Nothing screams “fun!” as much as a beach day. Whether you prefer lying down on the warm sand with a book or splashing in the ocean’s waves, beach days are perfect getaways to enjoy quality time with the family. If you are looking for fun beach games to play as a family, you have come to the right place.
Here are a few fun beach games for families:
- Build A Sandcastle/ Sandcastle Competition
Building a sandcastle is fun and an excellent bonding activity to enjoy with your kids. Try to make a castle or any other creative creation out of the sand.
Make the challenge who can build the tallest or prettiest castle, the strongest bridge, or the most creative sculpture. Introduce parameters if you want to make a competition out of this activity. Or add a time limit and see what the participants come up with in a limited time.
- Seashell Hunting
If you visit a beach with loads of sea shells, why not make a game out of it? Parents can walk with and join in on the fun.
Most children love a competitive, fun activity. To make a fun competition from the seashell hunting experience, see who can find the prettiest, the weirdest, and the biggest shell. Add a time limit to the game to make the activity more exciting.
- Dig a Human-Sized Hole
If you want to get down and dirty, it is always fun to see how big of a hole the family can dig. Use plastic shovels and buckets and see if you can create a hole so big that the children can fit inside. You can then fill the hole with water and see how the children splash away in their creation. This activity can keep one busy for hours on end.
- Rounders
Playing rounders is a fun activity for the whole family, especially if the family is big. Rounders can keep you busy for hours but will undoubtedly challenge your fitness level. All you will need is a bat and a ball. A softer ball is recommended when playing with younger children or other visitors on the beach close by.
Have one person to bat, one or two to bowl, and the rest to be field players. The bowler bowls the ball to the person who bats, who then hits the ball away. The batsman then runs to as many posts as possible, aiming to make it back to the starting post before the field players get the ball to a post the batman is running towards.
- Frisbee
Playing frisbee is easy and does not take much time to plan. The possibilities for creating a fun new game with a frisbee are endless. Frisbees aren’t expensive and are perfect for hours of fun in the sun. You can even play frisbee in the water since most frisbees will float and not get lost in the waves too easily.
To make a game of frisbee a little more competitive and goal-directed, divide up into teams and make a goalpost out of two shoes or towels about two meters apart. To make it even more challenging, use a stick as the goal. The goal would be for each team to score a goal by throwing the frisbee into the opposing “goal box.” Alternatively, players score by throwing the frisbee against the stick.
If one team drops the frisbee on the ground, the opposing team gets to start from where the frisbee hit the ground. Play quickly, intercept, and score!
- Beach Open The Gates
Open The Gates is a game for all ages. One or two people are “it,” depending on the group size. Establish where the playing field ends and mark the “out”-borders with shoes, towels, or by drawing the lines in the sand. The bigger the area, the easier for the runners, but the more difficult for the person who is “it.”
All participants line up on one side of the field while the person who is “it” stands in the middle. The player who is “it” chooses one or two players to run to the opposite side of the playing field while the “it” tries to catch them. If the runner reaches the other side of the field without being caught, they shout, “Open the gates!”.
This is the cue for the rest of the players to run and reach the other side without being caught. All players touched by the player who is “it” are also “it” in the next round. Each round will have more catchers, making it more and more difficult to finish each round.
- Beach Pong
If the beach has a slope leading towards the water, this activity could amount to loads of fun for the whole family. All you will need is one or two buckets and one or two ping pong balls.
Divide into teams or work together as a family to dig a long channel to the water. The aim is to let the ball travel to the sea along your self-made track by throwing buckets of water from one side. If you play in teams, the goal is to see which team gets this accomplished first.
- Don’t Look Back
Younger kids thoroughly enjoy this game because it is funny yet scary. As difficult as it is to admit, I still enjoy doing this as a grown-up.
Stand in the sea and face the beach. Try to remain standing while the force of the waves tries to push you over. The fun part is; you never know when to expect a giant wave that will have you tumbling in the water! The “winner” is the person who stays upright the longest without looking back.
- Beach Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a fun way to entertain the kids. You won’t need to prepare or take anything to the beach to do this activity. Instead, adults can join in and make it a family activity.
Each family member attempts to finish the difficult hopscotch course. See who can create the most challenging hopscotch by drawing a grid in the sand. The hardened sand close to the water would be ideal for playing hopscotch. You can even complicate it more by setting a time limit or making it a competition: who can complete the hopscotch course in the fastest time?
- Musical Towels
You have probably heard of musical chairs and played the game yourself as a kid. “Musical towels” is the same fun activity but with the use of towels instead of chairs. Here is how it works:
Lay down a line or circle of towels close to one another (one towel for each participant minus one towel). Play music while the participants dance around the towels. The individual in charge of the music pauses, and all participants run to find a towel. The participant without a towel is out. The game continues until the “winner” grabs the only remaining towel.
- Treasure Hunt
Treasure hunts are always fun. A treasure hunt is easy to set up and keeps the kids busy for a long. Create a list of items commonly found at the beach, give each child a list and a bucket, and watch them run around to seek these treasures. Remember to set boundaries so young children do not stray too far away.
You can also hide a few items beforehand, so you have more control over what is to be found. If you feel like making it slightly more interesting, bury a “surprise” close by and let them dig to find the final treasure.
- Dodgeball
Dodgeball is a fun family activity to try out on your future trip to the beach. This activity is ideal for a larger group and older children. All you will need is a few beach balls.
Split up into two teams. Draw a line splitting the two groups to create the playing field. Teams then battle against one another by throwing each other beach balls. If a player gets thrown, they are out. If a player catches the ball thrown at them, the person who threw it is out. Battle it out until one team has no participants left.
- Beach Bocce Ball
To play beach bocce, you will need a set of Bocce Balls if you are interested in purchasing Bocce Balls for your next beach day.
The game is easy to understand and fun for children and adults. Bocce Balls can also be played on grass, but having a sandy playground makes it quite a bit more challenging and exciting.
- Beach Tag
Tag is a very well-known game enjoyed by kids worldwide. Playing tag on the sand makes it challenging yet much more fun! The person chosen as “it” runs around to catch the other participants. The last participant to be caught is the new “it.”
- How Low Can You Go/ Limbo
Beach limbo equates to tons of family fun. Most people are familiar with this game, but for those who aren’t: two people hold onto opposite sides of a stick or towel while the other participants take turns to see if they can fit underneath while bending over backward. The bar lowers each turn, making each round more challenging, so how low can you go? - Fly A Kite
If you have a kite, you probably already know how fun kite-flying is on a windy day. If you do not have a kite, you can buy one for the family to share or make your own!
- Twenty Questions
“Twenty questions” is a great way to pass the time on the beach for older children and adults. This game does not involve running around. The person who goes first chooses a celebrity or mutual. The other players must guess who you are thinking of by asking twenty questions or less. To make it more challenging, limit the questions to “yes” or “no” questions.
- Volleyball
If you want to play an exciting game on your next trip to the beach, why not try playing beach volleyball? While some beaches have volleyball nets visitors can use, it is not necessary to have a volleyball net to play.
Plant two sticks or umbrellas a meter or two apart with a towel across to create a “net.” Divide into teams, take a beach ball, and enjoy some family fun.
- Keep It Up!
All you will need for this game is a beach ball. The game’s goal is to keep the ball from touching the sand. See how long you and your family can keep the ball in the air.
- Beach Bowling
Beach bowling can be played in many ways, the first being by bringing a plastic bowling set to the beach. Bring a few plastic bottles if you do not have a set. If you do not have a ball, play with a rounded rock. There are many alternatives!
There is another version of this game which I am not quite sure can be called “bowling,” but it sure is just as fun as bowling. Draw a few circles of different sizes and distances in the sand and a line behind which the players should stand to “bowl.”
Use a ball or rock to roll or throw, and try to gather as many points as possible. Allocate each circle a number representing the number of points players will get when their ball or rock lands in this particular circle. Smaller and more distant circles will, for example, be worth 10 points, while bigger and closer circles will be worth less.
- Sea Shell Painting
If you are looking for a beach activity that does not entail running around in the scorching sun, pack in a few paintbrushes and colored paint. Walk around to find sea shells and make a family activity out of painting these shells.