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Hawaii’s Hanauma Bay is No. 1 on list of America’s top 10 beaches

Take a bow, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve! Dr. Beach this year selected you as the best beach in the U.S.
Take a bow, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve! Dr. Beach this year selected you as the best beach in the U.S.
(Caleb Jones / Associated Press)
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Go-to beach expert Dr. Beach picked the white sand coral beach at Hanauma Bay in Oahu, Hawaii, as the best in America for 2016.

Hanauma Bay, a marine nature preserve, offers great snorkeling on the eastern end of Oahu.

About 3,000 people visit each day, which is why it closes Tuesdays to “allow the fish a day of feeding without interruption,” according to the preserve’s website.

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Of the 10 beaches selected, Coronado Beach in San Diego came in at No. 7, the only California beach to make the list.

Florida has three of the beaches on the list.

Here are the beaches you might want to put on your must-do list for summer vacation:

1. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve on Oahu, Hawaii

The sun rises over Oahu's Hanauma Bay near Honolulu.
The sun rises over Oahu’s Hanauma Bay near Honolulu.
(Caleb Jones / Associated Press )

For $25, visitors can take a round-trip shuttle from Waikiki, which includes snorkeling gear.

2. Siesta Beach, which is a white sand beach along the Gulf of Mexico in Sarasota, Fla.

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3. Kapalua Bay Beach on Maui, Hawaii

Kapalua Bay Beach
Kapalua Bay Beach
(Tor Johnson / Hawaii Tourism Authority / Associated Press)

4. Ocracoke Lifeguard Beach on the Outer Banks, N.C.

5. Coast Guard Beach, part of the Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham, Mass.

Coast Guard Beach
Coast Guard Beach
(Margo Tabb / Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce)
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6. Grayton Beach State Park in the Florida Panhandle

Grayton Beach
Grayton Beach
(David Bailey Photography / Associated Press)

7. Coronado Beach in San Diego

Coronado Beach in San Diego, with a sand castle and the Hotel del Coronado.
Coronado Beach in San Diego, with a sand castle and the Hotel del Coronado.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

8. Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y.

Coopers Beach in the Hamptons
Coopers Beach in the Hamptons
(Kathy Willens / Associated Press)
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9. Caladesi Island State Park on the Gulf Coast of Florida

10. Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island, S.C.

Sunrise from Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island.
Sunrise from Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island.
(Kiawah Island Golf Resort / Associated Press)

Stephen Leatherman, who goes by the name Dr. Beach, uses 50 criteria -- including water quality, on-site amenities and sand quality -- to select the beaches for his list.

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