Seeking 3-day August beach suggestions

I would actually try Mallorca's smaller brother Menorca. Menorca is more laid-back, less developed, and off the radar compared to the likes of Mallorca or Ibiza. You could base yourself in the capital of Mahon (where mayonnaise is from!), or the ancient town of Ciutadella on the western side, or even try to rent/AirBnB some apartment in one of the smaller Calas (coves) that dot the island.

Does it have to be the sea/ocean? If not, Lake Annecy checks all the boxes except for snorkeling. 3 days isn't much time to fly somewhere else on the continent "just" for a beach.

Oooh. Good suggestion. Menorca looks spectacular!
On first glance, I don't see international flights from Menorca, so I'm guessing I'd have to hop over to Barcelona the night before I head home. Does that sound right?

To be honest, I hadn't considered inland water. Great idea! That opens up a whole new realm of options. I'll research Annecy. That certainly would eliminate some wasted travel time. Thanks!

Europe’s beaches can’t compare to those in the US.

Yes you could get direct flights to Barcelona or Madrid, and then connect to a number of airports in the US from there.

As for beaches in Europe, I honestly haven't seen anything in the US that could top the likes of Menorca or Sardinia's beaches (just look at Google images of them). It's definitely a myth that all European beaches are pebbly.

You have (at least) two problems...

1 - To be brutally honest, Europe is not a great place for a "beach vacation". Now, before people jump on me, I'm not saying there are no nice beaches in Europe (there certainly are). But most of those are not what Americans dream about when they visualize a beautiful beach. Americans picture a beach that they might find in Hawaii, Florida, Cancun, Thailand, etc. Broad, sugar-soft, white sand, empty (no crowds, no lined-up lounge chairs), palm trees, crystal clear turquoise waters. Yes, there are some beaches in Europe that have some of those characteristics; not many have them all, and those that do, are inconveniently located. Because...

2 - If you are beginning your return to the USA from anyplace with a "nice European beach" (as described above) you will be hard-pressed to get back to the middle of the North American continent on the same day you leave your "nice European beach" location. The transatlantic flight is fairly long, and the timing is difficult -- usually you must depart early morning from a major gateway airport (and those are not conveniently located nearby your dream beaches) and the necessary connecting flight to your home destination probably does not depart late enough in the day for you to catch it after arriving from Europe. When you look at flights from your beach place to the international gateway, the long TATL flight, then the connection home...usually there's just not enough hours in the day to pull that off.

So I ask, as you now know our circumstance, how would you folks would spend your last three days?

My advice is: You don't go to Europe for its beaches. Europe has other things going for it. Focus your time in Europe on the things that only Europe has, or that Europe has best. Hawaii has no soaring gothic cathedrals or magnificent renaissance art museums (not a knock against Hawaii, it has it's own charms). Hawaii might have a decent art museum somewhere, but I would think long and hard before trading a day at one of Hawaii's beautiful beaches for a day in that art museum.

Go to Europe and enjoy what it has/does best. Savor your time there and spend it well. If you want a beach vacation, there are plenty of options cheaper and closer to home (or someplace else) with beaches that will look like the beach of your dreams....and where spending a few days on the beach, snorkeling, etc, won't cause you to miss something awesome that you could have seen if you didn't spend that time at the beach.

I know, not what you wanted to hear, but I think it's wise to consider this. Said by someone who enjoys a nice beach as much as anyone (I'm leaving for Thailand in 2 weeks...), I don't go to Europe for the beaches, I go for other things I can't find anywhere else. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Would you consider a quaint small town that involves no tours, no active itinerary , no alarms, just wandering and relaxation? I don't know your itinerary, but you did mention Switzerland, and there are beautiful mountain lakes, albeit with very cold water, but the Swiss are accustomed to it! Hopefully you also have several days in the Berner Oberland.
OR-
Zurich is not a small town, but when we were there last September, the temps were in the 80's, and the locals were floating downstream in the Limmat River, whose waters were reportedly quite warm. They were even allowed to jump off the bridge [by the tall Marriott] which would never be allowed in the US.
Safe travels!

My thought process is the same as David's, but you may have promised beach time to your teens, so:

I wonder whether beaches near Barcelona would work out better, logistically, than Menorca. I am not a beach person, so I haven't seen them, but I know there have been some recommendations here when people asked about a day at the beach. There are non-stop flights from Barcelona to the US. (I'm almost trembling at the prospect of going to Barcelona to spend time on beaches rather than seeing things like La Sagrada Familia, but it's your trip.)

That's why I love this forum. So many PRODUCTIVE opinions. Thank you all.

Thanks for the Menorca tip. That led me down a rabbithole where I discovered about overfishing in the Med and marine protection zones. Unfortunately, having only a short time, I think I need to choose an airport-accessible location and leave Menorca to visit another day. Pity. I appreciate the out-of-box ideas of inland lakes instead of the Med. Lake Annecy and Zurich look like they could work.

I am thankful that you raise some solid points I hadn't considered. I have lived in "ideal" beach areas (Florida, Hawaii, Thailand), and I think those past experiences were guiding my expectations of Europe's beaches, which will be new to me. That's not fair and it's important to have clear eyes when making these decisions. I think I need to focus less on the beaches. As they say, When in Rome...

Looking at summer photos of some more easily reached European beaches could clinch the deal--row upon row of beach chairs the length of the beach--and those things are usually not free.

I too have lived in some nice beach locations (Hawaii and Thailand). I enjoy European beaches, but they are different. Often no sand, but some great water. We stayed near Cinque Terre and did the beach, it was fun doing the 'beach chair' thing. Dubrovnik has great water all around. Less room to lay out but I loved it. I've done swimming in Lake Zurich- not exactly a beach vacation but it was nice in very hot weather.

Lots of good suggestions, and I understand everybody has different beach criteria, but my favorite beach is in Lutry. Small, quiet, amazing views, and a scenic train ride just an hour from where you say you're starting out in Geneva.

Bonjour Ponce! I am a HUGE Annecy fan!
I spent 4 days..coming from Paris..about 3 years ago in Sept. I rented a bike the whole time..rode the paths..stopped to swim in the amazing lake..and loved it! I am taking my niece in June..it is beautiful and relaxing. While it may not be a snorkelers paradise..it is paradise in many other ways! Good travels to u wherever you land! Also..agree that you might consider being in your departure site the day or night before..just a thought!

Also..ck out Santa Margherita in Liguria..beautiful water..Italian Riviera..yes..Pebble beaches but so lovely. Also.
I have taken a VERRRYY early flight from Genoa to Paris for my departure same day. Risky..but got me there at 730 am for my 10 am flight. Early car service from SML..about a 35 minute ride.

+1 for Suki. You can do better in the Caribbean or Florida for beaches. Note that Sitges near Barcelona is a major, if over-grazed, beach resort. Wide flat beach AFAIR.

August is European vacation month ...

You might be able to put the Baleárico Islands back on the list— United is starting a new, non-stop flight between Mallorca and Newark.

It’s just 3-4 x a week, so your departure date might need a little flexibility.

If you were in Germany, i would suggest going to the beaches along the Baltic. I'm not a beach person per se. I've only had the beach experience in Sweden and in Nord Pas de Calais in France. Given your choices above, I would choose Sardinia and follow Carlo's suggestions.. Normandy is not bad either.

WHY go to the beach on a European trip? The beaches in Europe generally are not as nice as those in Florida or the Caribbean.

If you want to go to the beach and a good one, CT, Genoa, northern Italy would not be good for beaches. Greece and Mallorca would be best. However, why spend tons of money getting to those places, instead, enjoy European history, art and culture.

There may be validity in Europe having fewer great beaches—I'm not a beach guy, so I can't compare much.

What Europe definitely has, is a distinct beach town/vacation culture. Going to a beach town in the summer is a chance to have a unique experience from the perspective of another culture. And that alone can get my pale butt to the beach!

Quite right on the existence of a beach culture in Europe.

The only recent experience i have with that is going to some of the beach towns in Northern France, ie, the particular beach culture in the area of Nord Pas de Calais. I spent time in three of them....Stella Plage, Berk Plage and Le Touquet. (the most wealthy of the three).

Lots of British homeowners there, well known for that among the French. My suggestion is Le Touquet if you are choosing a beach town to visit in Nord Pas de Calais.

hey hey poncedeleon
when is this family trip? we took a taxi from geneva to annecy, about 100E, so so worth it. about 30-35 minutes.train would have been 2+hours. we used taxi-massingy.com gaelle is fabuolous and owner of company. we also used her for a private taxi tour around the lake and had lunch at a dairy farm out of town. so different. above cow stables, fresh reblochonnade or tartiflette cheese.
la-ferme-de-la-charbonierre-restaurant
a pizza like oven on table to melt cheese, put on bread and potatoes, charcuterie platter, salad and ice cream. it was good.
look at annecy, loved this small town, the gorgeous views and lake. we were there in late september 2019 for 6 nights. many activities you want on the lake, boat ride around lake, swimming at the shore, renting pedal boats, city center with many restaurants, shops, patisseries, market days, roaming around the canals, seeing many historical sights, the mountain views. worth 3 days there.
we took train back to paris for 8 more days, about 3 hours. do you fly outta paris or geneva? closer than other areas you wrote about. take time to get anywhere and going thru airport ritual that can take 3 hours, check in, passport/security, waiting to board, maybe have a bite to eat and glass of wine. you're decision. check flights, but you're cutting it close to get back to US for work next day.
stay near city center, we stayed in an apt so so close, if interested let me know. 2 bedrooms/1 bathroom, small kitchen, big balcony to view the mountains.
frenchmoments.eu/ annecy
activ-annecy.com/ snorkeling
annecycitytour.fr/ en
france-voyage.com/ tourism/ annecy
on our tour we stopped at col de la forclaz. gift shop, get food, saw hang gliders soaring right above us and the lake, green pastures with the cows in the pastures with cowbells on, swiss looking house in the hills. great scenery and fun place.
hope this helps you with your decision to stay close by and not wasted time with transportation. enjoy the lake
aloha

Why not just spend time in Geneva if you want water sports?

A few weigh ins on global aspects.

There certainly is beach and coastal culture in Europe, and it's interesting. It's just not as exclusively focused on beach sitting as other places in the world. Rather good food, fishing, beautiful old towns, interesting shops etc. I disagree with people saying don't go to the beach in Europe, just do it in the way Europeans do and you'll have a great time. Istria and South of Portugal leap to mind, also Greek Islands.

It feels like an inconvenient move at the end of a trip. I like to ease out of trips by visiting a stimulating city/place near or at my departure airport. A place that will give our flagging travel energy a dead cat bounce before we leave. This summer for us that's Copenhagen. Most beach places are going to make your travel home longer and more complex, and if you are getting travel weary really the worse thing to do is sit around and wait to go home. I like to schedule our beach or beach-like segment in the dead middle.of our trip, a vacation from our vacation before continuing our vacation.

In Northern Europe you can add "lake" to beach. Many venerable resort lakes meant for exactly the type of relaxation you are after, all the requisite amenities. Salzkammergut, Black
Forest lakes, many other lovely places.

Take some "beach days" as they come at day trip pay to enter beaches. Many have pools, restaurants, huge lawns for lounging and games. There's a fun beach club just outside of Colmar, a good one on the island in Vienna. Really fun to experience with every day European, gets you off of the tourist treadmill.

Speaking of pools, same deal, abundant and fun. Also so many crazy fun water parks in Europe. We always pepper in some of both to keep our tween and her chosen friend happy ad engaged.

Have fun!

Going to a beach town France is well worth your time. If you decide on Normandy , then I suggest choosing Etretat.

There is an old B/W French movie with the famous Jean Gabon (of "The Grand Illusion" fame) taking place in a beach town with "demi-pension" guests in the town's Pension, a revealing film on French beach town culture as it was.