February 2026 · Beaches
The Best Beaches in Abel Tasman: A Local's Guide
Golden sand, calm water and very different personalities, we rank the park's most beautiful bays and tell you how to reach each one.
Every beach in Abel Tasman has the same raw materials: golden sand, native bush running down to the waterline, clear water, but each one has a genuinely different feel. Here's how the park's best-known bays compare, and how to actually get to each of them.
Anchorage
The park's most visited bay, and for good reason: a wide, sheltered crescent of sand with reliable boat access, a DOC campsite, and an easy connecting walk to Te Pukatea Bay just over the headland. Good for groups and families who want options nearby: swim, walk, or just sit.
Medlands Beach
Long, open and a little wilder-feeling than Anchorage, Medlands is popular with day visitors arriving by water taxi and with walkers crossing between Kaiteriteri and the southern park boundary. The beach faces open water rather than a sheltered bay, so check conditions if swimming is the priority.
Te Pukatea Bay
A small, near-perfect cove just a 20-minute walk from Anchorage, Te Pukatea is sheltered, clear and consistently calm, arguably the best swimming beach in the park, but only reachable on foot or by sea kayak, which keeps the crowds thinner than Anchorage.
Bark Bay
Best known for its tidal lagoon and swing bridge rather than the beach itself, though the sand here is just as good. Time a visit around low tide for the full lagoon effect, with sandbanks and braided channels exposed across the estuary.
Awaroa
Remote, quiet, and only accessible by boat, foot, or a tide-dependent crossing, Awaroa rewards the extra effort with one of the park's most peaceful stretches of sand and a real sense of distance from anywhere else.
Totaranui
At the northern end of the park, Totaranui is the largest beach in Abel Tasman and one of the few reachable by road as well as boat. Popular with campers over summer, with plenty of space to spread out even on a busy day.
How to choose
- Want easy access and amenities nearby? Anchorage or Medlands
- Want the best swimming? Te Pukatea Bay
- Want a sense of remoteness? Awaroa
- Travelling with a tide-dependent itinerary in mind? Bark Bay's lagoon is worth building a day around
Most cruise and water taxi itineraries touch on two or three of these bays in a single day, so you don't have to choose just one, though it's worth knowing what each has to offer before you decide where to get off the boat.
Ready when you are
Find your own way into the park
However you like to travel, there's a trip in our library built around it: scenic cruises, guided walks, kayaking, and beachfront lodge stays inside the park. Have a look through and see what fits.