Find the nearest Beaches in Kent
Planning a trip to the Kent coast and looking for where the nearest beach is, our beach lists will help you discover the nearest beach to me. Then for each beach, we will answer questions around location, rural or town, sandy or pebble, rockpools, tide times, weather forecast, dog restrictions, bathing water quality, closest beach cafes and provide general information on the beach and its facilities.
When on a beach page use our tools to search nearby Kent seaside towns and the surrounding coast for things to see and do or places to stay and eat.
If you are looking for an award-winning beach then you can browse our Blue Flag lists or Seaside Award lists.
Finding the right beach in Kent is easy – simply explore the beach links below, to find the closest hit the jump to my location compass or use the search bar to plan where your next Kent beach visit should be.
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- Stone Bay beach is a quiet, sandy bay approximately 200 meters long, with chalk cliffs, rock pools and promenade. Facilities at the beach include a cafe, chalets for hire, toilets and disabled access via Broadstairs Harbour at Viking Bay.
- St. Mildred’s Bay beach is a sandy bay with promenade, cliffs and tidal pool. At high tide most of the beach disappears so plan your visit although you can always look around Westgate. Facilities include lifeguards and first aid, cafes, pub and restaurant nearby, toilets, parking and chalets for hire.
- Westgate Bay is a sandy beach, a good family beach for sandcastles and lots of small rock pools to explore. The bay is tidal and so the beach will disappear at high tide. Facilities include seasonal lifeguards, cafes, car parking, toilets, chalets for hire, pub, disabled access to the beach with disabled toilets open all year.
- Kingsdown Beach is part of a large stretch of shingle beach that at the southern end sits under large white chalk cliffs and towards the north is backed by grass areas. As the tide goes out you get areas of compact sand below the shingle bank and a chalk shelf. The beach is also known as Oldstairs Bay and located at the northern end of the White Cliffs of Dover, part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that stretches to Folkestone, with the beach and nearby downs being home for migrating birds and rare plants. Facilities at the beach are limited but include parking on the road, nearby pubs, toilets, and beach huts.
- Pegwell Bay is a stretch of unprotected sea cliffs with great geological interest and a sandy bay. The bay is part of Kent’s largest National Nature Reserve. A full-size replica Scandinavian longboat ‘Hugin’, complete with shields stands on the cliff top overlooking the bay to commemorate the first Anglo-Saxon landings in England hereabouts. At the north east corner of the bay are the remains of a cross-channel hoverport that operated between 1969 until 1982. Facilities include toilets, cafe, parking and picnic area.
- Minster Leas beach is a long sand and shingle beach on the Isle of Sheppey. Lifeguards during the summer weekends, parking, toilets, refreshments.
- Deal beach stretches along the Deal seafront, split by the Pier and on the Western end you have the Tudor Deal Castle. The beach at Deal is a large shingle beach with wooden groynes backed by a flat promenade and road. You will also see a number of small fishing boats pulled up on the beach. The Pier is very popular for fishing (charges apply). Facilities include parking by the beach, toilets, pier, amusement arcades and a wide selection of shops, cafe, pubs, and restaurants.
- Allhallows Beach is a sandy beach that lies on the northern edge of the Hoo Peninsula in Kent over-looking the River Thames estuary. Allhallows beach is the closest beach to central London, sandwiched between the rivers Medway and Thames, the location offers opportunities for boating, walkers and nature lovers. The beach is backed by a large holiday camp that includes a 9-hole golf course, fresh water fishing lake, and a small entertainments complex with both indoor and an outdoor pool.
- Grenham Bay beach is different to those surrounding it in that it does not really have sand but consists of many rock pools below the Kent cliffs. This is an excellent beach for those with children wanting to explore the rock pools rather than relaxing on the sand. The beach is backed by a large concrete sea defense that links it to its neighbour beaches of Minnis Bay and Epple Bay. Car park at the top of the cliffs. We have no dog information for Grenham Bay beach.
- The Margate Bay beach is a sandy beach in the centre of Margate. The beach has a great tidal pool making this a family friendly beach with excellent facilities. Facilities include toilets, cafes/restaurants, seasonal lifeguards, promenade, tidal pool and children’s playground.
- Herne Bay is a popular Kent seaside town with a long promenade with the central part of the seafront including seafront gardens and a central bandstand housing a visitor centre. The beach is shingle with wooden groynes giving way to sandy mudflats at low tide and is a popular bathing area for families with amusements and amenities nearby. The sandy mudflats provide great opportunities for beachcombing with many prehistoric sharks’ teeth fossils on the foreshore. Facilities include beach huts, town centre shops, cafe, restaurants, toilets, lifeguards and parking.
- St Margarets Bay beach is a mix of sand, pebbles and shingles under white chalk cliffs. The beach at St Margaret’s is famous for being the closest point to France, and is often where Channel swimmers begin their 21 mile swim. Facilities include parking, toilets, cafe and slipway. We have no dog information for St Margarets Bay beach.
