50+ Fun Things to Do on the Beach

For decades now, every summer my husband's extended family has rented a big house on the beach for a week of relaxation, food and fun.   The following list contains a couple of hundred ideas of ways to have fun on the shore, most of them extensively beta-tested by us!

DURING THE DAY

1. Swim, float, body surf, dive under waves
2. Go snorkeling, scuba diving
3. Play wipe-out (turn your back to the waves and deal with what comes)
4. Surf the waves on an innertube, raft, boogie board, surfboard, wakeboard
5. Go kayaking, canoeing, waveriding, sailing, parasailing, waterskiing, jetskiing
6. Play a beach-friendly sport: volleyball, racquetball, horseshoes, frisbee, dodgeball, tag, tug-of-war or football
7. Have a sandcastle building contest
8. Have a sand sculpting contest
9. Host beach olympics (see separate blog entry for a list of suggested events)
10. Have a watergun fight
11. Enjoy music (listen to radio, iPod, sing, or bring an instrument and create your own)
12. Dance
13. Play chess, checkers
14. Collect shells, polished stones, seaglass, driftwood, sand dollars
15. Crab racing
16. Hang out in a comfy chair: read, sleep, sunbathe, catch up on phone calls, drink something fruity
17. Daydream (see separate blog entry for list of suitable daydreaming topics)
18. Put your chair in the surf and dangle your legs in the surf
19. Write words in the sand large enough to show up on Google Earth
20. Carve a maze in the sand
21. Bury people
22. Dig a pit big enough to float in
23. Use a metal detector to hunt for buried treasure
24. Feed the seagulls
25. Go fishing, crabbing, clamming
26. Search for tidal pools
27. Search for sea creatures: dolphins, whales, seals, puffins, turtles, mermaids
28. Fly a kite
29. Stroll/hike/jog along the shoreline
30. Reenact the D-Day landing
31. Watch the sunrise/sunset
32. Have a picnic
33. Talk about your favorite episodes from Shark Week
34. Create art: paint, sketch, take photos, compose music, write in a journal, compose poetry
35. Go topless
36. Leave something funny on your chest, fall asleep, and wake up with a goofy sunburn
37. Identify shapes in the clouds
38. Practice your life-saving skills
39. Blow bubbles
40. Meet someone new
41. Take photos of the family (serious or goofy - for example, posed as bathing beauties or muscle men)
42. Exercise (jog, do yoga, gymnastics, calathenics)
43. Walk a dog
44. Reenact your favorite beach/ocean/island movie: Beach Blanket Bingo, Little Mermaid, South Pacific, Robinson Crusoe, The Odyssey, Jaws, Blue Lagoon, Apocalypse Now, Lord of the Flies (just kidding about the last few ...)
45. Swim/walk in the rain
46. Read stories/poetry about the sea (see separate blog entry for an appropriate selection)
47. Identify plants, shells, or wildlife (birdwatching, identify animal footprints in the sand)
48. Play Pictionary in the sand (your team has to guess what you're drawing before an incoming wave erases your picture)
49. People-watch (cutest kid, best body, worst body, best tan, worst sunburn, ugliest hawaiian shirt, etc.)
50. Seal a message in a bottle and send it out to sea
51. Give yourself a beach spa treatment (exfoliate using wet sand, have someone lay warm stones on your back)
52. Wave at passing boats, airplanes
53. Have a beach party (music, food, , goofy games, dancing)
54. Ride dunebuggies, horses, motorcycles on the sand
55. For the ladies: don a guazy dress and stand in the wind
56. Pick up trash, litter
57. Pretend to be a pirate: tie a kerchief around your head, bury treasure, make a map, talk like a pirate, drink grog, force people to walk the plank

AT NIGHT:

1. Enjoy fireworks (watch others or set off your own)
2. Hunt for crabs
3. Light a fire and have a cookout/clambake
4. Tell spooky ghost stories about pirates
5. Attire yourself in glowsticks and go for a walk
6. Watch lightening (from a safe vantage point, of course!)
7. Watch the stars/moon using a telescope
8. Watch for shooting stars, UFOs
9. Walk hand-in-hand with a loved one
10. Look for glowing seaweed, seacreatures
11. Recreate the beach scene from From Here to Eternity
12. Dance to the music of the waves
13. Swim nekked