Our series on Fun Family Beaches gave us the chance to live vicariously through our contributors and their idyllic beach destinations but also reminded us of some of our favorite beach visits. Even if visits to any of those stunning Australian or South Pacific beaches have been only in our dreams, we have been fortunate to visit quite a few amazing beaches around the world and look forward to our next beach vacation. Putting together our list of beaches reminds us that some beaches we visited pre-kids are not necessarily ideal family vacation destinations, and so we haven’t planned recent return trips. While not all the beaches we’ve visited with kids are picturesque sand beaches, our boys have a lot of fun skipping rocks.
Some of our favorite beaches, both close to home and far away:
Alleppey Beach – Kerala, India
After a day on a houseboat on the backwaters of Kerala, we stopped at a beach to dip our toes into the Arabian Sea. Our driver did not understand my need to take the kids to this practically empty beach with no amenities, but I admittedly have a thing about dipping my toes in a new body of water and didn’t want to miss this chance for my kids to experience the Arabian Sea. Years ago, I arrived in San Diego close to midnight and practically skipped down to the beach for my first touch of the Pacific Ocean. The salt water even stained my pants in the process. The boys are always up for a visit to a beach – new or old, and we were all glad we made the stop on the way back to our hotel. – CMD
Boulders Beach – South Africa
As part of our tour of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa, we stopped at Boulders Beach, which is definitely one of my favorite beaches on earth. Definitely not your typical beach experience, Boulders Beach is an enclosed, protected penguin habitat. We enjoyed walking along the newly constructed enclosed boardwalk, which provided great views of the penguins and were in awe of just how amazing it was to see these beautiful birds in their “natural” habitat. – NKC
Clearwater Beach – Clearwater, Florida
We recently spent an afternoon at Clearwater Beach during a long weekend escape from the cold Ohio winter. Clearwater Beach, which received the Traveler’s Choice Award for the best beach in the US by Trip Advisor in 2016 and 2018, had beautiful powdery sand and gentle Gulf Coast waves. After a delicious lunch at Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill, we rented two lounge chairs and an umbrella. The water was a bit too chilly to fully enjoy during our February visit, but the kids had a blast in playing in the sand and kicking around a beach ball. We grabbed milk shakes from Ice & Cream on our way back to our hotel. – CMD
Conneaut Beach – Conneaut, Ohio
We make a day trip to Conneaut, Ohio each summer with my parents. We always eat a picnic lunch at White Turkey and grab ice cream at Heavenly Creamery, which is housed in a former church. However, the highlight of Conneaut is spending the afternoon at the beach. Honestly, the safety of the water quality in Lake Erie is something that concerns me, but the numbers looked good on the day of our visit last year, so the kids enjoyed some time in the water with their seven cousins and also found some sea glass. – CMD
Geneva Beach – Geneva, Ohio
One of our favorite weekend day trip destinations is the Grand River Valley wine country in nearby Northeast Ohio. After lunch at Ferrante Winery and Ristorante, we often visit the beach at Geneva State Park. While this can be much rockier than a typical sand beach, our boys have a great deal of fun skipping (or throwing) them into Lake Erie. – CMD
Kaanapali Beach – Maui, Hawaii
Once named America’s Best Beach, Kaanapali Beach in Maui offers three miles of pristine white sand and blue waters. Even with a large number of resorts lining the shore, we never felt crowded and some of our favorite memories are of kite flying at dusk. – NKC
Naples Beach – Naples, Florida
I spent a weekend in Naples with a friend years ago. We stayed at her parent’s beach-front condo and split our days between the beach in front of their condo and the pool behind. The Gulf water was warm during our March visit, and the white sand was particularly soft. I’ve been dreaming about retiring to beach front property ever since this trip. – CMD
Playa Bavaro – Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
The first all-inclusive my husband and I visited together was Punta Cana’s Iberostar Bávaro, which has recently been renovated and rebranded as Iberostar Bávaro Suites. The Iberostar Bávaro included the preferred club rooms of three affiliated resorts. So, we had access to the facilities on the other two resorts, but guests of those resorts could not use the Bavaro’s facilities. The Caribbean Sea water was a crystal clear blue, and the sand was pristine white. I thoroughly enjoyed the week of rest and relaxation bouncing from the beach to the pool and read a record four books during the trip. – CMD
Playa Nacascolo – Papagayo Peninsula, Costa Rica
Located just a few minutes away from the Andaz Papagayo Peninsula Resort, the Andaz Beach House located on Playa Nacascolo offers beautiful white sand beaches and stunningly clear, blue water. It’s truly the perfect place to enjoy a drink or two while watching your children splash safely in the mild waters. – NKC
Puerto Morelos Beach – Riviera Maya, Mexico
We so enjoyed our visit to Riviera Maya during my maternity leave with our second child that we repeated it when our third was born. The all-inclusive Now Jade and Now Sapphire were ideal resorts for our family. Between meals, we spent most of our days lounging at the pool or the beach. The Caribbean Sea was warm, and the waves were calm. The Now Sapphire had sailboats available for guests to use, and my husband took our oldest on an extremely memorable snorkeling trip. These resorts also offered nighttime family entertainment and on-site local marketplaces so that it was not necessary to leave the resort to purchase handmade souvenirs. – CMD
Reynisfjara Beach – Southwest Iceland
Reynisfjara Beach is one of the most stunning beaches we have ever visited, even though it is not one where visitors spend the day lounging in the sun. We didn’t actually see the sun when we were there during a typical June day, which was cold, wet, gray and windy. Nevertheless, this a black sand beach on the Atlantic Ocean, which featured the stunning Reynisdrangur sea stacks and phenomenal basalt sea cave, Halsanefshellir, was breathtakingly beautiful.
It’s important to note that Reynisfjara was also the most dangerous beach we ever visited. We took note of the cautionary signs regarding recent tourist deaths that occurred in 2016 and 2017 due to the dangerously unpredictable waves and strong undertow. We thought we were keeping more than a safe distance from the water’s edge, but our nine-year-old tripped and fell running away from a sneaker wave that came inland much further than previous ones and was immediately covered by the water. My husband was able to safely pull him out before the wave retreated, but it was a very scary experience for all of us. Luckily, the only casualty was the pair of shoes he was wearing that had to be discarded due to the overwhelming stench of sea water. – CMD
Santa Monica State Beach, Santa Monica, California
The Santa Monica Pier was my favorite spot in Los Angeles. The Pier adds a great deal of excitement to the otherwise typical Pacific Ocean beach. Pacific Park, the amusement park, features the world’s first and only solar paneled ferris wheel and eleven other rides, including a roller coaster. I particularly loved how the bright colors of Pacific Park popped against the ocean and sky. On our stroll down the pier, we passed musicians, artists, magicians, souvenir shops, carnival games and various food stalls. My son was particularly intrigued by a magician doing tricks for a crowd and a painter who was painting the pier on a piece of slate. As the sun began to set, we headed off the Pier and onto the beach. It was a pretty amazing end of a quick trip to feel the sand between our toes while we stood at the water’s edge and listened to the waves ebb and flow. We really savored those moments as we waded into the Pacific. – CMD
Treasure Island Beach – Treasure Island, Florida
During our recent visit to Treasure Island, we stayed at Treasure Island Beach Resort, a new beach front property. The sand is not quite as pristine as it is at the nearby Clearwater Beach, it was still great for sand play and also much better for collecting shells. The Gulf Coast waters are relatively calm but were still pretty chilly in February. We spent time on the beach each of our days in Florida but only rented an umbrella and chairs on the one day that we really dedicated to Treasure Island beach. We definitely enjoy the quieter beach as our home base, especially with the amenities of a resort nearby. – CMD
Vieques Beach – Vieques, Puerto Rico
My husband and I honeymooned on Puerto Rico’s Vieques Island years ago. Vieques’ Mosquito Bay is the world’s brightest bioluminescent bay and a remarkable nighttime experience. We recently saw Mosquito Bay featured in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s recent special exhibit, Creatures of Light. While we would love to take our kids to Mosquito Bay, we have not prioritized Vieques as a family travel destination because of the challenges associated with its remoteness. We rented a Jeep so we would could travel on the unpaved roads that lead to some of the most beautiful and secluded beaches in the Caribbean. These beaches were certainly pristine and breathtaking, but ultimately, we decided that we prefer beaches with nearby services, particularly when traveling with kids. – CMD
Villa Caletas Beach – Jaco, Costa Rica
My husband and I traveled to Costa Rica pre-kids and spent a lovely few days at Hotel Villa Caletas, which is probably our favorite hotel ever. Hotel Villa Caletas is a small resort, and we saw the most fantastic spider webs, macaws and other exotic birds during our stay. The beach is extremely secluded and accessible by an hourly hotel shuttle or rented 4×4 vehicles. While we were often the only guests at the beach, services were available. I enjoyed relaxing on a sun bed while my husband explored the wildlife in the rock pools, including the crabs. Even though the beach was rocky, our kids would absolutely love the animal sightings on this luxurious property. Unfortunately, Hotel Villa Caletas does not offer rooms that accommodate families with three children. – CMD
White Sand Beach – Paia, Hawaii
One of our favorite ways to to travel is to rent a vacation home and stay for a few days. It’s a great option when traveling with kids as you generally have more space and can cook some meals at home, without always having to rely on restaurants or take out. One of the most unexpected surprises of our vacation rental in Maui was access to a private beach. My son’s favorite memories of Maui are of running from the ocean in his pajamas every morning. – NKC
Now, we really wish we were headed to a beach vacation.
