Coastal townsScotland2026
Scotland Coastal Towns
St Andrews, Oban and Portree were the most booked of the 6 coastal towns in Scotland on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 9,949, 9,447 and 8,900 stays. August is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 4.3 nights.
Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made
- Most booked of these 6
- St Andrews 9,949 stays
- Highest revenue per home of these 6
- Portree £45,035 a year
- Highest rated of these 6
- Lerwick 4.90 out of 5
- Lowest nightly rate of these 6
- Ayr £150 a night
- Longest typical stay of these 6
- Lerwick 5.5 nights
Ranking
Scotland Coastal Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays
Every one of the coastal and beach towns in Scotland with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.
| 1 | St Andrews | 9,949 | £328 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Oban | 9,447 | £175 |
| 3 | Portree | 8,900 | £250 |
| 4 | Lerwick | 2,882 | £157 |
| 5 | North Berwick | 2,648 | £312 |
| 6 | Ayr | 2,645 | £150 |
Figures are AirROI estimates for the 12 months to October 2026, and stays count Airbnb bookings only. Typical stay is a booking's length, occupancy the share of available nights booked, and revenue the yearly average per home, before costs. Guest rating is out of 5.
Money figures on this page are in British pounds, converted from US dollars at £0.74 per US$, the typical rate from November 2025 to October 2026.
Town by town
Where the Top Towns Stand Out
4 of 6 are busiest in August. St Andrews peaks in September, and Lerwick in June. Among guests who left a review, the United Kingdom is the top home country in 5 of the 6. Apartments and condos are the largest home type in 4 of the 6. The lines below add what the table can't show, where one of the towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.
- St Andrews
Of the 6 coastal towns in Scotland with 100 or more homes, St Andrews had the most Airbnb homes, at 366, and had the highest nightly rate, at £328, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- Portree
Of the 6 coastal towns in Scotland with 100 or more homes, Portree had the highest occupancy, at 59%, and had the biggest share of houses, at 60%, in the 12 months to October 2026. Among guests who left a review, the United States was the top home country for Portree, at 34%.
- 4Lerwick
Of the 6 coastal towns in Scotland with 100 or more homes, Lerwick had the highest guest rating, at 4.90, and had the longest typical stay, at 5.5 nights, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 5North Berwick
Of the 6 coastal towns in Scotland with 100 or more homes, North Berwick had the biggest share of homes that sleep 8 or more, at 16%, in the 12 months to October 2026. Houses were the largest home type in North Berwick, at 51% of homes.
- 6Ayr
Of the 6 coastal towns in Scotland with 100 or more homes, Ayr had the lowest nightly rate, at £150, and had the biggest share of apartments and condos, at 57%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
When to go
Busiest and Quietest Months
August, July and May rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the coastal towns in Scotland, and February and January as the quietest. August is the busiest month in 4 of the 6, while St Andrews peaks in September, and Lerwick in June. Across the 6 towns, nightly rates run lowest in January, at about £213, and highest in July, at about £267. Across the 6 towns, stays run longest in February, at 5.2 nights, and shortest in October, at 3.5 nights.
August ranks first, January last
Airbnb months in calendar order. The number is the month's rank, and 1 is the busiest. The bar shows its part of Airbnb nights.
- Three busiest months
- Other months
Month by month: rank, typical stay and nightly rate
| Rank | Month | Typical stay | Nightly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August | 3.7 nights | £264 |
| 2 | July | 4.4 nights | £267 |
| 3 | May | 4.0 nights | £249 |
| 4 | September | 3.8 nights | £265 |
| 5 | June | 3.9 nights | £259 |
| 6 | October | 3.5 nights | £237 |
| 7 | April | 3.9 nights | £248 |
| 8 | November | 4.1 nights | £219 |
| 9 | March | 4.3 nights | £225 |
| 10 | December | 3.8 nights | £224 |
| 11 | February | 5.2 nights | £219 |
| 12 | January | 5.0 nights | £213 |
Who comes
Where Guests Come From
Among guests who left a review, 62% come from abroad. Among those guests, the largest groups from abroad come from the United States, Canada and France. The top home cities among those guests are London, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Portree draws the most from abroad, at 88%, among towns with 100 or more homes.
Top countries abroad
Among guests who left a review
Top home cities
Among guests who left a review
62% from abroad
The money view
Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate
Among the 6 towns on this list, Portree has the highest estimated revenue per home, at £45,035 a year. Of those 6, Portree has the highest occupancy, at 59%, and Ayr has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at £150. The most booked of the 6, St Andrews, earns about £34,564 per home.
Highest revenue per home of these 6
A year, AirROI estimate
- Portree £45,035
- North Berwick £36,079
- St Andrews £34,564
- Lerwick £25,482
- Oban £24,546
Highest occupancy of these 6
Nights booked, AirROI estimate
- Portree 59%
- Lerwick 52%
- Oban 47%
- St Andrews 44%
- North Berwick 42%
Lowest nightly rate of these 6
On Airbnb, AirROI estimate
- Ayr £150
- Lerwick £157
- Oban £175
- Portree £250
- North Berwick £312
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular coastal town in Scotland?
By AirROI's estimates, St Andrews is the most booked of the 6 coastal towns in Scotland, with 9,949 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Oban is second, with 9,447. This counts Airbnb bookings only.
What is the most affordable coastal town in Scotland?
By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among coastal towns in Scotland with 100 or more homes, the lowest are Ayr (£150), Lerwick (£157) and Oban (£175). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.
What coastal towns in Scotland offer the strongest Airbnb returns?
Returns depend on what a home costs to buy and run, which AirROI's figures do not cover. On AirROI's estimated revenue per home in the 12 months to October 2026, among coastal towns in Scotland with 100 or more homes, the highest are Portree (£45,035), North Berwick (£36,079) and St Andrews (£34,564). Among the same towns, Portree has the highest occupancy, at 59%.
Method
How These Lists and Numbers Are Made
How a town gets on this list. A town needs 100 or more Airbnb homes with recent stays. A language model then judges the place from its name, state, country and coordinates, not from words in its name: it has to be on an ocean or sea coast with its own beach, seafront or harbour, or on a Great Lake with a public beach, and within about 10 km of the shore. The town's own listings can back that up, with 30% of its homes listing beach access, or 10% with ocean views, waterfront homes or beach in their titles besides. A town whose listings do not gets a second, stricter check, which asks whether people go there for that or mainly for something else. Big cities stay off. Corrections come last: places the checks got wrong are added or taken off, and rows that name one place are joined.
How the figures are made. Stays, occupancy, nightly rate and revenue are AirROI estimates built from Airbnb listing data, and cover Airbnb only. A town's stays are its bookings in the period, and the typical stay and busiest month come from the same data. Guest ratings, home sizes and how far ahead guests book are the latest figures in each town's AirROI data. Month ranks compare each month's part of Airbnb nights. Origin rests on 121,849 reviews and describes guests who left a review, not everyone who stayed. A town needs 1,000 reviews before this page gives its share from abroad.