Sandbanks beach: lifeguards, dogs, facilities and getting there

Sandbanks and the beaches next to it compared

Sandbanks is one end of a run of sand that BCP Council manages east to Branksome Dene and on into Bournemouth. Across the water from the tip of the peninsula, a four-minute chain ferry ride away, is Shell Bay at Studland, run by the National Trust. The table sets out what each beach offers, from the council’s and the Trust’s own pages, read on 12 October 2026. Lifeguard dates come from BCP’s lifeguards and beach safety page, and award status from BCP’s 15 May 2026 announcement.

What is at Sandbanks beach?

The council lists toilets, an accessible toilet, showers, drinking water, a café, a refreshments and ice-cream kiosk, a children’s play area, mini golf, a dog wash and seasonal volleyball nets. The accessible toilet is in the car park, near the beach office. Seafront rangers work from the Sandbanks beach office, which BCP lists without the “seasonal” label it gives the offices at Shore Road and Branksome Chine.

Open fires and camping are banned on every BCP beach. Disposable barbecues are allowed on Sandbanks beach between 6pm and 10:30pm.

For watersports, Shore Road beach lists equipment hire and lessons, and is known for windsurfing and kitesurfing, according to BCP. The Sandbanks Hotel, on the beach, runs its own watersports centre with hire or tuition in windsurfing, paddleboarding, kayaking and sailing. Boats, personal watercraft, wind and kite surfers and large solid body boards are not allowed inside the red and yellow flagged bathing areas.

Can wheelchair users get onto Sandbanks beach?

Yes. BCP says Sandbanks beach can be reached by ramp, and its beach office lends a beach wheelchair with balloon tyres, first come first served, from 9:30am to 4:30pm between May and September, against a £50 cash deposit. A boardwalk or Mobi-Mat runs from the promenade towards the sea in summer.

The two BCP pages give slightly different details for that: the Sandbanks page says Mobi-Mat matting from May to September, while BCP’s accessibility page says a wooden boardwalk from 15 May to 30 September. Canford Cliffs is harder: BCP warns that it can be difficult to reach from its car park and suggests Sandbanks, Shore Road or Branksome Chine instead.

Can you take a dog to Sandbanks beach?

Not to the main beach from 1 May to 30 September, when dogs must also be on a lead on the promenade and paths. The western end of the Sandbanks promenade, running to Haven Point by the chain ferry, is a year-round dog area. From 1 October to 30 April dogs can use the whole beach.

Two longer options are each a short trip away. Across the ferry, the National Trust allows dogs on Studland’s beaches all year, off the lead from 1 October to 30 April and on a lead under 2 metres from 1 May to 30 September. To the east, Branksome Dene is open to dogs all year between Branksome Chine beach office and Alum Chine beach office. Every beach and zone is listed in dog-friendly beaches in Bournemouth.

Is there any free parking at Sandbanks?

In summer, only for Blue Badge holders: the 12-bay Shore Road disabled car park is free all year. From 1 November to 14 March, six roads on the peninsula stop charging altogether, and the council car parks are free overnight. The main Sandbanks car park charges up to £25 for 14 hours between 15 March and 31 October. Every car park and road, with both seasons’ prices, is in Sandbanks parking.

Getting to Sandbanks without a car

By bus. The morebus Purbeck Breezer 50 runs from Bournemouth to Swanage via West Cliff, Westbourne, Sandbanks, Shell Bay and Studland (morebus: Purbeck Breezer 50). BCP links to morebus for other services to the beach.

By train. BCP gives the nearest stations as Parkstone (2.6 miles), Poole (2.9 miles) and Branksome (3 miles) from the beach.

By bike. BCP says there is little space for cycling at Sandbanks and a long break in the promenade between Sandbanks and Shore Road. In July and August, cycling, skating and Beryl bikes and e-scooters are banned on the seafront promenades and paths from 10am to 6pm (BCP seafront cycling rules).

The chain ferry to Shell Bay and Studland

The Sandbanks Ferry leaves Sandbanks (satnav BH13 7QN) on the hour, at twenty past and at twenty to, from 7am to 11pm every day except Christmas Day, when a reduced service runs, and crosses to Shell Bay in about four minutes. A foot passenger pays £1.18 from Sandbanks to Studland and travels free the other way. Cars and vans pay £6.26 a crossing: vehicles are recorded by number plate recognition and the toll is paid online or in the ferry’s app (Sandbanks Ferry tolls).

Shell Bay has National Trust toilets, including an accessible one, at its car park, which takes coins or the JustPark app and is free for Trust members and Blue Badge holders. The Trust’s Knoll Beach, further along Studland Bay, has a café, a shop, a Changing Places toilet and a 900-metre naturist section marked with signs and posts.

Restaurants with a view at Sandbanks

Three places on the peninsula describe their sea or harbour outlook on their own sites:

• Rick Stein Sandbanks, 10 to 14 Banks Road, says its glass-walled dining room looks over Poole Harbour. It lists itself as dog friendly and family friendly, with a children’s menu.
• The Point at the Haven Hotel, by the chain ferry, has a terrace for outdoor dining. The hotel says its sun lounge looks over the sea, Studland Bay and Old Harry Rocks.
• Amalfi Beach at the Sandbanks Hotel is described as sea-view dining, with takeaway pizza from its beach-side terrace.

Hotels on the peninsula, including which rooms face the sea, are compared in sea-view hotels in Bournemouth.

Frequently asked questions

Where in the UK is Sandbanks?

Sandbanks is in Poole, Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is a peninsula between Poole Harbour and the sea, with the chain ferry at its tip linking it to Shell Bay, Studland and the Isle of Purbeck. BCP Council’s beaches run east from it through Canford Cliffs and Branksome to Bournemouth.

Is Sandbanks the best beach in Dorset?

No official ranking names a best beach. BCP Council says Sandbanks has won the Blue Flag more often than any other UK resort, and its 15 May 2026 announcement says the beach has held the award in every year the scheme has run, 39 in total (BCP Council, 15 May 2026). Five other BCP beaches hold Blue Flags in 2026, including Shore Road and Canford Cliffs next door.

Is the sea at Sandbanks clean enough to swim in?

BCP points swimmers to the Environment Agency’s bathing water results and to Wessex Water’s Coastwatch for each beach’s latest pollution risk, which can rise after rain (BCP water quality). Check either on the day before going in.

Related guides

• Sandbanks parking: every car park and road, summer and winter
• Dog-friendly beaches in Bournemouth
• Bournemouth beach parking
• Sea-view hotels in Bournemouth
• Family hotels in Bournemouth