woman on a kayak on a beautiful island in summer

By Hannah Greenwald Last updated: April 15, 2023

40+ Spanish Summer Words You Need for Your Next Vacation

Summer is many people’s favorite time of year.

You’ve got your vacation planned, love the beach and have been working on your tan.

You’ve been dreaming about the warm sand, crashing waves, sunny skies and even the sand castles. What could be better?

In this post, you’ll learn over 40 useful Spanish summer words to help you talk about your favorite season!

Common Spanish Summer Words
Tips to Practice Summer Words

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Common Spanish Summer Words

Clothing and Accessories

El bañador / traje de baño — Bathing suit
La toalla — Towel
La crema solar / el bloqueador solar / el protector solar — Sunblock
Las gafas de sol / los lentes de sol — Sunglasses
Las chanclas — Flip flops
Las sandalias — Sandals
La sombrilla — Umbrella (specifically for sunny weather)
La tabla de surf / la tabla — Surfboard
La cometa — Kite
El cubo / el balde — Pail
La pala — Shovel
El balón de playa / la pelota de playa — Beach ball

Pro tip for beginning language learners: When you come across these tricky Spanish word pairs, the forums over at WordReference can be a great resource. In these forums, people frequently ask native speakers to clarify how words are really used. Chances are, somebody has asked your question before!

Things at the Beach

La playa — Beach
La arena — Sand
El castillo de arena — Sandcastle
El sol — Sun
El salvavidas / la salvavidas — Lifeguard
El mar — Sea
El océano — Ocean
El agua — Water
La marea — Tide
La marea alta — High tide
La marea baja — Low tide
Las olas — Waves
La orilla — Shore
La concha — Shell
La estrella de mar — Starfish
El cangrejo — Crab
El pez — Fish (the animal)
El pescado — Fish (seafood that you eat)
Las algas — Algae, seaweed
La medusa — Jellyfish
La quemadura de sol — Sunburn

Keep in mind that agua is a feminine noun, even though it takes the article el. When you use adjectives to describe it, make sure to make them feminine! For example: El agua está fría. — The water is cold.

This happens because when a feminine noun starts with a, it would be too much of a tongue twister to say la before it.

The more exposure you have to Spanish, the easier you’ll pick up on these nuances—many of which you’ll just pick up rather than actively study.

A handy resource for learning vocabulary and grammar like this in context is FluentU. The language learning program teaches you Spanish by immersing you in authentic videos (like news reports, vlogs and inspiring talks) with interactive subtitles.

Summer Activities

Viajar — To travel
Tomar el sol — To sunbathe
Broncearse — To get tan
Jugar al voleibol — To play volleyball
Jugar al frisbee / jugar al disco — To play frisbee
Nadar — To swim
Bañarse — To be in the water, to wade
Bucear — To dive or snorkel
Hacer surf — To go surfing
Surfear — To surf
Pescar — To fish
Estar fuera — To be outside
Hacer un picnic — To have a picnic
Pasar tiempo con … — To spend time with…
Las vacaciones de verano — Summer vacation (i.e. from school)
El veraneo — Summer vacation (traveling)

Tips to Practice Summer Words

Use new vocabulary often

One of the best ways to improve your vocabulary is by using new words frequently. Use your favorite flashcard app or try to use the words daily by keeping a journal or talking to yourself. You might also consider getting a Spanish pen pal to write to.

Use online resources related to seasons

If you’d like to hear some of these words in context, the BBC offers great resources for Spanish learners—including this lesson on Spanish beach phrases.

Play summer games with your new vocabulary

Here are some fun summer games that you can play while you sunbathe or wade in the water:

I spy — In Spain, this classic game is called Veo, Veo (I see, I see). Choose something that you see on the beach and have your partner (or group) ask questions about it—in Spanish, of course! The questions must be answered with yes or no, and the players keep asking until they guess your object. (Tip: If you’re unclear about questions in Spanish, check out an article on the subject here!)
Same letter — Give a vocabulary word for something you see on the beach. Whatever letter your word ends with, the next person will have to say a word that starts with that letter. For example, if you say playa (beach), the next person could say algas (algae), then the next person could say sol (sun) and so on.
What’s in my beach bag? — This memory game gets tougher and tougher as you play it. The first player says En mi bolsa de playa hay un/una… (In my beach bag there is a…) with a vocabulary word after it. Each player has to add something to the beach bag and also remember all the previous words that have been said. When someone forgets, everyone starts over. See how long you can go without forgetting!
Pictionary — This game is great when you’re tired of snorkeling and swimming and just feel like relaxing on your towel. Draw a picture of a summer vocabulary word until your partner only guesses it, communicating in Spanish. For a more difficult challenge, use a combination of adjectives, verbs and nouns.

With these 40+ Spanish summer words, you’ll be equipped to enjoy el verano (summer) in Spanish with ease!

Be sure to pack them for your next vacation and, in the meantime, practice them frequently to make sure they’re at the front of your mind.