The most beautiful sandy beaches in Ireland's southeast: 14 explorer's tips for your motorbike tour
The waves of the Atlantic crash thunderously against Ireland's rocky coasts. The spray foams metres high on the high cliffs - over 2500km of rugged coastline form the famous Wild Atlantic Way - and that's only part of Ireland's coastline!
What many people outside Ireland don't know is that in addition to rugged cliffs, Ireland also has hundreds of kilometres of beautiful sandy beaches!
Especially beautiful sandy beaches can be found in the south-east of Ireland. Irish families love to spend their summer holidays with their children on these beaches and they know what is good.
Many of these Irish beaches are awarded the Blue Flag for best water quality every year.
They also offer immense recreational value for motorcyclists. How wonderful it is to lie down in the dunes or on the beach after a few hours, stretch your legs and just enjoy!
Below I list some of the most beautiful beaches in Ireland that you can easily incorporate into your motorbike tour:
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The most beautiful 14 beaches on motorbike tour in Ireland's South East:
1. Bray Promenade and Beach
2. Britta`s Bay Beach
3. Old bawn Beach
4. Morriscastle Beach
5. Ballinesker Beach
6. Curracloe beach
7. Ravenwood Nature Reserve
8. Rosslare Beach
9. Kilmore Beach
10 Tramore Promenade and Beach
11. Kilfarrasy Beach
12. Kilmurrin Beach
13. Bunmahon beach
14. Clonea Beach
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1. Bray Promenade and Strand
Bray was once a seaside resort at the southern gates of Dublin. The metropolis of Dublin has long since grown close to the small town. Nevertheless, Bray has retained an independent character. The atmosphere on the beach promenade is particularly nice. Mountains frame the scene on both sides. The beach is a long pebble beach, somewhat uncomfortable to sit on. But the promenade is inviting for a stroll. If you like, you can visit the Bray Sea Life Aquarium or have a snack in one of the cafés at the promenade before you continue your journey.
2. Britta`s Bay Beach
Britta`s Bay is a very long sandy bay. It is a local recreation area and holiday destination for many Dubliners. There are numerous campsites and mobile home parks, which unfortunately also own some of the beach accesses exclusively. Public beach access is available at Britta`s Bay North Beach Car Park.
3. Old Bawn Beach
This is rather an insider tip of the local residents. A small road turns off the R742 and passes Old Bawn Caravan Park until it ends at a small sandy car park. Park your bike here and walk through the dunes to the beach. A wide and high belt of dunes shields the long and wide sandy beach from the hinterland. The sand is almost white and the beach is simply fantastic!
4. Morriscastle Beach
From the small holiday resort of Kilmuckridge, a small road leads to Morriscastle. At the end there are caravan parks and a fast food takeaway. A little further on there is a small car park and from there a sandy path leads through the dunes to the lovely wide sandy beach. Morriscastle is well known and in summer you won't be alone here, but if you walk just a little away from the beach entrance, you will have ample space around you.
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5. Ballinesker Beach
Again, a small road leads off the R742 to Ballinesker Beach. Do you know the movie "Saving Private Ryan" with Tom Hanks? The Normandy landings were actually filmed on this beach. Sometimes Curracloe Beach is also named as the filming location, but that is very close by and both beaches are connected.
6 Curracloe Beach
The R743 leads from the village of Curracloe, to Curracloe Beach. Incidentally, this was a filming location for the movie "Brooklyn" with Saoirse Ronan.
The film is partly set in nearby Enniscorthy and there are also scenes by the sea - right here in Curracloe. Saoirse Ronan is an Irish-American actress who actually grew up in south-east Ireland.
For us motorcyclists, the really impressive high dunes with a fantastic view over the kilometre-long beach are absolutely exhilarating.
7. Raven Wood Nature Reserve
A little further south is the Raven Wood Nature Reserve. A beautiful pine forest stands here right next to the brilliant white beach. Very nice for a short walk!
8 Rosslare Beach
Many people know Rosslare as a ferry port. Ferries leave from here for England, France and northern Spain. A little north of the harbour there is also a nice beach and in front of it several cafés and restaurants - a good place for a lunch break.
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9. Kilmore Beach
Kilmore Quay is a really nice fishing harbour. Many of the houses there have thatched roofs. You can eat wonderful fish dishes in several restaurants and snack bars around the harbour. A short distance from the harbour is the long Kilmore Beach - a good place for having a nap after eating a heavy fish meal ...
10. Tramore Promenade and Beach
Tramore is a busy little town on the south coast. In the summer there is a funfair there for the families. At any time of year the promenade is very inviting. It is only paved at the beginning with no beach, but a little further on there is a beautiful beach in front of the promenade. There are plenty of places to eat and drink here too.
11. Kilfarrasy Beach
This is a real treasure: Located on the steep Copper Coast, this small but very special beach is absolutely worth seeing. It is framed by cliffs and rocky outcrops jut out of the water in front of the beach, giving the scenery an almost surreal look.
To 12. Kilmurrin Beach
Kilmurrin Beach is not to be missed. The car park is right on the R675. The small bay is picturesque and well worth a photo stop.
To 13 Bunmahon Beach
A little further on is the seaside resort of Bunmahon with its long beach.
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To 14. Clonea Beach
Clonea Beach is just before Dungarvan. Here the coast is no longer steep and the sandy beach is therefore quite wide.
Conclusion:
Ireland's south-east is very well known to many Irish families and completely unknown to many international tourists.
Even if you as a motorbike traveller are not necessarily looking for bathing pleasure, there are many beautiful tours along the coast to experience here, on which you can always relax on one of these fantastic sandy beaches.
And the best thing is: compared to popular seaside resorts on the Mediterranean, there is comparatively little going on here even in high summer.
So you will have a lot of fun on your motorbike tour along the most beautiful beaches of the Irish south-east coast!
Ulrich Knüppel-Gertberg, February 2022. photo credit: easycruiser.tours. Maps are by Google 2022.