One of the best beaches in the world is just a short drive from the UK

The sun, sea and sand specialists behind the World’s 50 Best Beaches know what makes a top tier shoreline. Each year, they rank the most stunning coasts across the globe against eight strict criteria, evaluating stuff like ‘soundtrack of nature’, ‘the odds of perfect conditions’, ‘easy to enter water’ and ‘lack of crowds’.

To compile the list, they get more than 1,000 travel pros to nominate their favourite dunes. Entries are vetted by the team at World’s 50 Beaches in collaboration with a dedicated team of ‘Beach Ambassadors’, who each add three nominations to the pile.

Now, the 2026 results are in. A secluded cove on a tiny wild island in the Philippines and a Madagascan sandbar which disappears at high tide were among the victorious, but no British beaches joined the global heavy hitters this year.

Before you start checking airline websites for the best flights to these far-off destinations, though, there was one entry which is a little closer to home. 

Tucked away on Achill Island along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, Keem Beach has scraped its way onto the list, coming in at number 50. The horseshoe-shaped bay in County Mayo, which was also named on last year’s list, is surrounded by towering cliffs and picturesque hills. World’s 50 Best said Keem ‘stands out for its raw natural beauty and surprisingly blue waters, which resemble those found in more tropical locations’.

The sandy paradise is just a three (ish) hour drive from Northern Ireland via the Tyrone/Donegal border. Even better, the route is proper gorg, taking you south along the scenic Wild Atlantic Way through Sligo and Mayo.

It’s also around a two-hour drive from Ireland West Airport Knock, which offers direct flights from London, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Manchester airports.

We should note that while Northern Island residents will have no problem zooming over, the rest of the UK might find it just as easy to head to beaches in Portugal, Greece, Spain, France or Italy which also made the ranking. World’s 50 Best Beaches also put together a Europe list, which featured two British beaches.

🏖️ Check out the full list of the world’s 50 best beaches for 2026 here.

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