Caravan Parks
Caravan by the Sea, Trecco Bay
Porthcawl, South Wales
- Sleeps 4
Two-bedroom caravan with a sea-view terrace at Trecco Bay, rated 9.4 and a perfect 10 by couples.
Porthcawl Accommodation
Where to Stay in Porthcawl
Porthcawl pushes out into the Bristol Channel on a low headland, with the surf of Rest Bay on one side and the long sandy beach of Trecco Bay on the other. The promenade runs the length of the front, and the great sand hills of Merthyr Mawr lie a short drive east. Accommodation in Porthcawl gives you two beaches to choose between, one for surfers and one for sandcastles.
8 places to stay · showing 1–8
Cottage
Court House
★★★★4-Star
Porthcawl, Vale of Glamorgan
- Sleeps 8
- 4 bedrooms
- 1 bathroom
A characterful 1930s period house in the seaside town of Porthcawl, sleeping eight across four bedrooms, with two living rooms, a woodburner, a garden and the…
From£95 per night
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Caravan Parks
Brambles 66 Static Caravan, Trecco Bay
Porthcawl, South Wales
- Sleeps 6
Three-bedroom static caravan at Trecco Bay with garden views and a fireplace, rated 9.5 from 53 reviews.
Caravan Parks
Trecco Bay Holiday Park
Porthcawl, South Wales
- Sleeps 8
Caravans at Trecco Bay, Porthcawl, from £219 for seven nights, with direct beach access and an indoor pool.
From£219 for seven nights
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Caravan Parks
zucolli’s Caravan at Trecco Bay
Porthcawl, South Wales
- Sleeps 6
Three-bedroom caravan at Trecco Bay with garden views, rated 9.5 out of 10 and 9.8 by couples.
Caravan Parks
Trecco Bay Cwtch Caravan
Porthcawl, South Wales
- Sleeps 6
A three-bedroom caravan on Trecco Bay, nine minutes from the beach, rated 9.7 out of 10.
Caravan Parks
White Wheat Caravan Site
Porthcawl, South Wales
- Sleeps 4
- Pets welcome
A one-acre level touring site on the edge of Porthcawl, from £27 a night. Caravans and motorhomes only.
From£27 per night
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B&B
Olivia House B&B
★★★★★5-Star
Porthcawl, South Wales
- Sleeps 10
- 5 bedrooms
A charming, stylish 5-star B&B in a newly refurbished townhouse in the centre of Porthcawl — a superb seaside base.
From£95 per night
View detailsMore places to stay near Porthcawl, nearest first
Hotel
The Great House Hotel Accommodation
★★★3-Star
Bridgend, South Wales
- 20 bedrooms
- 20 bathrooms
A magnificent Grade II listed 15th-century country house hotel in Laleston, just west of Bridgend — meticulously restored and full of history.
From£85 per night
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Hotel
Premier Inn Budget Accommodation
★★★3-Star
Bridgend, South Wales
- 30 bedrooms
- 30 bathrooms
A modern, comfortable Premier Inn in Bridgend near the M4 — a convenient, great-value base for South Wales and the coast.
From£35 per night
View detailsMore About Porthcawl
Porthcawl opened a dock in 1867 to ship coal down from the valleys. The bigger docks at Barry, further east, took the trade within twenty-five years. The town turned to visitors, and Porthcawl accommodation has been part of a seaside week here ever since. From the 1880s R. E. Jones put up boarding houses six at a time on Mary Street, Esplanade Avenue and Picton Avenue. In 1903 he advertised a week’s stay for thirty shillings.
The Grand Pavilion opened on the seafront in August 1932, under an eight-sided dome. In 1957 the American singer Paul Robeson was banned from travelling by the US government. The Miners’ Eisteddfod, a singing festival, was held there. He sang down the new telephone line under the Atlantic to over 5,000 people. The Grand Pavilion is now closed for a £20m restoration.
The white lighthouse at the end of the breakwater still works. On a stormy high tide the sea breaks right over it, and people line the front with cameras to watch. Porthcawl Marina, next to it, flies a Blue Flag of its own.
Rest Bay, west of the town, is where the surf is. It holds a Blue Flag too, and most Porthcawl accommodation is a short drive from it. The Rest Bay Watersports Centre above the beach has a café and hot showers. Porthcawl Surf School runs lessons and board hire from it all year.
For one weekend every September the Elvis Festival takes over the pubs and clubs. Out of season you can walk the coast path west past Sker beach to Kenfig, where a medieval town lies buried under the dunes, and hardly meet anyone.
Porthcawl accommodation — your questions answered
- What is Porthcawl known for?
- Surf at Rest Bay, the white lighthouse by the harbour, the dunes at Merthyr Mawr and the Elvis Festival. The lighthouse was built in 1860 and burned coal, then gas, before it went over to electricity in 1997.
- Where is Porthcawl?
- In south Wales, on the coast between Cardiff and Swansea, in the county of Bridgend. Come off the M4 at Junction 37. The nearest station is Pyle, a few minutes inland.
- What is there to do in Porthcawl?
- From Porthcawl accommodation you can surf or learn to at Rest Bay. You can also walk to Kenfig National Nature Reserve, 1,300 acres of dunes with a seventy-acre lake. Newton beach, on the east side of the town, allows dogs all year.
- Is the funfair at Coney Beach still open?
- No. The rides stopped for good in October 2025, after 107 summers. The site is part of the council’s plans for the seafront, which include an open-air pool. The beaches and the surf carry on as they always have.
- When is the Elvis Festival?
- The last full weekend of September each year. Accommodation in Porthcawl goes early, so book as soon as the next dates are out.
- Are there hotels and caravan parks in Porthcawl?
- Yes. Trecco Bay is one of the largest caravan parks in Wales, and most Porthcawl accommodation listed here is on it. There is a B&B and a small caravan site too. For a hotel, look at the Bridgend page as well.
- Is it good for families?
- Very. Trecco Bay, Sandy Bay and Rest Bay are wide and sandy, and RNLI lifeguards patrol all three through the summer. The promenade is flat, so a pushchair is no trouble. Dogs are banned from those beaches from 1 May to 30 September.
- What’s nearby?
- The Merthyr Mawr dunes are ten minutes east, big enough that scenes for Lawrence of Arabia were filmed there. Ogmore-by-Sea and the Glamorgan Heritage Coast start just beyond, and Cardiff is about forty minutes by car.
- How far is Porthcawl from Cardiff?
- About 25 miles west, roughly forty minutes by car along the M4. Swansea is about half an hour in the other direction.
Porthcawl is ten minutes off the M4, with Swansea about half an hour away and Cardiff about forty minutes by car. Each listing of Porthcawl accommodation shows its own price and how many it sleeps. See the Bridgend page too, or look across Cardiff and the Vale.
Browse accommodation near Porthcawl
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