Where Are The Best Beaches In Canterbury, New Zealand?
Christchurch has a surprisingly diverse coastline — think long, open surf beaches, in North Canterbury, and all the quiet, sheltered bays tucked around Banks Peninsula. It doesn’t matter whether you’re after an easily accessed city beach, a family-friendly spot, or somewhere a little more scenic and tucked away, Canterbury is rich in choices. Here are the best!
Best Beaches in North Canterbury
Just north of Christchurch city is the Hurunui district, which has three pretty amazing beach destinations all of its own:
⛱ Waikuku Beach
Waikuku Beach is a safe, patrolled beach, with great surf for swimmers and surfers alike.
⛱ Woodend Beach
Woodend Beach is another great family friendly beach with enough surf to keep surfers entertained, too.
⛱ The Pines Beach
Back from The Pines shoreline are all these wonderful pine trees, so the environment is very pretty and it’s not a long drive from Christchurch city, either.
Best Beaches in Christchurch
⛱ New Brighton Beach
New Brighton Beach is so easy to get to, has great surf, has a paddling pool for toddlers to play in, and a hot pool for adults to soak in with views over the shoreline.
Best Beaches on Godley Head
Godley Head is not too far out of Christchurch city in the other direction, and very accessible for half day – or less – excursions. It’s known for its dramatic cliffs, brightly coloured water, wonderful walks – and wonderful beaches.
⛱ Sumner Beach
Sumner Beach is home to Cave Rock, which is just a short little cave on the sand that you can walk through and explore.
⛱ Scarborough Beach
Scarborough Beach is a great surf beach and has the promenade that you can walk in this beautiful fringe suburb of Christchurch city.
⛱ Taylors Mistake Beach
Taylor’s Mistake Beach is one of Canterbury’s top surf spots, the scenery is epic, and there are some coastal tracks up on the cliffs providing wonderful views.
Best Beaches in Lyttelton Harbour
Lyttelton Harbour is tucked just far enough out of Christchurch to entice you to escape the city, but is also so readily accessible to locals and visitors alike. Consider visiting one of the below bays if you are looking for a beautiful spot to spend an afternoon:
⛱ Corsair Bay
Corsair Bay is small, sheltered and safe – a great spot for young families.
⛱ Cass Bay
Like Corsair Bay, Cass Bay is safe and family friendly, with a floating pontoon that can be swum out to and jumped off.
Best Beaches on Banks Peninsula
There are around 50 bays on the Banks Peninsula alone! It’s a large area with endless choices of where you could spend a beach day. Here are the most loved ones!
⛱ Okains Bay
Okains Bay is a fantastic, scenic swimming spot, with a cave at the end of the beach to be explored.
⛱ Le Bons Bay
Le Bons Bay is a safe and quiet place for a swim, although quite isolated and lacking the facilities other beaches have.
⛱ Tumbledown Bay
Tumbledown Bay is a location where you can explore the caves and rocks, may find a seal or two, and even spot some of the little Hectors dolphins swimming by.
Best Beaches in South Canterbury
South of Christchurch we have a long, rather uneventful stretch of coastline, and just before the border into the Otago region we have the town of Timaru, which has its own special spot.
⛱ Caroline Bay
Caroline Bay is a spot you’ll want to visit at sunset to see the little blue penguin colony here!
From the long surf beaches to the quiet peninsula bays and even the odd bit of wildlife – Canterbury’s stretch of coastline has more variety than one might expect. Allow me to encourage you to explore a bit of the coastline when you are next in this hugely diverse, all-rounder of a region!
