Bournemouth Car Parks
There’s NO Park & Ride scheme operating in Bournemouth so car parks in the town centre or close to the beach can get pretty busy in the summer and on hot Bank Holiday weekends it can be a nightmare unless you make that extra effort to get up early and arrive before 9am 🙂 The list of car parks below isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list it’s just there to give you an idea of how much you can expect to pay. Between £11.50 – £24.20 is around average for all-day parking in the summer. Many ticket machines no longer accept coins so it’s a good idea to download a parking app to your phone in advance (JustPark, PayByPhone, RingGo).
More details on Bournemouth car parks can be found on the https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Parking/ web page.
Bath Road South Long Stay Car Park
This is an outdoor car park is the most convenient for visiting the beach and is just a couple of minutes walk from Pier Approach, a fact that is reflected in its charges. It’s also one of the first to fill up. 163 spaces (11 disabled spaces).
Sat Nav postcode BH1 2EW (Google map)
You can’t pay by cash but the machines will accept payment by card. Alternatively you can pay by phone or by using an online app (JustPark, RingGo or PayByPhone).
More info at https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Parking/
| 15 Mar – 31 Oct | 01 Nov – 14 Mar | |
| 1 hour | £3.30 | £2.10 |
| 2 hours | £6.60 | £4 |
| 3 hours | £9.90 | £5.60 |
| 4 hours | £13.20 | £7 |
| 6 hours | £19.80 | £11.20 |
| 24 hours | £24.20 | £18 |
Richmond Gardens Multi-Storey
This is my car park of choice when visiting Bournemouth just because it’s fairly cheap particularly if visiting for a couple of hours. It’s a long-stay multi-story car park located at the top of Richmond Hill and about 15 minute walk to the beach through the town and Lower Gardens. 859 spaces (12 disabled spaces).
Sat Nav post code BH1 1JD (Google maps)
More info at https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Parking/
| All-year | |
| up to 2 hours | £2.90 |
| up to 3 hours | £4 |
| up to 4 hours | £5.20 |
| up to 6 hours | £9.20 |
| up to 24 hours | £11.50 |
Avenue Road Car Park – BH2 5SL (Google maps) is also a multi-story car park in the town centre that has the same reasonable prices as Richmond Gardens Multi-storey (see above). 900 spaces (14 disabled spaces). It may be my imagination but the spaces feel a bit smaller. Height restriction 2m. Monthly, half-yearly and annual permits are available. More info at https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Parking/.
Winter Gardens Car Park
This is another good outdoor choice, very convenient since it’s just a short 5 minute walk to the pier and has reasonable parking charges. Even though it’s centrally located it is surrounded by trees and feels a bit more isolated so definitely not a place top leave valuables in your car or go back to after dark if you are on your own (although I’ve never heard of any problems). 250 spaces (11 disabled spaces).
Sat Nav postcode BH2 5AQ (Google maps)
You can’t pay by cash. You can only pay for parking by phone or using an online app such as JustPark, RingGo or PayByPhone.
More info at https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Parking/
| All-year | |
| up to 2 hours | £2.90 |
| up to 3 hours | £4 |
| up to 4 hours | £5.20 |
| up to 6 hours | £9.20 |
| up to 24 hours | £11.50 |
Boscombe Undercliff Car Park (Seafront)
Sat Nav Postcode BH5 1BN (Google map)
This has to be one of the best seafront car parks in Bournemouth since parking is right on the promenade and just a few steps to the beach. This car park is particularly convenient if you are bringing loads of beach equipment such as tents and BBQs or carrying paddleboards or surf boards. 355 spaces (23 disabled spaces).
You can pay for parking by cash, phone or using an online app such as JustPark, RingGo or PayByPhone (this is a similar method to most other pay and display car parks in the Bournemouth region).
During the school summer holidays (July & August) access to the seafront car park is controlled by an attendant at a ticket booth at the entrance by Boscombe Pier. During this time you can’t just pay by the hour – see the parking charges below. I’m pretty sure you have to pay by card (contactless) but not 100% sure they’ll accept cash.
Car park opening times: 8am till midnight
More details can be found on the https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Parking/ website
Boscombe Undercliff Parking Charges
| Summer High Season | July – Sept |
| Arrive before 2pm | £16.50 |
| Arrive between 2pm and 4pm | £11.20 |
| Arrive after 4pm | £7 |
| Arrive after 6pm | £3.50 |
| Mid and Low Season | Apr-Jun*, Set-Oct* | Nov-Mar* |
| Up to 1 hour | £2.80 | £2.30 |
| Up to 2 hours | £5.50 | £2.30 |
| Up to 6 hours | £8.30 | £4.60 |
| Over 6 hours | £11.70 | £4.60 |
Related Pages: Bournemouth / Bournemouth Beach / Bournemouth Big Wheel / Bournemouth Oceanarium / Rockreef and PierZip / Russell Cotes Museum / Land Train / Boscombe Beach / Alum Chine Beach / Durley Chine Beach / Bournemouth Air Festival