10 Reasons to Plan a Beach Vacation this Summer
Most of the framed photos in our home were taken on the beach. We spend a week every summer in Carlsbad, California and squeeze in as much extra time exploring beaches throughout the year. My daughters love the ocean and we have shared so many of our favorite memories building sand castles, counting down sunsets until the moment the sun touches the water, and cuddling up around a firepit after a night of s’mores on the bay. These 10 reasons to plan a beach vacation this summer include all the feel good motivations for getting your family to the water and spending time on many travelers’ favorite beaches.
My sweet three year old daughter has been singing Bobby Darin’s “Beyond the Sea” for the past couple of months and every time I see a photo of the beach I hear her little voice perfectly accentuating how “happy we’ll be beyond the sea.”
Sometimes we’re bundled up in sweaters with hot chocolate on the beach and other times we’re wiggling our toes in the warm sand together. The beach is a place where everyone in our family feels most comfortable and happy so it’s always the vacations we look forward to most.
10 Reasons to Plan a Beach Vacation this Summer
Our family always has the beach on our mind when planning our next vacation.
Vacation planning
Memories of your time at the beach make it easy to plan for your next family vacation. It might be a beach we’ve visited before or one we have on our bucket list, thinking about the amazing time our family had together is definitely a reason to keep us motivated in vacation planning. Our last visit to Florida brought us to many different destinations we would love to visit again. From Discovery Cove to Hollywood Beach, we definitely want to visit again soon and plan to stop at a few of these six relaxing beaches near Orlando.
Vitamin D
80 to 90 percent of our body’s vitamin D comes from sun exposure. Living in sunny Arizona we spend so much time soaking up those rays but there’s something different about feeling the warm sun at the beach. The nostalgic smell of sunscreen while walking to a sandy beach reminds me of how the warm sun feels on your shoulders.
Sandy Toes
It’s not your imagination that your skin feels better after a day at the beach. The sand is a natural exfoliant leaving your bare feet much softer as you walk away than when you arrived.
Salt Water
Skin therapy with salt water has been used around the world for centuries. Salt water is believed to have many different benefits to your skin including healing cuts and scrapes, restoring your natural pH and reducing inflammation.
Exercise
Without having to spend time in the gym or on the treadmill at home, being at the beach gets you up and moving with your family. Frisbee, volleyball or just a quick game of tag are some of my daughters’ favorite things to do while we’re soaking up the sun with our toes in the sand.
Family adventures
Many of our days at the beach have included spontaneous family adventures. Our visit to the Kauai glass beach is one of our favorites and an adventure we would love to go on again.
Relax
At home my daughters listen to ocean waves on their iPads before bedtime. That calming effect is even better when you’re listening on the beach! There’s a real reason my daughters get along better when we’re together on the beach and it’s not just because they know my husband and I are also relaxed to the point of saying yes to ice cream before dinner.
Creativity
Building sand castles, arranging shells and digging complex designs in the sand are just a few of our favorite activities on the beach. Little sister also loves smashing sand castles so we keep a close eye on her when we notice the masterpieces built by others near the water.
Marine Life
We’ve had many experiences learning about the ocean and marine animals visiting aquariums, SeaWorld and other zoological facilities. But there’s something different, and majestic, when you see animals in their natural environments. Our girls have grown up respecting animals in part because of the learning opportunities we’ve had while spending our days at the beach.
Family photos
For years I wanted to have our holiday photos taken at the beach. While pregnant with little sister we scheduled time with a favorite photographer at Balboa Pier and these are some of my most loved canvas prints in our home. Our beach holiday photos made excellent cards and created mementos of the last few months before our oldest daughter became a big sister.
Crafts to inspire your next family vacation
Are you planning a beach vacation this summer? Find more inspiration for destinations and vacation ideas on Alamo’s Scenic Route.
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What a great post! Its time for my family and I to plan a beach day, it’s been so long since we’ve had one. I love how calming the beach is and how the kids can play in the sand. Oh the memories are always cool to look back on!..
Beach vacations are my favorite! Anything with water and sand make me happy! I live in Florida so we’re lucky to have easy access to beach resorts and hotels. Driving to West Florida or even the keys for some ultimate relaxation time with the kids.
We love the beach. Sadly, we haven’t been since we were first married. Our kiddos would enjoy the experience, I am almost certain. The health benefits you mention peak my interest. I think it’s time to load up the car and head that way.
I always want to plan a beach vacation. The difficulty is my husband hates water. I think he is just afraid and plays off that he doesn’t like water.
We live an hour away from Carlsbad and never knew that it has great beaches! I will have to look into it. I myself am not a huge fan of the heat and sand, but I know my husband loves it, not to mention the kids! And with the great reasons you listed, sounds like it’s time to plan a beach vacation.
We live for June when we tend to head to the beach for our vacation. Our family just seems to recharge when at the beach. WE have no internet and don’t want it while we’re there either! It’s amazing family time.
Going to the beach is part of summer vacation. This post gave me so many ideas for things to do on my next beach trip. It seems your family had a great time.
We all need a break from time to time. We just took a beach vacation to Greece last week and it was sooo needed. The break from routine, the relaxation, the great food… time went by slow and my hubby and I got to enjoy spending time together doing nothing but relaxing. We’re going to start making it a yearly rule.