North Beach, Tenby, Pembrokeshire South Coast
Aberystwyth Beaches, Cliff Railway upto Constitution Hill in Background
Llandudno Bay, North Wales Coast
Rhossili Bay, Gower Peninsula
Oxwich Bay, Gower PeninsulaSome of the world's most beautiful beaches are in Wales believe it or not. Best beaches cater for all tastes, from the seaside holiday meccas of the Welsh North Coast at Prestatyn, Rhyl and Llandudno, to top Wales surfing beaches around Abersoch and the Llyn or the stunning panoramic beaches lining the Gower Coast.
A considerable amount of the Welsh coastline is owned by the National Trust, notably the dramatic Pembrokeshire Coastline in the South West of Wales, and the Gower Coast west of Swansea. Beautiful beaches around Wales top resorts include Tenby, which offers a choice of glorious beaches plus off shore island boat trips, Aberystwyth in Cardigan Bay, Abersoch and Pwllheli on the Llyn and if you're looking for remote beaches tour the Anglesey coast. For extreme watersports and sublime endless sandy beaches the Pembrokeshire coastline tops the Welsh beach charts.
You can still ride on a donkey on Rhyl's beaches. Rhyl and slightly quieter neighbour Prestatyn offer four beautiful sandy beaches which stretch for 7 miles, and what's more Rhyl and Prestatyn Central beaches both have Seaside Awards for cleanliness and superb water quality.
As beaches go, Llandudno and Colwyn Bay have some of the best, with most having achieved the ENCAM Seaside Award for the highest water quality. North Shore beach at Llandudno is awardwinning, and neighbouring quiet West Shore with it's distinctive sand dunes is also a superb beach.
Llandudno's North Shore beach has a Tidy Britain Seaside Award. With it's delightful crescent shape and golden sands, bordered by the historic pier, it's a North Wales beach with great character. An elegant promenade runs alongside the 3 mile stretch of North Shore beach which is framed by it's two headlands. West Shore beach faces onto Snowdonia and Anglesey - expect slendid views of both from this Llandudno beach.
Outside of Llandudno, the rest of Colwyn Bay's splendid coast including Rhos on Sea tends to get a little overlooked. You're missing out on some superb sandy beaches (some of which are blue flag), plus great promenades at Rhos-on-Sea which lays claim to having the smallest chapel in Wales on their promenade.
You're in for a beach feast on Anglesey. Plenty of sublime beaches to choose from to suit all tastes. For a good choice of watersports and plenty of bustle choose the beach areas of Holyhead, Beaumaris and Rhosneigr. You'll find stunning endless golden sandy beaches at Benllech (east coast - checkout neighbouring Red Wharf Bay too), Llanddwyn Bay (South West), and Cemaes Bay on the North Coast.
Cove beaches abound at Cable Bay, Porth Cwyfan, Moelfre and Porth Swtan. Anglesey has over 125 miles of coastline, and the majority of it has been designated n Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. No less than 26 of Anglesey's beaches have awards for excellence! Beaches at Benllech, Llanddona, Llanddwyn, Newborough, Trearddur Bay and Porth Dafarch are all Blue Flag beaches on Anglesey. (as of 2007)
Pwllheli and Abersoch are both hotspots for watersports, particularly surfing and windsurfing around Abersoch and further west on the Llyn south west facing Porth Neigwl beach or Hell's Mouth as it's known is the base for the British Surfing Association and Surf Shops/Schools.
Surfing competitions are held here. The east facing Abersoch Bay is popular with windsurfers and wakeboarders.
Aberystwyth has long been pulling in the holiday crowds. A selection of character old Georgian hotels line the promenade backing onto panoramic North Beach. Taken in full, Aberystwyth Promenade and Seafront covers a mile and a half from the harbour to Constitution Hill (the site of the Cliff railway). Walking along the promenade is pleasurable strolling indeed.
The two beaches at Aberystwyth, North Beach and South Beach, are mostly dark sand and single - both are excellent bathing beaches and nicely sheltered. An excellent Welsh beach for families, with a bustling friendly pier.
The Ceredigion coastline has a number of top Wales award winning beaches including Aberaeron, Borth, and New Quay (a top spot for watersports and sailing).
Welcome to Pembrokeshire beaches and coastline! If you didn't know it, Pembrokeshire has a huge number of blue flag beaches now at the beginning of 2007 standing at 33 blue flag beaches. (the Welsh coast in total has 109 blue flag beaches - a huge number as compared to the rest of the UK!).
Pembrokeshire, more than any other county in the UK, has received the most seaside awards for it's beaches. So if you're a beach lover, and a fan of surfing, windsurfing, kite surfing, coasteering, scuba diving in crystal clear waters or just great family fun seaside holidays then the place to head is Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Jump to it!
Great news then for family fun seaside holidays in West Wales. Many beaches around the key West Wales family resorts have superbly clean beaches.
Tenby for example has pretty much blue flag idyllic beaches across the board, with Tenby North, Tenby Castle and Tenby South beaches all blue flag. (see Keep Wales Tidy weblink right for full listings of Welsh Blue Flag beaches).
Family holiday hotspot Aberavon beach, the main long stretch of beach serving Port Talbot and Margam is also prime surfing territory. The most popular family attraction on the seafront is the marvellous Afan Lido Leisure Complex one of Wales' best indoor waterpark come sports complexes.
Porthcawl, Bridgend and the Glamorgan Heritage coast towards Barry Island offer a host of seaside and inland activities and attractions. Like surfing, love Rest Bay, Llantwit Major, Ogmore and Southerndown.
Porthcawl has it all! Situated on the sublime Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Porthcawl offers both an excellent base for South Wales family seaside holidays and great surfing at Rest Bay and adjacent is the renowned Kenfig National Nature reserve, a haven for migrating birds and wildlife.
Barry Island is as good as ever for seaside family holidays. Barry Island Pleasure Park faces onto the delightful golden sands of Whitmore Bay.
The stunning beauty of the Gower Peninsula's many beaches are renowned. Dramatically framed often by limestone cliffs, a feature of the area, a choice of caravan parks are dotted around the Gower coastline. Windsurfing, surfing and now kitesurfing are all popular watersports too on many of Gower's beaches. For surfing Langland Bay, Caswell Bay and the northern end of Rhossili Bay are particularly favoured surf spots.
Top of the Wales beach tree on the Gower for holiday bases is Oxwich Bay which not only benefits from a glorious sandy beach with great windsurfing and surfing conditions, but also the adjacent Oxwich Nature Reserve - unusual because it's a freshwater reserve with some sale marches situated very close to the sea.
Moving round Oxwich Point towards Port Eynon and Port Eynon Bay, you'll find yourself in excellent Wales family holiday territory. The beach is accessible by car, and holiday shops run along the beach.
Rhossili Bay on the western edge of the Gower is perhaps the most epic coastal stretch on the peninsula, you're facing the Atlantic full on here as opposed to the Bristol Bay beaches of the south. The 3 mile sandy beach here is sublime, offering dramatic coastal walking and superb surfing. To the north edge of Rhossili at Llangennith discover the best surfing beaches.