Best Beaches in Pembrokeshire for you to visit
When you are visiting Tenby, it’s exciting to use it as a base to explore more Pembrokeshire beaches. Maybe you’ll fall in love with one of them. Here is a selection of the best beaches in Pembrokeshire that we love.
We are so blessed with the Pembrokeshire coast. It graces us with golden sandy beaches, magical secret coves, and fascinating rock pools. There are over 50 beaches to discover, many of which are blue flag beaches, dotted along the 186 miles of magnificent coastline. We have picked 5 of the best beaches in Pembrokeshire for you to visit.
1. Barafundle Bay
At the top of many people’s lists of best beaches in Pembrokeshire has to be Barafundle Beach. It is simply beautiful and a small bay backed by dunes and pine trees. It is a half-mile walk through the forest and over a lake from the nearest car park to get to the beach, but it is so worth it! The isolated location makes it feel even more special. The view when you arrive is just breathtaking.
Parking: Stackpole Quay National Trust car park, located around ½ mile from the beach. Find prices and more information here.
Accessibility: From the nearest car park, it is a half-mile walk to reach the beach. There are steps down to the beach from the clifftop; this is not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs.
Facilities: Be aware there are no facilities on the beach, so ensure you bring everything you need. There are public toilets at the Stackpole Quay National Trust car park.
Are you visiting Barafundle beach? Make sure to check out the tide times before visiting.
2. Whitesands Beach
As you would expect from the name, Whitesands Beach is a long strip of white sand stretching northwards toward St. David’s Head. It is one of the best beaches on the Welsh Coast for water sports and is a surfing hotspot. The surrounding scenery is incredible, with hills, open fields and wildflower meadows lying behind the beach. The hill in the area is called Carn Llidi and is an ideal spot to try walking in Pembrokeshire. There are plenty of facilities at Whitesands beach, including a cafe, toilets and lifeguards on patrol during the summer months. However, it’s not just surfing you can take part in here. You can also give canoeing, kayaking and kite surfing in the waters around Whitesands Beach a go.
The set of craggy islands and reefs off the coast are called Bishops and Clerks. These were once a significant spot for shipwrecks and claimed many lives throughout the centuries. Explore the northern end of Whitesands; there is a ruin of a chapel for sailors that is dedicated to St. Patrick, dating back to the 6th century. Sailors would worship there before going to sea and return and give thanks when they had completed a safe voyage.
Parking: There is a private car park for 60 cars above the beach. The Celtic Coaster shuttle bus (summer only) from The Oriel y Parc car park on the edge of St Davids can take you to Whitesands. Find prices and more information here.
Accessibility: Accessibility is good. Beach wheelchairs are available to hire via Sunlounger and Deckchair hire. For more information, email: shaunrhian@btinternet.com.
Facilities: Cafe, toilets, disabled toilets, lifeguard on duty during summer months.
Are you visiting Whitesands beach? Make sure to check out the tide times before visiting.
3. Tenby North Beach
One of Tenby’s most iconic and prettiest beaches has to be Tenby North Beach, it is also regarded as one of the best beaches in Pembrokeshire. It’s a well-loved, sheltered sandy beach with Goskar rock sticking out of the sand in the middle. It is located between Harbour Beach and the North Cliffs facing east, allowing it to catch the sun all day. The beach is sheltered by the surrounding cliffs and part of the famous wall that encircles Tenby. This is quite possibly one of the most photographed spots on the Pembrokeshire coast.
The beach is a vast distance of clean sand that backs onto the town. Tenby town boasts restaurants, shops, pubs, and cafes within easy walking distance. If you want to spend more time relaxing on the beach, you can hire deckchairs, and there is a lifeguard on duty from late June to September so that families can swim here with peace of mind. However, please be aware it can get jam-packed in the Summer months. If you happen to be here at Christmas time, this is also the location for the famous Boxing Day Swim event.
Parking: North beach car park is the closest car park to Tenby North beach, but it fills up very quickly in the Summer. If you are visiting during the school summer holidays, head straight for the park and ride and use the free shuttle bus. Find prices and more information here.
Accessibility: To get to the beach, you can use the scenic steps that lead down from the towering North Cliffs or walk through the harbour area.
Facilities: There is a slipway, boat hire, deck chairs hire, and restaurants, shops, pubs, and cafes are within easy walking distance.
Are you visiting Tenby North beach? Make sure to check out the tide times before visiting.
4. Broadhaven Beach
One of two beaches within the wide arc of Brides Bay is Broadhaven beach. This beach is also known as Broad Haven North and is westerly facing. Broad Haven South is a distance away along Pembrokeshire’s south coast. It may be small, but Broadhaven North was a resort in the Victorian era. It had a very grand seafront and promenade.
Broadhaven beach is a sandy and pebble beach at high tide; at low tide, a vast amount of firm sand becomes exposed, meaning there is lots of room for sunbathing. Cliffs on both sides provide sheltered bays, plenty of rockpools here are left behind to explore, and there is exciting geology. There are several sea stacks and natural arches.
From Broadhaven beach at low tide, you can walk around the headland on the south side until you reach another bay called The Settlands. You can then walk around the next headland to Little Haven. If you choose to do this, please be aware of the tide times.
Parking: There are two car parks which have up to 200 spaces. Find prices and more information here.
Accessibility: This beach is easy to access. There is flat terrain, making walking around the resort easy. Access to the beach is from a promenade via steps or the ramp.
Facilities: There are toilets, a slipway, and lifeguards on patrol between the end of June and the beginning of September. Broad Haven has a few pubs, restaurants, lovely tea rooms, cafes, take-aways and shops that sell and hire out watersports gear.
Are you visiting Broadhaven beach? Make sure to check out the tide times before visiting.
5. Poppit Sands West Beach
At the mouth of the Teifi Estuary, Poppit Sands beach marks the northern end of the 186-mile long Pembrokeshire Coast Path. It is a top-rated sandy beach with rolling countryside behind it. This is an excellent beach for swimming as lifeguards are daily on duty from 10 am until 6 pm. There is also a marked-out swimming zone. It is essential to stick to this zone as there can be powerful currents toward the river. Watersports and paragliding are popular here too. During the Summer months, there is a chance of spotting dolphins, porpoises, seals, or even whales from this beach.
Parking: There is parking for 100 cars adjacent to the beach, accessed along a boardwalk. Find prices and more information here.
Accessibility: There is a concrete ramp with a staggered barrier, and beach wheelchairs are available to hire. You can pre-book them online here.
Facilities: A cafe, a beach shop, and public toilets can be found next to the car park. There is a pub and a hotel nearby. It is also the site of a lifeboat station, which is open to visitors.
Are you visiting Poppit Sands beach? Make sure to check out the tide times before visiting.
Find out more information here.
Hopefully, we’ve convinced you to visit one of our most loved beaches on the Pembrokeshire Coast. Let us know your favourite beach in Pembrokeshire in the comments.
