The Best Beach Towels to Buy Right Now
For some reason, we tend to hold onto beach towels forever. We update our bath towels and bed sheets every few years, but those striped and threadbare beach towels? It’s clear we’ve had the same ones since the kids were in diapers. Needless to say, it’s time for an upgrade. Here, the 16 best beach towels to shop right now.
RELATED: The 25 Best Beach Towns in America
1. Laguna Beach Textile Company Oversize Plush Cabana Towel
Best Overall
“Aren’t all beach towels basically the same?” you ask. Not quite. Laguna Beach Textile Company’s are made from plush cotton that’s 50 percent thicker than most bath towels, so they’re ultra-soft. Plus, their 2.5- by 5.8-foot size offers plenty of room for sunbathing. But, if we’re being honest, the 500 five-star reviews is really what sold us.
2. AmazonBasics Cabana Stripe Beach Towel (Set of 2)
Best Budget
According to reviewers, these 100 percent cotton towels hold up well after multiple washes and are absorbent and soft. “I was surprised how lush and attractive these were,” admits one buyer. All that for just $11 per towel.
3. Michael Aram Dip Dye Ombré Resort Towel
Best Splurge
If you’re going to drop $100 on a beach towel, it may as well be stunning. The dip-dyed ombré design makes this one of the prettiest, most ‘gram-worthy beach necessities we’ve ever seen. And it’s oversize, making it ideal for really sprawling out.
4. Missoni Warner Beach Towel
Best Designer
The Italian luxury brand's iconic zig-zag pattern is recreated here in plush, long-wearing cotton. (And this is the ideal way to set off that basic black swimsuit you keep buying.)
5. Toujours Beach Towel
Best Graphic
The words translate to mean "Always in the sun." It feels glamorous, as if we might be toweling off on the shores of Saint-Tropez when, in reality, we’re just at the town beach.
6. Serena & Lily Mallorca Beach Towel
Best Turkish Cotton
This towel is so popular, and we can see why: The classic Turkish towel style is minimalist, chic and woven from 100 percent Pergamon Aegean cotton, which is super-light and dries quickly.
7. Business & Pleasure Co. Beach Blanket
Best Strapped
The leather carrier makes this towel the easiest part of setting up on the beach. Once you unroll it, the stripes and tassel trim will win you over too. Get one for each member of the family and you’ll never end up with an overflowing towel bag again.
8. Athaelay Cotton Hooded Towel Poncho
Best for Kids
Trying to get them to keep their towel on for more than three seconds is a battle we will never win. But thanks to these towel ponchos, that just might change. The hooded design is wearable, rather than a classic wrap-around style, which means they’ll have both hands free to continue playing while they dry off. Featuring designs that range from sharks to ballerinas, there’s bound to be at least one style they love.
9. Chars Microfiber Quick Drying Beach Towel
Best Microfiber
Multiple buyers say that after trying this towel, they’ll never go back to a traditional cotton one. Its microfiber material dries three times faster than cotton, and sand rolls right off of it. It’s also thinner, and easily folds into a compact pouch that you can throw in the car.
10. SmileLoveDesigns
Best Monogrammed
Simply type in your initials and select your preferred towel color, thread color, font and which side of the towel you’d like embroidered, and this Etsy seller will make it happen. Reviewers say that she produces high-quality towels and offers amazing customer service.
11. Bungalow Rose Peretsman 100 Percent Cotton Beach Towel
Best Round
This 60-inch diameter blanket gets raves for its roominess. "A great size to wrap up in," says one reviewer. "When it’s laid out, [it's] large enough for at least two to three people to sit on." Between the luxe cotton velour on one side and absorbent terry cloth on the other, what’s not to love?
12. Aysesa Hooded Surf Poncho
Best Wearable
In SoCal, surfers dry off with these towels, change out of their wetsuits underneath them and use them as blankets to lay back on. And we're hereby adopting the practice for our lazier beach pursuits, namely admiring surfers.
13. Moonlight Print Sunny Ocean Beach Towel
Best Dual-Sided
This artist-designed towel gets our vote for "Most Likely to Become a Wall Hanging." Good thing its poly-microfiber top is colorfast, and the cotton pile reverse is absorbent.
14. Sand Cloud Convertible Beach Towel Tote
Best Portable
You fold up this 36-by-68-inch towel, then flip it inside out, and it's a handy tote to stash your sunscreen lotion and paddleball set it—handy!
15. Benevolence Los Angeles Authentic Mexican Blanket
Best Oversized
At 75-by-61 inches, this blanket isn't going to make you choose between getting your head or feet stuck in the sand. And the 11 colorways are so happy, and fade-proof due to their polyester-cotton fabrication.
16. John Robshaw Vama Beach Towel
Best Design
Globetrotting designer John Robshaw creates his coveted textiles from visual cues he collects around the world. This design is delightfully cottagecore on the side displaying birds, while the reverse sports a rich geometric pattern.
RELATED: 30 Beach Reads (Reapply Sunscreen Every Other Chapter)
PureWow may receive a portion of sales from products purchased from this article, which was created independently from PureWow's editorial and sales departments.
