Things to do on a Beach with Kids
A day spent at the beach is loads of fun for kids – there’s so many things you can do but if you’re looking for something a little different to keep kids busy on a beach – here’s our favourite beach activities that are fun for the whole family. Obviously swimming and wave jumping would be our top things for kids to do on a beach but beaches are an adventure playground to explore so why not try some of these more interesting beach ideas? Our beach activity list for kids includes some beach art ideas, games to play on the beach as well as keepsakes to make to help remember your favourite family beach days! We have a ton of more Family Outdoor Activities here!
Scroll down to download our FREE beach scavenger hunt! Perfect for keeping kids busy on the beach!
Things to make after a trip to the beach – beach keepsakes for kids
Beach keepsake crafts for kids to make
- Make a Beach Jar
There’s something very special about family beach trips- lots of memories made enjoying the sun and relaxing. Why not treasure those memories by making a beach jar full of the favourite things you find on the beach. These are great jars to buy for capturing memories!
- Shell candles
If you discover large, deep shells on your beach trip – you can make shell candles with them! Oyster shells work particularly well for this. Find out how to make them here.
- Shell necklaces
See our ideas for making shell necklaces by clicking on this link: 100 Nature Crafts for Kids.
- Stone sculptures
There are a wide variety of stones at the beach, grab flat stones, crooked stones, bumpy and smooth stones and build some stone sculptures. Or see who can build the tallest stone tower on the beach! This is a great competitive beach activity for children.
- Mermaids and merman
Grab some seaweed, shells, shingle – anything else you can find on the beach and make a mermaid or merman with your findings!
- Ball games
Here are our favourite ball games to play at the beach with kids!
Ball Games for kids to play on the beach!
Bottle Bowling – Find some plastic water or drinks bottles and fill with water and form in a V shape. You play this like bowling – you have two goes per round and the aim is to knock over as many bottles as possible.
Tennis Ball Relay – A fun ball games for lots of kids. Mark out a start and finish line and put people into two teams . Players must race each other down the stretch with a tennis ball between their legs. If you drop the tennis ball you are out of the game.
Sicky, poorly, dying, dead – Oddly named game but it’s fun nevertheless, it can be played with as many people as you like. You stand in a circle and pass the ball to each other. If you drop it once, you drop down to one knee and keep playing (sicky) and carry on playing, if you drop it again you drop down to kneeling (poorly) if you drop it for a third time, you have to playing lying down! Last person standing wins!
- Draw in wet sand
Draw your name, draw a picture, use sticks or your fingers to draw in wet sand!
- Skim stones
A classic beach activity! Find the flattest, slimmest stones and skim them across the water.
- Make a Sandcastle
No beach trip is complete without making a sandcastle!
Beach Activities for Kids
- Rockpooling
This is my kids FAVOURITE activity to do on a beach – search for crabs, shells or even try crabbing in deeper waters. Need a rock pooling kit? Buy yours here.
- Channel to the sea
Need an activity to keep your kids busy on the beach? Challenge your kids to dig a channel all the way to the sea, it’s fun to watch it fill with water when the tide comes in!
- Bodyboarding
Catch the waves and try bodyboarding! This is our kids favourite thing to do on the windy beaches in Ireland. We love these lightweight body boards for kids – buy them here.
- Diggers
Bring a couple of child’s toy diggers to play with in the sand. These sand diggers are brilliant toys for kids to play with on the beach!
- Beach scavenger hunt
Remember to bring a clipboard and have a little adventure at the beach with this FREE beach-themed scavenger hunt printable download. Just check off the little box with each beach item that you come across.
Fun tip – laminate the sheets and use dry erase markers to reuse over again! Or use these document protectors so you can reuse your scavenger hunt or play it in the rain! .
Get your free printable beach scavenger hunt download here!
- Fly a Kite
With all that space and wind – a beach is a perfect place to fly a kite! Buy our favourite kite here. It’s lightweight and easy for kids to fly!
- Play Frisbee
Frisbee throwing makes the perfect thing for teenagers to do on the beach! You could also try this frisbee game which is fun for kids of all ages.
- Stomp rocket
Have you tried playing with a stomp rocket on the beach? It goes flying! Buy a stomp rocket here!
- Sand hopscotch
Sketch out the hopscotch on wet sand with a stick for a great beach game for kids.
- Bury someone in the sand
If you can find a brave volunteer – bury a friend in the sand!
- Hunt for sea glass
Hunting for seagrass can be a fun activity for kids. You can collect them as ‘jewels’ or you can even make beautiful crafts with them. Check out my sister’s Instagram page for gorgeous seaglass jewellery that can be made and find out top tips for searching for sea glass here.
- Pebble art
Collect pebbles and stones of all sorts sizes and shapes to make pretty stone mandalas or make stone faces in the sand.
- Stone Towers
Collect stones and see who can make the tallest tower! It’s harder than it looks!
- Make sand ice creams
Do you kids like making mud potions? Try making wet sticky sand ice creams! This is a great beach activity for toddlers. You can even buy these ice cream beach sand sets on Amazon which are nice and small for easy packing.
Hope this has given you some fun ideas for kids to do on the beach besides make a sandcastle! Hope these fun ideas keep the kids busy to give you, the parents a little time to relax and chill!
If you’re local to South East London – you can read here our article all about our favourite Sandy beaches near London. Happy beach memory – making!
