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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- Minster Leas beach is a long sand and shingle beach on the Isle of Sheppey. Lifeguards during the summer weekends, parking, toilets, refreshments.
- The Warren beach is just outside Folkestone, a sand and rocky beach backed by high chalk cliffs and a concrete promenade and sea defences. Facilities at the beach include promenade and parking.
- Botany Bay is an old fashioned sandy beach ideal to keep the family entertained. The beach is almost 200m long with chalk cliffs and stacks, rock pools to explore and gentle swimming conditions. This part of the Kent coast boasts the longest stretch of chalk cliffs in Britain with Botany Bay being the northern most of seven bays in Broadstairs. When the tide goes out you have a chalk reef which is thought to be one of the best in Britain. You can also navigate around chalk stacks to Kingsgate Bay but be aware that as the tide comes in the ends of the beaches get cut-off and so you may have to walk back along the cliff path. Facilities include toilets, seasonal kiosk (hot and cold food), disabled access, deck chairs, windbreak hire, lifeguards in summer months and parking.
- Dover Harbour beach is shingle and set within the harbour walls. Facilities include parking, promenade, toilets, cafe/restaurant and shops.
- 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.
- 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.
- Leysdown-on-sea is sandy beach on the east side of the Isle of Sheppey. The beach has a high sea wall with ramps/steps at intervals. This is a traditional small seaside town with shops, holiday parks, promenade, amusement arcades and a selection of places to eat.
- Louisa Bay is one of the seven sandy bays of Broadstairs in Kent, this is a sandy bay with rock pools and promenade. The beach is only approximately 150m long and all but disappears at high tide. Facilities at the beach include a cafe, chalets for hire, disabled access via a steep slope, although you are only walking distance from Viking Bay and the town centre.
- St Mary’s Bay Sands beach is a large flat sandy beach with some shingle, backed by a concrete promenade. Pay and display car park, toilets (open Easter to October).
- Greatstone Beach – The sandy beach at Greatstone is quite flat and stretches from north to south for over two miles backed by sand dunes. At low tide you can have upto half a mile walk to the sea. Greatstone beach provides safe sea bathing in the haven of Romney Bay and miles of fine sand, dunes that are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI) with many rare species of plants, good wide beach for beach sports. The beach is popular with wind based water sports including windsurfing and kitesurfing. The land aspects of the beach provides a wide compact area suitable for kite buggies and land yatching. The beach is also popular with horse riders. Facilities include car park, public toilets, pub and shops opposite the car park..
- West Beach is a pebble beach sitting to the west of Hampton Pier and the curve in the coastline. Hampton Pier at the west end of Herne Bay, Kent is some 350 feet (110 m) long. Toilets, pub, grass park. We have no dog information for Hampton Pier – West beach.
- 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.
