The 10 best beaches on the Isle of Wight
Sandown Bay has five miles of unbroken beach, something that's hard to match elsewhere in England. Other beaches might take barely 10 minutes to walk from end to end, but keep you there all day; some are positively cinematic and dominate the landscape, others can only be reached on foot.
Take your pick from smooth, golden sands, pebbly affairs, beaches perfect for sunbathing and watersports. Just as importantly, you are rarely far away from an ice-cream stall, a foodie-beach hut or a sundowner.
All our recommendations below have been hand selected and tested by our destination expert to help you discover the best beaches on the Isle of Wight. Find out more below, or for more Isle of Wight inspiration, see our guides to the island's best hotels restaurants, bars and pubs, and things to do.
Colwell Bay
The island's best sunset beach is west-facing Colwell Bay. It feels tucked away, hemmed in by woodland, even though it is hugely popular. Cliff's End, its northernmost point, is the closest the Isle of Wight gets to the mainland.
Insider tip: There are a couple of good choices for food that offer sit-down and take-away options. Grab a pastry or ice cream from Colwell Captains Cabin Café or finish the day with a seafood platter at The Hut.
How to get there: Car park on access road; bus from Yarmouth and walk 400yds.
Freshwater Bay
Wallowing at the foot of Tennyson Down, Freshwater Bay is a huge pebble beach that will make you catch your breath on a stormy day, when the sea fills the bowl-shaped bay to the brim.
Insider tip: If the sea's flat, hire a paddleboard from wightpaddleboardhire.com and nose around the sea caves either side of the bay.
How to get there: The Needles Breezer and other buses serve the bay.
Binnel Bay
Secluded and enclosed by a mature woodland, this small rocky beach is a gem. It's a place for settling on driftwood and watching the tide ebb and flow. If it's your lucky day, one of the island's white-tailed eagles might fly past.
Insider tip: The concrete blocks in the water are left over from a failed 19th-century plan to build a rival resort to nearby Ventnor.
How to get there: One for walkers – head west from the village of St Lawrence then follow the footpath behind Binnel Bay studios for half a mile.
Appley Beach
This family-friendly beach of quintessential golden sand is safe for swimming. The Solent provides plenty of interest while the picturesque backdrop of Appley Park features a curious Gothic tower folly.
Insider tip: The woodlands behind the bay offer the chance to climb a tree. Contact Goodleaf Tree Climbing.
How to get there: Easy access – just head for the town of Ryde's promenade and east past the Hovercraft launch station.
Sandown Bay
This is the place to blow away the cobwebs, as well as any island stereotypes. This beach is five miles of unbroken, incredible sands, running alongside Sandown, Lake and Shanklin, bookended at each end by huge, dramatic cliffs.
Insider tip: The best ice cream is found on the clifftop path at Blueberry's Café in Lake, a short hike uphill from the beach.
How to get there: The beach is accessible on foot from the promenade at its north end, and clifftop footpaths towards the south.
Seagrove Bay
Located to the east of the village of Seaview, Seagrove Bay has gorgeous golden sands, overlooked by exclusive houses. This is a popular spot for water sports or for simply ambling towards the wooden hinterland at its southern edge.
Insider tip: Check tide times, as the coast path to the beach from Seaview is tidal and at high tide the beach pretty much disappears.
How to get there: Parking is fiddly, so take the short walk from Seaview or Nettlestone, following coast path signs.
Bouldnor
Definitely not your typical seaside beach, north-facing Bouldnor is one of the island's excellent fossil-hunting locations. It's the place for rooting around for crocodile teeth or admiring the petrified sections of tree trunks.
Insider tip: Erosion is happening in real time here and the beach can make for incredible photographs of collapsed trees and the coast.
How to get there: Best walked from Yarmouth via the coast path, or from the car park at the Horse and Groom.
Bembridge Beach
Strictly speaking, Bembridge boasts three overlapping beaches, which makes it possible to walk at low tide anticlockwise from the RNLI station in the south to Bembridge harbour in the north. There's a pleasing mix of sandy and stony stretches and driftwood.
Insider tip: Rockpools abound near the RNLI station, so bring fishing nets for the kids.
How to get there: Parking at the RNLI station, or follow coast signs from the village.
Compton Bay
Loved by surfers and walkers, this two-mile beach features a collage of golden and darker sands. It's also fertile fossil territory – to the east of the car park is the two-foot-wide footcast of a three-toed iguanodon.
Insider tip: To shed light on the fossils here, take a tour with Wight Coast Fossils.
How to get there: There's ample car parking. The bay is on the coastal path for walkers and served by the number 12 bus.
Steephill Cove
This delightful sloping sandy, pebble-dotted beach is a haven from the bustle of Ventnor's main promenade. There's a relaxed vibe from the combination of beach lovers in the know, brightly coloured canopied deckchairs, a handful of cottages and beach huts offset by hauled-up lobster pots.
Insider tip: The cove has a café for drinks as well as The Crab Shed, where you can buy crab pasties and mackerel ciabatta.
How to get there: Access by foot – head down Love Lane, the zig-zag steps from the cricket ground or through the Ventnor Botanic Garden.
How we choose
Every beach in this curated list has been expertly chosen by our destination expert, to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of areas and styles, from popular city beaches to lesser known corners – to best suit every type of traveller. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest openings and provide up to date recommendations.
About our expert
Mark Rowe is The Telegraph's Isle of Wight destination expert.
'I first visited the Isle of Wight in short trousers with a fishing net in the Seventies and remain a regular visitor. I'm also the author of the Bradt Slow Travel guide to the Isle of Wight, and Slow Wight, an online guide to car-free routes around the island.'
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