Got your summer holiday sorted? It's the moment we all look forward to, whether it be abroad or a UK staycation. Are you heading somewhere with a beach this year? Then a beach tent or shade is an absolute essential.
MORE: 21 best pool inflatables for summer 2023: Pool toys from John Lewis, Amazon & Sunnylife
Keep scrolling to see our top-rated picks, for families, dogs, high wind and more!
If you’re going to be spending the day by the sea you need something to protect you from the sun’s UV rays. Plus they can also make sand and insects less bothersome – not to mention providing a nice place to sit and chill or have a picnic or a snooze! On windy days they’re an absolute saviour too!
This is a beach item that you’ll get plenty of use from beyond the beach – they’re great for hiking, camping, festivals, or even just sitting out in the garden. As long as there’s grass where you can fit some tent pegs, job's a goodun!
MORE: What you need to pack for a holiday: 90 must-have items
Best beach tents to buy in 2023, according to reviewers:
Best beach tent for families: Neso tents grande beach tent
Best all-rounder beach tent: Portal outdoor portable UV protection beach tent
Best beach tent for toddlers and kids: Active era pop up beach tent
Best baby beach tent with splash pool: Free swimming baby pop up tent
Best umbrella-style beach tent canopy: SKLZ Unisex’s Sport-Brella
Best instagrammable beach tent: Suniela Deluxe Tie Dye Beach Shade
Best lightweight beach tent: Fatboy Miasun shade
Best beach tent for dogs: MyDeal Pop up pet house beach tent
Best XL beach tent: Easthills Outdoors XL beach tent
Best beach tent for high winds: Neso tent beach tent with sand anchor
Best value beach tent: Glymnis pop up beach tent
Best beach gazebo: Eurohike shelter
Best beach tent for UV protection and 360 ventilation: Wolf wise UPF 50+ easy pop up
Best beach tent groundsheet: Cyancloud beach blanket
Best beach tent for families - Neso tents grande beach tent
Why we love it? It’s super easy to carry, weighing only 2.95kg and when it’s packed away it easily fits into a carry-on suitcase. It’s UPF 50+ and is water repellent so rainy days are covered too. You can put it up in a couple of minutes and the fact it’s open means the fresh air blows through keeping you all cool. This tent fares well in strong winds too.
Top review: “We live in Malta and make use of the beach for nearly 4 months every year. This tent is absolutely perfect - the setup is easy and a family of 6 ppl will find comfortable shade within minutes. A highly recommended product.”
Best beach tent for toddlers and kids - Active era pop up beach tent
Why we love it? This ‘pop up’ style beach tent is super-fast to set up and put away, it’s the perfect size for little ones and is extremely lightweight – less than 1 kg in its carry bag. The long porch is good for toddlers to sit and play when they’re just getting used to the strange feel of sand.
Top review: “Liked everything about this tent. It is so easy to put up, as soon as you pull it out of the little bag it pops straight up. It takes a little while to get the hang of putting it back away but once you have done it a couple of times it's easy. We have used it loads over the past couple of months, on the beach, in the park, in the garden even on holiday. It is ideal if you have little ones and need some shade.”
Best baby beach tent with splash pool - Free swimming baby tent with pool
Why we love it? Aside from the fact it's shaped like a shark (how cute can you get?) this great little pop-up tent is a fab price and it comes with its own little splash pool. Great for getting little ones (it's the perfect size for under-threes) used to the beach.
Top review: "Great product for the cost, easy to pop open and put away (once you have done it once anyway) used in the park on a sunny but cold day and the beach for our mini heatwave, my 3 month old fell asleep peacefully in the shade, I didn’t have to worry about covering her. So easy to carry - would definitely recommend."
RELATED: 11 must-see places to visit with kids in Porto, Portugal's second city
MORE: 19 best holidays to go on with babies and toddlers
Best XL beach tent - Easthills Outdoors XL beach tent
Why we love it: It’s the zippered front part that’s the USP of this spacious tent – great if you need a bit of privacy for changing or breastfeeding, or if someone wants to have a nap. Of course, it’s ultra-lightweight and water-resistant (and UPF 50+ too). We love the front porch too – good if you can’t stand the sand getting everywhere!
Top review: “This tent kept us very sheltered from the sun and wind to the point where it was too good at stopping the wind. Opening the windows allowed a nice breeze to flow through and control the temperature. We had several comments on a quiet beach, asking where to buy and how much. The size is brilliant. We honestly have had not just looks, but long lingering stares (could be my wife in her bikini, but I reckon it's the tent!)"
Best Instagrammable beach tent - Suniela Deluxe Tie Dye Cabana
© Patrick RojoWhy we love it: We tried out this amazing tent ourselves - along with one of the brand's Giant Beach Mats - and we were absolutely blown away. Not only is it absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, but it's ridiculously easy to put up and down, no messing about with sandbags required. It literally takes a minute - or less - both ways, and it felt super secure, even on a windy day. The massive advantage this tent has is that the space it takes up is minimal, but the three-metre square coverage you get is impressive - there was plenty of room to spare for us as a family of four with two children, and the handy side pockets are a godsend. And, Its unique circular shape lets air circulate and doesn't block the view for others behind you on the beach. At 1.6kg it's a great weight, and the perfect size to throw in your hand luggage. Completely sold on this one...
Top review: "People are so impressed by my Suniela. I have to pretend I am asleep to avoid the disruption of those asking where I got it. Besides that, it assembles so quickly and I love the pockets for organising my beachy bits -5 Stars from moi!"
Best lightweight beach tent - Fatboy Miasun beach tent
Why we love it? It just looks gorgeous, and you can put it up in just 90 seconds! The Miasun sun shade weighs just over a kilo and fits in any bag or suitcase. The size is great too and it’s big enough to fit two adults and two children. You can put it up in three different styles giving you three different shade options, and it’s totally possible to put it up alone.
Top review: “Every time I use this, I get compliments and questions about where I got it. I love the beach but my other half does not – but he feels comfortable for hours under this without the closed-in feeling of a tent.”
Top all-rounder beach tent - Portal outdoor UV protection beach tent
Why we love it? It's easy and quick to assemble, provides shelter from both sun and wind and is extremely lightweight. This beach tent has so many uses - camping, picnics, beach day, or just a hangout for the day at the beach - it's fits all uses and is a really decent size.
Top review: "Very lightweight, comes in its own carry bag and is easy to put up and take down. We used it on holiday with a young baby to provide shelter from wind and sun. It works a treat and gave excellent protection from a few small rain showers. I would recommend this to anyone who requires a shelter that is quick and easy to assemble as well as provides a good degree of shelter. We had twp adults plus the baby sheltering no problem."
Top beach tent for pets - MyDeal Pop up pet house beach tent
Why we love it? Sometimes your pooch just needs his own space, and this is perfect. It pops open and assembles in seconds and the best thing is you can put it between car front seats to create a pet barrier to keep pets safe in the back seat.
Top review: “Love! I've got two cairn terriers that I bought one each for and the second they popped upon they were inside. Zero effort to set up and it's great for travel and home alike! Collapsing isn't too hard either just take a front corner and push back to fold in half then take each long and twist till it folds into 3 circles which then fits perfectly back in the pouch! Would definitely buy again and only wish there were more colours to choose from!”
Best umbrella-style beach tent canopy - SKLZ Unisex’s Sport-Brella
Why we love it? The Umbrella action really does make this the easiest sun shelter ever to set up. The umbrella structure also gives it an edge when it comes to shade and wind protection – the side straps mean you’re fully covered and the structure is nice and sturdy.
Top review: “This was a last-minute purchase before a trip to Italy. And boy was I glad we got one. This came in handy on so many occasions. My children are all fair-skinned, so with this in the boot of the car, we always had sun protection and a safe shaded space for them. It’s quick and easy to use, basically a large umbrella that conveniently packs away in the case with a shoulder strap. This is without hesitation one of the most useful products I have bought. And will no doubt be using it for years to come. Brilliant!”
Best beach tent for high winds - Neso tent beach tent with sand anchor,
Why we love it? This great lightweight SPF50+ tent is available in a rainbow of colours, it’s easy to put up and has a unique anchor system – fill up the sandbags (or use rocks) prop the tent up with the poles and you’re all set. Super easy.
Top review: “If you don’t like to bring a big parasol like me, this is your solution. I love using this kit at the beach it gives me a big area of shade. You can easily prop it up by yourself. You don’t need to worry even if gets a bit windy. It stays in place with the help of a very clever design sandbag.”
Best value beach tent - Glymnis 2-4 person pop up beach tent
Why we love it? If you’re a family of four (or just a couple who likes plenty of room in their beach tent) this is the best you will get for under 70 quid. It’s UPF50+ and durable – plus it's water has a mesh window and a large entrance added ventilation. Not only that, the tent easily folds up into its compact storage bag, making it ideal for travelling.
Top review: “Fantastic product! Very easy to use & to pack away again. The front part zips up too which I didn't realise when I bought it. Really helpful if you or the kids need privacy, as you can close it up & change back into dry clothes etc. Given its shape, naturally the wind can take it. I now keep 4 plastic bags in the beach tent pocket which I put sand or rocks in & use as a weight at each corner of the tent. That keeps it down nicely & then just empty the sand out the bags when I leave."
Best beach gazebo - Eurohike shelter
Why we love it? Aside from the fact it currently on offer with 48% off, this is a great sturdy gazebo that is perfect if you're the type to set up on the beach in the morning and stay there the whole day. It's easy to put up and pack away and a great one if you're also into camping.
Top review: "All four side panels can be removed to create a nice, very spacious gazebo with plenty of room for a table and four chairs, or you can just undo one of more of the 'windows' to let air in and keep insects out. Even in quite blowy weather, it stayed rock solid when properly pegged at the corners and with the guy ropes firmly fixed. All in all, I'd say it offers better value for money than many competitive products costing a lot more."
RELATED: 9 best garden pods for a luxury outdoor area 2022: John Lewis, Etsy & more
Best beach tent for UV protection and ventilation - Wolf Wise easy pop-up beach tent
Why we love it: This is an incredibly lightweight tent with full 360-degree ventilation and UV protection. Another brilliant detail lies in the bags that you can fill with sand to keep your pop-up tent from blowing away. Plus it is currently in the sale with 28% off!
Top review: "This is the second beach tent I’ve had this year and my search is complete. This one is absolutely brill. Firstly it has sandbags to stop it blowing away so no faffing with pegs, and it just pops into shape as you’d expect."
Best beach tent groundsheet - Odoland beach blanket
Why we love it: If you have a canopy-style beach tent then this sand-proof, beautiful beach blanket is a must. It fits two adults and two children comfortably.
Top review: "Adequately soft and very absorbent and comfortable. Very compact design, decent size, lightweight, it doesn’t take up too much space in my backpack at all. Another great feature is 'sand free', when we were on the beach, the sand Just wouldn’t stick to it, absolutely amazing! Really easy to clean. Overall Excellent quality and value for money."
MORE: 38 UK hotels you need to visit for a weekend getaway
Like this story? Sign up to our HELLO! Edit newsletter to get other shopping stories delivered straight to your inbox.
HELLO!'s selection is editorial and independently chosen – we only feature items our editors love and approve of. HELLO! may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. To find out more visit our FAQ page.
