Beach Type
Smooth stone beaches with incredibly clear water — common across the Mediterranean
What are pebble beaches?
Pebble beaches may not be as comfortable underfoot, but they offer some of the clearest water you will ever see. The stones prevent sand from clouding the water, creating stunning visibility for snorkeling. Water shoes are recommended.
16 beaches found
The Blue Flag central Limassol city beach with offshore breakwaters that keep the sea calm, Seatrac wheelchair-accessible water entry, and full amenities including a children's playground, shaded benches, and lifeguard service April through October.
A quiet pebble beach just west of Bognor Regis on the West Sussex coast, popular with dog walkers, anglers, and anyone looking for a low-key stretch of shoreline away from the crowds.
The unorganised pebble-and-sand beach 27 kilometres north of Preveza on Greece's Ionian coast, with clear water, no loungers, no bars, and a GPS-routing quirk that sends some drivers up a mountain road instead of the easy coastal one.
A dramatic limestone cove on Sardinia's Gulf of Orosei, Cala Goloritzé is famous for its towering rock pinnacle and some of the clearest water in the Mediterranean.
The 800-metre village beach at the heart of Cala Gonone on Sardinia's east coast, with calm shallow water for kids, easy access from the port, and the boat launches that take visitors out to the rest of the Gulf of Orosei's famous cliff-and-cove beaches.
Cavtat's beaches are pebble, not sand, but the water is some of the clearest near Dubrovnik. Rat for the scene, Zal for families, plus the bus 10, the ferry and the best time to swim.
The Big Island south Kona black-sand beach in a still-active Hawaiian fishing village, with calm summer snorkelling, regular spinner dolphin pods, community-run camping, and a concession stand staffed by the village families that protect the bay.
The half-mile cobblestone beach in Machiasport that is not actually made of jasper, sits in frigid Down East Maine water, and makes a low rumbling sound as waves drag stones back into the sea.
The remote east-Crete pebble beach reachable only by a 3.5-kilometre hike through Chochlakies Gorge or by private boat. Calm east-facing water, shade from sparse trees, no facilities, no road, and the kind of total isolation that hardly any beach on Crete still delivers.
The Marjan peninsula pebble beach 20 minutes from Split's Old Town, with the cleanest water in central Split, pine-tree shade, a trendy beach club at one end, and the parking lot fills by 10am problem that Bolt rides from the Old Town solve.
The 1.5-kilometre Blue Flag beach midway between Limassol and Paphos, with the white cliffs of Cape Aspro on either end and a sand-and-pebble shore that holds up against everything either bigger town puts forward. Clear water, year-round lifeguards in season, family-friendly swim, and no resort dominance.
A pebble beach on the Somerset coast just 20 minutes from Bristol, with views across the Bristol Channel to Wales, a historic open air pool, and a marina worth exploring.
The Corfu hidden cove tucked into the limestone cliffs near Liapades, reached by a 15-minute forest hike that filters out the casual day-trippers. White pebble shore, crystal water, dramatic cliffs, no facilities, and the seasonal kantina boat that visits in high summer.
A dramatic pebble cove hidden between towering cliff walls on Vis Island, voted Europe's best beach.
The Blue Flag 3-kilometre sand-and-pebble beach an hour east of Thessaloniki, where Macedonia's mainland coast meets the Aegean. Shallow water for kids, organised loungers and beach cafes, and a quiet resort-town pace that day-trippers from Thessaloniki use as the city's nearest swim.
A striking pebble beach near Bol on the island of Brac, famous for its triangular horn shape that shifts direction with the wind and currents, backed by a pine forest and surrounded by brilliant blue Adriatic water.
