Known locally as the Velvet Strand for its fine golden sand, Portmarnock is a 5 km beach on a broad peninsula between the Irish Sea and the Baldoyle Bay estuary, backed by dunes and two championship links golf courses.
| Distance | 17 km from city centre |
|---|---|
| Getting there | DART from Connolly to Portmarnock (25 min; ~€3.30 with Leap Card / ~$3.63); 20-min walk from the station to the beach, or catch a connecting local bus toward the strand |
| Best season | May–September; strong winds make it excellent for kitesurfing year-round |
| Address | Portmarnock, County Dublin, D13 Ireland |
Amenities
- Car park
- Toilets
- Lifeguards (summer)
- Café kiosk (summer)
- Kitesurfing school
- Dog-friendly
Good to know
- Water
- Open Irish Sea swell with a gently shelving sandy bottom; can be choppy in onshore winds, which is exactly what draws the kitesurfing crowd
Weather through the year in Ireland
Best time Shoulder Worth avoiding
Average daytime temperature in °C. Figures are for Ireland.
Location
Portmarnock, County Dublin, D13 Ireland
53.4217, -6.1372 View on map
Highlights
- The Velvet Strand hosted early Irish aviation history — the beach was used as a runway for transatlantic flight attempts in the 1930s
- Sits alongside Portmarnock Golf Links, a regular venue for the Irish Open
- Wide firm sand at low tide gives one of the longest uninterrupted walking stretches of any Dublin beach
Tips for visiting
- Kitesurfing lessons run from the beach car park in summer — steady onshore winds make it one of Ireland's best-known launch spots
- The car park fills quickly on sunny weekends; arriving before 11:00 avoids the worst of it