Home to one of the best coastlines in the country, Swansea Bay is a 20-mile-long expanse of limestone cliffs, wide-open beaches and cute villages perfect for exploring. Hire a bike or take to one of the many trails to discover the castles, cafés and the best ice cream spots in the country.
Beaches in Swansea
Caswell Bay
Llangennith Beach
Essential Information
With mile after mile of blue waters and golden sands, Swansea has some of the best coastline in the UK, let alone Wales. And a lot of it is just a short distance from the city centre and our hotels.
Swansea Bay itself spreads for over 20 miles from the Mumbles Pier down past Port Talbot. If you start at Mumbles Pier, you’ll be able to check out the 250-metre long pier and all its attractions, and also the nearby Oystermouth Castle with its incredible views.
As soon as you travel west of Swansea, you head into the Gower Peninsula, the UK’s first-ever Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. With wide expansive beaches and secluded coves, the coast stretches for miles from Swansea to Llanelli Bay.
Make sure to visit the Three Cliffs Bay with its amazing limestone cliffs, dense forests and fine golden sands.
Oxwich Bay
A 2.5-mile-long expanse of beach, Oxwich Bay is a popular beach for diving, sailing, windsurfing and water skiing and was even named the best beach in Britain in 2007 by Travel Magazine. It’s also the home to Gower Adventures, a company that will arrange all your waters sports and activities for you, including boat trips, nature excursions and sightseeing tours.
There’s plenty of action on the land as well, with the Oxwich Burrows Nature Reserve lying behind the dunes, along with several cafés and pubs in the nearby village of Oxwich.
With miles of coastal paths, car parks and dozens of nearby cafés, bars and restaurants, exploring the Swansea coastline is a great way to spend a day. From rock pools to picnics and sunset ice creams to windsurfing, there’s a beach towel with your name on it in Swansea!
Caswell Bay
The other side of the Mumbles peninsula, Caswell Bay is an enclosed stretch of beach that’s home to Gower Surf School, the only fully licensed surf school in the area. Over a decade old, the surf school provides lessons for everyone including total beginners. Open seven days a week, they offer one-on-one lessons as well as group classes.
Caswell is around 400 metres from the beach, while the car park is 100 metres from the sea and is equipped with toilets, showers and stands that sell everything from ice creams to buckets and spades. There’s also a summertime ban on dogs, with none allowed on the beach from May until September.
Llangennith Beach
Llangennith Beach is a surfer’s paradise. Here, you’ll find the Llangennith Surf School for those who want to learn, with full equipment, including wetsuits, available to hire.
Called one of the best surf spots by The Guardian, the beach is on the western edge of Wales and gets the full force of the Atlantic wind. Deep, wide and popular, the beach is a hotspot for fishers, and sandcastle architects and is 100% dog-friendly throughout the year. The car park is 200 metres away and is equipped with toilets and food and drink stands.