Saunton Sands Beach
Saunton Sands Beach
4.5
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- A Midlife AdventureDursley, United Kingdom2,872 contributionsAnother lovely north Devon beachOur second walk of the day having driven around the coast from Woolacombe. Really large car park where you pay on exit which allows you to choose how long you wish to stay. We were there for a couple of hours. It was a little windy but again a great place to blow the cobwebs away whilst enjoying the spectacular views. Beach huts for hire for the day regardless of family size. Personally we thought this was quite a good idea particularly if you have children. Dogs again allowed and there were several dog owners present when we were there. Another lovely stroll despite the wind!Visited May 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 20 May 2024
- floydk509Hampshire, United Kingdom369 contributionsWow!! ⛱️What an amazing beach. Goes on for miles as well. Great facilities nearby. Beach huts and deck chairs, wind breaks etc available to rent. Surf shops, snack bar and restaurant. Dog friendly. Will definitely return.Visited May 2024Travelled with familyWritten 26 May 2024
- John HCambridge, United Kingdom20 contributionsLong Sandy Beach ideal for KidsLovely sandy beach with acres of room, especially mid-week in June. Car park and shops close to beach. Car park is Anpr operated. Shops reasonably priced and staff friendly. Great for the three Grandchildren on the beach and in the seaVisited June 2024Travelled with familyWritten 11 June 2024
- Yvonne MRochford, United Kingdom15 contributionsFabulous beachFabulous beach, nice cafe but disgusting toilets. Really let down our visit although nothing can take away the amazing beach. Car park Can get very busy with surfers etc. but beach is so huge you wouldn’t notice.Visited June 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 24 June 2024
- Jen_Andy_LawsonLeeds, United Kingdom1,256 contributionsFantastic beachFirstly don’t be put off by other reviews citing the dirty toilets - we found they were cleaned regularly on our visit - there is a lot of sand gets in them and a wet floor but surely standard at a beach? Parking charges seem excessive but no different to anywhere else in the UK now. The beach is great, miles of sand with plenty of space even at high tide. The sea is shallow for some distance making it great for kids and is popular for surfing and bodyboarding due to the waves. The backdrop is Braunton Burrows which is a huge complex of sand dunes - you could spend a day alone just exploring those. There is a shop on site and we thought the prices were reasonable considering you are a captive audience and they sold anything you would need for the beach and more.Visited August 2024Travelled with familyWritten 15 August 2024
- Dawn E25 contributionsLovely beach with plenty going on!A great beach with loads of space for the dogs to run! Loos were clean and had an attendant there ! Cold grab hot and. Old drinks as well as a bite to eat! The parking machines were amazing!!! Big screen, quick and efficient! What a great change!Visited August 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 20 August 2024
- Kate BondBath, United Kingdom123 contributionsBig beachMe & my partner walked here from Croyde beach on a very rainy day on 5/9/24. The beach was very very big and beautiful! There is a lovely cafe nearby and plenty of toilets (they were clean on our visit, but don’t be put off from coming here because of the cleanliness of the toilets). This is a perfect place to walk your dog, and is perfect to collect many big shells unlike other beaches. Really enjoyed the walk here and the beach!Visited September 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 6 September 2024
- Catherine M1 contributionAccess chairs!So lovely to have the ability to borrow sand friendly mobility chairs - and at no cost! My Dad was able to visit the beach in safety and Mum and I coukd relax knowing he wasn't going to have a fall. Great facilities, friendly people, lovely food, amazing sand dunes. A perfect day.Visited September 2024Travelled with familyWritten 20 September 2024
- DanteontourDensole, United Kingdom70 contributionsSo big, diverse users....loved it and it's just a beach.Wow, just everybody goes here and it's so big it's not busy (September). Loved the walk, loved the dunes. Horses, surfers, dogs and nice people. Had a cuppa and pasty on the the return to the carpark too. The pasty was really tasty, had to go back and check.Visited September 2024Travelled with familyWritten 16 October 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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4.5
1,030 reviews
Excellent
666
Very good
233
Average
58
Poor
24
Terrible
49
301lisa33
Coventry, UK2,007 contributions
Jun 2023 • Family
This is a lovely beach but, like most hereabouts, it is a long walk to the water at low tide! No lifeguards on the beach. Adequate range of facilities available (shop, cafe, toilet)
Parking is quite pricey for short stays.
Parking is quite pricey for short stays.
Written 1 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dinosaurmadkids
Cardiff, UK17 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
Went to Saunton beach with 3 young children. The carpark is an absolute free for all with no assistance from carpark staff and no one way system or signs to help control the traffic. I asked a member of staff for direction and they just shrugged their shoulders and said park anywhere you can.
They are quick enough to charge a hefty fee for the carpark though.
The beach itself is superb, huge with sand dunes and you are able to have a quiet spot if you don't mind walking away from the enterance for 5 mins.
Beach is mostly clean but I did see litter around and there are many dogs on the beach.
The beachside cafe is expensive - £1.70 for a can of pop and £7 for a bacon cheese burger but to be fair the burger was delicious.
I'm summary a very good beach and worth going there but be prepared for chaotic expensive carpark.
They are quick enough to charge a hefty fee for the carpark though.
The beach itself is superb, huge with sand dunes and you are able to have a quiet spot if you don't mind walking away from the enterance for 5 mins.
Beach is mostly clean but I did see litter around and there are many dogs on the beach.
The beachside cafe is expensive - £1.70 for a can of pop and £7 for a bacon cheese burger but to be fair the burger was delicious.
I'm summary a very good beach and worth going there but be prepared for chaotic expensive carpark.
Written 25 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TML
Bristol, UK830 contributions
Oct 2022 • Family
A lovely beach. I have always loved Saunton, the view from the road across the top is stunning.
Car parking is very reasonable in comparison to other beach spots in the area and I found the ticket machine easy to use and a good system in/out.
Such a large beach so never feels particularly crowded, easy to find your own spot.
During our week holiday we visited here most days.
I would also recommend this beach for families with young children as it isn’t far to walk from the car park to the beach and no hills / steps etc.
refreshments were available.
Car parking is very reasonable in comparison to other beach spots in the area and I found the ticket machine easy to use and a good system in/out.
Such a large beach so never feels particularly crowded, easy to find your own spot.
During our week holiday we visited here most days.
I would also recommend this beach for families with young children as it isn’t far to walk from the car park to the beach and no hills / steps etc.
refreshments were available.
Written 23 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ritchie
13 contributions
Jun 2022 • Couples
Fantastic beach if you enjoy a bit of surfing. It's a huge beach so plenty of space for everyone and very shallow sloping so it's great for young ones. Couple of points though bring it down. We stayed in Lobb Fields for 5 nights and visited the beach 3 times, each time for a few hours and the parking charges aren't cheap. Especially disappointed that there were no free bays for Blue Badge holders, although there are dedicated bays for them. Secondly, the beach is known as dog friendly, which is great, I love dogs as much as anyone What I don't like is dog crap being washed around in the waves that folk, including myself and young kids, are playing in. Yes it is the minority that bring down the reputation of the responsible owners who clean up their dogs' mess, but I seen on several occasions over the 3 days, owners watching their dog crap on the sand then walk away as if nothing happened.
Written 2 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sam F
Nottingham, UK3 contributions
May 2024 • Family
Please boycott this beach. It's one of the biggest beaches in the whole of Great Britain, but it has only one access car park, which is privately owned by a multi national hiding behind the name "Saunton Beach Enterprises." As of today a day's parking at the beach will cost you £17.50. They have essentially taken several thousand acres of pristine beach hostage and local councilors and government don't seem to be capable of doing anything about it. The beauty of nature should be there for all to enjoy, not only those who can afford to pay for it.
Written 8 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ConcordeSST
Romsey, UK125 contributions
Sept 2021 • Couples
Having just returned from a short break in North Devon, I feel I need to comment on my experience parking at Staunton Sands. At the entrance to the car park from the road, there was a line of cars trying to exit while 2 girls sat by covering a ‘car park full’ sign. Driving down the windy roadway, through the barrier and to the left, we were greeted by row upon row of vehicles parked right to the end of the rows! This resulted in no exit lane, so I had to reverse backwards for some distance in order to leave. People were queuing to pay for their tickets and you were charged once the 20 minutes had elapsed.
This was the worst driving experience I have had in over 45 years of driving and led to my wife and I cutting our holiday short.
I realise the pandemic has exacerbated the situation but the Company running the car park should be accountable and properly organise and manage it. It should have been marked as full, and stewards assisting traffic flow.
Profit before pleasure seems to be the key!
This was the worst driving experience I have had in over 45 years of driving and led to my wife and I cutting our holiday short.
I realise the pandemic has exacerbated the situation but the Company running the car park should be accountable and properly organise and manage it. It should have been marked as full, and stewards assisting traffic flow.
Profit before pleasure seems to be the key!
Written 18 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nicholas C
Wotton-under-Edge, UK138 contributions
May 2021 • Friends
We found this beach last year when holidaying in the local vicinity. We wanted to find a beach that would be ok with dog walkers. We have 2 small dogs and one of them is quite nervous. We walked them on their leads last year but this year, we had 2 of our sons and their girlfriends with us and we tried letting them off their leads and they were brilliant. We only took them off once we were away from the general public and walking on the vast open expanse of beach that is there. However, there are lots of other dogs there and the first walk we did was on a Sunday and there seemed to be a gathering of full sized poodles there with various owners, as we approached them one dog was called and put on a lead as we were walking by. 3/4’s of an hour later when we walked past this group again, one of these dogs decided to come over to us and chase our nervous dog all over the place frightening him to death. I finally managed to grab him but despite holding him high up around my head, the poodle was jumping right up at me and my dog. The owner of the poodle just kept calling “domino” constantly but without force and the dog ignored her until she got within around 10ft when it finally went away. Not an apology or anything from the owner and that’s the difference between owners who can give all dog owners a bad name. We saw another dog walk up to a mother and son who’d been surfing and the dog casually walked over to them, cocked his leg and began to pee on their things with the owners just casually saying “oh,sorry” but not really meaning it. In one way you can look at it and think it’s funny but it isn’t and when your dogs are around the general public I think they should be on a lead.
However, I must say that when we get to this beach, both of our dogs love the freedom they have and almost visibly smile when they’re there.
There is a car park, you do pay, £1.50 for an hour, £3 for 2 hrs and so on. I’d say the best and easiest way to get there is to drive towards Saunton Golf Club and go past the entrance to there and the beach is around 1/2 mile up from there on the left hand side. There’s a decent sized car park. It’s a very popular surfing beach from what we saw and consequently, very busy at the weekends and Braunton is busy with traffic because of it too with one set of traffic lights in the town that control everything and at peak times you can be queuing for a long time to get through.
However, I must say that when we get to this beach, both of our dogs love the freedom they have and almost visibly smile when they’re there.
There is a car park, you do pay, £1.50 for an hour, £3 for 2 hrs and so on. I’d say the best and easiest way to get there is to drive towards Saunton Golf Club and go past the entrance to there and the beach is around 1/2 mile up from there on the left hand side. There’s a decent sized car park. It’s a very popular surfing beach from what we saw and consequently, very busy at the weekends and Braunton is busy with traffic because of it too with one set of traffic lights in the town that control everything and at peak times you can be queuing for a long time to get through.
Written 27 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dubz
Oxford, UK287 contributions
Nov 2023 • Couples
Wow wow wow.
Another HUGE dog friendly beach. When the tide is out there are miles and miles of clean flat sand to walk on. Your dogs will love it. Its a surfers paradise apparently and we saw many novices trying their luck on the waves. Parking is not that bad, you pay at the end of the stay, either at the payment machines or at the little shop selling beach wears. There is also a small cafe there which is not cheap! Its the definition of cornering the market, as nothing else about. They sell doggy ice cream which our dog loved. There are also toilets nearby.
Another HUGE dog friendly beach. When the tide is out there are miles and miles of clean flat sand to walk on. Your dogs will love it. Its a surfers paradise apparently and we saw many novices trying their luck on the waves. Parking is not that bad, you pay at the end of the stay, either at the payment machines or at the little shop selling beach wears. There is also a small cafe there which is not cheap! Its the definition of cornering the market, as nothing else about. They sell doggy ice cream which our dog loved. There are also toilets nearby.
Written 12 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jo R
Chessington, UK35 contributions
Aug 2021
Stunning dog friendly beach. Busy on the first part where families and surfers settle close to the cafe but once you get past the first bit you can walk for miles along a beautiful sandy beach with hardly anyone else there. The weather wasn't great when we visited but it was mid August in the busiest "Staycation" period that Devon and Cornwall have seen and so we were still amazed it was so peaceful. It is lovely to have such a beautiful beach dog friendly and we made sure to keep it clean so that hopefully it remains that way.
Written 25 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Trekbud
Loughborough, UK991 contributions
Aug 2021 • Friends
We visited fairly early in the day on a cold, wet August weekday. When we arrived it was a little busy on the beach just by the car park. On our return (around midday), that area of the beach was crowded with surfers and dog walkers. Just a mile along the beach we had enjoyed the place almost entirely to ourselves except for footprints and sandpipers. So if you enjoy some peace and quiet just walk a little further.
Written 19 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
At high tides there's a lot of beach left above waterline.
Written 19 November 2022
Can anyone explain to me why there are NO lifeguards on this beach? There are so many people in the water on surfboards and boogie boards, there are hazardous rocks to one end, strong currents and waves but NO LIFEGUARDS?
Are the beach owners just waiting for a fatality before they help the RNLI to provide lifeguards here?
It such an amazing place, it would be awful if a tragedy happened to someone's child.
Just get lifeguards please!
Written 15 April 2021
How busy does the car park get? What sort of time will it be full on peak days?
Written 7 August 2020
We arrived mid afternoon and it was full. However, some were just leaving so we got straight in. That was a Thursday. I would suggest aim for before 10:30 or possibly earlier weekends
Written 7 August 2020
surfsup415
Ilfracombe, United Kingdom
To be honest it could be! The beach it's just so long and quiet, the dunes streches as far as the estuary and mostly only accessible by one of the car park entrance or the golf club which is quite gar away behind it. It's perfect for camping a day or two if you don't mind the wilderness :) abdolutely worth a topless trip bro!!! U just pray for some sunshine I guess :)
Written 20 May 2019
I lost a gold bracelet there in October 18, it was my mum's. If you find it either treasure it or find me on Facebook to return it please
Written 19 October 2018
Sadly we don’t live close enough to go regular but hope you find it.
Written 20 October 2018
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