Category × County
8 Best Beaches In Conwy
Llandudno Beach is the name everybody knows, and it is not the best-rated of Conwy's eight. Llanfairfechan Beach and Penmaenmawr Beach both score higher, and the pattern across the county is that the quieter names do better than the famous one — worth knowing before you default to the obvious. All eight are recorded as outdoor with nothing under cover anywhere on the list. Old Colwyn Beach, Tywyn Beach and Llanddulas Beach fill out the middle of the ratings, while Kinmel Bay and Colwyn Bay are entered as bays rather than beaches, which usually means a wider stretch of coast than a single named spot.
Top beaches in Conwy
Showing 1–8 of 8
BeachesLlanfairfechan Beach
BeachesPenmaenmawr Beach
BeachesOld Colwyn Beach
BeachesKinmel Bay
BeachesTywyn Beach
BeachesLlanddulas Beach
BeachesLlandudno Beach
BeachesColwyn Bay
There is a real trade here and it is worth making deliberately. A resort beach comes with the town attached — somewhere to eat, somewhere to shelter, something to do when the children have finished with sand — and it comes with the crowds that go with all that. A quiet beach asks you to carry everything, handing back space in exchange. Neither is better. But the day looks completely different depending on which you chose, so choose it rather than drifting into it.
Beaches in Conwy: FAQs
Which should we pick with young children?
Weigh facilities above scenery at that age. A beach with a town behind it means a toilet, a café and a shop when something has been forgotten, and with an under-five that trio decides whether you last two hours or five. Llandudno Beach and Colwyn Bay are the busier names here. Save the higher-rated quiet beaches for when everybody is old enough to walk back to the car without complaint.
Two entries are called bays rather than beaches. What is the difference?
In practice it is about scale. Kinmel Bay and Colwyn Bay are recorded as bays, which generally describes a broad stretch of coastline rather than one defined patch of sand, so where you park determines what sort of beach you actually get. It is not a downgrade — it just means the reviews and ratings are averaging across a larger area, and your own experience will depend on which end of it you arrive at.
Does a beach here take up a whole day?
As much as you provision it for. Children will stay on sand for hours given something to dig with and somewhere to sit out of the wind, and what usually ends it is the adults getting cold rather than the children getting bored. Take more layers than the forecast implies: this coast is exposed, and a bright morning turns sharp with little warning.
Is there anything to check before we set off?
The car park and the tide, in that order. Neither appears in our records and both can reshape the day — a beach that looks enormous in a photograph can be a narrow strip when the water is up, and coastal parking fills early in good weather. If you are bringing a dog, check restrictions too, since these vary between neighbouring beaches on the same coast and are usually only signposted once you arrive.