Creating A Travel Itinerary - Unique Things to Do at the Beach

Here are some other suggestions to consider for enlivening your beach resort vacation. Don't forget your sand sculpture or sand castle building tools. Go inner tube surfing (cheap and increasingly harder to get but you can also deflate them), play with a beach ball (nice because they deflate for easy carrying and storage), you can toss a foam rubber ball Frisbee. The old favorites are always fun which is why they're still popular. Get up and get active with some of these suggestions. You can also do more than just get a tan (or a sunburn). There aren't "elbow-to-elbow" tourists, of course, all the family can enjoy the shore provided. The beach isn't just for kids and teenagers.

Collect driftwood 1.

How might you mount or display them? What might they look like when painted or polished? What figures or forms do the driftwood shapes conjure up in your mind? But profitable pastime as well, this can be not only a unique, especially if you're of a creative bent.

Collect shells 2.

A display or shadow bow of your best finds when you get back home, make a collage. Foreign or strange beach which may well offer up some unique surprises, even more so if you're on a new. It can still serve as an interesting activity for the kids (or you), long a popular beach pastime with children and adults alike.

Catch crabs and crustaceans 3.

Much to the profit of the local ice cream vendors, sometimes a fisherman would buy our "catch" for use as live bait. It also kept us out of "trouble" or at least reasonably so, with eleven younger brothers and sisters. It made for an interesting series of "catches" and provided endless hours of simple fun for me and my siblings. Sand worms and even small fish, crustaceans, we used to walk along in the surf of the Chesapeake Bay with a framed meter-square piece of window screen to trap all kinds of small crabs.

Surf fishing 4.

It's like standing in an aquarium, in many tropical waters. You'll often be thrilled at the number and size of the fish and other sea creatures you'll see all around you below the surface. Stand still for a few minutes with your face in the water, wade out to waist-deep water, just put on a snorkel and dive mask. Some surprisingly large catches can be made in less than two feet of water. And try your hand at whatever the regional waters offer, local regulations and conditions permitting, whip it out. There are all manner of collapsible of multiple piece rod and reel kits you can easily pack in a suitcase or store in a car trunk.

Catch live bait 5.

Keep them alive and fresh in a bucket partially filled with water. Be sure to check local regulations first. Small eels and crabs are all susceptible to this method, sandworms, crustaceans, minnows. Walk along in knee-deep surf with an old window screen and bucket, use a cast net. Like bait can often be sold to local fishermen (or use it yourself), as was mentioned earlier.

Relax or get a "surf massage" 6.

Backwards or other variations as the surf changes, change positions forward. Move forward until the surf covers you up to the belly button. Sit facing the surf with your legs outstretched. It's free and the surf never gets tired or overcharges you. Another alternative is to let the sea and surf "massage" you as you lay there. Be sure to negotiate prices before services are rendered to avoid any price gouging. In numerous resort areas there are locals who offer this service right at the beach. Soak and soothe those aching bones with a relaxing massage.

Go walking 7.

Fifteen minutes back to your starting point should do you nicely, fifteen minutes out. So a thirty minute walk is a good workout for the day, a normal rate of walking is a mile and a half in fifteen minutes. Try walking in the surf itself, for maximum huff and puff. Walking on dry sand gives you more of a "workout" than walking on sand that is still damp from the receded surf. Walking is almost always pleasant, already identified as a "best" exercise activity.

Nature watch or people watch 8.

They could become especially troublesome at night. As I paid more attention during my comings and goings in and around the city I noticed they were almost everywhere. I was more than a little surprised to learn from a local resident that feral cats are a big problem in Acapulco. What about snakes? What fauna frequents the area? Squid or other unusual forms of marine life? Crabs? Dolphins? Are there sharks? Birds or sea life are common where you are, what animals? What can you tell about them from watching? What do you think they do for a living? Is that couple married or dating? Pick a good vantage point and note what happens all around you. Okay so if you're just in a "do nothing for awhile" mood then nature or people watch depending on where you are.

Try some of these as an alternative to the usual "do nothing" day. Creative or stimulating time for you and the family, these and other imaginative activities can help turn a "lay in the sun and burn" day at the beach into a much more relaxing.