With all of the Spring Break action cascading across my social media feed over the last couple weeks, I have been thinking about time spent at the beach. I like a good beach. The beach, and the ocean with it, have a different vibe than the hills and valleys that I’m naturally used to.

As I considered my different beach experiences, I came to a small realization. In the truest spirit of the blog’s long-off introduction, my favorite beach experiences as a working adult are different than the social media beach splash I’ve been passing through. When I was younger, I was content to party any place that there was beer and girls in bathing suits. As an adult-ish adventurer I find that I still enjoy a bikini-clad beach, yet I also enjoy more intellectual beach pursuits.

So, what follows is a collection of a few of my favorite beach distractions. Some beaches are good for drinking. Some beaches are good for history. Some of them have sport. All of them have something to offer.

Number One: Rincon, Puerto Rico.

If you need a place to escape the northern winter weather, you can do a lot worse than the beaches on the western coast of Puerto Rico. Even with North American tourists wandering about, you can find a quiet stretch of beach to kick back on, and drink a beer or two. (It should be noted that the Rincon beaches are magnet of the surf scene. Yes, I went to surf classes. No, I did not master the surfing.) This picture was taken just off the steps of my hotel. I wandered through in January, and it was hot and sunny. Hotels along the beach are easy to kind, and a rental car is almost a prerequisite for getting around.

Number Two: Seven Mile Beach, Australia.

As one would expect, January along the Australian coast is sun-filled and beautiful. I made my way down to Seven Mile Beach to attend the surfing school located there. A younger, hosteling affair, Surf Camp was a great experience. I didn’t master the surfing (or even really minimize it much. But, I had a great time.), but the beach scene was excellent. The beach is a long, shallow affair with a gentle break. There are a lot of camping option in the area, but not necessary a lot of hotel options to be seen. Once again, it’s a location where a rental car is valuable.

Number Three: Cocoa Beach, Florida.

(SORRY NO PHOTO.)

With Florida being almost entirely known for beaches, Cocoa Beach seems an out of the way choice. But, as an old dude, I love an old dude beach. Cocoa Beach is just that, an excellent old dude beach.

Known to most people as the stop for the cruise port or as a family option for a stop at Kennedy Space Center, the beach has a plethora of hotel options and several decent places to get a beer and casually drink away the day. The beach is easily accessible from multiple point along the strand, and the small town of Cocoa is easy to find from almost anywhere in Florida (Thanks to Kennedy Space Center).

Number Four: Omaha Beach, Normandy, France.

It’s hard to justifiably describe the impact that a blank stretch of beach can have on you when you know its history. Omaha Beach is one of those places. I can’t describe the awe felt in seeing the distance men had to run on D-Day, to get from the waterline to the start of the bluffs at the end to the sand. The distance isn’t done justice in any movie I have seen, and is almost impossible to adequately describe. You have to see it.

There are a number of day tours run out of the town of Bayeux, France. Think Bayeux Tapestry (it’s housed in the local church). The town is easy to get to by train, and has numerous hotel options. The center of town is also small enough that you can walk around easily. The different D-Day beaches however, are spread out across the shoreline of the Normandy coast, and will require a rental car or day tour. Whatever path you take to get there, I recommend that you get there.

Number Five: Thong Saia Beach, Koh Pha-ngan, Thailand.

If you need a place to sit and drink beer, there aren’t a lot of options better than the islands of Thailand. The islands still have that something that is/was indicative of the seventies backpacker-hippy culture. wandering, day drinking, cheap eating, scooter driving, and washing in the ocean are the primary options for the average day here. Low cost beer and food make it an instant draw for a cheap travel option. I drank a lot of beer there.

There are multiple hotel and hostel options on the island, but no airport. You will need to fly into Koh Samui, and then take the high-speed ferry from one island to another. The ferry is cheap, and the scooter rentals on the island are literally everywhere. Because there’s no airport, getting to and from the island takes a bit of preplanning, if you don’t have a lot of time to waste waiting around.

well, that’s my take on the beach scene. I love a good beach. Most times, I just love hanging out at the beach, drinking, scuba diving, or whatever. if you love the sand and the surf, I suggest that you put a beach on your travel list. I find them a requisite part of any coastal adventure.

Hope you found something useful. Now, get out there. Go to the beach.