Westgate-on-Sea is situated on the North Kent coast to the west of Margate. Like many such towns, it is almost completely based upon tourism, with hotels and other holiday accommodation its chief attraction. John Betjeman, probably while staying at nearby Birchington, wrote his poem ‘Westgate-on-Sea’ in the 1930s. It well evokes the orderly, genteel holiday resort of the day.

During World War I the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) had a seaplane base here. It was the nearest part of RNAS operations to the front line in Belgium.

There is a railway station, on the North Kent coast line to Ramsgate.