Top European Beaches To Visit If You Want To Escape The Crowds, According To Research

Europe is full of some pretty impressive beaches across countries like France, Croatia, Greece, Italy, and Spain. If you're looking for an international beach vacation, one of these European destinations probably comes to mind first. However, because of their soft sands and clear water, they are often overcrowded. To help travelers out, Wizz Air, a European airline, conducted a study on the best beaches in Europe to determine which beaches are the least crowded.

According to the study, Spain is home to some of the most populated beaches in Europe, so if you're looking for a relaxing vacation on the coast, this country may not be the place to go. Playa Sa Caleta, Cala Macarella, and Barceloneta Beach, for instance, are all located in Spain and are the top three most crowded beaches in all of Europe according to Wizz Air.. Focus on these less crowded but nevertheless spectacular beaches instead.

In fifth place is the Plage de Pampelonne near Saint Tropez. Situated on the usually crowded French Riviera, the beach in comparison is pretty spacy. For each person who visits the water during the day, there is a space approximately the size of 34 towels according to Wizz Air. Considering Pampelonne Beach is a hotspot for celebrities and influencers, it's rather surprising it made it into the top five. However, though there are a few places privatized for club members, there are also plenty of public beaches spread out among six entrances. If you're driving, the beach charges a fee for parking.

The beach stretches over 3 miles along the coast. It often draws in a lot of locals and tourists wanting to enjoy the ocean breeze in the summer, but there is plenty of sand to allow people the chance to stretch out and relax without having to get uncomfortably close to other beachgoers, especially if you're willing to walk a bit to get away from the entrances. The entire beach is covered in white sand and offers access to glittering blue water, ensuring any spot is the perfect place to set down a towel. 

Despite the beach's Saint Tropez, the beach isn't really in the commune. It's instead in Ramatuelle. This village is fairly small, and doesn't have a lot to offer tourists, but it's worth exploring the downtown area one day or venturing to seaside eateries like Cap 21 Les Murènes. Saint Tropez has a lot more flashiness and tourist attractions to offer visitors, and it only takes 10 to 15 minutes to get there from the Pampelonne via car, or likely half an hour by bike. In Saint Tropez, you can go wine tasting, check out a farmers market, explore historicbuildings like the citadel, and go shopping. 

Albania is home to gorgeous islands and immaculate. One of its best is Borsh Beach, which has enough room in it for each visitor to lay down 43 towels all for themselves. It is located on the south end of Albania, roughly an hour's drive north of Saranda. The area is known for its amazing weather and affordable prices. Though it can get a little cold in Borsh, especially in January, in the summer, it is often a sunny and pleasant 75 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. However, what makes Borsh Beach really impressive is the view. Stunning water reaches out in front of you while the Albanian Alps catch the eye on the other side. 

Considered the largest beach in the southern end of Albania, it stretches a little over 4 miles and over 30 yards wide, so it's easy enough to fit all of the locals and tourists visiting the water on a warm and sunny day. Not that there are often many. Borsh is a relatively underdeveloped area in Albania when it comes to tourism. Much of Borsh is still classically Albanian, and though there are plenty of amenities for visitors, the beach doesn't have the feel of a tourist attraction. 

Borsh itself is a small village, with around 2,500 people living in the area. In addition to the coast, there are plenty of historical sites to explore like the Cold War-era bunkers and Borsh Castle. For those who want to take a walk and feel a part of the great outdoors, there is an abundance of nature to enjoy as well. 

Croatia contains many pristine islands worth your time, especially Brač Island in Bol. That island is home to one of the most uncrowded beaches, according to Wizz Air. Zlatni Rat Beach is a popular destination, but it still manages to have enough room for each person to get a space roughly the size of 54 towels all to themselves. This location is also known as Golden Horn. The name comes from the shape and the color — it extends forward into the water and curves like a horn — and its sands offers over 1,500 feet of space. Interestingly, this beach is getting larger every year, and has managed to grow by over 250 feet since 2006. Due to changing wind and tide conditions, the beach also changes shape — its horn shape might be here one month but gone the next. The strong winds that shape the sand tend to sweep over Zlatni Rat Beach in the afternoons, perfect for flying kites or kitesurfing. Quiet mornings are best for peaceful swimming.

The beach is one of the most famous along the Adriatic coast — not that you can tell. There's often plenty of space to sit down and spread out without bumping into people near you. Though the beach is amazing, with brilliant blue water surrounding the horn, the entire island of Brač is worth exploring. It's a rather large piece of land, encompassing a little over 150 square miles in size. This Croatian island is very reminiscent of Italy, but much more budget-friendly and with a far less crowded beach.

Coming in second place is Camber Sands. This beach has roughly space for 61 towels per person. It is a part of England, specifically East Sussex. It's about 4.5 miles away from the small but charming town of Rye. If you're driving to the beach, Rye is a great place to stop first, as it's full of antique shops, historic building designs, and plenty of festivals throughout the year.

Camber Sands is a pebble beach, like most Sussex beaches — however, that's only the case on parts of the coast. Standing out from other locations along the ocean in the area, the beach also offers silky sand to sink your toes into and even sand dunes for most of its approximately 5-mile stretch. You might think that with such an unusual beach in the area, Camber Sands would be more crowded, but there is plenty of space for those who want to stretch out and walk along the sands. It's also a wonderful place to bring children, offering them the classic beach experience of building sandcastles along the water's edge. 

In addition to enjoying the coast, kitesurfing and beachcombing are popular activities in Camber Sands. Though most of the beach is fairly breezy, the long grass and hills of the dunes help to keep the wind away if you want a picnic. Some pubs and restaurants in the neighboring town of Camber will keep you happy throughout the day. Swimming is, of course, always an option as well. Just make sure you check any swim guidance before you visit any beach in England to ensure there's no dangerous waves or harmful bacteria. Additionally, always take the time to educate yourself and look for flags that may offer warnings on the beach.

Albania is often considered a great alternative to Greece. Offering many similar attractions and beaches, it's a cheaper and less crowded vacation spot in Europe. In fact, one beach in particular is considered to have the most space per visitor compared to other European beaches. According to Wizz Air's mathematics, there are roughly 65 towels of space per person on the Beach of Durrës, making it the roomiest beach in all of Europe.

The Beach of Durrës is within the port city of Durrës, itself located about an hour from Albania's capital, Tirana. Despite the amount of room the beach offers, it's considered one of the most popular oceanside destinations in all of Albania. The reason it's so roomy is simply due to its size. There are over 6 miles of stunning white beaches, and the beach has shallow water perfect for the whole family.

Not only are the sands fairly uncrowded, but it's a budget-friendly area as well. Albania is already considered one of the most affordable countries in all of Europe, so vacationing in Durrës or Tirana or any other cities along the Adriatic is easy. When you're tired of splashing in the water and relaxing on the sand, you can check out Durrës itself. Located just off the beach, a promenade offers places for visitors to eat, drink, and buy some new clothes. The city also has a history dating back over 2,500 years, and there are plenty of historical attractions in the area to reveal that history to you. Visitors also have options to rent pedal boats, jet skis, a paddle board, or a floating party deck.

Depending on the time of day, time of year, and weather, beaches can heavily fluctuate in crowd size. This makes it hard to tell, just from personal observation, which beaches are actually the most and least crowded in all of Europe.

Luckily, we didn't have to study every beach in Europe. Wizz Air evaluated over 50 different countries in Europe and their beaches to produce a list of the top 20 beaches in the continent. Their final consideration comes down to the space each person has on the beach, determined by how many beach towels an individual could theoretically put down. The calculations determined roughly how much space people would have at the beach. Though it's not perfect, the formula provides an understandable representation of the size available for individual beachgoers and is far more unbiased an approach than just basic observation. Details about the beaches, their popularity, and their overall reviews were gathered from personal reviews and opinions on sites such as Tripadvisor, Reddit, and personal travel blogs.

However, it is worth noting that Wizz Air focused only on the top beaches in Europe. There are likely beaches in Europe that are relatively unknown and secluded that weren't measured in Wizz Air's study.