Choosing the best towel is a day at the beach, thanks to these top-rated finds
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Choosing the best towel is a day at the beach, thanks to these top-rated finds
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.Learn more.
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Striped beach towels are a cheery summer staple, and shoppers love that this four pack of cabana towels gives them the option of buying matching sets or color-coding them for each family member. They also love that the affordable price point doesn’t sacrifice quality. Made of 100% cotton, this set ensures you always have a clean beach or pool towel on hand. They even double as bathroom towels for year-round use! It’s the perfect beach essential, right next to the best beach umbrellas.
With nearly 10,000 overall ratings and 1,900 glowing reviews, this beach towel pack is a summer must-have. “These beach towels are soft and absorbent,” writes verified Amazon reviewer Catherine. “I like that they’re normal-size towels and not the beach blanket size, which makes them much more manageable for carrying back and forth from the beach in a bag.”
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A Walmart bestseller, this cotton beach towel from Mainstays is woven with high-quality, 100% cotton yarns. It’s soft to the touch yet highly absorbent, and reviewers love that it’s available in 14 fun patterns. At $6 each, it’s the perfect towel to stock up on for summer pool days, beach trips and even camping excursions at the lake.
One happy reviewer, Camaro, shares, “I absolutely love this beach towel. It’s a perfect length for wrapping up after swimming at the pool. It is great also for laying on the beach to keep off the sand.”
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Doubling as a beach and bath towel, this adorable hooded option is perfect for fuss-free drying off. The hood keeps little ones warm and dry, thanks to the poncho-like feel. Made from 100% polyester, this absorbent and durable pick is perfect for any water activity. Choose the creature design that best fits your kid, or kids.
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If you’re all about plush towels, you’ll want to wrap yourself in this striped beach towel from Laguna Beach Textile Co. Made of 630 GSM (grams per square meter) cotton, it’s 50% thicker, softer and more absorbent than the average beach towel. Designed by a former Laguna Beach, California, cabana boy, it’s also long, making it perfect for chaise lounging. It’s so plush, one five-star Amazon reviewer dubs it “the holy grail of beach towels.”
Erinn, a verified Amazon reviewer who believes these towels are worthy of a five-star review and a five-star hotel, says, “Have you ever been to a really great resort and wanted to steal their lush, big pool towels? Well, this is just like doing that!” Minus the theft, of course.
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Size certainly does matter when you’re trying to dry off your whole body or stretch out on the beach, making the Weezie oversized luxury beach towel your new go-to. Made in Portugal from 100% cotton, the towels feature pretty detailing like coordinating piping and a hanging loop for easy drying and displaying. Reviewers love the plush feel, calming hues and larger-than-life size. As one reviewer sums it up, “Everything about this towel is perfect.”
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Not only does this microfiber towel wick sand and dirty away, it comes with a carrying bag for easy travel. And just because it’s easy to travel with doesn’t mean it sacrifices size or quality. This pick is large enough to wrap your body in after a beach or pool day yet compact enough to fit in a backpack or suitcase. It’s also made of nylon and polyester and dries more quickly than standard towels. Throw it in your beach bag or carry-on, and you’re good to go!
Verified Amazon reviewer Angel shares, “Amazing product! It’s like a shammy for your body. Absorbent and fast drying make this the perfect beach and camper towel. We have replaced all our camper towels with these.” If you’re convinced to get one, also learn how to wash microfiber towels to preserve them for longer.Â
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Microfiber towels offer so many benefits, including ultra-absorbency, lightweight feel and compact size. This Wise Owl microfiber towel goes a step further, or rather, many inches further—at 7 by 4 feet, it’s almost as big as a full-size bed. But don’t be fooled by its larger-than-life size, because it still easily rolls up and packs better than ultra-plush towels.
“HUGE towels, I was amazed,” writes Penny, a verified Amazon reviewer. “Perfect for the beach. I’m 5 foot 10 and hate normal towels where my legs are in the sand instead of on the towel. Very thin but very absorbent. You just have to get past the idea of ‘fluffy’ towels and see this works just as well, if not better, at drying you off.”
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Whether you call them Turkish, Peshtemal, Hammam or Fouta towels, users love this Turkish towel because it’s made from premium Turkish cotton, which, unlike standard cotton towels, gets softer, fluffier and more absorbent with each wash.
Hundreds of happily surprised users give this pick five stars. “These are magic,” says verified Amazon reviewer Ambslynn. “I didn’t know towels like these existed. I’ve bought many different types of towels over the years, and these are leaps and bounds ahead of anything. They are beautiful, pack so small and they wick water away like a miracle.”
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Available in a dozen eye-popping designs, this microfiber towel will be a real conversation piece at the beach. But what shoppers love most is that it dries faster (three times faster, according to the brand) than traditional towels.
“What I loved most about this towel is that it’s very absorbent, it dried me up and then it, too, dried up super fast!” writes Joe, a verified Amazon reviewer. “This way, I had a dry towel every time I got out of the water.”
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There’ll be no arguing over whose towel is whose, thanks to these cotton terry towels embroidered with any name in your choice of font and thread color. Plus, they’re perfect for year-round use as a bathroom towel. More than 86% of reviews are five stars, with one shopper noting, “Love the color and feel of the towels. They were huge. The embroidery was beautiful.” And another adds, “These towels are great! Large, thick and absorbent. The colors and monograms are perfect. I’ve bought several as souvenirs for beach vacations! Highly recommend.”
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You might not think of using a Mexican blanket as a beach towel, but think again. These authentic Mexican blankets are woven by local artisans in Tlaxcala, Mexico, on a traditional wooden loom and are perfect for the beach, as evidenced by more than 15,000 five-star ratings. Shoppers praise the fact that they’re “soft yet durable enough to bring to the beach on sand” and recommend them as “a great beach/outdoor type blanket.” Each Aztec blanket is unique, but all of them are made of 100% recycled materials and are bursting with vibrant colors. Plus, each purchase gives back to charity.
Additional reporting by Lois Alter Mark.