The Top 12 Best Beaches in North Wales – A Campervan Road Trip

Since we started watching Vanlife videos on YouTube we always dreamt about doing a Vanlife road trip of some sort. With it being our first weekend in our Campervan we didn’t want to do something NC500 etc but still wanted to do something that we could Vlog and Blog about. Which led us to doing the Top 12 Best Beaches in North Wales – A campervan road trip.

We take you around the best beaches in North Wales including Barmouth, Prestatyn and plenty of others. Some were incredible and some felt like swamps but we give you the candid feedback on the beaches.

It was our first Vanlife road trip and we absolutely loved it and are planning more as we speak. In what to date is our longest video at over 33 minutes, this has definitely been our biggest project to date with over 8 hours editing and 90 minutes of initial footage.

We were amazed at how beautiful North Wales was, and so were their beaches.

Below we have given you a run through of all the top 12 beaches in North Wales with some awesome pics, postcode info and a bit about what we got up to and whether we’d visit again. Please let us know in the comments if you’ve been or plan on going to any of the beaches we stopped at!

The top 12 beaches in North Wales in the order we saw them in! Read on to find out which made our top 3!

Talacre Beach

This is a massive beach and the tide was out when we arrived. It took an age to reach the sea where we were then greeted with the weirdest, muddy sand I’ve ever felt in my life! It was like a mud bath for your feet. I can imagine walking a dog along this vast beach. Oh it also had a pretty cool light house. Scroll to see the pics including my mud foot spa 🤣

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Yes, all year round
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: CH8 9RS

Prestatyn Beach

Day 1 – Friday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

Next up we have Prestatyn Beach – Rich used to come here loads as a kid! There is lots to do in Prestatyn and is popular with families. We didn’t have much time here just a quick stop for some pics and on to the next one 😎

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Dog restrictions apply between May and the end of September
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL19

Llanddulas Beach

Day 1 – Friday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

Here we have Lladdulas Beach. This is a mainly pebble/rock beach with some sand when the tide is out. Due to being 29 weeks preggo 🤰🏼it took me a bit of time to wobble to the front 🤣. It was totally worth it though, just look at the pics!

Type of beach: Rock and pebble
Dog-friendly: Yes, all year round
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL22 8HB

Benllech Beach

Day 1 – Friday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

Benllech beach is in a lovely bay. It is one of the most popular beaches on the island of Anglesey. It has beautiful fine golden sand and clear Blue Flag waters which I can imagine on a sunny day is a delight to swim in 🏊🏼☀️

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Dog restrictions apply between May – September
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL74 8QE

Moelfre Wild Camp

Day 2 – Saturday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

We were hoping to make it to Newborough on the Friday night but we were later getting away with the campervan from the dealer than expected so time was not on our side. When we left Benllech we decided to find a quiet spot to park up and settle for the night. I was absolutely shattered so had no problem getting to sleep! When we arrived it was pitch black. To awake to this beautiful little beach was just amazing! 🤩

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Yes
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL72 8NN

Beaumaris Morning Affair

Day 2 – Saturday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

Before heading off to uncover the next beach from the best beaches in North Wales list we stopped off at Beaumaris Castle. Although Rich has came to Anglesey loads in his younger days he’d never been inside the castle. It was really cool to see and if you’re ever nearby I’d definitely recommend stopping in 🏰😊

Car Park: Yes – Beaumaris Green Car Park
Postcode: LL58 8RA

Llanddwyn Beach

Day 2 – Saturday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

This beach was absolutely stunning and it’s easy to see why it’s one of North Wales Best Beaches! You have to drive through the nature reserve to park up and you may even get the chance to see some rare red squirrels ⛱️🌳🐿️

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Dog restrictions apply between May and the end of September
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL61 6SG

Nefyn Beach & Morfa Nefyn Beach

Day 2 – Saturday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

Not only were the two beaches beautiful, Morfa Nefyn is home to a walk up beach bar… officially in the top 10 beach bars in the world. Our Sat Nav initially took us to Nefyn beach, although no top 10 beach bar there was a lovely little café where we got delicious Cheese n Onion Pasties and some cake 🍰🍻🏖️

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Dogs are allowed on Ty Coch Inn side
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL53 6DB (for car park to Ty Coch Inn side)

Porth Iago

Day 2 – Saturday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

What can I say about this place other than it was completely spectacular and I can’t wait to go back. Even though it felt like we were in a giant cloud and the wind was blowing a gale, it didn’t take away from the beauty of the beach. A complete hidden gem and I think this could be the best Secret Beach in Wales ✨🏖️😊

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Yes, all year round
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL53 8LP

Aberdaron Beach

Day 3 – Sunday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

With 5 beaches still to get through on our list of the 12 Best Beaches in North Wales our stop at Aberdaron was short & sweet. We had a great breakfast just a min stroll from the beach. The beach itself was in a lovely wee cove and the sun was coming out but time for pics was all we had here ☀️🏖️🥓🍳

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Dog restrictions apply between April – September
Car Park: Yes at Porth y Swnt National Trust car park
Postcode: LL53 8BE

Llanbedrog Beach

Day 3 – Sunday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

Llandbedrog Beach is a mile-long and the most sheltered in North Wales, most of which is managed by the National Trust. The beach itself is home to some super colourful beach huts! We parked in the National Trust car park just beside the beach, it had some cool statues and an outdoor theatre. There was also nice beach front café/bar. Scroll the images to check it all out!

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Yes, all year round
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL53 7TR

Fairbourne Beach

Day 3 – Sunday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

This beach was a sand and rock beach, that also had a miniature railway and a lamb statue! This was another short n sweet stop. We parked up, a walk along the front to the toilets then back in the camper to get to beach number 11 in our search for the best beaches in North Wales! ⛱️🚂🙂

Type of beach: Sand and pebble
Dog-friendly: Dog restrictions apply between April – end September on the central 1/3rd of the beach
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL38 2DX

Barmouth Beach

Day 3 – Sunday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

Barmouth has all the traditional seaside fun on the promenade and in the small fairground with a two mile stretch of sandy beach and a little harbour feel to it. It’s easy to see why it’s one of Wales’ most popular beaches. We had a quick scoot around the town and then back to the camper for our final stop in our campervan road trip! 🎠🎡🏖️

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Dog restrictions apply between April – September
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL42 1LX

Harlech Beach

Day 3 – Sunday: Top 12 Beaches In North Wales – A Vanlife Road Trip

We ended up doing this beach last when it should have been the 10th stop. We decided to go to the furthest away one first (after Llandbedrog) so were effectively making our way home. To say we saved the best beach in North Wales to last is an understatement. This beach is unlike any other beach we’ve ever been on! Th sun came out, it was 20 degrees and the scenery was just unreal over Snowdonia and out to sea, it was simply breath taking! 😎🏖️⛰️😃

Type of beach: Sandy
Dog-friendly: Dog restrictions apply between April – September on a small section of the beach, the rest of the beach is dog-friendly year-round
Car Park: Yes
Postcode: LL46 2UG

The Top 3 Best Beaches in North Wales as voted for by Onlyvans!

I don’t think it will come as a surprise that the best beach in North Wales as voted for by Onlyvans is Harlech Beach! If you only ever get to visit one on our list make it this one – you won’t be disappointed!

Second in our list is Llanddwyn Beach (Newborough), a bit like Harlech in terms of stunning scenery, the sand was also super soft and you can walk out to the lighthouse, just make sure you get your timings right for the tide.

Coming third in our Top 12 Beaches In North Wales is none other than Benllech. The Blue Flag beach is ideal for families and I can’t wait to revisit.

It wouldn’t be right not to mention this beach as on a clear day I can actually see it being our joint favourite! It is none other than the best hidden gem beach in Wales, Porth Iago. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in awesome weather.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our review of the 12 Best Beaches In North Wales. You can also watch the vlog below 😃🏖️☀️

Have you been to any of these beaches? What was your favourite? What should be on the list? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

xx Lisa & Rich