30 Things to Do With Kids At the Beach Other than Building a Sandcastle
Are you going to the beach this summer holiday? Or is it winter where you live? Don’t worry, these tips are even better for cold months. My family lives by the beach and spend all year round having fun by the sea, for hours on end.
I always have a good chuckle when it’s holidays and all the tourists bring their bags of Beach Gear, the cheap plastic spades, rakes or buckets. There are so many other things to do and play at the beach!
Fun Family Beach Trip Activities
Make a monster truck or car track (draw out a road and make tunnels in the sand). My son has a couple older cars and monster trucks he brings to the beach. You can use sticks and stones to add jumps or roadblocks, build bridges, whatever you can imagine.
Make ‘fairy’ houses out of sand, coffee cup sized. Decorate with shells/rocks/leaves and draw little windows and doors, and pathways between the fairy villages. If you have Barbies or other little plastic toys, build something for them to play in. When you’ve finished your takeaway coffee, use the cup to build little sand houses, they work great.
Play beach Olympics (long jump, gymnastics, races).
Learn to skim rocks.
Beach cricket, soccer or volleyball.
Hopscotch in the sand.
Blow and chase bubbles for little ones.
Treasure hunt (bury nonvaluable objects like shells in the sand, then mark with an X, and the kids have to find them).
Play on the sand dunes (jumping, sliding, exploring).
Look at rock pools (wear water shoes if there are sharp rocks or oyster shells).
Draw with a stick, or take a rake and do some beach zen drawings. Sand art is fun for all ages. Write messages for passers-by. You can even draw ‘scenes’ that you lie in, and take photos of (look at some of these pics for ideas).
Build a cubby (if there is driftwood available).
Dig a ‘pool’ in the wet sand for little ones to play in.
Fly a kite, throw a ball, or a Vortex/plane/frisbee/other throwing thing.
Play nature bingo (the kids have to find objects or tick them off a list).
Take photos or do a painting of the view.
Make mermaid tails on your legs.
Build a sand monument (my son always requests a car for him to sit in) or dig out a sand chair/seat.
Go fishing.
Water guns.
Have a bonfire (if legally permitted) or a picnic (not if it’s windy).
Collect seashells to use for craft or jewellery.
Paint rocks or shells and leave for other people to find.
Play Noughts and Crosses, and other drawing games.
Play tag.
See how big of a hole you can dig. A great challenge for everyone!
Find coastal creatures. My kids love hunting for soldier crabs and pippi shells and chasing seagulls.
Ride bikes (at low tide is best, it’s easy to ride on hard sand). Remember to hose your bike off as soon as you get home.
Collect treasures after a storm or big swell. Windy and rainy weather always bring up interesting things at the coast. It’s fun to collect driftwood, then use them for crafts or build structures with them.
Go for a walk for some quality time together.
If you take toys, count them before you begin, then you can check you haven’t left any behind. And for the toys which aren’t officially Beach Toys, like dolls, barbies or cars, you can get the kids to give them a bath or shower at home that evening. Double activity – that’s a win!
Your Turn
What do you love to do at the beach with your kids? Let me know in the comments below!