That Indonesia beaches are beautiful is no secret.

But some of them offer more: some of the globe's most varied coral life, a glimpse of local tradition and society and a peaceful ambiance not found on busier beaches. Access to them might mean traveling far, but there, they pay back in full.

1. Misool, Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua

Best snorkeling and diving beach

Its Misool beaches provide the white sand, green palms, and turquoise blue water, its real draw being what is actually under water.

A likeness of the arrow head, it is where the Ceram Trough and Indonesian Throughflow currents meet and is so full of nutrients they nourish some of the healthiest and most productive reefs on the planet. For divers and snorkelers, it is a sea carnival with an unforgettable sea scenery. Most dive sites are wall diving coral reefs with swim-throughs, overhangs and drop offs, and a view menu with all species of pygmy seahorse, manta ray, reef shark, whale, blue-ringed octopus, giant Queensland grouper and dolphin, among others. You will require a single thick dive log book to record all your experiences underwater here.

You may also swim among thousands of harmless jellyfish in the Jellyfish Lake, see prehistoric rock paintings or bounce from one islet to the next on your pinisi (schooner).

Tip: Visiting Misool isn’t cheap. Also, avoid traveling in July and August when the waves are dangerously high. If you're looking for a hotel in Indonesia near Raja Ampat, you’ll find eco-resorts offering overwater bungalows with breathtaking ocean views.

2. Ratenggaro Beach, Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara

Best beach for cultural immersion

Sumba – about three islands from Bali in Indonesia's remote East Nusa Tenggara province – is quickly becoming the next travel hot spot. The majority of those who go on vacation here stay at NIHI Sumba, a modest, über-luxurious resort, keeping the rest of Sumba reserved for locals and some more enlightened surfers. If you're looking for a secluded, unadorned stretch of creamy white sand, Ratenggaro is perfect; but even better if you're after company at the village that fringes the beach. Here, you'll receive a hearty welcome from villagers and a chance to taste a culture unique to this island. 

Witness the mysticism, tradition and ancient rituals which Sumbanese still maintain today. Ratenggaro tradition has a chicken and pig offering made to the spirits and assuring a plentiful harvest; village design providing room in high ceilings to be inhabited by the spirits; horseback spear racing festive celebrations – called Pasola at a folk level. Horse is an integral part of the island as that of buffaloes: used in watering the grounds as well as rural scenery for this quirky island.

Detour: Surfers won't find what they're looking for at Ratenggaro regretfully. But while you're in Sumba, don't miss breaking the "Miller's Right" wave at Pantai Tarimbang. The 5-hour bumpy ride from Ratenggaro may shake your stomach, but you'll be happy you went before the rest of the world discovers it.

3. Gigi Hiu Beach, Lampung Province, Sumatra

Best beach for landscape photography

Gigi Hiu, or "shark teeth," is not so much a holiday beach per se, but to a landscape photographer, the sheer beauty of this location is an hour-worthy spectacle on its shore. The landscape ahead of one along the beach is scattered with jagged rock formations that had been shaped by sea water over millions of years to the form of shark's teeth. Rolling up to the eternity blue skies above the azure waters of the Indian Ocean, these buildings offer for brilliant long-exposure photography.

The best time to visit is at sunrise, when golden light casts long shadows over the rocks, or at night when the Milky Way illuminates the sky. Due to its remote location, visitors usually stay in nearby hotels in Indonesia around Kiluan Bay, where they can also spot sea turtles and dolphins.

Planning tip: Gigi Hiu is 5km (3 miles) from Kiluan Bay, at Kiluan Village, where you anchor in one of its limited homesteads. Bay beaches nurture two species of sea turtles, the hawksbill turtle and green sea turtle, which are often seen swimming subsurface in the clear waters of the Bay. A 20-minute boat ride will also take you close to the dancing dolphins in open waters with unstrained freedom.

4. Lengkuas Beach, Belitung, Sumatra

Top family beach

You don't always have to trek to faraway destinations to discover deserted, turquoise-edged, white-sand beaches in Indonesia. Some are surprisingly accessible from Jakarta and yet assure solitude. The island of Belitung is a homegrown "hero" as the Indonesian box office winner Laskar Pelangi (2008), based on a best-selling novel by Belitung-born author Andrea Hirata, was shot here. Thankfully, it didn't do to Belitung what Eat Pray Love (2010) did to Bali, and Belitung beaches remain unspoiled.

Lengkuas is a boat ride from Tanjung Pandan (where there are direct flights from Jakarta) and has pure white sand, palms, calm greenish-blue waters and gentle waves breaking over the bare granite rocks that are native to Indonesia's Java Sea. It is made even more beautiful by an intact 19th-century Dutch-constructed lighthouse, which continues to guide the ships sailing through and offers breathtaking bird's-eye views. It would be a pity if you did not hire a boat and head out to other parts of Belitung – especially the Tanjung Tinggi beach where the movie was filmed. Good idea, but better still: read the original novel and fully engage yourself in the resolve of the group of 10 school children that the novel is about while you are on the "film set."

Detour: East Belitung's Manggar City, a 2–3-hour drive from Tanjung Pandan, boasts a coffee culture. The locals fill the coffee houses, hanging out, playing chess and discussing politics and life. Relaxing in this ambiance with some good Indonesian coffee is a fascinating side detour from the usual beach activity.

5. Ngurtavur Beach, Southeast Maluku Regency

Top beach for keen bird-watchers

If you visit Ngurtavur in the morning – and you must, if you want to see it at its best – yours will probably be the first footprints of the day to leave their mark on this sandbar's ivory beaches. But maybe not if you visit in the middle of summer, when tranquility of island is broken by the grunts of dozens of pelicans who fly in here en route from Indonesia through Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Ngurtavur is an untarnished 2km-long (1.2-miles) and 7m-wide (23ft) expanse of white sand that juts out from Warbal island into the sea. With a pelican-filled beach, it is best suited for hardcore birders, although you don't have to be one to soak up the natural beauty of this beach. The crystal clear blue waters are perfect for a swim or snorkeling. Watch out for pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs and almost 250 species of coral reef-forming. At high tide, when the sandbar is cut off from the main beach, some of its extended parts are just 2cm (0.8in) below water. If you walk over them, to tread on them is like treading on water in the center of the Banda Sea.

Planning tip: There is no kind of accommodation of any sort available on Ngurtavur Beach. You'll need to homestay on Ngurbloat (Pasir Panjang) Beach or a hotel on Langgur.