Summer is finally just around the corner! The only question that remains is how to make the most of it. That’s why we’ve put together 10 summer activities for friends that shouldn’t be missing from any summer bucket list!
First things first. Nothing is more pleasant in the heat of summer than a refreshing dip in the water! Variation ensures that water fun never gets boring and luckily there are almost endless possibilities for summer activities for friends.
1. Water Fun – Summer Activities For Friends That Cool You Down
Why not go to a bathing lake for a swim? Or go to an open-air swimming pool where you can jump off the diving tower or have fun on the water slide. Or pack your family or friends into the car and drive to the sea. Whether it’s the North Sea or the Baltic Sea, Germany also has great beaches to offer in summer. In our Tips for spring, we have compiled a Fun at the beach checklist with items that you should never forget when going swimming.
If you’re into sporty activities, play water polo, go snorkelling together or try your hand at water skiing or surfing. At the seaside and at larger lakes such as Wannsee, Bodensee or Chiemsee, numerous leisure activities are offered on and in the water!
Is it so hot that an excursion or a trip to the open-air swimming pool seems like a reasonable effort? Then you have a clear advantage if you or your buddy next door have their own garden. Fire up the lawn sprinkler and take a shower outdoors. Or get that inflatable paddling pool from childhood out of the basement, lie in it and sip a cool drink. You’ll see, in no time at all you’ll be in the holiday mood!
2. Take To the Oars! – Tours by Canoe, Kayak or Rowing Boat
For me, a canoe tour is definitely one of the best summer activities for friends! If you love nature and like to hold the oar (or paddle) yourself, you should definitely go on one with friends. Whether it’s on a lake, a river or a canal: steering a boat across the water yourself and watching the landscape go by is just crazy fun! Especially when you’re out with good friends, of course.
If you’ve never been canoeing before, don’t worry! Canoeing is not difficult at all and if there are several of you in a boat, you don’t have to paddle alone either. By the way, for Berliners or visitors to the capital, we can highly recommend the Kayak Berlin Tour, which we tried out in 2018.
Whitewater rafting is more for the experienced or the brave, but it’s also a lot of fun. Especially in the Alps, there are many offers for rafting, canyoning or similar summer activities for firends who love action, where you are guided and experienced professionals are in the boat. This way you can get a taste of adventure without having to worry too much about safety.
3. Have a Picnic in the Countryside
A checked blanket, a basket with sandwiches, juicy fruit, fresh vegetable snacks and a bottle of wine – this is Hollywood’s idea of a real picnic. And why not? In a time when there are fast food stands on almost every corner, the high art of picnicking is in danger of being forgotten. Set an example against this and invite your friends to a big picnic in the countryside. If everyone brings something different, it is guaranteed to be a diverse feast!
Consider the location for your picnic. Hot recommendations are the beach, a secluded forest meadow, a lakeside or the top of a mountain that you climb together. Of course, you can also arrange to have a picnic in the city park. However, we prefer to combine a picnic with a nice hike, bike ride or canoe trip. After all, once you’ve covered a bit of distance and enjoyed nature, you’ll be even happier to have a tasty picnic as a reward!
To make sure you don’t forget anything important, take a look at our Picnic checklist!
4. Open the Barbecue Season!
Let’s stay with food: the favourite of all culinary summer activities for friends is probably not just for me, but barbecuing. When I go jogging or cycling on the Tempelhofer Feld at the weekend, I can smell the delicious aroma of grilled meat and vegetables from afar and it makes me want to have an official barbecue evening.
So let’s make a round-robin call to our friends, quickly get some barbecue food, charcoal and barbecue lighter, put the folding barbecue under our arm and off we go 😉
5. Summer Sports Activities For Friends to Keep You Fit
Activity comes from active for a reason. Having just indulged in the feast, we should quickly think about getting some much-needed exercise! There is no shortage of sporting leisure activities for the summer. In addition to the water sports already mentioned, you can, for example, ride a bike, play beach volleyball, skate (on inline skates, skateboards or longboards), play football, go climbing, hiking with friends or simply exercising outdoors.
Almost every city in Germany now has parks with free-use sports equipment. Old school but not to be underestimated is the classic trim trail through the forest. There are also groups that meet outdoors for Tai Chi, Pilates or formation dancing. Maybe you can motivate one or two of your friends to join in. Together and in a group, it is no longer embarrassing to jump rhythmically through the park… 😉
6. The Best Outdoor Games – Summer Activities For Friends You Need to Try
It’s far too hot to do any physical exertion? Then I have some great outdoor summer activities for friends. Personally, I’m a big fan of mini-golf, which I already did with my parents as a child. It’s not so much about strength, but about skill and the right feeling and it’s just too wonderful to watch your mates getting green with annoyance because the minigolf ball keeps rolling past the hole. As long as it’s not your turn to play…
But seriously, mini-golf is fun and a great outdoor game for the summer! Mini golf courses can be found in every city and the entrance fee is usually affordable for everyone. There is, however, a special form of minigolf that is only available indoors, something for rainy days or colder seasons: blacklight golf. But it’s just as much fun! 🙂
Apart from minigolf, however, there are several other leisure activities to pass the time on a sunny summer’s day. Playing badminton or frisbee in the park are classics, slackline, juggling and diabolo are trendy games for all hobby artists. And the game of boccia is, in our opinion, quite wrongly considered a game for older generations only, especially as there is now a modern urban version of it with Crossboccia.
7. Outdoor Culture – Summertime Ventures for Beaurocrats & Party Animals
There are also plenty of leisure activities in the summer for those interested in culture and those who like to party! If you love films, you should definitely visit an open-air cinema. And open air concerts under blue skies and bright sunshine are the best parties anyway, I’m sure many a music fan will agree! But there is also open air theatre and performance and many museums hold a museum night in the summer where exhibits are also on display outside.
If you and your friends are looking for something to actively participate in, try a poetry slam or a participatory concert. Such events often take place outside in summer and being on stage yourself is a great feeling, even if you have a bit of stage fright and aren’t a born rambunctious person 😉
8. Connected to the Sky by String
I love the Tempelhofer Feld, this vast undeveloped area in the middle of the big city! It’s most beautiful there when you can see lots of colourful kites flying in the air in summer. On the wide, long runways of the former aeroplane site, the landboarders whiz past the joggers and cyclists. Somehow I always feel a bit envious, because it must be a great feeling to let yourself be pulled by the wind and whiz across the field.
Of course, you don’t have to go to Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin to do kite sports. You can do it all over Germany, where there are enough large areas of land for kite landboarding or kiteboarding.
And in most regions there are offers to rent a kite for kitesurfing. So you don’t have to buy a kite to try out these summer activities for friends. And if you prefer to have a firm footing with both feet on the ground, you can also just fly a kite old school. That’s fun too!
9. Summer Ventures for High-Flyers
Sending a kite through the air is not enough for you and your friends? You’d rather experience the ancient dream of mankind yourself and soar through the skies! Then Paragliding* and Kite flying are definitely the right leisure activities for you.
There are actually offers and courses for this everywhere where there are enough high mountains or suitable slopes for these air sports. A great alternative for friends who want to take to the skies, but like to see a bit more than just air between them and the ground, is a joint balloon ride or a glider trip.
10. When It Rains – The Best Things to Do in Summer in Bad Weather
I have silently assumed one thing in all these points: sun and warmth, real summer weather. But what if the weather throws a spanner in the works and it simply pours down?
There’s no need to mope about it! Invite friends over and organise a games night or a cosy movie or series evening, go swimming in the indoor pool, to the cinema or make our Museum Challenge.
And if it’s raining but not freezing cold, why not go outside in the rain? To be outside in a warm summer rain, for example on a rain hike or playing sports, can be an absolutely great experience. In fact, sometimes a pelting downpour is the very thing that makes summer outdoor pursuits really unique and special.Anyone who has ever played football in the pouring rain in mud and slush like a frenzy knows what I’m talking about.
Still looking for more summer activities for friends ? At Greatime you’ll find lots of inspiration for gifts and ideas for outing tips and indoor activities for friends, couples and families. If you like our website, why not become a fan of our Facebook page and Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter! 🙂
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