Try These 7 Must-Visit Conwy Beaches
The Conwy coast has lots of fabulous beaches, from lively seaside resorts to wilder hidden gems. Whether you’re after a sandy beach with calm waters for an invigorating swim, windy corners to get your kiteboard going or just a quiet place for a spot of birdwatching, this stretch of the North Wales coast has a place for you. With so much choice, we’ve come up with this list of seven of the best Conwy beaches – for locals and visitors alike.
If you are visiting the area, it’s worth knowing that Conwy has some excellent campsites, both along the coast and further inland. Staying outdoors is a fantastic way to experience even more of this wonderful scenery, whether you choose a traditional camping pitch or a more luxurious glamping site. Take a look at Pitchup’s full collection of Conwy camping sites to find the place for you.
Conwy Morfa beach
Dog-friendly beach on a large sandy bay, plus a golf course
Sheltered by the Great Orme headland to the right and the green slopes of Mynydd y Dref to the left, popular Conwy Morfa beach is a pretty place fringed by grassy dunes. As it’s only a couple of miles from Conwy town, it’s a handy option for a seaside paddle after you’ve explored the castle and medieval walls.
At low tide, Conwy Morfa becomes a vast expanse of sand with calm, shallow waters for paddling. There’s plenty of room for everybody here, including sea glass collectors looking for a colourful nugget amid the shingle, dog walkers (welcome all year round) and holidaymakers taking in the views across Conwy Bay.
If you’re a keen golfer, don’t forget to pack your clubs for a round at Conwy Golf Club's 18-hole course at the back of the beach.
Colwyn Bay beach
Sandy beach with watersports and a celebrity chef’s restaurant
Having lost some of the shine of its heydey, Colwyn Bay’s seafront had a multimillion-pound facelift in the 2010s. Its new look includes a revitalised promenade, a restored (though shortened) pier and celebrity chef Bryn Williams’s popular seafront bistro Porth Eirias. The beach also received several extra tons of golden sand for good measure – young sandcastle architects with elaborate plans needn’t worry about a shortage of building materials here.
Add in shallow waters for swimming and watersports, plus plenty of ice cream vendors, toilets and parking facilities, and it’s no surprise that this popular beach has been awarded a Blue Flag.
Rhos-on-Sea beach
Blue Flag beach with miniature golf and a puppet theatre
From the centre of Colwyn Bay, walk or cycle along the promenade past the oversized letters of the Colwyn sign (a popular spot for selfies) all the way to Rhos-on-Sea beach at the northern end of Colwyn Bay.
Another Blue Flag beach, this stretch of sand and shingle is especially popular with families for its clear, sheltered waters, courtesy of an offshore seawall. Beyond the beach, there are plenty of ways to keep the kids busy, including Rhos Fynach Mini Golf, where the holes have adventurous names like The Pirate’s Skull and The Squid, and a paddling pool with a playground.
If the weather turns, take in a marionette show at the colourful Harlequin Puppet Theatre, which also runs magic shows with assistance from young volunteers in the audience.
North Shore beach
Traditional resort with a long pier, donkey rides and boat trips
The popular seaside resort of Llandudno has two beaches either side of the Great Orme headland: North Shore and West Shore.
Occupying a long sheltered bay, Llandudno’s North Shore Beach is mostly pebbles, but it does have a sandy stretch at the town end, where traditional amusements such as Punch and Judy shows, donkey rides and arcades are popular among families with young kids.
While you’re here, stroll along the elegant Victorian pier (the longest in Wales, at 2,295 feet), where you can have fish and chips or a doughnut with far-reaching sea views, or take a sightseeing boat trip to Little Orme. The rugged cliffs of this promontory are home to dozens of seabirds, and you might even see the odd grey seal snoozing on the pebbles at Angel Bay.
West Shore Beach
Blue Flag beach popular with kitesurfers
On the other side of Llandudno, West Shore is less than a mile away from North Shore – a distance easily covered on foot or aboard the colourful Llandudno Land Train.
Don’t expect noisy arcades and crowds clamouring for deckchairs on this side of the Great Orme headland, though. Hidden gem West Shore is considerably quieter than its neighbour, and a Blue Flag beach to boot.
A strip of pebbles near the promenade gives way to a vast expanse of sand at low tide. Let the kids run around trying to get that kite to take to the air, then see how easy the kitesurfers make it look as they show off their acrobatic skills in the bay.
Two golf courses sit behind the grassy dunes at the southern end of the beach, and Great Orme is tantalisingly close if you fancy a hike. Its nature trails take in heathland and limestone cliffs inhabited by seabirds, butterflies and, rather unusually, Kashmir goats.
Kinmel Bay Beach
Sandy beach with watersports and a nature reserve
Just across the river Clwyd from Rhyl, Kinmel Bay Beach is also known as Sandy Cove – no prizes for guessing why.
This is a very natural setting where butterflies flit around sea holly and orchids in the Kinmel Dunes Nature Reserve, where you might also spot the odd lizard. A large stretch of the beach is dog-friendly all year round, but if you walk through the dunes you’ll need to keep your dog on a lead to avoid disturbing the wildlife.
Popular activities here include swimming, paddleboarding and canoeing, and you can charter a boat at the harbour for angling trips. There’s also cycling along the nearby promenade, where the kids may well demand a pitstop at Knightly’s Fun Park, with its thrill rides, dodgems and go-karts.
Llanfairfechan Beach
Blue Flag beach with watersports and a nearby nature reserve
A pebbly beach with a large swathe of sand at low tide, Llanfairfechan is backed by an elegant row of pastel-hued Victorian houses.
This is a beach where you can relax with a picnic while taking in the views across the Menai Strait to Anglesey, cast a fishing line to catch some whiting for dinner, or join kayakers, windsurfers and paddleboarders in the water.
The promenade forms part of the Wales Coast Path, so it’s also a good starting point for a walk. Head west, away from the flat-topped bulk of Penmaenmawr mountain, to the mudflats of Traeth Lafan, a nature reserve where you might spot oystercatchers and curlews looking for food.
Before walking back to Llanfairfechan, treat yourself to a tour of the Aber Falls distillery to see its award-winning whiskies and gins in production.
Planning your Conwy holiday
As well as beach trips, there are plenty more things to do in Conwy – including some wonderful walks and some excellent castles to visit. And of course it also lays claim to part of Eryri National Park (Snowdonia), which is home to a wide range of fantastic outdoor activities.
All of that adds up to Conwy being a fine choice for an outdoor holiday – and whether you like a simple wild camping experience or a more luxurious glamping break Pitchup has a great range of campsites around Conwy to choose from. Take a look at the full collection below and find the place for you.