White sand beaches probably aren’t first thing that come to mind when thinking of Scotland. That honor probably belongs to golf, or whisky. But this is a country full of surprises, and even if the grassy dunes and rocky highlands don’t exactly conjure a Corona ad in your mind, the fact is, Scotland has a staggering 11,602 miles of coastline between the mainland and its many islands. That’s as much as California and Florida combined. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that this beautiful corner of the world is rife with beaches. Yes, even white sand ones.
When it comes to accessing the best of these, the Inner Hebrides are your best bet. While the Outer Hebrides (the isles of Lewis, Harris, and Stornoway), have huge, dramatic vistas and surfable (if chilly) waves to recommend them, the Inner Hebrides beaches are slightly more accessible for day trips, and, in this writer’s opinion, just as stunning.
Below, we’re going to shout out five Inner Hebrides beaches on five islands. These are the beaches we think are worth your time and effort to actually enjoy if you’re heading to Scotland (if still only a small introduction to the hundreds of beaches there awaiting the serious adventurer with more time to explore)
Fair warning, a lot of these are very remote (which, for those of us who appreciate serious seclusion, is half the point). You’ll need a car to get to most of them (though hitchhiking is still popular on the smaller islands), and then an additional hike for some of them. Make sure you eat a full Scottish breakfast that morning, those calories will come in handy. And yes, we are talking about the northern reaches of Europe here and not Hawai’i. The weather can turn brutal in a hurry, especially in the fall, winter, or spring. So pack accordingly, and expect these beaches to be more pink/grey/brownish when the sun isn’t out. But, hey, that’s all part of the charm.
While you may not be able to enjoy them in shorts and a tank top, these spots are idyllic, offering a chance to experience Scottish culture firsthand. Most of these beaches are near fishing villages, where you’ll be hard-pressed not to find amazing smorgasbords of freshly-caught fish (did someone say seaside fish and chips?). Then there are the distilleries, often just a stone’s throw away, if not on actually on the sand. And, lastly, don’t be surprised if you make a few (or a lot) of dog and sheep friends along the walk to and along the beach. These beaches really are Scotland at its most picturesque and quintessential.
Calgary Beach, Isle of Mull
The Beach:
The Isle of Mull is about a 45-minute ferry ride from Oban. The island is very close to the mainland, all things considered, but once you drive or step off that ferry, you’ll feel like you’re a million miles away. If you drive the tiny, single-lane roads towards the northwest of the island, you’ll come to a very secluded white sand beach that you’ll likely have all to yourself.
While this is on the far side of the island (about an hour from the ferry at Craignure), you can drive right up to this beach and park easily. There are a few houses dotting the southern hillside but that’s about it when it comes to civilization. The beach is westward facing and surrounded by a “machir” which is a sort of lowland grassland/woodland, which is bursting with wildflowers in the summer.
You can find Calgary Beach here.
Where to Stay:
There isn’t a place to stay on the beach, but Mull has a lot of options for B&Bs all over the island. If you not heading to the island for a day drive from Oban, the best bet is to start near Craignure at a place like Isle of Mull Hotel & Spa. The whole setup is one long building overlooking the sea with common areas with rip-roaring fireplaces centered in sitting rooms and spa pools/amenities in between. It makes for a nice home base for heading out in any direction around the island. Expect to pay around $160 per night for a room, depending on the season.
You can book a room here.
Where to Eat:
There actually is a place to grab a bite on the beach (well, near the parking lot on the northside of the beach). Robin’s Boat doles out scoops of local Mull ice cream from an overturned boat with an ice cream shop built right on top of it. While the local ice cream is the main pull, you can also get some chips, a Scottish pie, and a warm cup of coffee. Though be warned, this place is closed from late fall to mid-spring.
You can find Robin’s Boat here.
Machir Bay, Isle of Islay
The Beach:
This list probably could have just been beaches on Islay, but that would’ve been a bit of a cheat. Kilchoman Beach in the middle of Machir Bay is a stunner. The beach sits between rocky outcrops on the southside and rolling farmland on the east and north. While this beach is very remote, you can still get there, thanks to the Kilchoman Distillery about three minutes up the road.
There’s a small parking lot at the end of a dirt road about a two-minute walk from the beach. You’ll walk over some green sand dunes next to a pasture full of hearty sheep down to the beach, which stretches for nearly two miles of soft sand. It’s the sort of beach where you’re more likely to see a farmer walking his sheepdog than anything else. Since this beach is westward-facing, it has a mild yet consistent surf and is a prime location to watch the sunset (especially after an afternoon the distillery).
You can find Machir Bay here.
Where to Stay:
The Islay Cottages overlook Machir Bay from a hill amidst the green pastures above the beach. While this is a super remote side of the island, a stay here does offer you a chance to truly disconnect, as cell service is pretty much non-existent in the area even at the distillery down the road.
The self-catering cottages are homey and quaint while offering serious comfort, and enough modern amenities to make sure you don’t feel completely cut off from reality. Each one is a semi-detached house with white-washed walls and black trim, which is very Islay. And the best part is that you can literally walk out of your door and into nature for the whole day. The experience doesn’t come cheap: expect to pay between $500 and $700 for a cottage that sleeps four to six guests.
You can book a cottage here.
Where to Eat:
Kilchoman Distillery is your best (and only) bet for a good Scottish meal. If you walk in just when they’re opening up, you’ll smell the bread baking in the ovens and the seafood chowder — Cullen Skink as it’s called there — simmering on the stove. It’s hard not to fall in love at first smell. There’s also plenty of in-house-made pastries and cakes and a solid coffee shop in case you need a sugar and caffeine boost. Oh, and you can also do a full whisky tasting at Islay’s only family-run distillery in the same building. That’s a lot of wins, folks.
You can find the Kilchoman Distillery Cafe here.
Coral Beach, Isle of Skye
The Beach:
Ah, Skye. The northernmost of the Inner Hebrides and so big that it nearly reaches the Outer Hebrides, this island is rugged Scotland at its best. That also means there are plenty of beaches from top to bottom.
Coral Beach is one of the most interesting beaches on the whole island. The beach starts off with black craggy rocks that turn into black pebbles that then fade into white sand along the northern stretch. It’s kind of the best of both worlds, with the iconic rocky beaches of Scotland meeting white sand over a two-mile stretch.
The beach is also pretty remote all things considered. It’s basically a two-hour drive from Kyle of Lochalsh (the main bridge onto the island) to the Claigan Coral Beach Car Park. From there, you’re going to walk about a mile-and-a-half along the coast to reach the beach. You’ll want sturdy shoes for this short trek, as the craggy coast, pastures, and wildland is pretty uneven, and can be waterlogged. But once you make it to the beach, you’ll be detached from all modernity and civilization, except for a few good dogs with their owners. Make sure to head to the northernmost point of the beach and pop up on top of Coral Rock for the best view over the beach.
You can find Coral Beach here.
Where to Stay:
Skye has a good balance of being both super remote and rustic but still pretty well set up for tourism. You can camp a few miles south near Dunvegan Castle at the Kinloch Campsite if that’s your jam. If you’re looking for more upscale accommodations, make your home base around Portee, about 45 minutes east of the beach by car. Spots like Cuillin Hills Hotel offer everything you want in Scotland — local wild foods on the menu, plenty of whisky, isolation, and modern comfort. Rates start at around $190 per night.
You can book a room here.
Where to Eat:
The nearest place to grab food is going to be in Kinloch (about 20 minutes south of the beach by car). There are plenty of B&Bs and inns that’ll have a restaurant that’s usually open to the public. Or you can drop into The Old School, which is, well, an old school pub in the old schoolhouse. They do a really good fish and chips and have a pretty solid seasonal/rotating seafood and foraged menu of local and fresh treats. It’s especially nice if you can snag a table right next to the fireplace.
You can find The Old School here.
White Strand of The Monks, Isle of Iona
The Beach:
We’re getting more and more remote on this list as we go. Isle Iona is only reachable via another island, Mull, on a ten-minute ferry ride that only fully operates between March and October. But this island is full of great white sand beaches that are pretty much untouched.
The beach is a mix of grassy sand dunes that lead you to a white sand beach with black rocky protrusions and crystal clear, blue-hued surf. The small beach has a northeasterly setting with a large island off short. That means it’s very calm. That crystal clear water gently laps at the white sand and black rocks, the epitome of chill.
To get there, you’re going to drive north from the ferry at Baile Mor until the road just sort of ends just past a farmhouse (don’t park at the farm, just find a spot on the side of the “road”). From there, you’re going to walk about 10 minutes through the pasture to the beach (basically keep walking straight from the end of the road and turn left, following the footpath until you reach the beach). Once there, you’ll have a little strip of paradise all to yourself. The best part is if you turn right instead of left, you’ll still hit a white sand beach on the other side of the pasture, fully north-facing toward the open sea. So you’re getting two beaches for the price of one.
You can find the White Strand of the Monks here.
Where to Stay:
Iona is tiny, under two miles from north to south and less than a mile from east to west. That makes it very walkable if you don’t have a car for whatever reason. It’s also sparsely populated. There are plenty of B&Bs and hotels around the ferry terminal at Baile Mor, where you can expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $250 a night.
You can book a hotel room here.
Where to Eat:
That spareness also means that the food options are pretty slim out on Iona. Your only real bet is to hit one of the handful of hotels when their restaurants are open during the day. Expect extremely local food, usually grown on-site, alongside lamb, beef, and plenty of seafood. Realistically, you’ll probably want to hit a grocery store on Mull or even back in Oban before you venture out here.
Balevullin Beach, Isle of Tiree
The Beach:
The Isle of Tiree is the westernmost of the Inner Hebrides and reachable via ferry from Isle of Coll, which, in turn, is reachable from Oban on the mainland. Once again we’re going so remote, you have to island hop to hit these white sands. But we also saved the best for last. This island — which some call the “Hawai’i of the north” — has some truly stunning and massive white sand beaches that are worth the long trip.
Balevullin is probably the most fun if you’re into water sports. There’s a hut right on Balevullin beach that rents out surfboards and windsurfing kits. The beach is a huge destination for local and international windsurfers looking to harness the dramatic winds of the North Atlantic. The sport is enough of a draw that this tiny island actually has its own equally tiny airport if you’re looking to get there a little faster than local ferries.
The beach is pretty easy to get to once you’re on the island. From the ferry terminal, it’s about a 15 to 20-minute drive west. The drive is cut in half from the airport. You basically take some dirt roads past plenty of farms until you hit the beach and the Blackhouse Watersports shed, where you can pick up a board.
You can find Ballevulin Beach here.
Where to Stay:
Self-catering cottages are the standard on Tiree. You’ll pay anywhere from $75 to $200 a night depending on where and what you want. Most of them will be in the interior but still plenty close to the beach on this small island. If you’re looking for a more “hotel” vibe, then hit up Reef Inn right by the airport. The hotel is both modern and minimalist, letting the beautiful nature surrounding the hotel shine. Expect to pay around $160 per night for a real slice of luxury in the middle of the wilds of Scottish isles.
You can book a room here.
Where to Eat:
The easiest bet is to hit the Reef Inn, even if you’re not staying there. The menu is as local as it can get with modernized Scottish classics and a pretty damn good bar for a post-surf-sesh cocktail hour. And, of course, there’s a ridiculous amount of local seafood on the menu. Yes, there’s whisky too.
Still, Tiree is the sort of place where you take life as it comes. As you bounce around the 10-plus beaches on this island, you’ll find plenty of friends and dining options to enjoy with those new friends along the way.
You can find the Reef Inn restaurant here.
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