Beach Drinks: 19 Refreshing Recipes to Enjoy on Your Next Beach Day
Gorgeous beaches, cool ocean temps, and a cold drink in my hand are my favorite things! Here are a couple beach drinks to enjoy on your next date with the ocean.
Soft drinks, beers, and rum with chasers aren’t on here. Instead, these are beach cocktails, juices, and cold teas that work great as mocktails. They’re perfect for a wonderful day at the beach!
Once you’re done with this list, come back and check out my beach snacks to pack alongside these drinks. You’ll find chow, salads, and sweet beach desserts there.
Beach drinks ideas
1. Pineapple margarita
Pineapple margaritas are one of my favorite drinks to enjoy on the beach. They are bright, tangy, sweet and have such a tropical vibe.
You can batch make everything at home, store in the cooler and pour over ice before enjoying at the beach. Or pack the ingredients separate and wing it with measurements.
2. Watermelon juice
For a sweet, hydrating, kid-friendly (and pet-friendly) option, fresh watermelon juice is hard to beat. It’s refreshing and better than soft drink.
Make the juice at home, pour into a large plastic bottle and freeze overnight. It’ll slowly thaw in the cooler on the way to the beach. And, everyone can enjoy the ice cold juice.
3. Blue kamikaze cocktails
Blue kamikaze cocktails bring the gorgeous color of the ocean to your glass with some citrus notes. These are easily some of the prettiest beach alcoholic drinks to enjoy.
You can premix some cocktails in small mason jars and pack them in your cooler. Or walk with the ingredients and have fun mixing drinks at the beach! You’ll certainly be popular if you have enough to share with the strangers around you.
4. Butterfly pea tea
Keep the rich blue color going with butterfly pea tea! It’s beautiful, mildly floral, earthy and perfect for kids to experiment with. Add a squeeze of lime and the tea instantly turns purple!
To prep the tea, add the butterfly pea flowers to a large glass bottle and pour hot water over it. Add some honey or sugar too. Take the bottles with you (they don’t need to go in the cooler) and, when you are ready to serve, pour the tea over ice.
Oh, pack a couple lime wedges too for the fun color change moments!
5. Salty dog cocktails
Salty dog cocktails lean into the salty air vibe! Ha! They are slightly sour, citrusy and fun.
Get fancy by adding salt to the rim of your plastic cups. Pack them along with vodka and freshly squeezed and sweetened grapefruit juice. Storebought grapefruit juice is fine too. Pour over ice at the beach and enjoy!
6. Passion fruit juice
Passion fruit juice is tangy, tropical and epitomizes island life. It’s one of those drinks that just tastes like summer.
Squeeze the seeds to extract the juice at home (or use frozen puree from the supermarket). Mix with your favorite sweetener and chill in the fridge, then pop in the cooler. You can also pour into ice trays and freeze overnight for fun ice blocks for the kiddies.
7. Limoncello martini
Channel the Italian coastline with these limoncello martinis. They are lemony, fancy and one of my favorite summer cocktails for the beach. Limoncello, vodka, vermouth and lemon juice are all you need to make this perfectly balanced beach cocktail.
Mix the chilled ingredients together, store in stainless steel bottles and pour over ice when you’re at the beach. Easy, peasy and so lemony!
8. Mauby
Let’s take it back to the Caribbean with mauby. It’s not one of those every weekend beach drinks, but it’s sure to bring a nostalgic vibe.
Use my recipe to brew the mauby bark with wonderful spices, then sweeten it. Pour into glass bottles, store in the cooler and dilute it with ice and chilled water for a bittersweet, lightly spiced, refreshing beverage.
9. Classic margaritas
Classic margaritas are, well, classic options for beach cocktails. They are strong, sweet and also delightfully citrusy.
Batch make the cocktail at home, store in a bottle in the cooler along with a plastic bag of lime wedges. When you’re at the beach, pour over ice and have a margarita beach party.
10. Strawberry mango smoothie
For non-citrusy beach drinks, try strawberry mango smoothies. They are fruity, creamy and can double as a nice, light snack. They’re great for kids and perfect for pool party drinks too.
Blend the frozen fruit together just before leaving home and pour into individual insulated tumblers with lids. They’ll be thick, icy and delicious.
11. Cold cocoa tea
This is another Caribbean drink you won’t associate with the beach. But, if you are a chocolate lover, it’s great to enjoy cold. It’s creamy, spiced, sweet and has all the benefits of real cocoa.
Brew the tea the day before or the morning of your beach trip, bottle the tea and keep chilled. Enjoy it with simple crackers or chocolate snacks.
12. Limoncello tequila cocktails
I already mentioned limoncello martinis on this list, but I had to include limoncello cocktails with tequila too. It’s simple, citrusy and perfect for the beach!
Pre-mix everything and chill in a stainless steel bottle. Pour over ice before serving. Bonus points if you add lemon slices to the drink.
13. Guava juice
Guava juice is one of my favorite juices. It is sweet, fragrant, tropical and packed with tons of vitamins. Oh and the color is gorgeous too!
Blend and strain at home, sweeten if needed and chill overnight. Pour into an insulated bottle for the trip. Frozen guava ice cubes are also awesome.
14. Sorrel
Another vibrant drink, sorrel is a delightfully, ruby-red, cold drink that’s perfect for the beach, especially when it’s spiked with rum. It certainly is a festive beach cocktail.
I usually brew the drink with sorrel petals (also called roselle or hibiscus), star anise, and other spices the day before, then strain, sweeten and chill overnight. You can freeze it too. Pack in the cooler and enjoy the non-alcoholic version with the kids and the spiked drink with the adults.
15. Chocolate banana smoothie
Chocolate banana smoothies are creamy, naturally sweet and decadent. They’re great kid-friendly pool party drinks and beach drinks. You can even have it as a meal substitute – it’s pretty fulling.
Freeze the bananas beforehand, blend the smoothie before leaving for the trip and pour into insulated tumblers. The drink will stay cold, thick and perfect.
16. Chilled lemongrass tea
Lemongrass tea (fevergrass tea) also has a citrusy taste. It’s pretty refreshing over ice and, with sweetener, tastes better than soft drink. Oh and it has some immune boosting health benefits too.
Brew the tea anytime, even a day before, and sweeten it. You can freeze it overnight or chill in the fridge and pack in insulated bottles. Or you can keep it warm and serve with ice at the beach.
17. Cold brew chamomile tea
For a soft girl aesthetic at the beach, take some cold brew chamomile tea with you. It’s gentle, floral, slightly sweet and is sure to keep you calm and grounded. It’s perfect for the entire family, especially if you are looking for low cortisol moments.
Cold brewing is easy. Just add the flowers to a large bottle of water that you’re taking to the beach. Simple! No need to strain it either. The flowers will settle to the bottom and steep in the water.
18. Kamikaze
Blue kamikaze is already on the list so let’s add the classic kamikaze too. Kamikaze cocktails are typically tart, citrusy and one of the simplest beach alcoholic drinks to batch make.
Pack the ingredients or pre-mix them in mason jars before popping in the cooler. The drinks are sure to make the day even more relaxing.
19. Lavender tea
Speaking of relaxing, I absolutely love lavender tea. It’s floral, soothing and refreshing when served cold. Much like cold brew chamomile, it is all about the soft girl aesthetic. Lavender plus gentle waves hitting the shoreline is a dream!
Add the flowers to warm water, leave to steep then strain, sweeten and chill. Pour the tea into your favorite insulated water bottle and have a chill beach day.
Those are my options for summer beach drinks to pack for a beach day or pool party. Whether you want beach alcoholic drinks, fresh juices or cold-brewed teas, there is something on this list for everyone.
For more summer recipes to enjoy alongside these beach drinks, check out these: