Runswick Bay has the best sand and the most shelter. Sandsend is wide and easy with cafes at the road. Whitby's West Cliff beach has donkeys, huts and the cliff lift. Saltburn has surf schools and a pier.
For fossils
Robin Hood's Bay at low tide, Port Mulgrave below Staithes, Saltwick Bay and the shore at Runswick towards Kettleness.
For drama
Saltwick Bay's sea stacks and shipwreck, the boulder beach and waterfall at Hayburn Wyke, and Boggle Hole's cove between the cliffs.
For solitude
Skinningrove, Kettleness and Cloughton Wyke rarely see crowds even in August.
Tides
Every one of these beaches is affected by the tide and several are cut off at high water. Check tide times before you set out, start on a falling tide and keep an eye on the sea. Robin Hood's Bay to Boggle Hole along the beach is only possible for two or three hours either side of low water.
Dogs are restricted on parts of Whitby, Sandsend and Saltburn beaches from May to September
Lifeguards patrol Whitby and Saltburn in summer only
