Popular beach slammed as one of the world’s most overrated as 1 in 3 visitors call it ‘dirty’
- UK Hidden Gems
- Aug 27
- 2 min read
A much-loved UK beach has landed in the top 10 most overrated beaches in the world. Despite its golden sands and clear waters, it has faced a wave of criticism on TripAdvisor.
Although the UK is home to plenty of charming seaside escapes, one of its most famous beaches has made headlines for the wrong reasons.
Ranked among the world’s most overrated beaches, this well-known coastal spot has divided opinion among both British holidaymakers and overseas visitors.
Experts at Cloudwards analysed TripAdvisor reviews from 200 of the most popular beaches around the globe.
Explaining the study, they said: "We used complaint-related words such as ‘dirty’, ‘overcrowded’, ‘long queues’, ‘noise’ and ‘disruption’ to filter the reviews, then measured how often they came up to work out a total complaint score." Sitting in the top five of the list was Bournemouth Beach.
Located in Dorset, Bournemouth Beach offers seven miles of golden sand, clear blue waters, and dramatic cliff views. It even has its own micro-climate, making it one of the UK’s warmest spots for sea swimming.
From relaxing on the sand to exploring the pier, grabbing fish and chips, or trying water sports, there’s something for all ages throughout the year.
But despite its popularity, this new study claims the beach is “overrated.” Bournemouth Beach was given a complaint score of 65.1/100, with 100 being the worst possible.
The research found that 31.7% of reviewers said the beach was dirty, 52.5% complained it was too crowded, 10.2% disliked long queues, and 5.6% raised issues about noise.
Even so, Bournemouth still scored better than many international beaches. Waikiki Beach in Hawaii was named the most complained-about beach in the world, with a full score of 100/100.
Experts noted that Waikiki’s biggest problem was overcrowding, with 67.3% of complaints linked to busy crowds.
Others criticised its cleanliness (15.9%) along with queues and noise.
TripAdvisor currently gives Bournemouth Beach an average rating of 4.5 bubbles from more than 9,000 reviews. But not all recent comments have been glowing.
One unhappy visitor wrote in June 2025: "Dirty rundown, no pride in the area. Also got fined £100 for putting a cigarette on a planter full of butts, no bins, little jobsworth. Won’t be going again – nothing like it used to be."
Remember - LeaveNoTrace!
As with anywhere outdoors, kindly keep these areas pristine and wild by taking all trash with you. The amount of complaints we have seen since the pandemic is crazy. It's really not that hard to take your rubbish with you!
Litter tends to spread, so if you see any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the hidden gem, it will help keep the area tidy.
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