Flopping on warm sand with a book you’ll never read to while away the holiday hours is a time-honoured tradition, and rightfully so. Everyone loves beaches, from hole-digging kids to snoozing grandparents. But to stop at sunbathing is to miss so many of the exciting things happening on them all over Europe. So pack a sense of adventure (and no need for a bucket and spade) – here’s a round-up of shore-fire winners.
1. Put your hands in the air
Hideout festival in Croatia has been running for 10 banging years / Photo: Alamy
Hideout, Croatia
The organisers of the Hideout island festival on the Croatian coast promise pre-parties, afterparties, pool parties, a beach party, and boat parties – it’s safe to say you’ll probably need a break from partying when you get home. Since 2010 it’s been taking over the clubs on a stretch of sand on the island of Pag, just north of Zadar. A glance at previous line-ups will give you a flavour of what to expect (Rudimental, Eats Everything, Joy Orbison) – international acts who know how to work a dancefloor. If it all gets too much, the beach is right there too. A whale of a time guaranteed.
2. Strike a pose
Practise your headstand on the sand / Photo: Fabrice Coiffard
Paradis Plage, Morocco
Fancy getting into fish pose by the sea or camel pose on the sand? Yoga on the beach is a more grounding experience than doing it in a sweaty studio, and Paradis Plage are the zen masters of seaside retreats. At a dreamy five-star resort in Morocco, they organise classes overlooking the Atlantic waves as palm trees sway in the background and breezes float off the ocean. See, you’re feeling relaxed already…
3. Save the turtles
Help these little cuties and have a holiday? Yes please
Go Eco, Greece
They say one of the best ways to feel happier is to do something for someone else – and it’s even better if that someone else is a cute little turtle. At one of the longest-running conservation projects in Europe, volunteers rock up for a minimum of two weeks to Elis in southwest Greece to help protect loggerhead seat turtle hatchlings on the beach by the Med. It’s an ethically sound way to make a difference in the world – and it’ll give you more satisfaction than shelling out on just another regular beach break.
4. Eat with your feet in the sand
Vila Joya Sea: the beachside restaurant of your dreams
Vila Joya Sea, Algarve
This restaurant of the luxurious Vila Joya overlooks the crashing Atlantic, but calling it a beach shack would be to undersell it: yes, it’s decked out in rustic materials and is open to the ocean air, but this is as chic as the rest of the hotel. It does a great line in local oysters, seafood and Japanese-inspired grills, and could well be one of the nicest places to eat next to the water in Europe. If it was any closer to the sea you’d need to have lunch in your wellies.
5. Get stacked
Find your inner caveman by working out… in a cave / Photo: Alex Atack
Wildfitness, Menorca
At these fitness-focused retreats, you’ll lift rocks, wrestle and reconnect with your inner caveman on the glorious shores of the most unspoilt Balearic island. From a tasteful farmhouse base in the south of Menorca, participants of the Wildfitness events learn mindful, ‘animal’ movements, hike through wondrous landscapes and use the beach as a sort of sandy-floored gym. What do you mean, you’d rather just lie on it?!
6. Get stacking
Piles of stones elevated to new heights / Photo: James Craig Page
The European Stone Stacking Championships, East Lothian
First, a warning – stone-stacking can disturb delicate beach environments and should not be done except under controlled circumstances. Like the European Stone Stacking Championships in Scotland, where the rock stars of this underappreciated artform gather outside Edinburgh to create the most aesthetically pleasing piles of pebbles, then carefully disassemble them. This year’s was cancelled but the 2021 edition should be in September.
7. Chill out
The northern lights over Breiðamerkurjökull Lake in Iceland / Photo: courtesy of Glacier Lagoon
Breiðamerkurjökull Lake, Iceland
Think of beaches and you might imagine swaying palms, balmy waters and sand sticking to your sunscreen. Not so in Iceland, where they’re usually downright chilly but way more dramatic than your average Mediterranean stretch. By the sea in the Vatnajökull National Park, a lake is dotted with glacial icebergs and the dark sands are home to fat seals. Take an amphibian tour with Glacier Lagoon to bob among the ‘bergs – it’s about as far from a typical beach experience as you can get.
8. Build castles in the sand
Puts your paltry sandcastles to shame, doesn't it?
European Championship Sand Sculpture Festival, Netherlands
Remember when you were a child and your favourite beach activity was happily building sandcastles for hours? Well, some people never stopped. Every summer, the seaside town of Zandvoort aan Zee, just outside Amsterdam, holds the European Championship Sand Sculpture Festival, where the continent’s foremost grain arrangers get to work around a theme (in 2020, it was ‘Zandvoort Goes Wild’). Put it on your bucket list for 2021.
9. Watch a movie under the stars
Amante's screen by the sea is a magical place for a film / Photo: Amante Ibiza
Amante Movie Nights, Ibiza
Amante, a restaurant overlooking a rocky cove not far from Ibiza Town, holds outdoor movie nights throughout the summer months. Twinkling lights, sea breezes and palm trees – you don’t get that with a Netflix binge. Okay, no one wants sand in their popcorn, but watching Point Break by the waves or The Beach by, well, the beach is a magical experience. (Jaws, maybe not so much.)
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