The World's Most Dangerous Beaches

There might not be a word more synonymous with "vacation " than "beach."

American households took nearly 55 million trips to the beach in 2006, according to the Travel Industry Association, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit trade organization that represents the U.S. travel industry. Similarly, in that same year, Australians took 17 million trips to the beach, according to Tourism Australia, a government agency.

Most of the time, beaches deliver a pleasant experience for everyone of all ages. But what about the horror stories we hear of, like shark attacks--which killed a triathlete off Solana Beach in San Diego County, Calif., Friday-- drowning or jellyfish poisoning, which just last year took the life of a 6-year-old boy in the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin, Australia?

Keep reading the Forbes.com story.

Or see pictures of the world's most dangerous pool.

Read the whole story here.