Ride on top of the water
Kayaks are small boats that originated with inhabitants of the arctic regions, who used them for hunting and fishing on inland waterways. They were made of animal skins stitched together over wooden frames, and their history dates back thousands of years.
There are many variations of the modern day kayak, but the type that you will be most interested in while you are at the beach on vacation is the sit-on-top kayak. This has a sealed hull design that makes this boat unsinkable. It generally comes in designs for one paddler or two, and allows you to slip in and out of the water relatively easily. These are very safe ways to get you to see the sights around your beach and waterways from a different perspective.
Kayaks are also just perfect for snorkeling off of the beach, and can be outfitted for scuba diving as well. It will take some local knowledge to orient you as to where to go and how to organize your equipment, but once again this can be a terrific vacation experience.
However, if your vacation takes you to a beach that has moderate wave action, then be prepared for a totally different kind of fun. Sit on top kayaks can be a different beast in the surf zone. If you plan to use a kayak to ride the waves the challenge becomes keeping the kayak straight once you are riding the crest of the wave. This is not for the timid as the ocean has in mind one thing, which is to turn your kayak sideways and roll you up in it! If the conditions are right, and riding waves are one of the things that you love to do, then be sure to put this on your list of activities to do on vacation.
Windsurfing combines the elements of surfboarding and sailing and has been around for about fifty years. The sail is attached to the board by a flexible rotating joint, and relies on wind for propulsion with steering coming from the manipulation of the sail and the board.
Windsurfing can be a great addition to your beach vacation even if you have never done it before. If conditions are favorable, basic skills can be learned with a few hours of training, and then it is of to practice your newfound sport.
Advanced windsurfers can search for vacation sites that provide the beaches and conditions that fit their level of experience. For most of us our windsurfing pursuits will involve mild conditions and that will be plenty of challenge. But for the few that want to push the limits there are places that will do just that. Jaws beach on Maui in winter comes to mind. Windsurfers were the first ones to ride some of the largest waves on the planet.