pronounced Bond-eye), the big big big big big big beach in the city - the one that is most travelled to by public transit... is Manly. Now... you get a ferry there instead of a train, but that's ok as it fits your definition. It's fully grade separated (no traffic hinders flow - the Manly ferry has complete right of way and all shipping has to give way - and it is direct, non stop. It is considerably faster than driving (especially during heavy traffic) and is possibly the most beautiful way to use public transit to any beach in the world. I know - I used this to commute to work every day for a couple of years. I will never have such a beautiful commute again in my life. It deserves to be in there since this is THE way people get to a beach in Sydney. The ticketing system is even integrated, so your monthly train and bus ticket includes the ferry. The title of your video is 'best transit connections' not best train connections. I can understand a bus doesn't fit into 'best', but a direct, fast, non-stop ferry that has incredibly beautiful scenery does 2) Boston. Sorry... but you made a bit huge deal how weather is such an important thing and then throw Boston into the mix. If Boston gets to go in there, so many other places do as well. I would argue many more places in Europe should be included (hell, the whole of the Belgium coast has the world's longest light rail link, which covers the entire coastline). I've been to the beach in Copenhagen... and it's lovely. I've also been to the beach in Boston. It's lovely too... but no better (and no, beaches in Boston are on no international traveller's radar as well). I've also stayed in Cascais and used the commuter train to Lisbon each day... it was just as good as a metro and an incredible journey as well, following the coastline the entire way. Definitely should be above Boston for scenery, weather and quality of beach It's a good video.... just these points above.

[@CityNerd]

FERRIES you say?!?!?! I sense a new video idea coming on! I appreciate the well though-out response, so I'll try to respond in kind...a little. Due to time constraints, I had to find a way to limit the scope of the video, so just stuck to metro/heavy rail systems. Now I've heard about the 333 bus and the Manly ferry -- what's next, a magical Australian-only teleportation device that assembles you cell by cell directly on Bondi with a Fosters in hand? I mean, count me in, but it's still not a metro! I mean I guess I could've titled the video, "International Top Ten Connections to Beaches by Grade-Separated Heavy Rail Systems, and by the way, beaches that don't appear regularly on the Travel Channel count, too" -- but I have enough of a problem cramming stuff into my thumbnails. Boston makes the list mostly based on crazy proximity of the T line at Revere. Copenhagen was just outside the top ten, so I wasn't really discounting its "beach quality" that much...it just didn't have the same kind of phenomenally low platform distance from Amager Strand. As far as commuter rail -- that's the thing that gave me the most heartburn with this video. In a lot of places, the "commuter rail," or regional rail, or whatever you want to call it, is nearly indistinguishable from the metro. Definitely Spain, France and Germany fall in this category. But...I didn't want to try to split hairs between that kind of service and, like, New Jersey Transit or, I don't know, the Metrolink in SoCal, so I just left it out of the scoring entirely. I'm shocked no one has mentioned Rome-Ostia yet. And I've been pronouncing Bondi wrong my whole life? I imagine I pronounced at least fifteen things wrong in this video, but that one is mortifying. Thanks for the tip, and thanks for the great comment.

[@joc6516]

@@CityNerd So this is one of those difficult things to understand and get right when one does a top 10 from around the world. Anyone from Sydney would find this video wrong - because the ferry is such an important part of the city's culture and infrastructure. It's not just a boat to Manly, it's THE way to get to Manly. If the government would say it would replace the ferry with a lovely nice Metro - one that would have made your list, the city would reject it outright and demand the ferry remains. You made a huge point on several occasions as to why Sydney didn't do it better and was so far down the list - yet from a Sydney perspective, they have done it better. It's the Manly Ferry. You can laugh it off as magical Australian teleportation device, but the fact remains, from a Sydney-Sider's perspective, the ferry to Manly is the best way to get to that beach and a huge asset the city is fiercely proud of. Manly Beach by the way is stunning. It beats pretty much every other beach on that list (well Rio is pretty good if you don't mind getting mugged) and it has the world's best public transport getting there. I like your videos, so I'm not being critical of the wonderful work you are doing here. But seriously... I don't live in Sydney any more and I'd kill for a commute like I had when I lived in Manly. It was, without any doubt, the absolute, 100% best transit route to any suburb, let alone a beach, anywhere in the world. None of the other transit routes on this list come close (I have tried a few, granted, not all). Just saying it should have been mentioned.

[@bubandbob]

@@joc6516 Hahaha. I would love if the state government ever built a rail line out to Manly and up the northern beaches. It's probably never going to happen even though some transport planners have been advocating it. Manly and the whole northern beaches has always felt like a whole other city to me because the connections out there are so poor, which is probably why people who live in that area want to keep it that way.

[@joc6516]

@@bubandbob When I was living in Manly, Brookvale and Dee Why, I remember the talk about a new train line and various proposals. But all of that never had any mention of Manly which was always separate. There were never serious plans to add a rail link to Manly because it was already well serviced by the ferry. The rest of the Northern Beaches though severely loses out by not having a proper metro service.

[@joc6516]

@@CityNerd Thought you may be interested in this, although I suspect with our shared interests in urban infrastructure, you already follow RMTransit. He just released a really interesting video on Ferries and how they are such a good (and valid) form of transit kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2nLlp18e9N6b68

[@thefareplayer2254]

5:59 I came here for this one! Subscribed just for that!

[@CityNerd]

Controversial choice but I stand by it!

[@anthonygrant7004]

Melbourne have like 2 train lines that have around 10 stops at beaches and even more tram stops

[@TOTN17]

the T4 Eastern Suburbs line in Sydney was ment to go to Bondi Beach but local rich people complained and the line was cut short at Bondi Junction

[@fjellyo3261]

The Baltic sea is actually great for bathing in summer. It's not very salty :).

[@alejandrocamposelicegui951]

So cool Bilbao was in this list! However, you should look at the new metro plans for my basque city: San Sebastian. Great beaches and the station will be very well connected to the main attraction of the city: La Concha. Love ur videos by the way 🤓♥️

[@CityNerd]

Trains to beaches AND pintxos??????? That's not even fair.

[@eannamcnamara9338]

It isn't a metro or commuter rail, but in France there's a regional TER line that goes from Cannes (of movie festival fame) to ventimigla in Italy with stops in Nice, Mentons and Monaco, as well as some other towns. The line really hugs the coast and the beaches and harbor are beautiful. frequency is around 30 minutes, and the line is fully double track electrified, with in nice transfers to TGV, intercity and night trains, as well as nice's tram system which can bring you downtown and to the airport. Apart the Beaches it's also great for Watching some formula 1 or for visiting 3 countries in the span of half an hour.

[@ianmcgregor8152]

Your confidence in pronunciation is world class. I have know idea if it’s right but I 100% believe it.

[@CityNerd]

It's funny, I look up a few things that I'm super-worried about getting wrong, and then I just give up and pronounce things the way I feel like pronouncing them. I mean, if I pronounce enough things wrong, it really boosts engagement in the comments, which the KZbin algorithm just loves. See, galaxy brain!

[@Immortalcheese]

Ok your intro statement got me thinking of a viewer suggested video: Which 10 reasons would a car or personal vehicle be a better option than transit? And I'm not talking about car-dependent hell hole suburbs where cars are the ONLY feasible option. But when transit is an option, when would a vehicle be a better option. You mentioned something like a beach trip, but what about things like bringing a new born baby home from hospital, moving furniture, etc?

[@Hhutuber]

I knew Barcelona would be on the list because public transport is pretty good all around the city and surrounding area. And the beaches ate pretty nice. I've been there this January and the weather was fantastic. About 14°C and sunshine was good enough for sitting on the sand at one of the beaches and watching people in dry suits surfing.

[@CityNerd]

It's an incredible city.

[@soolagnamajumdar6166]

I know this was posted 3 months ago and all that but fr the Fremantle train line in Perth, Western Australia will deliver you to 3 beaches on a decent frequency that shits all over what Sydney is offering.

[@mono2go]

I have taken the blue line to Revere beach, but it was in January...

[@295g295]

15:05 - a *Top 10* of movies with scenes riding trains or metro-rail, or themed about rail transit.

[@viadharmawheel]

Yes, the Zona Sul is wonderful. Botafogo is pretty to walk but the water is not clean to swim.

[@bunnyisarider13]

Barcelona has good transit access but the beach I went to had tons of trash and wasn't the best. Maybe if you get outside the inner city more?

[@tiagoprado7001]

The thing with Rio's beaches is that Botafogo and Flamengo are both horribly polluted because they face the bay instead of open ocean, so all the pollution from untreated domestic and industrial sewage from the urban fringes (let's not forget that Rio's infamous slums aren't connected to sewage treatment stations) as well as from the harbours ends up in those waters, especially since centuries of land reclamation all around the bay absolutely wrecked water circulation in the area. And being right on the mouth of the bay, Copacabana doesn't fully escape this issue either. And unless you want your beaches to have Live Aid levels of crowds, Ipanema and Leblon are also both out. It turns out that if you want good beaches in the Rio metro area, your best options are either the ones on the west side by line 4 like you mentioned, or in places where the only form of transit is buses, like Recreio or southern Niterói or Maricá.

[@CityNerd]

Yeah, someone else mentioned those issues with Botafogo and Flamengo earlier. Maybe I overstated how attractive the beaches are? There are still so many good one, though.

[@tiagoprado7001]

@@CityNerd as someome from one of the suburbs with an unfounded sense of superiority over Rio proper, I'd definitely say you did. But don't let the tourists know we keep the good ones out of their reach, I quite enjoy being able to go to actually see sand on my beaches instead of a sea of towels and plastic chairs. Seriously though, in pre-pandemic times, and even still now to a lesser degree, everyone in Rio used to flee nearly every holiday to actually good beaches and resort towns, crowding all buses and motorways (and hopefully in the future, trains once again) out of the city.

[@Jay-jq6bl]

The beaches in Barcelona are great, but I found the water was pretty rough while I was there.

[@blackest3314]

I know it's an old post but I was surprised to find Doha on the list (I have been here since end of 2018). Unfortunately for you I'm like Anakin when we are talking about beaches (I don't like sand, it's coarse and gets everywhere...), so I can't be very helpful, since I've never been to the beach :D Still, the metro was a surprising addition and it's really really good. The problem is the connection to and from the stations: the city is unfortunately extremely car dependent and even 10 minutes walking outside is too much for most of the year. Even for very short connections, walking around is just a miserable experience, no shade whatsoever and you often have to cross multiple stroads. Still, I have taken the metro quite a bit and its design is quite clever: one of the station is inside the main university (I work there) where they have a free shuttle service. Other stops are right inside one of the largest mall (where people spend most of the free time), airport and the katara cultural center (which is connected to the beach access you cited). Of course all the stadiums are connected to stations (another thing which I care little about but worth noticintg). Very good effort overall, I just don't know how much walkable they can push the city, due to the hellish weather an temperature.

[@williamerazo3921]

Been trying to get tren urbano extend to the beaches, old San Juan and airport 😒

[@moonlight-hm4bh]

I was starting to get kinda mad that you didn't mention my city, then it got first place 😎

[@jcpoly3205]

Naples, Italy has the Circumvesuviana Interurban line to Sorrento, which has a few stops within 10 minutes of a beach. Problem is, it takes an hour, low frequency of service, you don’t have great transit access from Naples itself to the central train station where the Circumvesuviana stops, and you have to deal with tourists going to Pompeii and Herculaneum.

[@CityNerd]

Yeah, I definitely looked at Naples but I didn't really look at the route to Sorrento. I actually haven't been -- would love to go check it out. + pizza

[@hungo7720]

Beach towns are better off connected to downtowns by a convenient subway system. Definitely more spiffy and plush.

[@AISPs]

*adds Qingdao to the list*

[@CityNerd]

I did have Qingdao on the list but really struggled do find where the stations are relative to beaches. If you have insight one what the best connection is, would love to hear about it.

[@AISPs]

@@CityNerd Google map data are quite outdated there. You may look for Wikipedia pages such as en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huiquan_Square_station , switch languages and then open the location panel on the right

[@fanta6789]

From Chennai. FYI beach goers dont take the metro, they take the bus as it drops people close to the beach side attractions. It is the worlds biggest beach so it is better to get down near the hotspots. The Train is used by commuters to the colleges and government offices along the beach front and during Gameday at the international Cricket stadium.

[@SagaciousSilence]

LA has a sad rail line connecting to Santa Monica, but the rail line is crap since it’s stations are surrounded by big highways and not in neighborhoods with transit oriented development. I’d put LA on the dishonorable mentions even though you weren’t counting light rail. It’s just that disappointing.

[@justsamoo3480]

Idk… Copenhagen has very similar climate to Boston, yet it didn’t make the list…

[@CityNerd]

Copenhagen was just outside the top ten...that's why I have it an honorable! The super-close location of those Boston T stations is what budges it ahead.

[@bjornnilsson1827]

​@@CityNerd Having lived in Copenhagen for two summers. My impression is that the locals tend to go swimming in the actual harbour itself rather than go to the beach. If you walk around on a nice July, august day you'll have people going swimming literally everywhere. There are lots of nice small (and not so small) prepared areas all around the harbour area, and the younger crowd might just dive in straight from the docks all around. My spot when living there was at the end of St Annae plads, less than a 5 min walk from my apartment. It was GREAT! In fact I'd say it was one of the best things about living in Copenhagen.

[@krmendozaa]

I’d love to see you do this with mixed transit. When I lived in Sydney I loved being able to take the ferry or the bus from the train to the beaches. American public transit could never

[@sitdowndogbreath]

Yo fuk nuts!! Brooklyn subway, hello!

[@MarkWeiser]

Dead on with Rio de janiero

[@theaveragejoe5781]

Surprised there is not more pushback in comment section for ranking NYC > Barcelona. I mean come on 😅

[@seattlegrrlie]

What? Seattle doesn't make the list? (sarcasm, this is sarcasm)

[@cooljonathan]

I only know what Jeju is because of squid game.

[@CityNerd]

Is that true?? That guy is the worst

[@dragonneptune]

As a lifelong new yorker and someone who currently lives 2 stops from coney island, i would say New york deserves to be way further down this list. on all of the lines its about 50 minutes to manhattan, which is where most people think of the center as, and an additional 30-50 minutes for both queens and the bronx. On top of that. All the brooklyn beaches are kinda. meh at best. we like the beaches and use them a lot. but only because theyre there.

[@gregvassilakos]

Yeah, Revere Beach in Boston is a lot nicer now that they fixed the nearby Dear Island sewage treatment plant.

[@COASTER1921]

Carson beach is FAR better and accessible from JFK/UMASS on the red line. Revere beach is nowhere near as clean.

[@alk61695]

Nice video. I know you weren't really looking at commuter rail but the Long Island Railroad has a Long Beach line that stops pretty close to the beach. And much of the Jersey shore New Jersey Transit line has some stops walking distance from the beach.

[@CityNerd]

Yeah, I actually had some script where I covered the Long Island and New Jersey commuter rail connections (seemed fair since I did the same for Barcelona), but I cut it in the interests of...trying to keep my videos under 15 minutes (and failing by just a bit).

[@chrispontani6059]

Agree. The headways on the North Jersey Coast Line kill Jersey. Long Beach and Far Rockaway on the LIRR I thing give it honorable honorable mention. Maybe if you run out of ideas, you can revisit this topic with commuter rail lines.

[@UpstateN]

@@CityNerd Check out the @SmarterEveryDay video on video length, and keep up your awesome content! Edit: Titled "KZbin is changing"

[@AlaskaPowerBottom]

The Chicago CTA red and purple lines offer fantastic beach access! Both lines run parallel to the lakefront and are only a few blocks inland from Foster Beach, Hollywood Beach, Loyola Beach, etc.

[@Roma_eterna]

You know, the more I hear about Chicago, the more I’m falling in love with the city! I have GOT to visit there, if not live there, in the near future!

[@Dan-qv9xy]

I was looking for Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona, so I was happy they made the top 3! Loved seeing metros from around the world, especially Doha.

[@CityNerd]

Wish I had better Maps coverage of Doha.

[@yeah15ism]

Best rail links to ski resorts or mountain towns from major cities and/or their airports would be really interesting!

[@neckenwiler]

I bet they're literally all in Switzerland. Maybe Hokkaido has some stuff.

[@ryanjohnston9313]

The ski train from Denver to winter park is amazing for North America, would be interesting if it makes this list

[@MikeP2055]

Salt Lake City! You could go from baggage claim at the SLC Airport to lift lines at Brighton, Solitude, Alta, or Snowbird Ski Resorts in about an hour without renting a car. Light rail from the airport, then transfer to a ski bus for a trip up Big or Little Cottonwood canyons. There were busses that went from the SL Valley up to Park City, but I'm not too sure about their status as of late.

[@cragle1114]

i think Melbourne should make the list with many stations across the whole system that are with in much closer walking distances than some of those in this video as well as 6 tram lines that run near the beach although maybe the weather isn't great year round as other cities but compared to Boston or new York it's much better and while the system is called metro it isn't really with 10 minute plus headways being the norm it's more of a mix between a metro and commuter rail but other systems on this list also had low headways for a metro also both Adelaide and Perth probably have better beach rail connections than Sydney i think if anything would've disqualified these cities it would of been grade separations but even with them I still think theses cities would out compete other cities on this list at least with beach connections Melbourne trains (Altona station Williamstown beach station Brighton beach to Sandringham station (3 stops) Parkdale to Frankston station (10 stations) all have walking distances between 2-12 minutes to the beach trams 109 at port Melbourne 1 at Victoria avenue 12 at mills street - Fitzroy street (8 stops) 3/3a, 16, 96 at Fitzroy street - Luna park (3 stops) P.S as an Australian your pronunciation of Bondi is amusing also as an video idea you could do what if north American tram/ light rail systems were introduced or a video on their general comeback

[@CityNerd]

Clearly I'm going to have to do an Australia-specific video of some kind to make up for the trauma I've caused Sydney and Melbourne with this video.

[@dmangsmile]

Big plus one to this comment. I had a chuckle at the pronunciation of Bondi (Bon-die) and when I heard Heavy Rail and trams were out I knew Melbourne wouldn't make the cut, despite how many fantastic pt beach connections we have here

[@davidj4626]

Yeh Perth’s most famous beach, Cottesloe, is 20 mins walk from the station of the same name on the Fremantle line, but further along the line you get even closer such as North Fremantle station only 5 mins walk from the beach. But the 4 train lines (Werribwe, Williamstown, Sandringham and Frankston lines), that have beach access in Melbourne are worthy of a mention. Ok by Australian standards the beaches - all bay beaches - aren’t as dramatic or as nice as the Sydney ocean beaches- but they’d be up there with the likes of NY and Boston beaches.

[@kierannelson2581]

@@dmangsmile Melbourne has more heavy rail stations near the beach than any other Australian city.

[@haisheauspforte1632]

Lol Melbourne has an Altona Station? I am from Northern Germany and the second largest station in Hamburg is also Altona (Altona being the district of Hamburg)

[@pedropires4376]

Hi, nice video! I am from Rio myself and I knew right away that Rio would be #1! However, keep in mind that Botafogo and Flamengo beaches, although very beautiful, are polluted and not proper for swimming, which is unfortunate... However, Copacabana, Ipanema, São Conrado and Barra beaches are stunning and fine for swimmers!

[@CityNerd]

Good to know! Making this video made me want to visit ASAP.

[@pedropires4376]

@@CityNerd Sure thing, do come! Summertime is right around the corner here, perks of being in the southern hemisphere. For city enthusiasts Rio can be very interesting, i figure! Even though the subway does not cover a lot of the city, most turistic areas are within range! Taking the Santa Teresa tram that goes atop of the Carioca Aqueduct is a major attraction. There’s also a modern light rail tram that goes through downtown since the Olympics!

[@bryanCJC2105]

I was surprised not to see either Los Angeles or Chicago on your list. Both of these cities have superior access to the beach than Boston and some of the other cities on your list, especially Chicago! Of course, you may not consider the Lake Michigan shoreline to be qualifying beaches but Lake Michigan attracts millions to its beaches each year, many arriving by public transit for easy access. LA's Gold Line is about 1200 ft from Santa Monica beach (probably a more popular beach than any in Boston or NYC) and the Blue Line stations in downtown Long Beach are also about 1/2 mile or 10 minute walk from the beach. Of course, Metrolink has several stations in San Clemente literally on the beach and in Oceanside just a few blocks from the beach. Chicago has many stations on the Red Line within a 5-10 minute walk to Lake Michigan beaches which are swamped in the summer including many of the Loop elevated stations that bring hundreds of thousands to summer beach events downtown. The Metra Electric Line has 16 stations within a 5-10 minute walk to the beach within the city of Chicago. In addition the South Shore and North Shore commuter lines with many stations also within a few minutes walk to the lakeshore, including several at the Indiana Dunes National Park in the Chicago south suburbs.

[@CityNerd]

I hear you...I just think that Boston connection at Revere Beach is absolutely exceptional. I mean it is RIGHT THERE.

[@bruceperry8107]

Also most of the purple line stations are within a 10-15 minute walk to the beach

[@dianethulin1700]

@@CityNerd Yea but Santa Monica also has Big Blue. I lived on the beach in Santa Monica without a car. It was Heaven! And I’ve lived a lot of places

[@kiosk5595]

Yeah, LA rarely has good transit qualities but the beach connection is solid, and Santa Monica is definitely an iconic beach

[@RipCityBassWorks]

Not a metro, but shout-out to the Belgian Coast Tram. Runs along the entire coast line.

[@CityNerd]

Man, I would've loved to expand this to trams/light rail, but it would've just taken way to long to look at everything. Supping a Duvel from the comfort of a chaise sounds incredible, by the way.

[@michaelwhittaker8180]

Totally agree. Maybe the changeable, cool weather would count against the Kusttram but the beaches are surprisingly great in Belgium.

[@fredlonsdale3020]

The fact that you put Boston at 7 is why I love you. I've lived in Boston for 5 years without a car, and I go to a different beach every weekend in the summer. You shouted out Revere Beach (which is great) but there are 2 other beaches that you can get to on the same metro line (Blue Line). Also, if one feels like getting out of the city you can take a commuter rail train or ferry to some of the coastal areas and access beaches fairly easily. Then we also have a weekend train that heads down to Cape Cod on Friday night and returns Sunday night, and for those that don't know, Cape Cod may have the best beaches in the continental U.S.

[@joboward]

Hey you should check out the DART, which covers entire Dublin Bay and even further along the east coast of Ireland, miles of great beaches

[@RAdaltonracer]

Didn’t think I’d see Boston on this list due to the weather messing up your criteria, but I’m definitely happy you gave it a look! Carson, Wollaston, Orient Heights, and especially Revere Beaches are all amazing, even in the cooler spring and fall. But in the sumner, which does get very hot, they’re absolutely amazing! Not to mention the easy access to beaches along the commuter rail north and south of the city.

[@phreshone1]

Image at one time the New Haven RR went all the up Cape Cod to Provincetown

[@jennao3586]

If you’re going to include Boston, include Chicago! Our beaches are very accessible but transit.

[@timgrisham9051]

Oak St beach is walkable from the Red Line. You can't beat being on the beach with the Mag Mile at your back.

[@CityNerd]

I considered Chicago. None of the transit is as ridiculously close as those Revere stops in Boston though!

[@alarm35m]

That's true, the closest station to a beach in Chicago is Bryn Mawr on the redline which takes about 10 minutes. Then Berwyn, Thorndale, and Argyle are the next closest but probably more than 10 minutes.

[@phreshone1]

Ocean vs lake

[@bruceperry8107]

@@phreshone1 Great Lake beaches are better than Ocean beaches in similar climates. Freshwater is nicer than saltwater

[@chrispontani6059]

Since I’m from NY, I knew NYC would be up there because of all the connections, but the quality is mediocre. That score was spot on. I knew about Boston since I went to school up there. I’d say Revere Beach is more of a destination than Wollaston. And I’m pissed I didn’t think of Wollaston since I lived in North Quincy, which isn’t close enough to the beach.

[@DWNY358]

In addition to subway access to Coney Island and Rockaway Beach, there are also ferry options to Rockaway Beach and Seastreak ferry to Sandy Hook, NJ.

[@MrEricSir]

Honestly I think LA Metro's Gold Line (formerly the Expo Line) deserves to be treated as a real metro line at this point. There's no need to split hairs, it's a perfectly reasonable link to the beach.

[@CityNerd]

I'd ride it. That traffic is awful.

[@danielleporter1829]

Did the gold line going to Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley have a name change. I live ten minutes from an Expo Line station and have always known it as the Expo since it opened in 2013 and because it runs down Exposition Blvd for most of it's route to Downtown LA.

[@MrEricSir]

@@danielleporter1829 Sorry I was getting ahead of myself -- the Expo Line and Gold Line will be merged next year when the downtown connector is complete. Looks like the plan to call the combined route the E Line.

[@Geotpf]

@@MrEricSir It's all pretty complicated. Metro is moving from colors to letters because they were running out of colors (and "Expo" isn't a color anyways). The Expo is already renamed the E line. When the Downtown Connector is finished, it will connect with the East LA portion of the Gold Line (already renamed the L line). Likewise, the Blue Line (renamed the A Line) will connect with Pasadena portion of the Gold/L Line to form the largest "tram" level line in the world. Both will share several new stations downtown along with the two they already share. That being said, the Expo/E Line's access to the beach in Santa Monica is excellent, and the Blue/A Line's access to the beach in Long Beach is pretty darned good too. For being light rails with some street running, both of these lines are really heavy duty otherwise. The Blue/A has more passengers per year than many NYC subway lines, for example.

[@fernandoalt3822]

Yeah I think there’s a distinction between a full light rail/streetcar like Portland Max and Los Angeles Light Rail which has the ridership of an almost heavy rail.

[@Theincredibledrummer]

Another great list, good to see that you are growing. Pretty disappointing that Auckland, NZ doesn't have any good rail connections to beaches, considering how nice some of our beaches are.

[@shiveshlal13]

Yes unfortunately we don't! Decent bus access to the local beaches on the North Shore and some out east, but the further out you go, no public transport at all

[@CityNerd]

I'll have to check out the Auckland beach situation!

[@shiveshlal13]

@@CityNerd our public transport system (specifically rail) leaves a lot to be desired

[@Dave-gw6wh]

In Zandvoort, Netherlands there was a period where within trains ran every 5 (!!) minutes from big cities like Amsterdam and Haarlem to the beach in Zandvoort! Making even other train lines ride less frequently in the process! The Netherlands is really interesting when it comes to infrastructure, would love to see a video about it some day!

[@bubbubs3337]

Boy do I have a channel for you! kzbin.info

[@SuperTobyproductions]

Also the metro of Rotterdam that runs to hoek van Holland, and they are extending it right through the dunes,

[@Luboman411]

I hope NYC is up there! Getting to beaches on public transport from my former home in lower Manhattan and my new home here in northern Brooklyn is easy-peasy. There are buses, trains and ferries. I almost always prefer the ferries since it's incredibly scenic going south to the beaches--the world-class views can't be beat. It means summer to me--to see the awesome panoramas of the Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn skylines while cruising down the middle of the East River.

[@jamesmcguire4122]

I’m surprised Chicago didn’t get an honorable mention. I’m throwing Cleveland in the honorable mentions, too, since most people probably don’t know that Cleveland has both rail transit and beaches and that they’re near each other.

[@CityNerd]

Heard a lot of love for Lake Michigan beaches in these comments. I had enough mental anguish putting Boston on a "top ten in the world" beaches list -- and Chicago wasn't too far off, either!

[@bobsta011]

Hope to see Cape Town's Southern line on this list in the future. It's not fully grade separated and has been closed alot over the last few years due to cable theft and train burning, but it has started running again in the last few weeks. Looks like their are long headways but it's still getting back on its feet. I remember 15minute headway when I lived on the line 2008-2018. It runs from the city centre out to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. With some of the most spectacular mountain backdrops. Check out Muizenberg, St James ,Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Simon's Town. Not to mention the small side benefit of a low cost and efficient mass transit system for Cape Town.

[@Iamwatchingyou75]

I'm aware that people don't go to the Netherlands or Belhium for their beaches. But Belgium has a tram running along his whole coast. Rotterdam has a former train line converted to metro line to 'Hoek van Holland' and Amsterdam has a train line to Zandvoort. Normally in a 30 minute interval, but upgraded to 15 minutes interval 'beach days'. And during the Formula 1 weekends it was updated to 5 minutes intervals.

[@MartinHoeckerMartinez]

I feel the San Clemente station in the Metrolink system earns Southern California a dishonorable mention for combining the very long headways of a commuter rail system with an existential threat from erosion that closes the line periodically.

[@CityNerd]

Why settle for terrible frequency when you can have climate change-accelerated lack of reliability too?

[@jamesparson]

My video at San Clemente Station: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGOxkKNjhsprrZY

[@Geotpf]

The LOSSAN corridor is too important for them to not maintain it properly. It's here to stay, although it is not going to get upgraded to high speed rail. Also, there are two San Clemente stations: San Clemente and San Clemente Pier. The first Amtrak does not stop at (Metrolink only); the second some Amtrak trains stop at but Metrolink only stops at on the weekends. The second is literally right on the beach (the first is kind of as well).

[@jamesparson]

@@Geotpf San Clemente Pier station is my favorite. It is right on the sand.

[@davidmichie]

Dear me. It's Bond-eye not Bond-ee and it's always been difficult to get to by public transport from downtown Sydney. The easiest (ocean) beach to get to from downtown Sydney is Manly via the Manly Ferry which runs every 15 minutes.

[@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042]

I am pretty sure the Cronulla line frequency in Sydney is actually every 15 minutes, the timetable you were looking it may have been a track work timetable or something because the printed timetable on line has a 15 minute service. Also they were going to make the Bondi Junction line go further when they built it but it was in the 1970s so cars were still on top. Hopefully it will get an extension to Bondi Beach one day, along with a Northern Beaches line to Manly Beach.

[@bearcubdaycare]

One reason that a metro near the beach makes sense in Rio is the huge number of locals who go to the beach as their recreation. There's not just the beach, but areas for playing soccer or foot volleyball, restaurants, a pathway all along each beach for many kilometers. Another is the enormous residential density in Copacabana, with its myriad high rises. The local joke is that if everyone has to leave their apartment in Copacabana at once, there wouldn't be enough room on the street for them all. I had to do some mental math to see if that was actually true.

[@SNeaker328]

If you were including commuter rail, you can also easily get to Long Beach in NY via the LIRR which is a bit nicer than the ones in Brooklyn and Queens. Riga, Latvia, a very underrated city, also has great commuter rail access to the nearby beach town of Jurmala, one of my favorite beach towns in the world.

[@leopoldleoleo]

I used to live in Rio and spent the whole video waiting to see them at #1 😊 Unbeatble

[@Latoso]

I’m surprised Chicago didn’t even get an honorable mentioning considering there are multiple beaches within 10-15 minutes of various ’L’ stops, mostly on the red line.

[@allenye116]

Many people who lives on coasts do no consider sand next to a lake a beach despite Chicago calling them beaches. The term beach is reserved for the ocean.

[@Latoso]

@@allenye116 While most beaches are adjacent to oceans, they are not a prerequisite. By definition a beach only needs to be next to a body of water, not necessarily an ocean. And if you were to see a picture of a Chicago beach only looking out over the lake without any background telling you where you were, you would not be able to tell the difference.

[@CityNerd]

I actually did consider Chicago -- and it would've been in my next ten. Score was hurt by walk time and beach weather/"quality"...I just can't rate a beach that's on a lake super high. It's all relative, though, I suppose -- those are probably great beaches when it heats up.

[@Latoso]

@@CityNerd I agree with your assessment of shorter summers and walk times. I think the latter might have been influenced by them trying to maximize catchment areas and possibly concerns about flooding tunneling so near to the lake. But keep up the great work on your videos, I enjoy nerding out along with you.

[@bkkeats]

@@CityNerd I promise you when you're at a beach in Chicago or anywhere on Lake Michigan, it doesn't feel like a lake at all, just like a sea ;)

[@christiande2893]

Zandvoort aan Zee in the Netherlands has only heavy rail access, but it's super close to the beach!

[@ThermoMan]

Currently re-examining my life choices.

[@scpatl4now]

Ok, I have a bone to pick with the criteria here. I have been to Sydney several times and stayed in either the Paddington or Surrey Hills sections of the city. From both places I could get on a bus (without having to transfer) that literally stopped on the beach. The only thing I had to cross was the sidewalk. Yes, in some places buses are less than desirable, but in most places they are just fine and way more convenient to where you want to go and the frequency is much better on top of it. Also, unrelated, I have the exact same mirror as you have in your background. I payed $50 US and literally carried it across the border from Matamoros in the rain...It cost me more to ship it back to Atlanta than what I paid for it

[@Brettski_1234]

I agree the 333 to Bondi is fast frequent and limited stops

[@CityNerd]

Ugh, I don't have time to look at buses when I'm streetviewing every city on the planet!! Regarding the mirror, I'm at an AirBnB in Guanajuato state right now and can potentially procure it for $0 if I apply the five finger discount. Kidding.

[@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042]

Yeah buses would be too much to ask, there are thousands of them.

[@MrTaxiRob]

If you go into Tony's Bar in Ocean Beach, San Diego, you'll see old photographs showing the trolley line that used to go down Newport Ave 100 years ago. It makes me sad. Also, Grand Ave in Pacific Beach is plenty wide enough to put a trolley line down the center without disturbing existing traffic patterns very much, and would pay for itself on holiday weekends. Like, they'd get months worth of revenue on a single day. That's important for a transit system that's as dependent on the farebox as MTS is. No idea why they're not doing it.

[@cafecitoandsand]

New York beaches are served by more than 4 subway lines! Coney Island alone you can get to from the D, F, B, Q, or N! And if you’re coming from the Bronx, you would go to Orchard Beach! Honorable mention to the movie The Warriors!

[@nathanlandau9408]

I think skipping light rail and omitting Los Angeles is a mistake. The Expo Line gets within a few minutes walk of Santa Monica beach. It’s a real game changer for transit access to the beach in LA, and is very well used.

[@eljj7968]

We have great rail access to beaches in Melbourne, Australia! Many train stops just a couple of minutes from various beaches, and there are also trams to different beaches. Some of the tram lines here, including to the inner city beaches, function like a metro as they have large areas they pass through that are not on the street, so no traffic lights or anything.

[@RyanJacobs496]

Follow the South Coast Line south of Sydney towards Wollongong and most stations between Stanwell Park and Wollongong aren’t far from a beach. Bombo Station further to the south is literally on the beach. Granted frequency isn’t the best for many of them on a weekend.

[@augustvonmackensen3902]

I’d be intrigued to know how well Blackpool in England would do in this list if it had better quality beaches. The transit connections, both trains and trams, are genuinely excellent. There’s a tram line running right along the seafront. EDIT: Ok he’s not counting trams, but it still has 4 train stations all within half a mile of the beach.

[@16randomcharacters]

Coney/Brighton only a 5 for beach score? It's very crowded, for sure, but I think the boardwalk certainly brings it at least above average.

[@MrDougherd]

you used a photo of a metro station from São Paulo (Jabaquara) before the Rio de Janeiro bit.

[@bubandbob]

As a Sydney native, and current New Yorker, I agree with the placement of both cities on this list. There are a whole bunch of NIMBY issues that's killed all attempts to build the Eastern Suburbs line out to Bondi Beach. One recent government basically killed the idea forever by improving capacity on the line by building a turnaround loop at Bondi Junction. It's criminal that one of the world's most famous beaches requires a bus or Uber transfer. Plus, I don't know if I'd ever call Sydney Trains network a metro system, it's more a hybrid metro/commuter rail system. NY beaches are kinda meh, but the transport options are brilliant.

[@bubandbob]

Oh, and it's pronounced Bon-die, not Bon-dee.

[@CityNerd]

A lot of disagreement about the placement of Sydney in the comments here. Thanks for your agreement, but I'm OK with being convinced I'm wrong too!

[@gabriell.4440]

Yeah I don't understand how Sydney, which has a 40 minute walk to the beach, is on this list. Meanwhile, Los Angeles's light rail is *mostly* grade-separated and drops you off just a couple blocks from the beach. Yet because it *may* stop at the occasional stop light, it's kept out of the running.

[@debuthunter5389]

Really, although their beaches aren't as "nice", Melbourne has a ton of stations that are right next to the beach!

[@miles_thomas]

Not quite "transit" but there are many beaches in the UK which have decent train service (at least hourly) from nearby towns and big cities further away. Examples include Scarborough, Whitby, Blackpool, Margate, Brighton. And my personal favourites Sheringham and Cromer on the North Norfolk coast (on the "Bittern" line), under an hour from Norwich, and do-able cheaply as a long day trip from London if you book early enough (although there are others which are closer to London, under an hour with faster service). And there is a summertime fashion in the UK for "city" beaches, which are temporary constructions of sand, deck chairs, vendors, etc. in city locations in the summer. And these have good transit connections. Example is the one set up in the car park of the Brent Cross shopping centre in North London (the layout of the flat exterior car parks means this isn't as grim as it sounds, and the site is screened from the surroundings by plant based fencing, 8-10 foot high. so you can't see the roads or the shopping centre.

[@Squaretable22]

I was gonna say that London and Liverpool have great transit access to the coast - but Gatwick Express and C2C are hardly metro lines. Merseyside is a contender with Merseyrail though!

[@Josh-nm4ij]

Was not expecting Boston to appear. After your intro I accepted that it wouldn’t appear, but was pleasantly surprised to see Beantown.

[@ekszentrik]

Video topic suggestion: you look at every beach on the planet.

[@サッティクサルカル]

Another amazing, I regret for getting to know about this channel so late. The way you make your top 10 lists makes a lot of sense which is simply amazing. You justify using logic and maths and not just your preferences. Nevertheless I was pretty surprised to see Chennai in the honorable mentions though you missed Versova Beach in Mumbai which is a 10 kms walk from the Versova Metro station

[@SamirFernandesAlves]

The funny thing about Rio is that the metro wasn't exactly design to take people to the beach itself. The neighborhoods they pass are rich and dense, so the first line was made to connect Copacabana and Tijuca through the downtown. The second line expand north to reach more suburbian less dense areas, and the 4th one (the 3rd was planned but not built) to reach barra da tijuca and west zone. In Barra theres a BRT system but has it owns issues and isn't close to the beaches. But of course people use the metro to go to the beaches, and you can even find sand on the ground of the trains in the most sunny weekends. There's also plenty of bus lines that can reach the beaches. During big events, like new years eve/reveillon, you can only access copacabana through bus or metro.

[@djcavanagh]

Manly beach in Sydney has a ferry connection.

[@gavinbellinger3215]

Nice list. I would kick Sydney off and replace it with Perth Western Australia. The Fremantle line has 4 stops 5 mins walk from some of the world's best beaches.

[@TitoTB]

To add to Boston’s case (and while it disregards some of your parameters like travel/walk time) the MBTA commuter rail offers the CapeFlyer route with service from South Station to Hyannis MA on Cape Cod, a New England beach destination known far and wide that is also a traffic nightmare due to RT 3’s 2 lane highway in-two lane highway out nature. CapeFlyer is bike friendly too which really opens up your beach options once you get down there.

[@JonFairhurst]

I’ve flown from Seoul to Jeju, off-season, for business. I had no idea the route was so popular. There, I learned that it’s a wedding town, and you can visit from China without a visa or passing through Korean customs, so it’s popular for Chinese weddings and honeymoons too. Sadly, it’s quite car/bus dependent, and walkability varied widely. And you’re right about odd museums. Our group visited the kimchi museum, which has great parking for tour busses.

[@docvideo93]

South Korea and Google had a bit of a spat because Google Maps shows too much information like military bases. For South Korea, check Naver maps as that is South Korea's answer to Google.

[@Sxlidbaws]

wow i did not expect to see the city i live in to be featured here but to add, no one really takes the metro to the beach in recife, unless you live in a suburb the metro serves, there are plenty of bus stops with dedicated lanes all along the beachfront and the roads adjacent to it

[@Brian_rock_railfan]

great video

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

I think I might offer an honourable mention to the access to the great beaches at Freemantle from downtown Perth, via the Freemantle Transit line. It is just 7-9 minutes' walk from North Freemantle station to the beach.