Illustration of the sea with a city on the backside

The Best European Beaches To Escape The Heat

Discover the Best Budget Beaches

With summer firmly on its way, here at Omio, we wanted to find out which beaches are the best for escaping the heat without breaking the bank. To create the ranking, we researched the average costs of typical beach day essentials for 75 of Europe’s most popular beaches.

How much does a beach lounger with an umbrella cost this season? And what about a portion of ice cream or a bottle of water? How expensive are beer and spritz in beach bars by the sea? The following ranking of the best and cheapest beaches for cooling off in summer provides all the answers and more exciting insights.

The 75 Best Beaches For Summer Holidays


Select all rows
Select row	1	🇪🇸	Playa de Las Canteras	Gran Canaria	£2.57	£1.80	£3.00	£5.15	£0.88	21°C	4.7	100.0
Select row	2	🇹🇷	Kleopatra Beach	Alanya	£6.44	£0.69	£1.86	£3.43	£0.37	24°C	4.5	90.6
Select row	3	🇪🇸	Playa de La Concha	San Sebastian	£2.57	£1.97	£3.00	£6.01	£0.38	18°C	4.7	90.0
Select row	4	🇪🇸	Playa de las Teresitas	Tenerife	w/o	£1.72	£3.43	£6.01	£0.61	21°C	4.6	89.5
Select row	5	🇮🇹	Scoglio di Monterosso	Monterosso al Mare	£8.58	£1.72	£3.43	£5.15	£0.45	21°C	4.4	89.4
Select row	6	🇩🇪	Warnemünde Beach	Warnemünde	£12.01	£1.29	£3.86	£5.15	£0.77	18°C	4.7	88.6
Select row	7	🇵🇹	Falésia Beach	Algarve	£8.58	£2.40	£2.57	£3.43	£1.10	23°C	4.6	87.1
Select row	8	🇵🇹	Praia Grande de Porto Covo	Porto Cove	w/o	£2.15	£3.43	£5.15	£0.85	21°C	4.6	86.2
Select row	9	🇮🇹	Spiaggia di Sansone	Elba	£17.16	£2.15	£4.29	£6.01	£0.43	21°C	4.7	86.1
Select row	10	🇵🇱	Plaża Jastarnia	Hel	£11.16	£1.81	£3.00	£4.89	£0.45	18°C	4.7	85.8
Select row	11	🇪🇸	Sotavento Beach	Fuerteventura	w/o	£1.03	£2.57	£4.29	£1.54	24°C	4.8	85.0
Select row	12	🇵🇹	Praia Da Rocha	Portimao	£8.58	£1.89	£3.00	£4.29	£0.70	23°C	4.6	85.0
Select row	13	🇹🇷	Yahsi Beach	Bodrum	£1.72	£0.30	£1.92	£4.29	£0.28	25°C	4.4	80.3
Select row	14	🇩🇪	St. Peter-Ording Beach	St. Peter-Ording	£10.30	£1.46	£3.00	£5.92	£0.76	17°C	4.8	77.3
Select row	16	🇩🇪	Kühlungsborn Beach	Kühlungsborn	£13.53	£1.37	£4.29	£5.15	£1.02	17°C	4.7	75.0
Select row	15	🇩🇪	Heringsdorf Beach	Usedom	£11.33	£1.72	£4.29	£5.58	£1.12	17°C	4.8	73.8
Select row	17	🇫🇷	Grand Plage du Sillon	Saint Malo	w/o	£2.57	£3.43	£6.01	£0.39	18°C	4.7	71.6
Select row	18	🇭🇷	Kasjuni Beach	Split	£21.45	£1.12	£4.81	£7.64	£0.82	22°C	4.4	70.8
Select row	19	🇲🇪	Long Beach	Ulcinj	£8.58	£2.83	£4.29	£4.72	£0.71	23°C	4.6	69.9
Select row	20	🇲🇦	Plage d'Agadir	Agadir	£6.44	£1.58	£1.98	£4.76	£0.47	25°C	4.4	69.8
Select row	21	🇫🇷	Plage de Palombaggia	Corse	£42.91	£2.15	£4.29	£6.01	£0.99	23°C	4.6	68.8
Select row	22	🇫🇷	Plage des Gollandières	Île de Ré	w/o	£2.66	£4.12	£6.87	£0.62	20°C	4.4	68.7
Select row	23	🇮🇹	Tropea Beach	Tropea	£8.58	£2.15	£3.43	£6.01	£0.67	24°C	4.7	68.2
Select row	24	🇩🇪	Timmendorf Beach	Timmendorf	£16.56	£1.46	£3.86	£6.01	£1.01	17°C	4.7	68.2
Select row	25	🇩🇪	Binz Beach	Rügen	£6.44	£1.54	£4.29	£6.44	£1.02	17°C	4.7	68.0
Select row	26	🇫🇷	Plage de Narbonne	Narbonne	£25.74	£2.15	£3.00	£8.41	£0.45	22°C	4.5	67.8
Select row	27	🇭🇷	Sakarun	Zadar	£17.16	£1.20	£2.66	£6.01	£0.77	23°C	4.1	67.3
Select row	28	🇭🇷	Uvala Lapad Beach	Dubrovnik	£2.15	£1.13	£3.00	£9.44	£1.19	23°C	4.4	67.3
Select row	29	🇫🇷	Croisette Beach	Cannes	£51.49	£2.57	£3.43	£7.72	£0.45	22°C	4.5	66.4
Select row	30	🇩🇪	Ellenbogen	Sylt	£12.01	£1.63	£3.86	£6.01	£0.69	16°C	4.8	66.1
Select row	31	🇮🇹	Spiaggia de Rimini	Rimini	£12.01	£2.40	£4.29	£5.15	£0.33	23°C	4.5	64.9
Select row	32	🇦🇱	Beach of Durrës	Tirana	£8.58	£1.54	£2.14	£4.27	£0.46	23°C	3.8	63.7
Select row	33	🇪🇸	Playa Gandia	Valencia	w/o	£1.63	£3.43	£6.01	£0.54	25°C	4.7	62.8
Select row	34	🇪🇸	Playa de Palma	Mallorca	£10.21	£1.12	£3.52	£6.44	£0.63	24°C	4.5	62.6
Select row	35	🇫🇷	Plage Miramar	Biarritz	w/o	£3.00	£6.01	£5.15	£0.55	20°C	4.4	61.2
Select row	36	🇳🇱	Zandvoort aan Zee	Zandvoort	£10.30	£3.00	£3.86	£6.01	£0.59	17°C	4.7	60.0
Select row	37	🇪🇸	Playa de Ses Illetes	Formentera	£3.43	£2.83	£4.29	£4.29	£0.76	25°C	4.8	57.7
Select row	38	🇧🇪	De Panne	West Flames	£12.87	£2.15	£3.86	£6.01	£1.12	17°C	4.3	57.3
Select row	39	🇮🇹	Spiaggia de Ravenna	Ravenna	£12.87	£2.57	£4.29	£5.58	£0.57	24°C	4.5	56.8
Select row	40	🇨🇾	Fig Tree Bay	Protaras	£2.15	£1.72	£2.15	£2.57	£0.67	28°C	4.7	56.2
Select row	41	🇫🇷	Plages du Mourillon	Toulon	w/o	£1.97	£4.29	£7.72	£0.77	22°C	4.3	54.6
Select row	42	🇮🇹	Marina Grande of Positano	Amalfi Coast	£8.58	£3.00	£4.29	£7.72	£0.25	23°C	4.5	54.6
Select row	43	🇮🇹	Spiaggia di Marina Piccola	Capri	£34.33	£2.57	£3.43	£6.01	£0.40	24°C	4.4	54.3
Select row	44	🇮🇹	Spiaggia San Vito lo Capo	Sicily	£4.29	£1.89	£4.29	£6.01	£0.28	24°C	4.3	53.1
Select row	45	🇬🇷	Kalamaki Beach	Crete	£8.58	£2.15	£2.79	£5.15	£0.66	25°C	4.1	50.6
Select row	46	🇮🇹	Cala Brandinchi	Sardinia	£17.16	£2.15	£3.43	£5.58	£0.32	25°C	4.3	50.5
Select row	47	🇬🇧	Gorleston-on-Sea Beach	Great Yarmouth	w/o	£2.50	£4.39	£7.25	£1.07	17°C	4.7	50.1
Select row	48	🇬🇧	Weymouth Beach	Weymouth	£7.98	£2.75	£4.01	£8.02	£1.73	16°C	4.7	49.0
Select row	49	🇬🇷	Kassándra penisula beaches	Kassándra	£25.74	£2.57	£3.86	£6.87	£0.67	24°C	4.3	48.3
Select row	50	🇬🇷	Dassia Bay	Korfu	w/o	£1.89	£3.43	£6.44	£0.51	24°C	4.0	45.5
Select row	51	🇹🇷	Side Halk Beach	Side	£1.03	£1.03	£3.00	£5.15	£0.19	27°C	4.4	45.4
Select row	52	🇪🇸	Cala Salada	Ibiza	w/o	£2.49	£4.29	£5.15	£0.72	25°C	4.5	43.3
Select row	53	🇫🇷	Plage de Pampelonne	St. Tropez	w/o	£3.00	£4.29	£9.44	£0.22	23°C	4.4	41.4
Select row	54	🇫🇷	Plage du Prado	Marseille	£12.77	£3.18	£5.58	£6.87	£0.47	22°C	4.1	40.6
Select row	55	🇳🇱	Oosterstrand	Schiermonnikoog	w/o	£4.29	£3.00	£4.29	£0.61	16°C	4.2	40.4
Select row	56	🇩🇰	Søndervig Beach	Søndervig	w/o	£1.72	£5.47	£7.82	£1.13	16°C	4.7	40.0
Select row	57	🇬🇷	Kamari beach	Santorini	£8.58	£3.00	£4.46	£6.87	£0.77	24°C	4.4	37.9
Select row	58	🇫🇷	Promenade des Anglais	Nice	w/o	£3.43	£6.01	£10.30	£0.68	20°C	4.4	37.7
Select row	59	🇪🇸	Playa Marbella	Marbella	w/o	£2.15	£3.43	£4.72	£0.59	27°C	4.4	37.2
Select row	60	🇪🇸	Playa Isla Canela	Sevilla	£6.87	£3.43	£2.15	£5.15	£0.53	27°C	4.4	36.3
Select row	61	🇬🇧	Bournemouth Beach	Bournemouth	£5.15	£3.99	£4.24	£8.98	£0.83	16°C	4.7	34.6
Select row	62	🇬🇷	Psarou Beach	Mykonos	£25.74	£3.43	£5.15	£7.72	£0.51	24°C	4.4	33.6
Select row	63	🇪🇸	Playa de los Genoveses	Almeria	w/o	£2.15	£4.29	£5.15	£0.40	27°C	4.5	33.2
Select row	64	🇬🇷	Elli Beach	Rhodos	w/o	£2.57	£4.29	£6.01	£0.78	26°C	4.4	32.8
Select row	65	🇲🇹	Mellieħa Bay	Malta	£13.73	£3.00	£5.15	£7.29	£0.59	25°C	4.5	31.3
Select row	66	🇮🇹	Margherita di Savoia	Puglia	£4.29	£2.57	£3.86	£5.58	£0.53	25°C	4.0	30.4
Select row	67	🇬🇧	Barmouth Beach	Snowdonia	w/o	£2.75	£4.87	£9.44	£1.17	15°C	4.8	28.4
Select row	68	🇬🇧	Woolacombe Beach	Woolacombe	w/o	£2.66	£3.95	£8.98	£1.14	16°C	4.4	25.4
Select row	69	🇬🇧	Fistral Beach	Newquay	£3.00	£3.70	£4.49	£9.74	£1.20	16°C	4.7	24.2
Select row	70	🇸🇪	Varamobadet	Lake Vättern	w/o	£2.96	£5.48	£8.80	£1.18	16°C	4.5	19.5
Select row	71	🇩🇰	Amager Strandpark	Copenhagen	w/o	£3.68	£5.64	£10.24	£1.05	16°C	4.6	15.6
Select row	72	🇬🇧	Ayr Beach	Ayr	w/o	£2.50	£3.49	£7.49	£0.72	13°C	4.5	13.6
Select row	73	🇸🇪	Tylösand	Öresund	w/o	£4.02	£5.51	£9.44	£1.28	16°C	4.5	8.7
Select row	74	🇬🇧	West Sands Beach	St. Andrews	w/o	£2.80	£3.99	£8.98	£1.42	13°C	4.7	8.5
Select row	75	🇳🇴	Tjuvholmen City Beach	Oslo	w/o	£3.63	£6.81	£8.81	£1.24	15°C	4.5	0.0

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Travel inspiration

Heat Escape – See you at the beach!

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 exceed 30 degrees. While air conditioning is nice to have, we think it’s better to organise a trip to the sea and cool down at one of Europe’s best beaches.

Our travel experts have examined 75 of the most popular beaches in different countries. To find the best beach, we considered tourist online reviews, the average summer temperature, and relevant price data. A sunbed for some shade, cool drinks like water, beer, and spritz, as well as ice cream, are essential for a perfect beach day, and they don’t need to cost a fortune, as our study found.

Discover Top Low Budget Beaches!

Playa de Las Canteras, Gran Canaria, Spain

The popular Las Palmas city beach is the best bargain option to escape the heat this summer. Bars and restaurants near the beach are quite cheap. A beer costs £3, and a Spritz is around £5. Gran Canaria is particularly pleasant in high summer, thanks to the soft ocean breeze. Renting a sun lounger on the beach is also very affordable at around £2.50 a day.

Cheap flights to Gran Canaria

Scoglio di Monterosso al Mare, Italy

The dreamy beach at Cinque Terre is this summer's best beach in Italy, offering a delightful escape without breaking the bank. At just £1.72 for an ice cream cone and £5.15 for a glass of Spritz, you can quickly immerse yourself in the feeling of La Dolce Vita. With an average summer temperature of 21°C, Monterosso boasts the ideal comfort level – not too hot and not too cold.

Cheap flights to Monterosso al Mare

Gorleston-on-Sea Beach, Great Yarmouth, UK

One of the most popular beaches this summer happens to be one of the most budget-friendly in the UK. Gorleston-on-Sea Beach, with its famous Golden Mile of sandy shoreline, offers a wallet-friendly destination for families seeking water and refreshment. Here, a serving of ice cream is particularly cheap at £2.50. Plus, nowhere else on the beach is the summer drink of spritz cheaper than in Great Yarmouth, where it's priced at £7.25.

Trains to Great Yarmouth

Varamobadet, Vättern, Sweden

Spending your summer holidays at the sandy beaches of Sweden's second-largest lake is a fantastic option. Lake Vättern boasts crystal-clear water, perfect for swimming, paddling, and fishing. Numerous beach bars and ice cream cafés ensure ample refreshment. A large bottle of water costs around £1.18, though ice cream and cold drinks are slightly pricier compared to the Mediterranean. Expect to pay around £3 for a serving of ice cream.

Travelling to Jönköping

Playa de La Concha, San Sebastian, Spain

An ideal alternative to Southern Spain's scorching summers is the Basque Country in the north, which boasts stunning beaches along the Bay of Biscay and more pleasant temperatures. Playa de La Concha, on the outskirts of San Sebastián, is particularly gentle on guests' wallets. Renting a beach lounger costs just around £3, which is the same price as a bottle of beer at the beach bars. Water is available for less than £0.50.

Flights to San Sebastian

Some shade and ice cream – the perfect beach day

A beach lounger with an umbrella provides essential protection from the sun and a comfortable spot to relax. While in Crete and along the Amalfi Coast, you can get one for about £9 a day, in Cannes, France, it will set you back more than £50.

For the perfect beach day, delicious ice cream is a must-have. Those looking to save money are best off in Turkey, where ice cream is the cheapest in Bodrum (£0.30). Enjoying ice cream is also affordable in Fuerteventura (£1.03), Croatia (max. £1.20), and Mallorca, where a scoop at Playa de Palma costs only £1.12.

In Italy, the homeland of gelato, prices at the gelateria range from £1.72 to £3.00 per serving. Holidaymakers in Italy save the most in Monterosso and have to spend the most on the Amalfi Coast.

Cheers! Here’s what you’ll pay for beer and Spritz

What’s better on vacation than winding down the day at a beach bar? Spritz is one of the most popular alcoholic summer drinks, ranging from around £2.50 in Cyprus to more than £10 in Nice and Copenhagen this summer. On average, beachgoers pay about £6 for a glass of Spritz.

Another beloved classic among refreshments is beer, sold in beach bars for between two and seven pounds. On average, you’ll shell out £3.87 for a beer at the beach. Holidaymakers can find significantly lower beer prices in many Spanish, Portuguese, and Croatian holiday destinations this summer.

Escape the heat in Scandinavia

An increasing number of holidaymakers are deliberately seeking destinations with more pleasant temperatures to escape the scorching heat. This phenomenon even has its own name: they are looking for a “coolcation”!

Scandinavia is a perfect option, offering ideal summer temperatures, breathtaking nature, endless coastlines, and countless lakes for swimming. Particularly popular among holidaymakers who prefer cooler destinations are southern Sweden, the coasts and islands of Denmark, the West Fjords in Norway, as well as Scotland and Iceland.

Scandinavian destinations are also ideal for avoiding the tourist crowds that many regions in Italy, Spain, or Greece already suffer from.

Hundreds of crystal-clear lakes in Sweden offer a family-friendly alternative to Mediterranean vacations. Here, holiday homes and accommodations with only a few guests are standard, unlike hotels with thousands of visitors.

In Norway, guests can expect a break from record heat and aridity. The summer months bring many long, bright days, with daytime temperatures rarely exceeding 22°C. These pleasant conditions are perfect for activities such as hiking, climbing, kayaking, and fishing.

Denmark makes it easy to take a deep breath due to the moderate temperatures in midsummer but also thanks to the calm environment of untouched coastal regions and islands. In the spirit of Hygge, families can focus on the essentials here: spending quality time together in nature and unwinding from everyday life.

Popular routes in Scandinavia

The best beaches for coolcation

UK beaches, especially, are among the best destinations without scorching heat. Ayr Beach in Scotland, Bournemouth Beach, and Gorleston-on-Sea Beach in England, are recommended, with average temperatures ranging between 13-17°C.

Other perfect beaches for your next Coolcation can be found in Zandvoort in the Netherlands, on the island of Sylt in Germany, and in Søndervig in Denmark. However, vacationers seeking a destination with a cool ocean breeze should also consider De Panne on the Belgian North Sea coast, as well as Tjuvholmen City Beach in Oslo.

The Most Popular Beaches

Six beaches share the title of Europe’s most popular beach, each boasting a Google star rating of 4.8 out of 5. Among them are three German beaches: St. Peter-Ording Beach and the Ellenbogen on the island of Sylt in the North Sea, and Heringsdorf Beach on the island of Usedom in the Baltic Sea.

Two more popular beaches are found in Spain, on Formentera and Fuerteventura. Rounding out the list is Barmouth Beach in Great Britain, which has also left visitors thoroughly impressed.

The least popular beach is located in Durrës, Albania. Tourists gave it an average rating of just 3.8 stars.

We identified the best and most affordable beaches by selecting 75 of Europe’s most popular European beaches. Our selection was based on factors such as popularity and relevance. For each of the 75 chosen beaches, we gathered data according to the criteria outlined below.

Beach Lounger: We manually researched the average daily rental price for a beach lounger, including a parasol. Our sources included rental company websites, Google Maps listings, and the Tripadvisor platform. This information was collected only for beaches where loungers are available for hire, contributing 10 percent to the final ranking.

Ice cream: We manually researched the average price for a standard serving of ice cream (typically a scoop) from ice cream parlours and shops located near the beach. Listings on Google Maps and Tripadvisor were our primary sources. Only businesses adjacent to the beach were considered, and the average price was calculated from multiple listings.

Bottled water: The average retail price for a 1.5-litre bottle of water was obtained from the Numbeo database, which compiles community-generated data. Prices may vary, and for beaches outside of urban areas, data from the nearest city was used.

Pint of beer: The average price for a standard pint of beer was manually researched. Sources included beach bar websites, listings, and guest ratings on platforms like Google Maps and Tripadvisor. Only bars located by the beach were considered, and the average price was calculated from multiple listings.

Spritz: The average price for a regular glass of spritz was also manually researched. Similar sources were consulted, including beach bar websites, listings, and guest ratings on platforms like Google Maps and Tripadvisor. Again, only bars situated by the beach were included, and the average price was calculated from various listings.

Temperature: Average temperatures for June to September were sourced from the Climate Data database. Considering the theme of Heat Escape beaches, those with average temperatures between 19.0°C and 21.0°C were rated the highest in our study. Beaches deviating further from this ideal temperature received lower ratings.

Google rating: 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.

Ranking: Results from all beaches were compared by standardising the data on a scale from 0 to 100, except for beach loungers and temperature. The beach with the best or most affordable result for each factor received a score of 100, while the worst-performing beach received a score of 0. Other beaches were ranked accordingly between 0 and 100 based on their results.

The final ranking was determined by summing up all standardised evaluation results, also standardised on a scale from 0 to 100. A common normalisation formula was applied for standardisations.

This investigation was conducted in May 2024.