West Sands is the larger of the two beaches. Well over two kilometres long, it backs on to the world famous Old Course. There is free parking all the way down the beach.

East sands is round the other end of town and has a small car park. It is next to the towns lovely harbour. This helps make East sands more sheltered, so a good bet on windy days.

Surf wise, it works best in medium to big, NE to E swells. Just south of St Andrews is Kingsbarns, a great reef break for more experienced surfers, while north is Tentsmuir, which can be fun when St Andrews is too big.

On a still calm day, a paddle around St Andrew's cliffs is an absolute must, You can paddle between the 2 beaches around the towns one kilometre length of cliffs. There is lots to see, from sea birds to seals, a castles beach to land on, and lots of small protruding reefs to manouvre round.