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The Best European Beaches To Escape The Heat This Summer

Escape The Heat This Summer

With summer firmly on its way, here at Omio, we wanted to find out which beaches in Europe are the best to escape the heat that doesn’t break the bank. To make the ranking, we researched the average costs for ice cream, bottled water, beer, and light lunch for 75 of Europe’s most popular beaches. We also included temperatures and public popularity, to compile a ranking of the best European beaches to escape the heat this summer. So, go grab your lilo and get to the beach!

The 75 Best Beaches To Escape The Heat


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Select row	1	Cleopatra Beach	Alanya	Turkey	£0.10	£0.32	£1.41	£4.48	24 °C	4.5
Select row	2	Long Beach	Ulcinj	Montenegro	£1.05	£0.66	£0.61	£5.24	23 °C	4.5
Select row	3	Primorsko Beach	Primorsko	Bulgaria	£0.88	£0.51	£0.69	£5.36	22 °C	4.5
Select row	4	Playa de Ses Illetes	Formentera	Spain	£0.79	£0.66	£0.81	£12.23	25 °C	4.8
Select row	5	Golden Sands	Varna	Bulgaria	£0.80	£0.47	£0.69	£6.69	22 °C	4.4
Select row	6	Side Halk Beach	Side	Turkey	£0.87	£0.17	£1.54	£2.28	27 °C	4.4
Select row	7	Heringsdorf Beach	Usedom	Germany	£1.75	£0.99	£0.82	£6.12	17 °C	4.8
Select row	8	Yahsi Beach	Bodrum	Turkey	£0.43	£0.24	£1.60	£4.89	25 °C	4.4
Select row	9	Fig Tree Bay	Protaras	Cyprus	£1.66	£0.60	£0.94	£10.48	28 °C	4.7
Select row	10	Plage d'Agadir	Agadir	Morocco	£0.80	£0.45	£1.83	£2.80	25 °C	4.4
Select row	11	Playa de Sotavento	Fuerteventura	Spain	£1.05	£1.75	£0.81	£10.48	24 °C	4.5
Select row	12	Timmendorf Beach	Timmendorf	Germany	£1.31	£0.91	£0.95	£8.65	16 °C	4.7
Select row	13	Durrës Beach	Tirana	Albania	£0.79	£0.42	£0.81	£4.72	23 °C	4.0
Select row	14	Praia da Falésia	Albufeira	Portugal	£1.83	£0.97	£0.83	£8.74	23 °C	4.6
Select row	15	Playa de las Teresitas	Tenerife	Spain	£1.66	£0.56	£1.00	£8.74	21 °C	4.6
Select row	16	Kühlungsborn Beach	Kühlungsborn	Germany	£1.22	£0.99	£0.70	£10.40	17 °C	4.5
Select row	17	Kasjuni Beach	Split	Croatia	£1.31	£0.76	£1.06	£7.55	22 °C	4.4
Select row	18	Praia Da Rocha	Portimao	Portugal	£2.18	£0.68	£0.89	£7.82	23 °C	4.6
Select row	19	Playa de La Concha	San Sebastian	Spain	£1.57	£0.32	£0.85	£11.79	18 °C	4.7
Select row	20	Warnemünde Beach	Ostseebad Warnemünde	Germany	£1.40	£0.99	£0.69	£10.40	17 °C	4.5
Select row	21	Playa de los Genoveses	Almeria	Spain	£1.92	£0.35	£0.78	£10.48	27 °C	4.5
Select row	22	Plaża Jastarnia	Hel	Poland	£0.87	£0.41	£0.68	£5.77	17 °C	4.0
Select row	23	Uvala Lapad Beach	Dubrovnik	Croatia	£1.75	£1.05	£1.06	£8.13	22 °C	4.5
Select row	24	Oosterstrand	Schiermonnikoog	Netherlands	£1.75	£0.58	£1.10	£13.10	16 °C	4.9
Select row	25	Praia Grande de Porto Covo	Porto Cove	Portugal	£2.27	£0.83	£0.86	£7.16	21 °C	4.5
Select row	26	Playa de Las Canteras	Gran Canaria	Spain	£2.45	£0.75	£0.88	£9.17	21 °C	4.7
Select row	27	Sakarun	Zadar	Croatia	£1.49	£0.82	£0.99	£6.98	23 °C	4.2
Select row	28	Playa Marbella	Marbella	Spain	£2.18	£0.55	£0.54	£13.10	27 °C	4.5
Select row	29	Kalamaki Beach	Crete	Greece	£1.49	£0.61	£1.49	£7.86	25 °C	4.4
Select row	30	Playa de Palma	Mallorca	Spain	£2.36	£0.57	£0.76	£10.70	24 °C	4.5
Select row	31	Woolacombe Beach	Woolacombe	United Kingdom	£1.81	£1.00	£1.58	£10.01	15 °C	4.8
Select row	32	Playa Gandia	Valencia	Spain	£2.53	£0.50	£0.81	£10.48	25 °C	4.5
Select row	33	Binz Beach	Rügen	Germany	£1.75	£0.91	£0.69	£13.02	17 °C	4.5
Select row	34	Playa Cala Salada	Ibiza	Spain	£2.53	£0.73	£0.74	£11.36	25 °C	4.5
Select row	35	Elli Beach	Rhodes	Greece	£1.31	£0.73	£1.38	£13.10	26 °C	4.4
Select row	36	Spiaggia San Vito lo Capo	Sicily	Italy	£2.01	£0.28	£1.20	£8.74	24 °C	4.3
Select row	37	Tylösand	Halmstad	Sweden	£1.92	£1.15	£1.47	£8.45	16 °C	4.5
Select row	38	Spiaggia di Marina Piccola	Capri	Italy	£2.18	£0.40	£1.47	£8.74	24 °C	4.4
Select row	39	Amasra Plajı	Amasra	Turkey	£0.24	£0.23	£1.56	£4.07	21 °C	3.5
Select row	40	Søndervig Beach	Søndervig	Denmark	£2.67	£0.73	£1.21	£10.56	16 °C	4.7
Select row	41	Spiaggia di Sansone	Elba	Italy	£2.18	£0.40	£1.47	£12.16	22 °C	4.6
Select row	42	Zandvoort Beach	Zandvoort	Netherlands	£2.01	£0.52	£1.04	£13.98	17 °C	4.5
Select row	43	Kassandra Beach	Kassandra	Greece	£2.62	£0.68	£1.23	£11.79	23 °C	4.5
Select row	44	Kamari Beach	Santorini	Greece	£2.18	£0.74	£0.87	£16.60	24 °C	4.4
Select row	45	Tropea Beach	Tropea	Italy	£3.06	£0.66	£1.53	£8.74	24 °C	4.5
Select row	46	Gorleston-on-Sea Beach	Great Yarmouth	United Kingdom	£1.81	£1.00	£2.52	£9.05	16 °C	4.7
Select row	47	Spiaggia de Ravenna	Ravenna	Italy	£1.75	£0.56	£1.75	£13.10	24 °C	4.4
Select row	48	Psarou Beach	Mykonos	Greece	£2.62	£0.44	£1.24	£12.23	23 °C	4.4
Select row	49	Cala Brandinchi	Sardinia	Italy	£2.45	£0.31	£1.16	£13.10	25 °C	4.3
Select row	50	De Panne	Westflandern	Belgium	£2.18	£0.48	£1.25	£14.42	17 °C	4.5
Select row	51	Grand Plage du Sillon	Saint Malo	France	£2.18	£0.38	£1.64	£11.79	18 °C	4.5
Select row	52	Barmouth Beach	Snowdonia	United Kingdom	£2.73	£1.00	£1.84	£10.06	15 °C	4.7
Select row	53	Ayr Beach	Ayr	United Kingdom	£2.25	£0.63	£2.01	£7.55	13 °C	4.5
Select row	54	Mellieħa Bay	Malta	Malta	£2.18	£0.54	£1.31	£17.47	25 °C	4.5
Select row	55	Fistral Beach	Newquay	United Kingdom	£2.76	£1.04	£2.19	£7.55	16 °C	4.7
Select row	56	Ellenbogen	Sylt	Germany	£2.18	£1.39	£0.95	£17.04	16 °C	4.5
Select row	57	St. Peter-Ording Beach	St. Peter-Ording	Germany	£3.06	£1.39	£0.95	£13.02	16 °C	4.5
Select row	58	Playa Isla Canela	Seville	Spain	£1.75	£0.52	£0.92	£8.74	27 °C	3.5
Select row	59	Dassia Bay	Corfu	Greece	£1.92	£0.43	£1.21	£13.10	24 °C	4.0
Select row	60	Scoglio di Monterosso	Monterosso al Mare	Italy	£2.18	£0.40	£1.47	£8.74	21 °C	4.0
Select row	61	Spiaggia de Rimini	Rimini	Italy	£2.62	£0.31	£1.12	£13.10	23 °C	4.2
Select row	62	Plage de Narbonne	Narbonne	France	£2.45	£0.44	£2.25	£10.92	22 °C	4.5
Select row	63	Plage Miramar	Biarritz	France	£2.62	£0.56	£2.18	£13.10	20 °C	4.5
Select row	64	West Sands Beach	St. Andrews	United Kingdom	£2.57	£1.28	£2.18	£14.59	13 °C	4.7
Select row	65	Margherita di Savoia	Puglia	Italy	£2.18	£0.46	£0.87	£24.24	25 °C	4.2
Select row	66	Plage de Palombaggia	Corsica	France	£2.18	£0.87	£1.75	£21.84	23 °C	4.5
Select row	67	Plage de la Croisette	Cannes	France	£3.32	£0.44	£2.10	£13.10	22 °C	4.5
Select row	68	Marina Grande of Positano	Amalfi coast	Italy	£3.06	£0.24	£2.62	£10.92	23 °C	4.5
Select row	69	Promenade des Anglais	Nizza	France	£3.06	£0.68	£2.05	£15.73	20 °C	4.5
Select row	70	Weymouth Beach	Weymouth	United Kingdom	£2.01	£1.51	£3.22	£15.09	16 °C	4.7
Select row	71	Plage du Prado	Marseille	France	£3.15	£0.47	£1.85	£12.23	22 °C	4.1
Select row	72	Plages du Mourillon	Toulon	France	£4.11	£0.76	£1.55	£13.10	22 °C	4.3
Select row	73	Bournemouth Beach	Bournemouth	United Kingdom	£3.31	£0.83	£2.00	£20.12	16 °C	4.7
Select row	74	Plage de Pampelonne	St. Tropez	France	£3.06	£0.22	£3.49	£13.10	23 °C	4.4
Select row	75	Plage des Gollandières	Île de Ré	France	£2.71	£0.52	£3.06	£19.66	20 °C	4.5

We determined the best and most affordable beaches by selecting 75 of the most popular European beaches. The selection was based on popularity, relevance, destinations and beaches in popular holiday regions. For each of the 75 selected beaches, data was researched in the six criteria described below.

Temperature: The average temperature comes from an average of June, July, August, and September. Climate data was taken from the Climate Data database.

Ice cream: The average price for a regular serving of ice cream (usually a scoop) was researched manually. Sources ice cream parlours and shops or businesses that sell ice cream on Google Maps and Trip Advisor. Only businesses by the beach were taken into account. The average price was calculated from several price listings.

Bottled water: The average retail price for a bottle of water (1.5 litres) was taken from the Numbeo database. The database uses community-generated average data. The actual price may differ.

Beer: The average retail price for a bottle of local brand beer (0.5 litres) was taken from the Numbeo database. The database uses community-generated average data. The actual price may differ.

Light lunch: The average cost for a single-serving snack-size lunch meal excluding drinks at a casual restaurant, street food stall, or bar was taken from the Numbeo database. The database uses community-generated average data. The actual price may differ.

Popular vote: All beaches studied are on Google Maps where users and visitors leave reviews and star ratings between 1–5. The visitor rating used in this study corresponds to the average star rating of Google Maps users. The information was taken in May 2023.

We compared the results of all the beaches examined, by standardising the result data on a scale from 0 to 100. The beach that performed best or cheapest in the respective factor received a score of 100. The beach that performed the worst or most expensive in the respective factor received a score of 0. The score of all other beaches was ranked between 0 according to their result and 100.

For the ’Temperature’ criteria an exception was made as this study is about escaping the heat and extreme temperatures contradict the narrative. The criteria are therefore weighted less heavily with awarded points between 0 and 25

The overall evaluation resulted from the sum of all standardised evaluation results, which were also standardised on a point scale from 0 to 100 and resulted in the final ranking. A common normalisation formula was used for the standardisations.

The investigation was conducted in May 2023.

The Best European Beaches To Escape The Heat

As in previous years, it’s set to be another hot summer. And although the sun is a welcome sight, hot climes can get uncomfortable, especially in cities when temperatures go over 30 degrees. While aircon is nice to have, we think it’s better to cool down at one of Europe’s best beaches.

Our travel experts have examined ‌75 of the most popular beaches in different European countries. To find the best beach, we considered tourist online reviews, the average summer temperature and relevant price data for snacks. Cool drinks and ice cream are a must on the beach, and they don’t need to cost a fortune, which is what we found in this study.

Ready to find out which European beaches made our list? Let’s go!

1. Cleopatra Beach, Alanya, Turkey

With its wide sandy beaches, the seaside resort of Alanya on the Turkish Riviera has been one of the most popular travel destinations for decades. With its affordable prices, the beach destination comes top as the best beach to escape the heat this summer. At Cleopatra Beach, a serving of ice cream is extremely cheap, costing around 10p, meaning you can try all the flavours without breaking your budget! A bottle of water is available for around 32p and a beer by the beach costs £1.41. All these are extraordinarily good deals to help bear the summer heat.

Travel to Alanya

2. Long Beach, Ulcinj, Montenegro

Ulcinj’s Long Beach stretches over six miles, ending at the Albania border. As the second-best beach in Europe, Long Beach beats other world-famous beaches such as Playa de Palma on Mallorca or the Plage de Pampelonne in St. Tropez. Montenegro scores highly on price criteria and for its good public online ratings. A large bottle of water by the beach costs around 66p, beer is even cheaper at around 61p and a quick lunch is available for around £5.24. This beach provides all the necessities at a good price and is well-deserved to be one of the best beaches in Europe.

Busses from Dubrvnik to Ulcinj

3. Primorsko Beach, Primorsko, Bulgaria

The city of Primorsko on the Black Sea and its beautiful beach are not famous yet but definitely deserve more attention, as our results show. This beach not only comes with fine sandy shores but also offers affordable prices for ice cream, bottled water, and beer. They all come in at under £1 per serving and a small snack at lunch costs around £5.36. The beach offers parasols and sunbeds to rent and has a variety of activities such as beach volleyball and other water sports.

Travel to Primorsko

4. Playa de Ses Illetes, Formentera, Spain

If crystal clear water were rated in this study, Playa de Ses Illetes on Formentera would win the race with its stunning turquoise seas. Formentera is the perfect alternative to the more expensive and crowded Balearic islands like Mallorca and Ibiza. Tourists can expect moderate temperatures of around 25 degrees at Playa de Ses Illetes. You can buy water for 66p and a local cerveza for roughly 81p. A scoop of ice cream by the beach is available for 79pm on average.

Ferries from Ibiza to Formentera

5. Golden Sands, Varna, Bulgaria

Varna is by far the best-known seaside resort on the Black Sea coast and Golden Sands is famous for being an inexpensive holiday destination by the sea. Varna is one of the most affordable beach destinations in this ranking. A serving of ice cream costs around 80p and a small lunch is less than £7. Golden Sands is popular among young adults due to its affordable prices. It’s also considered a popular party destination, with a bottle of beer being around 69p.

Travel to Varna

The Best Beaches In The United Kingdom

Whenever we think of sandy beaches, we usually think of the Mediterranean but Britain’s coastline is dotted with beautiful beaches. In fact, eight beaches from the United Kingdom made it into the ranking:

Woolacombe Beach, Woolacombe
Gorleston-on-Sea Beach, Great Yarmouth
Barmouth Beach, Snowdonia
Ayr Beach, Ayr
Fistral Beach, Newquay
West Sands Beach, St. Andrews
Weymouth Beach, Weymouth
Bournemouth Beach, Bournemouth.

Showing that the UK offers affordable beaches just like its international counterparts.

The highest-ranking beach in the UK is Woolacombe Beach on the coast of Devon. The beach has a visitors’ ranking of 4.8 out of five. One of the UK’s most popular beaches, Woolacombe Beach, also offers affordable beer (around £1.58 per bottle) and ice cream for around £1.81.

UK beach destinations are great to escape the summer heat as most of them are blessed with cooler temperatures. Tourists can expect around 16 degrees on average at Gorleston-on-Sea Beach, Great Yarmouth, Fistral Beach, Newquay and Bournemouth Beach, Bournemouth. Scottish beaches are even cooler with West Sands Beach at St. Andrews and Ayr Beach, Ayr being around 13 degrees.

The Best Beaches For Ice Cream

If you are looking for inexpensive ice cream, Turkey comes out top. The top three most affordable ice cream offers are all in Turkish destinations. The cheapest ice cream can be found on Cleopatra Beach, in Alanya at around 10p per serving, followed by Amasra Beach on the Black Sea coast at around 24p and Yahsi Beach in Bodrum at around 43p.

Ice cream for £1 or less is only available at ten of the 75 beaches researched. These beaches are:

Primorsko Beach, Bulgaria
Side Halk Beach, Turkey
Plaża Jastarnia, Poland
Golden Sands, Bulgaria
Plage d’Agadir, Morocco
Playa de Ses Illetes, Spain
Durrës Beach, Albania
Yahsi Beach, Turkey
Amasra Plajı, Turkey
Cleopatra Beach, Turkey

In Italy, the home of ice cream, the world-famous gelato cost between £1.75 and £3.06. Tourists can find the most affordable ice cream in Italy at Spiaggia de Ravenna in Ravenna, while ice cream costs £3 at Marina Grande di Positano, a destination on the Amalfi Coast.

Europe’s most expensive ice cream by the beach is in France. On a day at the Plages du Mourillon in Toulon, tourists have to spend £4.11 on average for a scoop of ice cream.

The Most Temperate Beaches

Hot summer temperatures are not everybody’s favourite. With this in mind, cooler beaches become attractive destinations to escape the heat. The UK beaches are perfect for escaping the summer’s hot temperatures. Scotland offers real respite from the heat with average temperatures of 13 degrees in the summer months. The most popular beaches in Scotland include Ayr Beach at Ayr and West Sands Beach just north of St Andrews.

Other rather mild tempered destinations in summer are Tylösand in Sweden, the beach at Søndervig in Denmark, and the Ellenbogen on the island of Sylt in Germany. Tourists can expect 16 degrees on average in the summer months.

The Most Popular Beaches

Quite surprisingly, the most popular beach is not near the Mediterranean Sea but on the North Sea coast—more specifically, the Wadden Sea. The Oosterstrand on the island of Schiermonnikoog in the Netherlands is the best-rated beach in our research, with an average public rating of 4.9 out of 5. No other beach in our research rated higher.

Three other beaches achieve a top tourist rating of 4.8 stars: Playa de Ses Illetes in Formentera, Woolacombe Beach in Devon, England, and Heringsdorf Beach on the island of Usedom, Germany.

Amasra Beach in Turkey and Playa Isla Canela in Seville, Spain received the lowest rating with 3.5 stars on average.

The Best European Beaches To Escape The Heat This Summer

Escape The Heat This Summer

The 75 Best Beaches To Escape The Heat

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