Beaches inside protected areas

Inside Table Mountain National Park; African penguins breed among the boulders, seen from boardwalks.

Inside Whitsunday Islands National Park and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Inside a Natura 2000 site on Crete; protected for its pink coral sand lagoon and dune ecosystem.

Inside Canaveral National Seashore; loggerhead and green turtles nest May to October in dense numbers.

Inside Royal National Park, one of the world's oldest; swamp wallabies live in the heath behind the sand.

Inside Abel Tasman National Park; New Zealand fur seals haul out on rocky points along this coast.

Inside Royal National Park; a freshwater lagoon and waterfall drop directly onto the protected beach.

Inside Booderee National Park; eastern grey kangaroos graze near the picnic area at dawn and dusk.

Inside Culebra National Wildlife Refuge; leatherbacks nest April to June and the beach closes to visitors.

Inside Culebra National Wildlife Refuge; a leatherback nesting beach reached only by trail from Flamenco.

Inside Cape Cod National Seashore; harbor and grey seals haul out nearby through the winter months.

Inside the Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park; spinner dolphins gather in the bay each morning.

Inside Galapagos National Park; marine iguanas and Sally Lightfoot crabs cover the black rocks.

Inside Manuel Antonio National Park; white-faced capuchin monkeys and sloths work the shoreline trees.

Inside Virgin Islands National Park; a marked underwater trail guides snorkelers along the protected reef.

Inside Tayrona National Park; howler monkeys move through the dry forest ringing the cove.

Inside Daintree National Park, the only place where two World Heritage areas, reef and rainforest, meet.

Inside Cape Le Grand National Park; western grey kangaroos regularly rest right on the sand.

Inside Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park; visitor numbers are capped and blacktip reef sharks patrol the shallows.

Inside Komodo National Park; the pink sand comes from crushed red coral and snorkeling needs a park guide.

Inside Freycinet National Park, reached only by a track over a saddle between granite peaks.

Inside the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve; entry is capped and a reef-safety video is required before swimming.

Inside Cape Cod National Seashore; grey seals offshore have drawn white sharks close to shore each summer.

Inside Las Baulas Marine National Park; the estuary behind it shelters crocodiles and howler monkeys.

Inside Camaronal National Wildlife Refuge; olive ridley turtles nest year-round under hatchery protection.

Inside Point Reyes National Seashore; nearby elephant seals breed December to March under pupping closures.

Inside Las Baulas Marine National Park; Pacific leatherbacks nest October to March, now critically few.

Inside Royal National Park, reached only on foot past a row of historic fishing shacks on the coastal track.

Inside Ningaloo Marine Park; whale sharks pass close offshore from March to July.

Inside the K'gari (Fraser Island) World Heritage Area; dingoes, the only native land mammal, roam it.

Inside Cahuita National Park; howler monkeys and two-toed sloths move through the coastal forest edge.

Inside Marino Ballena National Park; humpback whales migrate past twice yearly, Dec-Apr and Jul-Oct.

Inside Corcovado National Park; a jungle waterfall drops straight onto the sand amid scarlet macaw habitat.

Inside Ostional Wildlife Refuge; olive ridleys arrive in mass nesting arribadas, peaking July to December.

Inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park; green and loggerhead turtles nest November to March.

Inside Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve, Costa Rica's oldest; brown boobies nest on the offshore islet.