Beach · County Mayo
Golden Strand, Achill Island
Can I swim here? Outside the bathing season
The bathing season runs from 1 June to 15 September. Outside it the water is not tested weekly and lifeguards are not on duty. The last sample, on 2 September 2026, was excellent. Live status on beaches.ie, which the EPA updates hourly in season.
Golden Strand has an exposed shore with a sandy substrate consisting of an area of gently sloping sand dunes along the headlands. There are a variety of habitats including a machair site and two lakes located at the machair plain. Both of these habitats contain rare vegetation. They are also important for wildlife especially birds. Doogort Machair/Lough Doo SAC/ pNHA (Site Code 001497) Croaghaun/Slievemore SAC/pNHA (Site Code 001955) Keel Machair/Menaun Cliffs SAC/pNHA (Site Code 001513) Doogort Machair - Lough Doo. Activities include surfing, windsurfing and canoeing. The bathing area is approximately 0.88km wide. The bathing water is approximately 0.51km2 in area. The medium and maximum water depth within the designated bathing water is 0.5m and 5.0 respectively depending on tides.
Excellent (2025): The highest standard: results over four years were consistently very clean.
The record, year by year
| Year | EPA classification | Samples | Excellent | Good | Sufficient | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | — | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Excellent | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2024 | Excellent | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Excellent | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Excellent | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Facilities
| Lifeguards | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Toilets | Yes | |
| Parking | Yes | |
| Wheelchair access | Yes | |
| Beach wheelchair | No | |
| Public transport | No | |
| First aid | Yes | Details available on the beach notice board |
| Lifebuoy | Yes | |
| Information board | Yes | |
| Activity zones | No | |
| Litter bins | Yes | |
| Recycling | Yes |
Dogs and cars
- Dogs on a leadDogs only allowed before 12pm and after 6.30pm during the bathing season (1st June to 15th September) otherwise allowed at all times onto beach.
- No cars on the beach
- Car-free zone
Latest sample (2026-09-02): E. coli <10, intestinal enterococci <1 (cfu/100 ml).
The EPA's bathing water profile
Outdoors in County Mayo this week
Best day outdoors: Sun, 11 Oct — dry by day, breezy, up to 14°C
Status Yellow - Rain warning for Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo
From Thu, 8 Oct, 09:00 until Fri, 9 Oct, 04:00
Heavy spells of rain.
Be aware of potential impacts:
- Difficult travelling conditions
- Localised flooding possible
Issued by Met Éireann · met.ie/warnings
- Fri, 9 Oct12° / 8°Medium rain showers
- Sat, 10 Oct12° / 7°Sun with light cloud
- Sun, 11 Oct14° / 13°Sun with light cloud
Make a day of it
The nearest trails, beaches, woods and heritage within 25 km.
Trails & walks
Beaches & bathing waters
Parks, gardens & islands
Nature spot · 6.0 km awayInis Bigil (Inishbiggle Island)IslandLocated between the mainland and Achill Island in County Mayo, Inishbiggle is a unique island with stunning panoramic views of West Mayo.
Nature spot · 6.7 km awayAn Ceann Ramhar (Doohoma Head)BeachThe long sandy beach of An Ceann Ramhar is one of the hidden gems of Erris in north-western Mayo.