15 Cheap, Easy, and Free Beach Activities for Kids

Spending the day at the beach but are the kids getting bored quickly?  Here are some easy and affordable games and activities you can do right now.  Keep the kids busy with fun and games while you relax.  All of these activities can be accomplished with very little resources.  

1.  Build a sandcastle using cups or buckets or whatever is available.  Then once it's built play Don't Destroy the Sandcastle by having everyone take a turn removing a handful of sand from the castle.  Whoever causes the castle to crumble loses!

2. Build a mermaid tail - have someone lay down on the sand then cover their legs up in the shape of a mermaid tail.  Don't forget the decorations!

3. Dig a hole.   Make it a contest and see who can reach water first. 

4. Nature tic-tac-toe.  Use rocks, or shells and create your own tic-tac-toe board in the sand. 

5. Scavenger hunt. Create a list of common beach items and have them go look for them.  Some ideas include lifeguard, seagull, sand dollar, etc. 

6. Build a moat.  Protect your sandcastle by building a moat around them. 

7. Play ring-around-the-rosie at the water's edge so there's a wet landing!

8. Make sand angels. 

9. Write and draw pictures in the sand.  Use natural objects for decorations. 

10. Musical towels.  Just like musical chairs but with towels instead.  Use your phone for the music. 

11. Beach golf.  Dig a hole in the sand and roll a tennis ball into the hole from a set distance.  Whoever needs the least amount of turns will win that hole.  Use natural objects such as hills and slopes to increase the difficulty. 

12. Dart board or sand skeeball.  Draw a dart board or skeeball target with different point amounts for each ring of the target.  Use small rocks to toss and try score the most points! 

13. Hopscotch.  An old favorite and easily adaptable for the sand.  Try use the wet compact sand to make it easier. 

14. Beach bowling.  Fill up several plastic bottles partially with sand and then set them up in a pyramid.  Use a tennis ball to try and knock down the most pins. 

15. Bucket relay.  Race each other to try and fill up a bucket set up on the beach with only using a small cup.  Increase the difficulty by making different obstacles in the way such as jumping over things.  

Try these next time you are bored at the beach!