Holiday rentals and lettings in Old Hunstanton

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a Holiday letting in Old Hunstanton?
• Holiday lettings in Old Hunstanton: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Old Hunstanton: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Old Hunstanton?

• Cottages by the dunes: Flint-and-brick holiday cottages and self-catering apartments sit within a short walk of the sand, most with a garden, parking and a dog-friendly welcome.
• Where to base yourself: Sea Lane suits beach days, while Hunstanton, Brancaster and Burnham Market add shops, marshes and market-town charm.
• Highly rated stays: Guests award local cottages scores of 9.9+, praising quiet lanes, wood-burners and the two-minute stroll to the beach path.
• Best time to visit: June to September brings warm sea breezes and lavender fields; autumn and winter deliver empty sands and lower prices.
• Things to do: Walk the striped cliffs, ride the Norfolk Coast Path, spot seals in The Wash and tour the Sandringham Estate.

Old Hunstanton is a village of flint walls and pantile roofs, so most holiday lettings here are converted barns, fishermen's cottages and coach houses set behind hedges on Sea Lane and Old Hunstanton Road. Traditional cottages in Old Hunstanton suit couples and families alike, while the wider cottages along the Norfolk Coast give you more space for a bigger group. Almost every property is self-catering, and many sit within five minutes of the beach path. Here is what hosts most often provide:

• Enclosed gardens and courtyards for post-beach showers and drying wetsuits
• Wood-burning stoves for chilly evenings after a coastal walk
• Off-road parking, essential on the narrow lanes in high summer
• Well-equipped kitchens with dishwashers, ovens and coffee machines
• Dog-friendly cottages with boot rooms and outside taps

Book early for August, when the village fills quickly and the best-placed cottages go first.

What are the best areas to stay in Old Hunstanton?

Stay around Sea Lane if the beach is your priority; it puts the dunes, the beach cafes and the coast path within a few minutes' walk. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests consistently rate Old Hunstanton stays above 9.5+, and the reasons repeat: the quiet of the lane after the day-trippers leave, the smell of the sea from the garden and hosts who leave local milk, eggs and a tide table on the kitchen table. Several reviewers mention how easy it is to walk everywhere, and how welcome dogs are made.

Here are our top-rated Holiday lettings from the past year:

1. Neptune Cottage, Old Hunstanton, Norfolk - 10.0+: A five-sleeper cottage with an enclosed garden in the heart of Old Hunstanton, praised for its calm lane and short stroll to the sand.
2. 27 Sea Lane, Old Hunstanton, Norfolk - 10.0+: A six-sleeper, dog-friendly cottage with a garden on Sea Lane, moments from the dunes and the beach cafes.
3. Sea-Glimpse, Old Hunstanton - 10.0+: A contemporary apartment with a garden, balcony and its own beach hut, 500 yards from the sea and happy to welcome dogs.

Old Hunstanton sits on Norfolk's north-west corner, where the coast turns to face The Wash and the sunsets go west over the water.

✈️What is the best way to get to Old Hunstanton?

Driving is by far the simplest option, as there is no railway station in the village. Here are the most common ways to get to the village:

• Car: From the Midlands and the north, follow the A17 across the Fens to King's Lynn, then join the A149 for the final 16 miles up to Hunstanton and Old Hunstanton. From London and the south, the M11 and A10 lead to King's Lynn in around three hours. The A149 continues east along the coast towards Brancaster and Wells-next-the-Sea, so it doubles as a scenic touring route. Parking is limited in the village, and most holiday lettings include a space.
• Train and bus: Take a Great Northern service from London King's Cross to King's Lynn, roughly one hour and forty minutes, or change at Ely from Cambridge, Norwich and Peterborough. From King's Lynn bus station the Coasthopper and Lynx 36 services run up the A149 to Hunstanton in about fifty minutes, stopping at Old Hunstanton Road on request. The Coasthopper then carries on along the whole north Norfolk coast, which makes a car-free stay genuinely workable.
• Plane: Norwich Airport is the closest, about an hour and a half by road via the A47 and A149, with domestic links and Amsterdam connections. Stansted and Luton are roughly two and a half hours away and offer far wider European routes.

🥗Where to eat in Old Hunstanton?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, The Old Boathouse is the best rated restaurant in Old Hunstanton. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest travellers recommend the Dune Bar & Kitchen in Old Hunstanton: it is a small, relaxed spot by the golf course, ideal for a drink and a light plate once the wind picks up off the beach.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

Come between June and September for the warmest sea, the lavender harvest and long light evenings on a west-facing beach. May and early October are the sweet spot if you want the coast path and the cliffs largely to yourself, with mild days and far easier parking. Winter is bracing but rewarding, with big skies and thousands of wintering geese.

Summer

• Best for: Families, beach days and water sports on the sheltered sands.
• Weather: Warm and breezy, with highs around 21°C and long, bright evenings.
• Atmosphere: Busy and cheerful, with day-trippers filling the cafes and the dunes.

Autumn

• Best for: Walkers, birdwatchers and couples after a quiet weekend away.
• Weather: Cool and often clear, with crisp mornings and dramatic light on the cliffs.
• Atmosphere: Peaceful, with empty sands and lower prices on holiday lettings.

Winter

• Best for: Wildlife watchers and anyone who loves a wood-burner and a windy walk.
• Weather: Cold and blustery, with frequent sunshine between North Sea squalls.
• Atmosphere: Very quiet, with the pubs and beach cafes belonging to locals again.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Our Old Hunstanton local expert, Emma of Neptune Cottage recommends coming to visit at low tide, when the beach opens out for a mile and the wrecked steam trawler on the sand becomes walkable. She suggests starting at the lifeboat station, following the base of the striped cliffs north towards the lighthouse, then cutting back through the dunes to Sea Lane for coffee. You can read more about local tips on Emma's page.

1. Walk the striped cliffs
2. Watch the sunset over The Wash
3. Explore Holme Dunes
4. Wander the Sandringham Estate
5. Ride the Norfolk Coast Path

1. Walk the striped cliffs

   The cliffs between Old Hunstanton and Hunstanton are the village's signature sight: a banded wall of white chalk, red limestone and brown carrstone rising above the sand. Set off from the lifeboat station an hour or two either side of low tide and you can walk the full length beneath them, past rock pools and the ribs of the Sheraton, a steam trawler wrecked here in 1947. Finish at St Edmund's Point, where the old lighthouse and the ruined chapel look out over the water.

2. Watch the sunset over The Wash

   This is the rare stretch of English east coast that faces west, so the sun drops into the sea rather than behind you. On a clear evening the beach fills quietly with people carrying flasks and blankets, and the wet sand turns copper. The stretch below the dunes at Sea Lane is the local favourite, while the promenade in neighbouring Hunstanton gives you a bench, a chip shop and shelter from the wind if the weather turns.

3. Explore Holme Dunes

   A twenty-minute walk east brings you to Holme Dunes, a Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve of shifting sand, pine belt and grazing marsh at the point where the coast bends. Hides overlook pools busy with avocets, spoonbills and wintering brent geese, and the boardwalk keeps feet dry across the wettest ground. The pinewoods here are a famous first landfall for migrating birds each autumn, so bring binoculars even if you are only mildly curious.

4. Wander the Sandringham Estate

   Fifteen miles south sits Sandringham, the royal family's Norfolk home, where the house, the ballroom and the museum open to visitors through the warmer months. The real pleasure is the 600 acres of country park, free to walk, with waymarked trails through oak and Scots pine and a good restaurant in the visitor centre. Combine it with a stop at Castle Rising, whose Norman keep is one of the most complete in England.

5. Ride the Norfolk Coast Path

   Old Hunstanton is where the Peddars Way meets the Norfolk Coast Path, so you can walk or cycle east along one of the flattest and most beautiful National Trails in the country. The first stage runs past Holme, Thornham and the marshes to Brancaster, roughly seven miles of saltmarsh, shingle and enormous sky. Our guide to the best beaches in Europe ranks nearby Brancaster Beach among Britain's finest.