We are about to have loads of fun with these beach activities for the whole family! From building sand castles to planning a scavenger hunt, we prepared 22 beach ideas and sand activities so you can have the best times on your beach day.
Here are 22 fun things to do at the beach!
Popular Activities for Beach Holidays
It’s summertime and some of us are getting ready to enjoy that sea life! So, let’s pack the beach essentials: beach towels, your favorite book, a hula hoop, boogie boards, a tennis ball or a beach ball, squirt guns, or maybe a yoga mat. Wherever you are going, we are sure it’ll be a great place to play beach games.
We put together our favorite things to do at the beach with kids of all ages. The best part is that most of these great ideas are pretty inexpensive and can be prepped in a matter of minutes, but still guarantee so much fun.
We hope you have a great time!
A fun alternative to sand castles!
1. This Bag o’ Beach Bones Playset is Perfect for Your Kid’s Next Sand Adventure
Sand castles are great, but this “beach bones playset” is going to make your next visit to the beach a lot more fun. The possibilities for imaginative play with these bone molds are endless!
We are sure your friends will love a shell necklace.
2. Make Your Own Seashell Necklace – Beach Style Kids
If you’re planning a day at the beach anytime soon don’t forget to bring home a pocket full of shells for crafting and making pretty seashell necklaces for you and your friends.
A simple but entertaining game for kids of all ages.
3. Beach Game: Tic-Tac-Toe
This beach version of tic-tac-toe will provide hours of fun for the whole family. You’ll need any kind of tape, shells, rocks, and a beach blanket. That’s all!
There are so many fun photos you can take.
4. Forced Perspective. Fun pictures at the beach
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. Besides being super fun, it’s a great way to make ever-lasting photographic evidence of this beach day! From Playtivities.
Kids can also learn at the beach.
5. Sand Volcano Experiment
You can easily set this activity up at the beach or right in your sandbox at home. Follow the easy tutorial to set make sand erupt. This activity also doubles up as a science experiment. From Growing a Jeweled Rose.
Sand slime guarantees hours of fun!
6. Sand Slime Recipe
Let’s make the most amazing play slime for kids! This slime is super stretchy, ultra Oozy, and it is made from sand! How cool is that? From Growing a Jeweled Rose.
Here’s another twist on the tic tac toe game.
7. Nature Inspired Tic Tac Toe Game
Here’s one of our favorite outdoor activities. Tic Tac Toe is perfect for picnics, camping and you only need a simple old linen sheet, sticks, and smooth rocks. From Playtivities.
Make your own seashell collecting bag for your next trip.
8. Seashell Collecting Bag
If your little one loves collecting seashells, then you need to prepare ahead of time. A good idea is to make a seashell beach bag and say goodbye to stinky, sandy buckets of wet shells to lug back home. From Come Together Kids.
Flying kites is best at the beach.
9. 6 Easy Steps To Fly A Kite With Your Kids
Flying a kite with children is fun, and you can take advantage of the high winds and turn it into a competition to see who can fly a kite the highest. We promise it’s lots of fun! Here are easy steps so you and your little one can have fun flying a kit together. From Momjunction.
What a creative way to learn while t the beach.
10. How to Build a Temporary Sundial
Have you ever wanted to know what time it was, but didn’t have a watch? Instead of checking your cell phone or going inside to look at a clock try building a sundial! From WikiHow.
A scavenger hunt at the beach – isn’t that great?
11. Beach Scavenger Hunt Free Printable
A beach scavenger hunt is so much fun for kids and so easy for parents to put together. This printable includes items typically found at the beach, but you can add some ‘bonus’ items to find. From Views From a Stepstool.
There are so many things you can do with some seashells.
12. Seashell Activities for Kids – Free Seashell Activity Printables
Whether you’re taking a family vacation or living in a beach town, seashell hunting is a fun activity for the whole family. Here are some great ways to teach your kids about marine life and sustainability. From Mombeach.
Want to build the best sand castle? Get your favorite sand toys and wet sand.
13. Your Ultimate Guide to Building the Perfect Summer Sandcastle
Here are some awesome tips to help you and your family create the perfect sandcastle like a pro. Just follow the tips and easy steps! From Martha Stewart.
Isn’t this seahorse a work of art?
14. Creating Art On The Beach
Looking for beach art activities? Here’s a fun project for kids of any age that want to create beautiful beach art. Create a seahorse, a fish, or any other ocean animal. From Creative in Chicago.
Let’s dye sand to make pretty sand castles.
15. How to Dye Sand at the Beach
Did you know you can dye sand? Colored sand is super simple and fun to make! The kids will love doing it. They will think it is magic watching the sand turn a color. It’s especially fun for making colorful sand castles. From Diana Rambles.
16. How to Catch Sand Crabs
Sand crabs are smaller than the crabs from SpongeBob and are able to blend in with sand better. So if you wish to catch a few, watch this video tutorial – just remember to set them free too! From WikiHow.
Each beach craft will be unique and original.
17. Easy Beach Crafts – Plaster of Paris Sand Prints
This is the ultimate DIY beach craft – not only are these beach crafts fun and frugal for the whole family, but once you arrive back home you have some perfect garden stones or summer decor for the porch or family room. From Beauty and Bedlam.
A perfect keepsake from your family trip to the beach.
18. Beachcombing Treasure Hunt Tile (100 Days Of Play)
Kids will love picking beach objects and making a relief tile of the treasure that they found, by using airdry clay and pushing the discoveries into the tile to hold them firmly in place. From The Boy and Me.
Kids can make these sand candles and give them away to friends and family.
19. Sand Candles
Here is a step-by-step tutorial to make your very own sand candles. Each candle will be unique and inspired by the beach, and you can create any smell that you want. Isn’t that great? From Central Child Station.
This is the perfect beach game for kids!
20. Olympics Party
Make your very own Olympics Party with your kids. This is perfect for a birthday party at the beach. Check out these super awesome ideas for food, prizes, and games. From A Small Snippet.
All you need for this game is a small ball!
21. DIY Skee-Ball on the Beach
This is the perfect beach game if the beach is sloped and you have a few minutes to build it. Simply get croquet balls and dig a gutter all the way around to catch the balls. From Leo James.
These sculptures are so much fun to make.
22. Sand Drizzle Sculptures
Sand Drizzle Sculptures are relaxing. soothing, and a bit addictive to create! They are also fantastic fine motor practice for kids and an awesome educational activity for preschoolers. From Still Playing School.
Want more fun beach activities?
Which beach activity will you try first? And second? And third?…
