It might be a while before summer, but there’s never a bad time to give some love to Britain’s gorgeous coastline. Whether its the bays nestled among rugged cliffs, the ones boasting white sands and crystal waters or the classic seaside resorts with buzzing promenades, the UK has an abundance of beaches that can rival any in more tropic climates.
And TripAdvisor has the data to prove it. Every year, the site reveals the beaches that travellers loved the most, based on 12 months’ worth of reviews. For 2025, two glorious British beaches ranked next to sands in Greece, Spain and Portugal and were named some of the best in Europe.
Weymouth Beach in Dorset ranked number 20 on the list of best beaches in Europe thanks to its ‘shallow, safe waters’, family-friendly activities like donkey rides and pedalo hire and its beautiful Jurassic Coast surroundings. This is the fourth year that Weymouth has made it onto the list. Reviewers loved the nearby fish and chips, the spotlessness of the beach and the calm waves.
Norfolk’s Gorleston-on-Sea came in at number 23 in the European ranking. TripAdvisor called it a ‘quintessential British beach’ with ‘a two mile stretch of golden sand, curving around a picturesque bay, making it perfect for bucket-and-spade outings’. Visitors took to TripAdvisor to praise the beach’s cleanliness, amazing views and ‘sparkling sea’.
There’s one more ranking that TripAdvisor has added to its Best of the Best awards for 2025. In celebration of the site’s 25th anniversary, it has revealed the top beaches in the world based on its all-time data. And coming in at number 12 was the UK’s very own Bournemouth Beach. With a pier, soft sand and clear water for swimming, TripAdvisor called it an ‘all-around spot’.
It’s had almost 9,000 TripAdvisor reviews and holds an overall rating of 4.5 out of five. One visitor called it ‘spectacular’, another said it’s ‘probably the cleanest beach on the south coast’.
You can see TripAdvisor’s full list of the best beaches in Europe here and its 25th birthday ranking here. For more stunning stretches of sand, take a look at Time Out’s ranking of our favourite beaches in the UK. Into beaches a bit more off the beaten track, away from seaside crowds? See our list of the UK’s very best hidden beaches.
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