Best Beaches Near Dublin

Dublin's coastline is closer than it looks on a map, and most of it is reachable without a car — the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit), the city's electrified coastal rail line, runs along a large stretch of Dublin Bay and out past its southern and northern edges, putting several genuinely good beaches within a short train ride of the city centre.

Sandymount Strand

The closest beach to the city centre — a long tidal flat you can walk out onto at low tide, with a promenade running alongside it. Reachable on foot from the city centre (roughly a 30–40 minute walk from Trinity College) or via DART/bus to Sandymount. Because the tide goes out a long way here, it's better suited to a walk than a swim — check the tide times before heading out onto the flats, since the water can come in quickly once it turns.

Dollymount Strand (North Bull Island)

Part of the North Bull Island nature reserve, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1981 (extended to cover all of Dublin Bay in 2015). A long, wide beach popular with kite-surfers and walkers, and one of the most ecologically significant sites this close to a capital city anywhere in Europe — it supports wintering wading birds and dune habitats protected under EU law, alongside its role as an everyday beach for the city. Reachable by bus from the city centre.

Portmarnock

One of Dublin's Blue Flag beaches, with a Green Coast Award recognising its environmental quality. Further north than Dollymount, and reachable by DART (via Portmarnock station) or bus. It's a wide, sandy beach that tends to be quieter than the beaches closer to the city centre, and is often paired with a stop at nearby Malahide, a coastal village with its own beach and harbour walk, a short journey further up the same DART line.

Killiney

A Blue Flag beach on the DART line south of the city, with views toward the Wicklow Mountains — a short walk downhill from Killiney station. The hill above the beach, Killiney Hill, is a public park with a viewing point that takes in the whole sweep of the bay; it's a reasonable extension to a beach visit if you don't mind the climb back up.

Seapoint

A smaller, rockier beach on the DART line between Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire, popular with local sea swimmers year-round rather than just in summer. It's less of a destination beach than Dollymount or Killiney, but it's easy to combine with a walk along the Dún Laoghaire piers, a short distance further down the line.

The Forty Foot, Sandycove

A small, rocky sea-swimming spot at Sandycove, on the DART line beyond Dún Laoghaire, best known as the setting for the opening chapter of James Joyce's Ulysses. It was historically a men-only bathing place — a sign reading "Forty Foot Gentlemen's Bathing Place" still stands nearby — but it's been open to everyone since the 1970s. People swim here throughout the year, including on winter mornings; it's not a sandy beach in the conventional sense, more a set of rocks and steps into deep water, so it suits confident swimmers more than a family beach day.

Practical notes

• Irish sea temperatures are cold year-round by most standards — a wetsuit is normal for anything more than a quick dip outside summer, though you'll always see some swimmers going in without one.
• None of these beaches have lifeguards outside specific patrolled periods (typically summer months) — check current local signage, and take particular care at the Forty Foot, where swimmers enter directly into deep water rather than a gradually shelving beach.
• DART trains run along this coastline regularly, generally every 10–20 minutes at peak times; check current timetables at irishrail.ie before travelling, especially outside normal daytime hours.
• Most of these beaches have limited or no facilities beyond basic parking and toilets — bring what you need with you, particularly outside the main summer season.
• Where lifeguards are present, follow the flag system in use (typically red and yellow flags marking a supervised swimming area) rather than assuming the whole beach is being watched.

Related reading

• Best Parks and Walks in Dublin
• Howth Guide
• Best Day Trips from Dublin
• Things to Do in Dublin for Couples