Despite the UK’s reputation for charming coastal escapes, one of its well-known beaches has landed on a global list for all the wrong reasons. Ranked among the most overrated beaches in the world, this popular sandy spot has drawn criticism from British and international visitors alike.
Experts at Cloudwards analysed TripAdvisor reviews for 200 of the most popular beaches worldwide. Explaining their study, they shared: “We used complaint-related keywords like ‘dirty’, ‘overcrowded’, ‘long queues’, ‘noise’, and ‘disruption’ to filter the reviews, then looked at how frequently they were applied to each beach to calculate an overall ‘complaint score.” Placing top five in this less favourable ranking is Bournemouth beach.
Bournemouth Beach is nestled in Dorset and boasts a seven-mile sandy beach with clear blue waters beneath striking cliffs. The beach boasts its own micro-climate with some of the UK’s warmest sea temperatures.
Whether you’re relaxing on the sand, exploring the pier, enjoying local food, or trying water sports, there’s something for everyone year-round. However, this new study has claimed that the beach is “overrated.” Bournemouth beach received a total complaint score of 65.1/100 (100 being really bad).
According to the study, the beach received 31.7% reviews claiming it is dirty, 52.5% said it is crowded, 10.2% complained about queues, and 5.6% commented about noise levels.
However, Bournemouth Beach ranked more favourably than the US beaches, with Waikiki Beach in Hawaii receiving a complaint score of 100/100, dubbing it the “most complained-about beach worldwide.”
The expert said of Waikiki Beach: “While its primary issue is overcrowding (67.3% of complaints), it also receives criticism for cleanliness (15.9%) and, to a lesser extent, long queues and noise.”
According to TripAdvisor, Bournemouth beach has an average score of 4.5 bubbles from over 9,000 reviewers. However, when heading to the comments, the latest review (June 2025) was very negative.
The reviewer complained: “Dirty rundown, no pride in the area. Also got fined £100 for putting a cigarette on a planter full of buts, no bins, little jobsworth won’t be going again, nothing like it used to be.”
Another commented: “Great beach, but some tourists are animals, leaving litter everywhere. I was helping out with beach clean for Marine Conservation for my daughter and as soon as the beach was done, it was covered in beer cans, plastic debris, vapes, and numerous wet wipes, broken glass, Cigarette ends everywhere.”
A third also highlighted how overcrowded the beach is. They said: “We’ve been to Bournemouth many times and love the area in general but really disappointed with the main beach area on our last visit. We’d gone late afternoon, having spent the day at one of the smaller beaches (which was lovely), so I realise the beach and facilities will have taken a hammering over such a busy day, but it was smelly and dirty.”