Dogs on Pembrokeshire Beaches: The Rules, Beach by Beach

The rules are simpler than the signage makes them look. Pembrokeshire's seasonal dog restrictions run 1 May to 30 September, they apply to a specific list of popular beaches under Pembrokeshire County Council's beach orders, and everywhere else your dog is welcome all year round.

Across the 64 beaches we cover: two carry a total summer ban, eleven restrict part of the sand, and fifty have no seasonal restriction at all. Every beach page on this site carries its own dog rules; this is the whole picture in one place, from that same data, last re-checked against the council's list in August 2026.

The two total bans

Only two beaches in the county ban dogs from the whole beach in season:

Whitesands Bay — banned 1 May to 30 September, welcome the rest of the year. The nearby alternative is Porthselau, a short walk south, or Porthmelgan around St Davids Head — both year-round.

Tenby North Beach — same dates. The answer to "are dogs allowed on Tenby beach in summer" is: not this one.

Tenby, properly answered

Because it's the most-asked question we see: Tenby has four beaches and the summer rules differ on each.

North Beach — full ban, 1 May to 30 September. Castle Beach — restricted across the beach for the same dates. Harbour Beach — no seasonal restriction. South Beach — restricted for the season, but the southern stretch towards Giltar welcomes dogs all year, which is why dog owners staying in Tenby gravitate to the Penally end. Penally Beach itself, next along, is year-round too.

The eleven partial restrictions

On these, part of the beach is restricted 1 May to 30 September and the rest stays open to dogs all year — the beach page for each shows which end is which:

Saundersfoot — restricted across the main beach and promenade, except a small area at the Coppet Hall end. Coppet Hall — northern section restricted, and only between 10am and 5pm. Amroth — central and western areas restricted; the eastern end is year-round. Newgale — middle third restricted; both ends open. Broad Haven North — northern third restricted. Dale and Goodwick Sands — northern ends restricted. Lydstep Haven — eastern end restricted. Poppit Sands — western end restricted; the estuary end is year-round. Plus the two Tenby beaches above — South and Castle.

Fifty beaches with no restriction at all

Everything else we cover is dog-friendly every day of the year — including some of the county's best sand. The full derived list lives at dog-friendly beaches and updates itself from the same database as this guide; the highlights:

Big famous ones: Barafundle Bay (leads near the grazed clifftops on the approach), Freshwater West, Marloes Sands, Broad Haven South, Freshwater East and Manorbier.

Family-scale coves: Nolton Haven — yes, dogs are fine there all year — Little Haven, St Brides Haven, Cwm-yr-Eglwys and Wisemans Bridge.

North coast: Newport Sands, Newport Parrog, Abereiddi and the Blue Lagoon, Traeth Llyfn and Abermawr.

One oddity: Priory Bay on Caldey Island is reached by boat and run by the island — restrictions may apply, so check with the boat operators before bringing a dog across.

The small print that actually matters

The council's orders also cover promenades in places, restricted sections can require leads rather than banning dogs outright, and outside the restriction dates every beach in the county is open to dogs. October to April, Whitesands and Tenby North included, the whole coast is yours. For planning a trip around all this — including cottages that take dogs and dog-friendly stays near the beach — start with the dog-friendly Pembrokeshire guide.