There’s nothing quite like a visit to the beach to restore and refresh—the crisp morning air, tiny shorebirds and waves all washing our cares away. The rhythm of life at the beach is calm, full of childhood memories that come and go like the tides. Days at the beach should be cherished, and these beach quotes convey all that is good about a day in the sand.
Short Beach Life Quotes Perfect for Instagram
There’s so much we can gain from a trip to the sea, and these short beach life quotes about the beauty of the ocean prove it. These original sayings by SUCCESS® contributors are perfect to add to your journal pages or your Instagram captions.
- Exhale, and let the waves carry your worries away.
- The beach hums in a lullaby of light.
- Dusk dances in colors only the ocean knows.
- Sand clings, like good times not soon forgotten.
- What happens at the beach gets washed away with the tide.
- Every wave brings a new beginning.
- The beach is a hymn written in salt and sun.
- A single wave carries a thousand silent wishes.
- Time passes, like sand through our fingers.
- The sea returns us to the child we once were.
Beach Vibes Quotes for Relaxation or Your Next Vacation
Whether you’re looking for quotes to put up on the walls of your beach house or a way to convey the feeling of zen that washes over you when visiting the shore, these quotes for going to the beach for relaxation might be what you need.
- “The beach is not a place to work; to read, write or to think.” —Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea
- “Vicinity to the sea is desirable, because it is easier to do nothing by the sea than anywhere else, and because bathing and basking on the shore cannot be considered an employment but only an apotheosis of loafing.” —E.F. Benson, The Collected Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson
- “Come to the sunny sandy / beach, the grand blue sea has / much to teach. Learn to relax / from a day of play. Watch your / cares just melt away.” —Linda Doty, By the Sea
- “This was where I’d always found peace. The ocean was my drug of choice.” —Susan M. Boyer, Lowcountry Boil
- “The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.”—Kate Chopin, The Awakening
- “My day is done, and I am like a boat drawn on the beach, listening to the dance-music of the tide in the evening.” —Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds
- “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.” —Isak Dinesen, Seven Gothic Tales
- “There is, one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath…” —Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Related: Why Travel Boosts Our Mood and Keeps Us Coming Back for More
Inspirational Beach Sayings for a Beautiful Life
Get philosophical for a minute, and check out these inspirational beach quotes. They’ll have you thinking about the power of the ocean and the meaning of life spent walking the shoreline.
- “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” —Mahatma Gandhi
- “In silence, we watched the water shimmer like a peacock’s feather in that shining foil of soft tide in retreat.” —Pat Conroy, Beach Music
- “Seize the moment today, always look out for your tomorrow, then constantly learn from past experiences, just like the beach encourages.” —The Conductor, The Jamange Line
- “Take a farewell look / at the waves and sky. / Take a farewell sniff of the salty sea. / A little bit sad / about the place you are leaving, / a little bit glad / about the place you are going.” —Robert McCloskey, Time of Wonder
- “Look at the sea. What does it care about offences?” —James Joyce, Ulysses
- “A magician wandered along the beach, but no one needed him.” —Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything
- “We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” —Mother Teresa
Quotes About Longing for the Beach
Beach days hold a prominent place in many people’s memories. Maybe it’s the ease and predictability of a day at the beach, or the calm feeling the sound of crashing waves brings. Beach vibes quotes convey the sense of longing many of us feel when all we want is to go to the beach.
- “And the ocean, calling out to us both. A song of freedom and longing.” —Alexandra Christo, To Kill a Kingdom
- “I looked upon the sea, it was to be my grave” —Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
- “I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought.” —Helen Keller
- “The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can’t.” —Christopher Paolini, Eragon
- “The beauty and mystery of the ocean, fills our lives with wonders, vast beyond our imagination.” —M. L. Borges, Azul: A Book of Poetry & Paintings
- “She loved the serene brutality of the ocean, loved the electric power she felt with each breath of wet, briny air.” —Holly Black, Tithe
- “He feels himself buried in those two infinities, the ocean and the sky, at one and the same time: the one is a tomb; the other is a shroud.” —Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
Funny Beach Quotes
Just need a little laugh about a beach day gone wrong? We get it. These funny beach quotes convey that sentiment and prove that not everything is perfect, even a day at the beach.
- “Whoever thought a naked beach was a good idea never sat in one.” —Janet Evanovich, Notorious Nineteen
- “Not all beaches are fun and sunscreen.” —Bryant A. Loney, To Hear The Ocean Sigh
- “Looking at the ocean makes me miss people, and hanging out with people makes me miss the ocean.” —Haruki Murakami, Hear the Wind Sing
- “I wonder if the ocean smells different on the other side of the world.” —J.A. Redmerski, The Edge of Never
- “I like a good story and I also like staring at the sea—do I have to choose between the two?” —David Byrne, How Music Works
- “A pool just isn’t the same as the ocean. It has no energy. No life.” —Linda Gerber, Death by Bikini
Related: 37 Happy Quotes About Summertime
Breezy Seashore & Coastline Quotes
These seashore quotes will have you planning your next beach day, pronto. They conjure up the feeling of being at the shore and show everything we can gain when letting our trials and sorrows get swept away by the waves.
- “New normals just kept resurfacing our lives, like a rearranged shore, wave after wave after wave.” —Robin Brown, Glitter Saints: The Cosmic Art of Forgiveness, a Memoir
- “Watch the waves crash upon the shore. Feel the sea breeze on your face and smell the salty sea air.” —Wendy Joubert, Sea Witch
- “If timelessness exists anywhere on Earth, it is not in sight of the sea.” —David Gange, The Frayed Atlantic Edge
- “Beach girls now, beach girls tomorrow, beach girls till the end of time.” —Luanne Rice, Beach Girls
- “A second wave collapsed over my feet, lipped with white froth, and the chill gripped my ankles with a mortal ache.” —Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
- “Under the thinning fog the surf curled and creamed, almost without sound, like a thought trying to form itself on the edge of consciousness.” —Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep
Lovely Beach Sunset & Sunrise Quotes
The only thing that makes a beach day better is a stunning sunrise or sunset. Choose a beach sunrise quote to convey the feelings of a new day breaking, and the beach sunset quotes to show that even good things must come to an end.
- “The sea was an oasis of gold under the afternoon sun.” —Gabriel García Márquez, Until August
- “You see, one loves the sunset when one is so sad.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
- “Twilight fell: The sky turned to a light, dusky purple littered with tiny silver stars.” —J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- “Every sunset is an opportunity to reset.” —Richie Norton
- “Your heart is like the ocean, mysterious and dark.” —Bob Dylan
Quotes for All the Happiness Found at The Beach
It’s hard to be grumpy at the beach. These ‘happiness at the beach’ quotes convey this feeling, from the easy joy of children at the beach to the feeling of getting away to the sandy shores.
- “Browsing in a bookshop is a lot like collecting shells on a beach on a really good day. I want all of them.” —Louise Nealon, Snowflake
- “But somehow, when she woke up in the morning, she felt she had to flee to the beach…” —Anita Desai, The Village By the Sea
- “I am the shore and the ocean, / awaiting myself on both sides.” —Dejan Stojanovic, The Shape
- “I couldn’t imagine living in a state that didn’t reach the ocean. It was a giant reset button. You could go to the edge of the land and see infinity and feel renewed.” —Avery Sawyer, Notes to Self
- “I heard silence, silence infinite as the bottom of the ocean, a silence that sealed.” —Anne Spollen, The Shape of Water
Related: How to Take a Guilt-Free Vacation
Beautiful Beach Quotes from Songs
Sometimes, only lyrics can convey what you feel. These summer beach quotes come from songs, both new and old. They can be the perfect option for expressing a specific state of mind, whether as an Instagram caption or as part of a beachside mural.
- “Catch a wave and you’re sitting on top of the world.” —The Beach Boys, Catch a Wave
- “When this world is too much / It will be / Only the ocean and me.” —Jack Johnson, Only the Ocean
- “I stopped searching for perfection many waves ago / What really matters is the here and now and that’s about all I know / Gonna catch me a big ol’ roller, sun setting on the sea / Riding in on her glassy shoulder, the water going gray like me.” —Jimmy Buffett, Oldest Surfer on the Beach
- “When you’re on a golden sea / You don’t need no memory / Just a place to call your own / As we drift into the zone.” —Weezer, Island In the Sun
- “Here by the sea and sand / Nothing ever goes as planned.” —The Who, Sea and Sand
- “I’m surrounded by water / And I’m not going back again.” —Zac Brown Band, Toes
- “You take your car to work, I’ll take my board / And when you’re out of fuel I’m still afloat.” —Weezer, Surf Wax America
- “I wish you were here with me / Walking on the beach in Hawaii / Playing on the golden sand / Looking at the ocean now I understand.” —Ziggy Marley, Beach in Hawaii
- “I dig my toes into the sand / The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket / I lean against the wind, pretend that I am weightless / And in this moment I am happy, happy.” —Incubus, Wish You Were Here
- “Cold wind, tide moves in / Shivers in the salty air / Day breaks, my heart aches / I will wait for you right here.” —Belinda Carlisle, Circle in the Sand
The Waves Keep Crashing
In every crashing wave and grain of sand, the beach reminds us to slow down, breathe deeply and embrace the beauty in fleeting moments. Whether you find yourself laughing at the quirks of a beach day, getting lost in a sunset’s glow, or quietly longing for the call of the sea, there’s a beach living quote here that reflects those feelings. The beach doesn’t just restore us—it reconnects us with joy, wonder and the timeless rhythm of life.
Photo by SergeyNikolaevich/Shutterstock.
