Bournemouth Holidays

Bournemouth beach parking: seafront car park prices by season

A day at a Bournemouth beach car park costs £23.60 to £28 in summer and £5.30 at most from 1 November. 11 seafront car parks compared, Alum Chine to Hengistbury.

Facts checked against official sources on 11 October 2026. How we research

Boscombe beach and seafront seen from Boscombe Pier
Photo: Bournemouth & Poole Tourism / bournemouth.co.uk, Media use with credit

Seafront car parks, west to east

All eleven are run by BCP Council, which sets two seasons: 15 March to 31 October, and 1 November to 14 March. Boscombe Undercliff uses its own dates, shown separately. BCP gives no start date for these tariffs, so they are the prices its pages showed when checked on 11 October 2026.

Bournemouth seafront car parks: summer and winter prices, read 11 October 2026
Alum Chine
Beach
Alum Chine
Spaces
92
Max height
Not stated
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£9.60
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£23.60
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£5.30
Source
BCP Council
Durley Chine
Beach
Durley Chine
Spaces
131
Max height
2.1m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£9.60
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£23.60
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£5.30
Source
BCP Council
Beacon Road
Beach
West Cliff, near the pier
Spaces
44
Max height
2.1m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£15.40
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£28
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£20.90
Source
BCP Council
Bath Road South
Beach
Bournemouth Pier
Spaces
163
Max height
2m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£15.40
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£28
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£20.90
Source
BCP Council
Bath Road North
Beach
Bournemouth Pier
Spaces
116
Max height
2m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£15.40
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£28
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£20.90
Source
BCP Council
Westover Gardens (run by BH Live)
Beach
Bournemouth Pier
Spaces
40
Max height
2.1m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£15.40
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£28
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£20.90
Source
BCP Council
Boscombe Undercliff
Beach
Boscombe Pier
Spaces
355
Max height
2.1m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£9.70 (outside 2 Jul to 2 Sep)
24 hours, to 31 Oct
No 24-hour ticket: closed midnight to 8am
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£5.30 for over 2 hours, from 29 Oct
Source
BCP Council
Overstrand
Beach
Boscombe Pier
Spaces
70
Max height
2.1m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£9.60
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£23.60
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£5.30
Source
BCP Council
Solent Beach
Beach
Solent Beach, by Hengistbury Head
Spaces
581
Max height
2m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£9.60
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£23.60
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£5.30
Source
BCP Council
Hengistbury Head
Beach
Hengistbury Head
Spaces
704
Max height
2.1m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£9.60
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£23.60 (7 days £51.80)
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£5.30
Source
BCP Council
Warren Edge
Beach
Hengistbury Head area
Spaces
192
Max height
2.1m
4 hours, to 31 Oct
£9.60
24 hours, to 31 Oct
£23.60
24 hours, from 1 Nov
£5.30
Source
BCP Council

Shorter stays in summer: 1 hour is £3.20 at the chine, Overstrand, Solent Beach, Hengistbury and Warren Edge car parks, and £3.80 at the four pier car parks. In winter those same chine and Hengistbury car parks have just two prices, £2.70 for 2 hours and £5.30 for 24 hours.

Parking at Bournemouth Pier

Bath Road South, Bath Road North, Westover Gardens and Beacon Road are the closest council car parks to Bournemouth Pier, with 363 spaces between them. They are also the dearest on the seafront: £7.70 for 2 hours and £28 for 24 hours in summer, falling to £4.70 and £20.90 from 1 November. Charges apply around the clock, 7 days a week.

BCP’s pages for Bath Road South, Bath Road North and Westover Gardens point drivers to Avenue Road or Richmond Gardens when they are full. Both of those are town-centre car parks at £12.90 for 24 hours. The cheapest town car parks charge £6.40 for 24 hours; all of them are compared in Bournemouth town centre parking.

Boscombe: prices by arrival time in high summer

Boscombe Undercliff, on the promenade by Boscombe Pier, is the one seafront car park that sets a flat fee by arrival time. Between 2 July and 2 September, a car arriving before 2pm pays £19.10, between 2pm and 4pm £13, after 4pm £8.20, and after 6pm £4.10.

Outside that window it charges by the hour again: from 1 April to 1 July and 3 September to 28 October, it is £3.20 for 1 hour, £6.40 for 2, £9.70 for 4 and £13.60 for 6. Its winter rates, £2.70 for up to 2 hours and £5.30 for longer, start on 29 October rather than 1 November and run to 31 March.

The car park is closed to vehicles entering or leaving between midnight and 8am. BCP’s page lists card among the ways to pay but also says card payments are currently unavailable there, so plan on RingGo or cash. Overstrand, the smaller car park at the same postcode, keeps the standard seasonal prices and is open 24 hours.

Hengistbury Head and Solent Beach

Hengistbury Head has the most spaces on the Bournemouth seafront, 704, and the only weekly ticket: £51.80 for 7 days in summer. The car park is locked between 10pm and 5am, so a car left inside overnight cannot get out until morning. Warren Edge, nearby, closes its gate from 11.59pm to 8am.

Solent Beach car park, which shares Hengistbury Head’s BH6 4EN postcode, adds 581 spaces at the same prices and is open 24 hours. Neither Fisherman’s Walk nor Southbourne Overcliff has a car park in BCP’s car park finder.

Clifftop and on-street seafront parking

East Overcliff Drive, on top of the East Cliff, has 218 pay-and-display bays on the road. Charges apply every day from 9am to 8pm: £8.90 for 4 hours, £19.80 for 11 hours, or a 3-day pass for £22.50 and a 5-day pass for £44.70, both bought by phone only (BCP Council: East Overcliff Drive). Exeter Park Road (BH2 5BD) has 28 bays at the same daytime rates.

In Boscombe, The Marina has 32 on-street bays where charges apply only Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, from 15 March to 31 October, topping out at £10.70 for 8 hours. From 1 November to 14 March parking there is free (BCP Council: The Marina).

Overnight, campervans and motorhomes

Every car park in the table except Boscombe Undercliff charges 24 hours a day, so an overnight stay means a 24-hour ticket. Hengistbury Head (locked 10pm to 5am), Warren Edge (gate shut 11.59pm to 8am) and Boscombe Undercliff (closed midnight to 8am) cannot be driven out of at night.

None of the eleven lists motorhomes among its accepted vehicles: BCP lists cars and motorbikes only. The council car park at Sandbanks does list motorhomes and coaches, covered in Sandbanks parking. BCP’s pages do not say whether sleeping in a vehicle is allowed, so check the signs at the car park.

Fines on the seafront

Standard BCP parking fines are £70 or £50 depending on the contravention, halved if paid within 14 days. From 1 to 31 August 2026, BCP trialled higher fines on seafront roads from Sandbanks to Southbourne: £160 and £110, reduced to £80 and £55 for payment within 14 days (BCP Council: fines trial). The trial has finished; BCP says the Department for Transport will review the results and decide next steps.

Electric vehicle charging at the beach

BCP lists charging points at six seafront car parks: Overstrand (6), Hengistbury Head (6), Durley Chine (4), Bath Road South (4), Warren Edge (4) and Beacon Road (2). Alum Chine, Bath Road North, Westover Gardens, Boscombe Undercliff and Solent Beach have none listed. Charging prices are not given on the car park pages.

Frequently asked questions

Is there free parking at Bournemouth beach?

Not in the seafront car parks, which all charge every day of the year. The Marina’s on-street bays in Boscombe are free from 1 November to 14 March, and are charged only on weekdays in summer. Several roads at Sandbanks in Poole are also free in winter.

Which beach car park is cheapest in summer?

For a full day, Alum Chine, Durley Chine, Overstrand, Solent Beach, Hengistbury Head and Warren Edge all charge £23.60 for 24 hours. For a late arrival in July or August, Boscombe Undercliff’s £8.20 after 4pm or £4.10 after 6pm is lower than any hourly rate at the others.

Where do I park for Canford Cliffs or Branksome Chine?

Those beaches are in Poole, west of Alum Chine, and most of their council car parks charge the same prices as Sandbanks, including a £3.50 overnight fee in summer. They are listed with the Sandbanks car parks in Sandbanks parking.

Related guides

Prices, rules and policies change. Everything on this page was taken from the hotel, operator or council concerned and checked on 11 October 2026; check with them before you travel. Spotted something out of date? See how we research.