Clacton

By car

Exit the A12 at the Colchester North exit onto the A120, and then the A133 all the way into Clacton.

By train

• Railway Station

  address: Skelmersdale Rd, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 6PU
  Trains run to Clacton every hour from London Liverpool Street and take approximately 90 minutes. If travelling from the Ipswich direction, change trains at Colchester North.

By bus

Buses serve Clacton from most parts of North-East Essex, including Colchester (every 30 minutes, approx. 1 hour journey time), Walton and Frinton (every 30 minutes, approx. 30 minutes journey time) and Harwich (every hour, approx. 45 minutes journey time). There are also 3 National Express coaches per day to London (#484, approx. 3 hours journey time) and 1 National Express coach per day to Liverpool, via Cambridge, Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester etc. (#350, approx journey time 12 hours to Liverpool). As there is no distinct bus station, finding the correct stop within the town centre can be a problem, mainly because of a lack of any maps, and the digital displays at each stop only show departures for that street. If in doubt, walk out to the train station as most routes pass here.

By bicycle

National Cycle Route 150 runs along the coast from Frinton-on-Sea & Walton to the NE to Jawick (just past the golf club) to SW.

The main town centre is fairly compact and can easily be covered on foot.

By car

Clacton is a fairly driver-friendly town with cheap, plentiful parking, although during the summer holidays or the Clacton Air Show, parking and traffic can be problematic.

By bus

The two main operators of suburban routes are First Essex and Hedingham Omnibuses. The former operates a handful of suburban routes at half-hourly intervals, one of which serves the out-of-town Tesco hypermarket. The latter operates regular shuttle services to the Clacton Common Shopping Village.

• Clacton-on-Sea360-m pier that opened in 1871. Now has amusement park with rides.

• Great Holland Pits

  phone: +44 1621 862960
  address: Little Clacton Rd, Great Holland
  Best time to visit is Apr-Jul.

• Jaywick Martello TowerArts, heritage and community venue in a renovated Martello tower.

• Push Kiting

  phone: +44 7736 052967
  Kite surfing, kite buggy, kite landboarding, power kite, paddleboard.

• Clacton Pier

  phone: +44 1255 421115
  address: 1 North Sea, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1QX

• The Beach

  address: CO15 6JS
  Seasonal lifeguard.

• Weeley Hall Wood

  phone: +44 1621 862960
  Best times to visit are Apr-Jul & Nov-Feb. Dogs allowed.

The town centre areas feature the usual high-street shops (Argos, WHSmith, Marks & Spencer etc.), as well as plenty of seaside tourist shops. There are several decent sized supermarkets including Fiveways, Morrisons, Lidl and Tesco, the latter of which is quite a way out of town but can be reached by local bus.
The Clacton Common Shopping Village, located on an industrial estate on the edge of town, is one of two 'factory outlet' shopping malls in Essex (the other being Freeport, near Braintree). It mostly consists of numerous stores selling discontinued clothing lines at discount prices.

• Sainsbury's

  phone: +44 1255 202400
  address: 39 High St, Clacton-On-Sea, CO15 1NU
  ATMs

• Lidl

  address: St Osyth Rd, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 3BN

• Morrisons

  phone: +44 1255 221127
  ATMs.

• Armstrongs at the Pavilion

  phone: +44 1255 688819
  address: Pier Gap, Marine Parade East, Clacton On Sea, CO15 1PS

• Franco's

  phone: +44 1255 426647
  address: 4 Colne Rd, Clacton On Sea, CO15 1PX

• Aroy

  phone: +44 1255 435599
  address: 19 Rosemary Rd, Clacton-On-Sea, CO15 1NZ

• Toby Cavery

  phone: +44 1255 425739
  address: Marine Parade West, Martello Bay, Clacton-On-Sea, CO15 1NW

• Cup of Coffee

  phone: +44 1255 433665
  address: 82 Rosemary Rd, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1TG

• The Moon & Star Fish

  phone: +44 1255 222998
  address: 1 Marine Parade East, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1PU
  Free Wi-Fi.

• The Robert Burre

  phone: +44 1255 318634
  address: Burres Rd, Great Clacton, CO15 4LN
  Large carpark opposite pub. Wi-Fi.

• The Flamingo

  phone: +44 1255 812239
  address: Kings Parade, Holland-on-sea, CO15 5JD

• Esplanade

  phone: +44 1255 220450
  address: 27-29 Marine Parade East, Clacton on Sea, CO15 1UU

• Lyndale Lodge Hotel

  phone: +44 1255 423340
  address: 2-4 Colne Rd, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1PX
  Free Wi-Fi. Free parking. No pets.

• Melrose Hotel

  phone: +44 1255 421392
  address: 53 Marine Parade, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 6AD,
  Free Wi-Fi (in public areas). Free on-site parking.

• Ocean Hotel

  phone: +44 1255 474693
  address: 5 Marine Pde East, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1PT

• Stonar Guest House

  phone: +44 1255 221011
  address: 19 Agate Rd, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1RA

• The Sandrock

  phone: +44 1255 428215
  address: 1 Penfold Rd, Clacton-On-Sea, CO15 1JN
  Free parking. Free Wi-Fi.

• Premier Travel Inn

  phone: +44 871 527 9552 (premium)
  address: Marine Parade West, Clacton-On-Sea, CO15 1RD
  Free Wi-Fi. On-site parking £2.

• The Beaches

  phone: +44 1255 421713
  address: 12-14 Ellis Rd, Clacton On Sea, CO15 1ER
  Free Wi-Fi. No pets.

• Post Office

  address: High St, Clacton On Sea, CO15 1NP

General precautions and common sense apply, avoid anywhere that looks rough and try to avoid walking the streets at night. Jaywick to the west of Clacton is extremely impoverished and rundown (especially the Brooklands area), commercial areas and the beaches are safe, but wandering around residential streets is ill-advised.

• Frinton-on-Sea
• Ipswich
• Harwich
• Colchester