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Which is the best Isle of Wight beach for...?

On your Isle of Wight holiday, you don't want a romantic and inaccessible beach if you are taking a dozen children to the seaside. Equally, you don't want to be hit in the face with a frisbee and then chased by a stray dog whilst proposing to your fiancee. So which is the best beach for toddlers, teenagers, children, sunsets, swimming, rockpooling, surfing, kayaking and other situations?

We've assembled an esteemed panel of judges, including me and er...well, I did ask my wife about a couple of them and I might have mentioned it to my mum. Roll out the red carpet and prepare your applause for the The Isle of Wight Guru Beach Awards.

Best Isle of Wight beach for toddlers

Winner: Sandown

I've been agonising about this one, but Sandown has a lot to offer toddlers and is a worthy winner. There's an excellent playground in Sandham Gardens towards the Yaverland end of the beach. Sandown Pier has some indoor entertainment suitable for younger visitors.

There are toilets and parking nearby for those endless trips to and from the beach to find missing shoes and teddies. The water is also clean* as it has won Blue Flags for cleanliness and the sand is golden(ish) and attractive. Plus, dogs aren't allowed on Sandown beach in the summer which means you won't have to tolerate some huge great animal sniffing your child and then marking its territory in their sandcastle.

Sandown's beach is sandy and the pier is full of tacky fun...

...whilst nearby Sandham Gardens has toddler friendly slides.

Highly commended runner up: Appley

Appley at Ryde is another good choice - there are two modern playgrounds on the Esplanade, toilets and parking as well as a paddling pool and a huge great sandy beach. It also has some nice shady spots under big trees which are welcome if you've left the suncream in the holiday cottage.

See our guide to days out for toddlers for more ideas.

*For the latest swimming water quality updates, we use the free Safer Seas Service map which is run by a charity called Surfers Against Sewage. Personally, I think they should have called it Turd Alert, but it's a useful site nonetheless.

On one random day that I checked it said that 'storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location (Sandown) within the past 48 hours' whereas nearby Ventnor had excellent water quality. On other days, Sandown was fine for swimming.

Best Isle of Wight beach for children and families

Winner: Shanklin

Shanklin is good for swimming with generally flat water and a sandy bottom (which is also what you get when you sit on the sand). There are paddleboards, kayaks and similar floating things to hire, as well as an array of booths selling sugar in various shapes, as well as chips served with extra chips. Shanklin's Esplanade has a mini selection of fairly tame funfair type amusements plus three crazy golf courses and a good arcade which splurts out yellow prize tickets.

There are toilets at both ends of the beach (the ones nearer the Small Hope Beach car park are better), plus a big car park right by the seafront. All in all, ideal for junior school aged children.

Shanklin, looking towards Luccombe

Best Isle of Wight beach for teenagers

Winner: Compton Bay (Hanover Point)

When I was a teenager, we only really visited one beach - Hanover Point - also known as Compton Bay or sometimes Shippards Chine. There aren't many facilities, but there are waves for splashing around and bodyboarding and plenty of space for a barbecue or football at low tide. Evenings at Compton are ideal for angsty teenage guitar strumming and songwriting. Just don't sing too loudly whilst I'm there please.

See our guide to days out for teenagers for more ideas or read one of many affectionate blogs we've written about evenings at Compton Bay.

Compton Bay is a good beach for bodyboarding...

...or evenings of guitar strumming and sunset watching

Best Isle of Wight beach for dog walking

Winner: Chilton Chine

Between May and September most of the Isle of Wight's busy tourist resort have a beach dog ban (Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor and others). Anyone flouting the ban is liable to ensure a number of tuts, muttered complaints and numerous raised eyebrows. However, there are a handful of Isle of Wight dog friendly beaches all year round.

My vote goes to Chilton Chine, which is a quiet beach near to Isle of Wight Pearl on the Isle of Wight's south west coastline. There's a (currently) free car park next door to Isle of Wight Pearl and then a bit of clamber down. The cliffs are crumbly and supposedly full of dinosaur fossils. Please don't allow your dog to eat the dinosaur bones.

Chilton Chine at Easter time

Runner ups: Bembridge, Brook Chine, some of Yaverland

See our dog friendly guide for more details on accommodation, beaches, pubs and ferry travel for pets

Best Isle of Wight beach for wheelchair access

Winner: Ventnor

If you are a wheelchair user, or you are planning day trips with a wheelchair user then you'll know that even minor obstacles can scupper the day. Ventnor is one of the most accessible spots we've found. There is usually space in the car park at the end of the Esplanade (the Haven Fishery end rather than the Spyglass end), there's a disabled toilet, there are plenty of places to admire the view and at least one of the cafes is accessible (we have used Besty and Spinky's but I think others are accessible).

In the past we've taken a wheelchair partway down the slope which leads to the beach at Ventnor with the rest of the party sat nearby.

There's also a glorious walk along the seawall from Bonchurch to Ventnor which is step free. There's a helpful list of public toilets and RADAR key advice on the Isle of Wight council website.

Runner ups: Sandown, Shanklin, Appley

Ventnor is an old-school resort with a long esplanade and a wheelchair friendly walk

Best Isle of Wight beach for pretending you went abroad

Winner: Whitecliff Bay

If all your friends are uploading tedious Facebook albums of exotic foreign holidays, take a few photos of Whitecliff Bay. It is a properly stunning bay, backed by trees which looks almost foreign on the right day. Reality will strike when you get in the water and realise it isn't the Mediterranean.

You can even stay at an adjacent holiday park.

Whitecliff Bay looks sort of foreign, despite being next to a caravan park

Highly commended runner up: Priory Bay

Another one which looks like a foreign island on a sunny day. My Dad used to tell me that the sand was imported, but in hindsight I think he might have been winding me up. He also once found a full size NOBO flip chart in the water at Priory Bay, which was presumably thrown overboard by someone who was bored at a team building day on a yacht.

Priory Bay is a difficult-to-access sandy paradise

Best Isle of Wight beach for romantic sunset proposals

Winner: Compton Bay

This one is a tough one to call, and you've got to get it right if you are proposing. I spent many nights lying in bed wide awake trying to decide between Compton Bay, Thorness Bay and Gurnard.

Gurnard is ideal for finding a bench, opening a punnet of strawberries and admiring the yachts passing on the Solent. However, it isn't quite as remote as the other two because it is backed by massive houses owned by bare-chested men who like to sit on their balconies. I fear this might prove a bit distracting.

Thorness Bay in itself isn't a stunning beach - it's fairly scrubby, but at night it has really lovely sunsets (read about our visit to Thorness Bay).

The downside with Thorness Bay is that you have to navigate your way through a large caravan park with a one-way system to get to the shore, which might be a mood killer.

So, my vote goes to Compton Bay. You can even copy my idea of spelling out a romantic message in the sand and wandering along the cliff top.

A future tourism brochure front cover from Compton Bay

Tasty waves at Compton Bay

Best Isle of Wight beach for reliving your school days

Winner: Alum Bay

Every mainlander I've ever met seems to have been to the Isle of Wight aged 11 on a school trip. The conversation usually then turns to a discussion of what is left of Blackgang Chine and the fact that they bought a glass shape full of sand from Alum Bay (they'll then ask how many people live on the Isle of Wight and whether you need a passport to visit).

The amusements and the chairlift haven't changed very much over the years, and they still sell sand to tourists visiting an Island full of sand. Now why didn't I think of that?

The chairlift at Alum Bay

Best beach for eating chips on the esplanade and remembering the good old days

Winner: Ventnor

Some say that to get a feel of what the Isle of Wight was like in the 1970s, you need to visit the Isle of Wight today. This nonsense is obviously not true and is disputed by Islanders, very few of whom are still wearing flared trousers. Nowadays, the Isle of Wight has got it all - hot and cold running water, colour television, even escalators (or "magic moving stairs" as they are known locally).

If you want to sit on an esplanade, admire a beautiful view, eat chips and reminisce about how things used to be, then I recommend Ventnor. I might sound a little sarcastic, but it really is one of my favourite places on the Island.

Ventnor on a sunny day

Best Isle of Wight beach for kitesurfing

Winner: Brook Chine

I am certainly not a pro-kitesurfer, but I can speak with authority that they do tend to congregate at Brook Chine, which is on the Isle of Wight's pretty south west coast. The coastline tends to get the best waves so you'll see people taking off pretty regularly.

It does make swimming at Brook Chine a bit terrifying as there is always a slight risk that you might be decapitated by a giant swooping kite, or perhaps just get clobbered round the head with a board. I've also seen kitesurfers at Gurnard who were hurtling off towards Southampton as if they'd just heard there was a closing down sale at Quiksilver.

This chap was at Gurnard, but most head for Brook Chine

Best Isle of Wight beach for kayaking

Winners: St. Helen's or Shanklin

For a relatively safe and serene kayaking experience, I would consider St. Helen's where a company called Tackt-Isle is based. The water is ankle deep and rarely manages anything more than a tiny wave. There's a massive great fort in the sea which was built by Lord Palmerston who feared the French were coming. Around Shanklin and Sandown you will find places to hire kayaks for a bit of holiday larking. The water's a bit deeper than St. Helen's, but it is pretty serene usually.

Other people head to Newtown Creek, but I'm never quite sure on how you are supposed to get to the water safely. We took an inflatable boat out once and ended up wading through a muddy bog to reach the water. Probably not ideal for a family day out...

Runner up: Freshwater Bay

Freshwater Bay is good fun for those with more experience and a sense of adventure. However, I feel obliged at this point to say that you should only really venture off around this bit of coastline with a guide who knows the local area. There have been cases where people have been stranded on Watcombe Bay and have needed rescuing.

There are several caves hidden along this bit of coastline which were supposedly used by smugglers, as well as Watcombe Bay which is only accessible by either sea or abseiling. My kayaking trip around Freshwater Bay was hampered slightly by my appallingly weak stomach, but it was nonetheless excellent. Unfortunately, the company which organised my tour isn't currently operating (as of 2021).

Kayaking at Freshwater Bay

Best Isle of Wight beach for swimming

Winner: Sandown

Personally, I like swimming at Compton Bay because I enjoy leaping into waves which are strong enough to knock me over.

However, on paper at least Sandown is much better and so it should really win our award for the Isle of Wight's best beach for swimming.

The water has won Blue Flags for cleanliness, so you will hopefully be the only floater in the sea. The seabed is sandy, which is nicer than stubbing your toe on a rock and the water goes out at a steady gradient.

For more on the Isle of Wight's best beach for swimming, check out the blog.

Before you swim, check the Safer Seas Service map which shows if anything unpleasant has been pumped into the water recently.

Sandown gets busy, but is good for swimming

Best Isle of Wight beach for playing ball games and kiteflying

Winner: Appley

If you're looking to kick a ball around, fly a kite or throw a frisbee without hitting someone in the face then try Appley at low tide. The beach goes on forever, gradually turning from soft sand to that slightly harder stuff which is a bit less pretty but is much easier to walk on.

At low tide you will also find lots of sand and not too many people at Yaverland near Sandown.

A terrible photo of an Appley kite flyer

Best Isle of Wight beach for bodyboarding and surfing

Winner: Compton Bay

Whilst surfing requires time, effort and lessons before you get to an enjoyable level, bodyboarding just requires an ability to lie down and shout 'wooohoooo'. For such reasons we usually stick to bodyboarding, which we've had most success with at Compton Bay. The Hanover Point end of the beach tends to be a bit rocky, but further along there are often decent waves, particularly if you are man enough to go into the water on a windy day in winter (which I'm not). Check the surf forecast before you go.

Bodyboarding at Compton Bay

Runner up: Sandown

The Isle of Wight's surf school is based in Sandown, although it does also hold lessons at Compton Bay.

I had a surf lesson in Sandown and the surf was ideal for my appalling efforts at standing up on a board. Sandown doesn't have the same unspoilt charm of Compton Bay, but it does have its plus points.

Surf lessons are available in Sandown

Best Isle of Wight Beach for Stand Up Paddleboarding

Winner: Colwell and Totland

Stand Up Paddleboarding has shot up in popularity in recent years, much like glamping, avocados and beards. It is relatively easy as long as the water is flat and most boards are inflatable so they are easier to carry and transport than a kayak. Of course, there remains a risk of ending up in France if you aren't careful.

Colwell and Totland are two adjacent beaches where you will find plenty of paddleboarders as the water is usually flatter and calmer than most Isle of Wight beaches.

At the time of writing, there's a paddleboard hire place called SUP Dog in Colwell.

The peace is sometimes shattered by the sound of jet skis whooshing up and down the Solent (we call them buoy racers, because we're very witty).

Colwell is usually flat enough for stand up paddleboarding

Runner up: St Helens, Lake, Shanklin, Sandown

As runner up, we've included four places where you can hire paddleboards (as of 2021). After all, you may not want to splash out £200-£500 on a paddleboard before you er, splash out on the water.

St Helens is a bay which usually has calm water and is home to Tackt-Isle Adventures. They'll hire you a stand up paddleboard or you can pay extra for introductory lessons. Wight Water Adventure Watersports is a similar sort of place which is half way between Sandown and Shanklin. Bayside Beach Hire is based in Sandown whilst there are simple cash-and-bumbags hire places on Shanklin seafront.

Looking for a stand up paddleboard? Search deals on Amazon

Best Isle of Wight Beach For Sand

Winner: Appley

I read a blog recently which made a throwaway comment suggesting that you shouldn't expect golden sandy beaches if you visit the Isle of Wight. This is piffle, flim-flam and nonsensical nonsense.

My high court libel case against the website is still at the crowdfunding stage. In the meantime, I will offer some suggestions.

Appley in Ryde is a good choice, there is a long sandy beach even at high tide. The sand is soft and - dare I say it - golden on a sunny day. There are some shingly bits if you want to be picky.

The stretch of coastline from Yaverland to Shanklin, via Sandown and Lake is almost entirely sandy. Admittedly, some parts are a bit stony at high tide. At a rough guess, I'd say there is 3-4 miles of sand along that part of the Isle of Wight's coast.

You'll also find good sand at low tide at Totland Bay, Whitecliff Bay, Compton Bay and Colwell Bay. Priory Bay has wonderful golden sand but it's harder to access. Ventnor is sort of sandy, but it was hit by a big storm which made it shingly and it has been recovering since.

The sandy beach at Appley

Shanklin is another sandy spot on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight

Best Isle of Wight beach for watching massive boats

Winner: Cowes

Isle of Wight residents tend to fall into two camps. Some enjoy looking out at miles and miles of nothingness, which is generally what you get from Ventnor, Shanklin and the Military Road (one friend even remarked to me that they couldn't bare to look at the mainland...). Others prefer to look out into the Solent, which is constantly busy with posh people on yachts, vast container ships delivering plastic junk from China, cruise liners, kitesurfers falling over and LADS on jetskis.

On a warm evening we like to sit in one of the bus-shelter-esque structures on Cowes beach and watch them all sailing past. If you've got nothing else to do you can Google the names of the container ships and work out where they are heading.

The Solent is full of floating things

Best Isle of Wight beach for rockpooling

Winner: Bembridge

Bembridge is the undisputed champion here.

You might be able to catch crabs (arf arf) at St Helen's, Steephill Cove or Freshwater Bay (the bit round the corner from the main beach), but Bembridge is the best Isle of Wight beach for rockpooling.

Bembridge is a wide beach, which is really shallow with loads of rocks which appear at low tide. There is also an RNLI shop nearby which, last time I visited, was selling fishing nets. Alternatively, you can buy fishing nets in advance.

There's also a lifeboat station at Bembridge which is featured in our free days out on the Isle of Wight.

Bembridge also has a lifeboat station which you can visit.

Runner up: Steephill Cove or Freshwater Bay (head round to the right as you face the sea at low tide)

Best Isle of Wight beach for barbecues

Winner: Compton Bay

I thought twice about recommending a barbecue spot on the Isle of Wight, as there are some uncivilised folk out there who leave used disposable BBQs on the beach and happily trot home. The clue is in the word 'disposable', buster.

Equally, there are some people who start up huge fires when there is a strong wind on a crowded beach, so that everyone else suffocates.

As long as you aren't one of those people, I recommend Compton Bay for a barbecue on a warm summer evening. There are no bins at the Compton Bay, so take a bin bag with you.

Runner up: another Isle of Wight guide I read suggested that the far end of the beach at Yaverland is your best bet for a barbecue. I don't mind pinching their suggestion as quite a lot of their beach guide seemed to be, ahem, 'inspired' by our suggestions...

BBQ at Hanover Point on the Isle of Wight

Take your BBQ home, or else...

Best Isle of Wight beach for fossil hunting

Winner: Yaverland

Bearded experts can’t quite decide on the best Isle of Wight beach for fossil hunting. UK Fossils reckons that Hamstead, Yarmouth and Whitecliff Bay are the best spots. Similarly. Red Funnel’s guide says that Thorness Bay, Whitecliff Bay, Gurnard Bay and Hamstead are best.

But no! DinoWight says that “The majority of dinosaur fossils are found along the south-west coast at Hanover Point, Chilton Chine and Brighstone Bay” before adding that “Dinosaur remains are also found at Yaverland.”

The National Trust throws its hat into the ring by claiming that "The best place to go looking for fossils is on our coastline in Compton Bay." Dinosaur Isle’s organised fossil hunting tours – which you would hope would visit prime spots – cover beaches including Brook, Yaverland, Compton Bay and Shanklin. A young girl called Daisy Morris made global headlines when she found a previously undiscovered species at Atherfield (it was named Vectidraco daisymorrisae in her honour) whilst another new species was found in Shanklin in 2020.

So, where does that leave us? You could conclude that half the Isle of Wight is prime fossil finding territory - which it probably is.

The answer may be that it depends whether you want a family-friendly organised jaunt along an accessible beach or a spot which hasn't been scrutinised over and over again in recent weeks.

I've picked Yaverland as it seems to be a very popular spot for tours, but if a palaeontologist picked an intellectual fight with me, I would certainly lose.

There are several companies which offer fossil-hunting outings on the Isle of Wight, including Island Gems , Dinosaur Isle and Dinosaur Expeditions.

Yaverland is a pleasant beach, as long as the cliff doesn't fall on your head

Best Isle of Wight beach for singing songs about your ex

Winner: Binnel Bay

People that sit on busy beaches strumming a guitar are about as welcome as a smoker at a fire alarm factory.

The rest of the world doesn't want to hear your half-decent attempt at Good Riddance (Time of your life) or Wonderwall.

If you are in the mood for some angsty song writing, you will want to find an isolated spot, which will most likely be somewhere along the South West coastline (it gets very quiet from Brook Chine down towards the south of the Island).

We like Binnel Bay (see our interactive beaches map) which hardly ever has another soul on it, and has plenty of crashing waves to drown out your warbling.

Binnel Bay near Niton on the Isle of Wight

The rare site of a person on Binnel Bay

Best Isle of Wight beach for letting it all hang out

Winner: Blackgang Beach

The Isle of Wight doesn't have an official naturist beach, as far as I'm aware (I'm fairly sure the 14 year old version of me would have known about it). However, the unofficial option seems to be Blackgang on the South Wight. It's not the easiest to access but there's a car park on Old Blackgang Road.

A word of caution though - don't confuse Blackgang beach with Blackgang Chine, which is a children's theme park. No-one wants to see your wobbly bits as you slide down the water ride or wander round the hall of mirrors.

You can read our blog about visiting Blackgang Beach here.

I remained fully dressed when I last visited Blackgang Beach

Best Isle of Wight beach for fishing

Winner: Whale Chine/Atherfield

I'm no fishing expert, but I have seen anglers lined up in a long row at Whale Chine/Atherfield. I'd assumed they were just avoiding their wives/husbands but it turns out they actually had a decent chance of catching some fish. Various guides I've read online have confirmed that it's a recommended spot. The steps have gone at Whale Chine, so you need to access the beach from Atherfield.

Other guides recommend one of the Isle of Wight's remaining piers (Sandown, Ryde or Yarmouth).

Whale Chine, looking towards Atherfield

Best Isle of Wight BEach for a scorching hot day

Winner: Appley

Heading to a shadeless beach on a scorching hot day (by British standards) can be exceedingly unpleasant, particularly if you're taking children and don't want them to end up being barbecued.

On really hot days we usually head for Appley as it has more shade than most beaches thanks to the large trees in the adjacent park and Appley Tower. There's also somewhere you can refill water bottles and cafes selling ice creams. Your air conditioned car can be parked nearby.

Admittedly, the sea does end up a long way away at low tide, but there are pools of water to paddle in if you don't fancy the walk.

Will the real shady beach, please sand up, please sand up

Runner up: Priory Bay in the East Wight has a background of woodland which also provides some shade

Best quiet Isle of Wight Beach for Avoiding people

Winners: Chilton Chine, Binnel Bay

Mrs Guru warned me against offering advice on finding quiet beaches, since it might lead to them becoming busy beaches. I pointed out that a) I'm not Justin Bieber so I don't have millions of fans hanging off every Instagram post I make and b) they're generally quiet beaches because they are an absolute pain to reach.

If you just fancy somewhere fairly quiet for a day out I would try:

Chilton Chine in the South West Wight which has free parking and a walk of about five minutes down some uneven steps
Gurnard's 'hidden' beach in the North Wight which is a couple of minutes down a path behind the sailing club. It's better at low tide or you won't find much beach.
The very far end of Compton Bay, rather than the busy Hanover Point end, in the West Wight. The car park is easy to reach but you have to walk for about 10 minutes including lots of steps which look like they were borrowed from the Crooked House at Blackgang Chine.
Binnel Bay and Orchard Bay in the South Wight both require a walk of 10-15 minutes along footpaths. There are steps to negotiate.
Woodside Bay in the North East Wight is easy to access if you're staying at Woodside Bay Coastal Retreat. Otherwise, there's a public footpath which leads down to the beach but parking nearby is not easy so you'll need to park some distance away (about 10-15 minutes walk I'd guess).

We wrote a blog on the topic of quiet and remote beaches which includes maps and pictures.

If I'm being an annoying so-and-so I'd choose Watcombe Bay near Freshwater Bay which you can only reach by boat or by abseiling. Be warned that it's a bit risky unless you know what you are doing, as a group of paddleboarders discovered in 2021. They had to be rescued with a winch because they couldn't get back to Freshwater Bay.

Watcombe Bay is so remote you need a boat to access it

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