The days are finally a bit sunnier and toastier, and the seas around this island nation are warming up (well, at least a bit) – Britain is entering prime seaside season. And if you’re after coastal trip inspiration, we’ve got plenty of that here at Time Out. Our rankings of the UK’s top seaside towns and best beaches are up to date and ripe for reading.
If you’re after a second opinion, however, here’s just the thing. Posh travel mag Condé Nast Traveller has just revealed its pick of England’s 16 top seaside towns to visit right now.
CNT’s list is full of places the publication’s writers ‘return to time and time again for some windswept respite’, and they range from ‘underrated gems on the Cornish coast to fabulous towns a short skip from London around the Garden of England’.
The list packed with classic English seaside spots, with likes of Whitstable and Margate in Kent, Rye in East Sussex, Salcombe in Devon, Falmouth in Cornwall and Scarborough in Yorkshire all featuring. Folkestone – Time Out’s top place to visit in the UK in 2025 – also makes an appearance.
But Condé Nast Traveller’s list isn’t just limited to well-known staycation destinations. Cornwall’s Mousehole, Kent’s Dungeness and Essex’s Mersea Island are among the less crowded locales, while wider areas like the Suffolk Heritage Coast, Eastbourne ‘and beyond’, and Blakeney and the north Norfolk coast feature too.
The best seaside towns in England in 2025, according to Condé Nast Traveller
Here’s CNT’s full list of England’s best seaside towns in 2025.
- Whitstable, Kent
- Rye, East Sussex
- Mousehole, Cornwall
- Margate, Kent
- Dungeness, Kent
- Falmouth, Cornwall
- Suffolk Heritage Coast
- Scarborough, Yorkshire
- Salcombe, Devon
- Eastbourne ‘and beyond’, East Sussex
- Blakeney and the north Norfolk coast
- Mawgan Porth, Cornwall
- St Ives, Cornwall
- Folkestone, Kent
- Mersea Island, Essex
- Portscatho, Cornwall
You can find out more about why each town was chosen in the original article here.
Still need more coastal getaway inspo? In recent weeks we’ve covered seaside town rankings by travel site National Geographic and Google, plus beach lists by World’s 50 Best Beaches and TripAdvisor.
The two small UK cities recently named among the happiest places to live in the world.
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