The 'Great British Seaside' has attracted young and old for years, some since the 1800s. To work out the UK's top beach breaks, we looked at the cold hard facts and combined them with the brains and opinions of our well-travelled editorial team. There was a spreadsheet and plenty of disagreements but it's OK, we got there in the end and we're all friends again now.
Scroll on to discover the best seaside resorts the UK has to offer, ranked from 25th to number one...
This North Yorkshire resort is famous for being the birthplace of explorer Captain James Cook, the ruins of its clifftop abbey and its picturesque harbour. However, what it is undoubtedly best known for is its links to Dracula, with the town being the inspiration for author Bram Stoker's Gothic horror novel.
Visitors wanting fish and chips have almost 140 restaurants to choose from. There's less beaches to decide upon but, with a stretch of sand as nice as the one in Whitby, you won't want to go elsewhere.
Tobermory might look as if it's been pulled straight from the pages of a children's book, but it's very real. The port with its colourful buildings (pictured) was even the setting for popular kids' TV show Balamory.
Found on Mull in the Inner Hebrides, it started life as a fishing port in the late 18th century but is now the island's main town. Home to a wide variety of shops, hotels, pubs and restaurants, it's a lovely place to spend some time. There may be no finer place in the UK to watch boats, yachts and ferries going about their business.
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Just down the Yorkshire coast from Whitby is Bridlington. Visitors may recognise the Old Town from 2016 film Dad's Army, while others may fancy a view of the bay from a cruise on the Yorkshire Belle.
Its beaches are a big pull. The North Beach is known for its views of the chalk cliffs at Flamborough, while the South Beach is famed for its wide expanse of sand. Quieter than some nearby resorts, the average cost of an Airbnb for a week in peak season is £817.
Situated on the North Kent coast, Margate is particularly popular with daytrippers from London, who come here for its combination of traditional seaside charm and contemporary cultural vibe – best represented by Margate hosting both the Dreamland amusement park and Turner Contemporary Art Gallery.
It is home to over 100 restaurants and a whopping 210 things to do, but is a pricier resort to stay in – with an Airbnb costing over £1,000 a week (on average).
Weston-super-Mare is the first resort from England's South West region to feature on the list. Widely praised for its wide selection of restaurants, it's also one of the more affordable resorts with Airbnbs costing £748 a week in high season.
A short train trip away from Bristol, the resort's chief attractions include its Grand Pier, promenade and donkey rides. Weston's enclosed Marine Lake offers safer swimming all year round, while its sandy beaches are something straight out of a vintage postcard.
Immortalised in the popular British imagination as the setting for TV comedy Fawlty Towers, Torquay has been a prime example of the quintessential seaside resort since the Victorian era. According to Tripadvisor, there's currently over 240 restaurants, over 30 cafés and bars, and an impressive 185 things to do.
Torquay is also famous as being the birthplace of crime writer Agatha Christie, who was honoured with a statue by local artist Elisabeth Hadley in April 2025.
Weymouth is on Dorset's Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site known for its fossils, rocks and landforms. It has an average summer temperature of 16.1ºC and over 200 restaurants, cafés and bars to enjoy.
Weymouth's family-friendly sandy beach is overlooked by a Georgian seafront, after the town thrived during the frequent visits of King George III in the late 1700s. Its popularity is reflected in the average weekly cost of an Airbnb: £822.
Skegness on the Lincolnshire coast is known for its Pleasure Beach and short Victorian pier. A seaside resort with affordable accommodation, and over 150 restaurants, cafés and bars to work your way through, it might just be time you considered a coastal getaway to 'Skeggy'.
With an average summer temperature of 15.8ºC, Skegness – also known as 'Skeg Vegas' due to the bright lights of its amusement arcades – is home to the world's first Butlins holiday camp, which opened here in 1936.
Southport on Merseyside is one of just a handful of northern beaches ranked in our list of the UK's top 20 seaside resorts. One of the town's most distinguishing landmarks, aside from its broad sandy beach, is its Victorian pier – which dates back to 1860 and is England's second longest, although it has been sadly shut since 2022.
Fish and chips aficionados have over 300 restaurants and cafés to choose from. What's more, if you're looking to keep busy, one quick browse of Tripadvisor reveals there's over 200 things to do here.
Just five miles (8km) west of the iconic Giant's Causeway, along the coastal road between Portstewart and Portballintrae, you'll find a lively seaside town and one of Northern Ireland's most popular destinations.
A favourite since Victorian times, Portrush offers a rejuvenating blend of golden sands, friendly locals, stunning golf courses and fun for all the family. It's well worth making the effort for.
When you think of St Andrews, the pub quiz enthusiast sitting in the corner of your brain might recall that it's the world-famous Home of Golf or that it boasts a historic university. Dig a little deeper, though, and you'll discover there's more to this place than approach shots and academia.
Standing proudly on the east coast, within half an hour of Dundee and less than two hours from Edinburgh and Glasgow, the town is home to beautiful beaches, charming medieval streets and the remains of a famous cathedral. Nearby, there's even Scotland's (not so) Secret Bunker.
Great Yarmouth in Norfolk has been welcoming visitors as a seaside resort since the mid-1700s. Many of the town's attractions lie along the Golden Mile, which runs between Britannia Pier and the Pleasure Beach.
With almost 200 things to do (according to Tripadvisor), nearly 300 restaurants to pick from and very reasonable accommodation costs, Great Yarmouth sees over 7.5 million holidaymakers and day-trippers each year. One of its most famous guests was Charles Dickens, who stayed at the Royal Hotel in 1849.
The Kent seaside resort of Folkestone is, unsurprisingly, ranking well on our list. The town thrived after the arrival of the railway and by the early 1900s was one of England's most fashionable coastal towns.
With a lovely beach and plenty of things to do, the town is now known for its vibrant creative scene. Of particular note is the Harbour Arm, once the railway terminal for the Folkestone-Boulogne ferry and now a cultural attraction boasting nearly 30 independent food, drink and retail vendors.
No rundown of the UK's best seaside towns would be complete without this Welsh wonder. A charming spot on the south Pembrokeshire coast, boasting an idyllic harbour, Tenby blends glorious beaches, a friendly atmosphere and colourful Victorian houses in the best way imaginable.
When it comes to things to do, you really are spoilt for choice. From enjoying a spot of fishing and going on boating trips to sampling tasty restaurants and relaxing on soft golden sand, every day here will feel like a new adventure.
Worthing in West Sussex is perhaps one of the lesser-known seaside resorts on our list. Its chief attraction is the Grade II-listed Art Deco pier, which dates back to 1862.
The coastal destination boomed as a place for rest and recuperation from the late 1700s onwards, attracting distinguished visitors such as Oscar Wilde, who wrote The Importance of Being Earnest during his stay. Today, it has almost 300 places to eat and offers a wide variety of things to do – from fishing on the pier to chilling on the beach.
Further east down the Sussex coastline lies Eastbourne, another contender for the UK's best seaside destination. When it was drawn up by the Duke of Devonshire in the 1850s, this Victorian town was a model of urban planning. Its famous pier (pictured here) opened in 1872.
Nowadays, it's increasingly seen as a cheaper alternative to nearby Brighton. And while it might not have quite as many restaurants and things to do as 'London by the Sea', it's definitely worth a look.
Southend-on-Sea is home to the world's longest pleasure pier, which runs 1.3 miles (2.2km) into the Thames Estuary. Whether because it's convenient for Londoners looking to escape the all-consuming heat of the city or because it averages a very nice 17.1ºC in summer, this Essex seaside resort is always a popular spot during the warmer months.
With loads of restaurants to enjoy (the fish and chips are excellent here), countless addictive arcade machines, several bars to quench your thirst, and a theme park called Adventure Island to get your adrenaline buzz, one thing you'll never be in Southend is bored.
Every year, over 650,000 tourists visit the spectacular Isle of Skye. Primarily drawn to the epic terrain of the Quiraing and otherworldly geological features like the Old Man of Storr, visitors here are missing a trick if they don't make time for the island's small but idyllic capital.
Dating back to the 19th century, the colourful buildings in Portree Harbour (pictured) are 'hang a photo of them on your wall' pretty. Looking to party? Skye Live Festival has been running for 10 years now on the Am Meall peninsula and, in May, combines the dreamiest setting with an irresistible mix of both traditional and electronic music.
You might be getting a sense, based on the other seaside resorts we've included on this list, that we're big fans of colourful houses by the UK's coast. And, you'd be right. Situated on Wales' Ceredigion coast, the technicolour buildings in Aberaeron had us sold on the place before we'd even seen what else it had to offer.
After mooching around by the harbour, go and explore the independent shops and craft centres. Then, once you've had your fill there, satisfy your hunger on homemade cake at one of the town's cosy cafés. Hikers walking the Wales Coast Path and the Coastal Way are regulars.
The Dorset town of Poole is sixth on our best seaside resort list. The world's second largest natural harbour after Sydney, Australia – and the largest in Europe – is home to several award-winning blue flag beaches and an historic old town.
There's loads (and we mean loads) of things to do here. From sampling the vast array of watersports on offer to getting stuck into the broad range of eateries and bars, it's a destination that's got the lot. What's more, its average summertime temperature is a balmy 16.6ºC.
This East Sussex coastal town is renowned in British history books as the site of the Battle of Hastings, which resulted in the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Fifth on our best seaside resort list, Hastings is also home to Europe's oldest and largest beach-based fishing fleet.
An average summer temperature of 16.8ºC, an enjoyable pebble beach, charming independent shops and a rich tapestry of thriving bars and restaurants make it a destination worth visiting. Hastings Fat Tuesday Music Festival, on late February to early March, delivers five nights of gigs across Hastings and St Leonards. Check it out.
Blackpool is arguably the ultimate northern English seaside destination. It boomed as a resort in the mid-1800s after the arrival of the railways, which brought Lancashire mill workers here on their days off. The iconic Blackpool Tower, which was modelled on the Eiffel Tower, and the town's three piers were built by the end of that century.
Not only is Blackpool one of the most affordable resorts on our list, there's also over 500 restaurants to enjoy and a wide variety of activities to experience – from the thrills and spills of Pleasure Beach Resort to the iconic Tower Ballroom made famous on BBC talent show Strictly Come Dancing.
Bournemouth is relatively modern compared to other seaside resorts on our list. Founded in 1810 by former soldier Lewis Tregonwell, who was its first resident, he began building villas here to rent out. The town has a balmy average summer temperature of 16.7ºC, making it the perfect getaway for sunseekers.
There's restaurants aplenty (over 500 of them) and loads of things to experience here, including the amusement arcades on its Victorian pier. Less than a two-hour train ride from London, an Airbnb in this part of the world will set you back about £790 a week.
The south Wales city of Swansea simply had to be included on our list. Its County Hall Beach near West Pier is pretty much the perfect stretch of sand, with its five-mile (8km) promenade running to the charming district of Mumbles.
Surfers and non-surfers alike should head to nearby Langland and Rhossili beaches. Once you've had your fill of waves and sand, be sure to sample the local cuisine. It's something of a seafood lover's paradise around here.
Top of our seaside resort list is none other than Brighton, surpassing all of its challengers. While its pebbly beach might not be the summer holiday dream, its sheer number of restaurants and things to do shoot it to the top of the table.
There are plenty of activities for visitors of all tastes, be it eating out, shopping in The Lanes or playing the arcades on Brighton Pier. A week in an Airbnb costs £850, but there's more than enough to do to get your money's worth. Start packing your suitcase.