La Jolla Cove ranked fourth best beach nationwide

Last Updated on November 26, 2025

The Tripadvisor 2025 Travelers’ Choice Awards ranking moves La Jolla Cove up one spot, based on the volume of glowing reviews in a year.

La Jolla Cove Beach gained one spot on the Tripadvisor 2025 Travelers’ Choice Awards “Best of the Best Beaches” list for the US, landing at number four of 25.

Last year’s list ranked The Cove in fifth place.

Celebrating “the highest level of excellence in travel,” the Best of the Best is awarded to beaches with a high volume of superlative reviews and opinions from the Tripadvisor community over a 12-month period.

La Jolla Cove, with its 13,807 Tripadvisor reviews, is a “scenic beach where blue-green waters meet dramatic cliffs,” the travel site writes, popular with surfers, sea lions and more.

Not only is La Jolla Cove then the best beach in La Jolla according to this list: The Cove was the only California beach to break the top 10 this year; Santa Monica Beach came in 18th and Coronado Beach ranked 23rd.

The top 10 Best of the Best Beaches are:

10. Ho'okipa Beach Park, Paia, Maui, HawaiiCondé Nast Traveler — 10. Ho'okipa Beach Park, Paia, Maui, Hawaii
Condé Nast Traveler

9. Bahia Honda State Park, Big Pine Key, Florida Keys, Floridafriendsofbahiahonda.org — 9. Bahia Honda State Park, Big Pine Key, Florida Keys, Florida
friendsofbahiahonda.org

8. Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, Pahala, Island of Hawaii, Hawaiiislands.com — 8. Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, Pahala, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii
islands.com

7. Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Golden Isles of Georgia, GeorgiajekyllIsland.com — 7. Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Golden Isles of Georgia, Georgia
jekyllIsland.com

6. Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, FloridaThe Homebody Tourist — 6. Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Florida
The Homebody Tourist

5. Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Oahu, HawaiiM Swiet Productions/Getty Images — 5. Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
M Swiet Productions/Getty Images

4. La Jolla Cove, La Jolla, San Diego, California Provisions Media — 4. La Jolla Cove, La Jolla, San Diego, California
Provisions Media

3. Ka'anapali Beach, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaiimauihideaway.com — 3. Ka'anapali Beach, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
mauihideaway.com

2. Poipu Beach Park, Poipu, Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii gohawaii.com — 2. Poipu Beach Park, Poipu, Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii
gohawaii.com

1. Siesta Beach, Siesta Key, Florida Julie Palermo/Getty Images — 1. Siesta Beach, Siesta Key, Florida
Julie Palermo/Getty Images

Ready to hit the sand? Plan your perfect La Jolla beach day here.

© lajolla.ca

© lajolla.ca

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Elisabeth Frausto

Elisabeth Frausto has been reporting on and writing about La Jolla since 2019. With dozens of local and state journalism awards to her name, Elisabeth knows the industry as well as she knows her community. When she’s not covering all things 92037, you’ll find her with coffee in hand staring at the sea.

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