15 Best Beach Towels, According to Reviews
Updated: Jun. 17, 2022Choosing the best towel is a day at the beach, thanks to these five-star reviews.
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Dry off in style
Along with face sunscreen, swimsuits, cover-ups, sun hats, and flip flops, a good beach towel is a summer necessity. But, with so many available, how do you choose? You know you need it for drying off after a refreshing swim but do you also need it to be big enough to lie down on? Small enough to travel with? Are you ready to splurge or are you looking for something inexpensive?
We scoured the Internet for the best beach towels—those with thousands of five-star reviews from customers who have tried them firsthand—to make sure you’ll be beach-ready as soon as it’s warm enough to get in the water. Whatever kind of beach towel you want, we found the perfect one for you. Just don’t forget your sunglasses because, with these great beach towels, the summer’s looking bright.
Top-rated beach towel: Utopia Towels Cabana Stripe Beach Towels, Pack of 4
Striped beach towels are a cheery summer staple and reviewers love that this pack gives them the option of buying matching sets or color-coding them for each member of the family. They also love that the value price doesn’t mean they have to sacrifice quality. “I had low expectations and was pleasantly surprised at the thickness of the towels,” says one of the more than 4,000 five-star reviews. “Great size, great absorbency, great looking, great price,” raves the owner of a rental property in the Caribbean. Made of 100 percent cotton, these towels—which are an Amazon’s Choice recommendation—will get you through the summer in style and would also look great in your bathroom all year round.
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Most plush beach towel: Laguna Beach Textile Company Cabana Beach Towel
If you are all about plush towels, you’ll want to wrap yourself in this beauty, which one of the hundreds of five-star reviews refers to as “the holy grail of beach towels.” Made of 630 GSM (grams per square meter) cotton, it’s 50 percent thicker, softer, and more absorbent than the average beach towel. One reviewer says it’s “the softest, plushest towel I ever touched.” Designed by a former Laguna Beach, California cabana boy, it’s also long, making it perfect for chaise lounging. As one customer, who believes these towels are worthy of a five-star review and a five-star hotel, wrote, “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 stealing, of course.
Best luxury beach towel: Brooklinen Beach Towel
One five star reviewer called this the “Softest beach towel ever,” adding, “It’s literally the biggest, most plush towel I have ever used. My boyfriend and I are very tall (5’10” and 6’6″) and we finally found towels that are this comfortable and actually fit us! Can’t wait for more prints to come out in the future hopefully!” Well, their wish just came true with the addition of two new prints, including this one, from Norway-based artist, Isabelle Feliu. They are true works of art and, with this canvas that users call “the best beach towel I’ve ever had” and “worth every penny,” you’ll have trouble deciding whether to lie down on it or hang it on your wall.
Best oversized beach towel: Weezie Oversized Luxury Beach Towel
Size does matter when you’re trying to dry off your whole body or stretch out on the beach so opt for these big, beautiful towels in four summer-striped hues. “I absolutely love how big they are!” writes one five-star reviewer. “They are sooo plush, oversized, and larger than I expected,” adds another one. Made in Portugal from 100 percent cotton, the towels feature pretty detailing like coordinating piping and a hanging loop for easy drying and displaying. As one reviewer sums it up, “Everything about this towel is perfect.”
Best budget beach towel: Amazon Basics Cabana Stripe Beach Towel, Pack of 2
This Amazon’s Choice is also the choice of more than 5,000 shoppers who give the towels a five-star rating—especially for the price. “Most beach towels are thin and cheap feeling but these are awesome,” says one. “They hold up very nicely after washing several times.” A mom who bought them for her daughter’s swim team days writes, “She’s used these four days a week for about six months now. They are soft and comfortable and have really held up with all the use she’s gotten out of them.” Made from 100 percent ring-spun cotton, the towels are lush and absorbent and are available in a variety of colors.
Best travel beach towel: Dock & Bay Quick Drying Beach Towels for Travel
This towel fits so many categories—it’s also quick drying and sand-resistant—but what makes it a stand-out is its ability to travel well. In fact, it even comes in its own little pouch, and more than 1,100 reviewers give it five stars. According to one, “Yes, they do pack up taking minimal space in your bag. Yes, they do repel sand while still keeping you dry. Yes, they do dry quickly. I bought the XL size because I’m plus-sized and wanted something that would wrap around me and I had plenty of length to do this and the length was perfect to lay out on the lounger. This was the perfect addition to our beach vacation.” Another says, “They have exceeded everything I wanted from a travel towel. They pack into an unbelievably small bag which is incredibly light and is brilliant for taking away. They are incredibly absorbent and dry remarkably quickly. You will not get a fluffy, soft experience drying with these, but you will be dry really quickly. I won’t ever take a regular towel on holiday again.”
Best beach towel for two: Pendleton Chief Joseph Towel for Two with Carrier
This 62″ x 70″ blanket-size beach towel is meant to be shared. Like all Pendleton towels, it’s soft, plush, absorbent, and gorgeous. In tribute to Chief Joseph, who was widely admired for his bravery, the stunning design features symbols of courage, strength, and integrity. It will empower you even if the bravest thing you do is dip your feet into the cold water. Reviewers call it “the ideal large beach towel,” “beautiful,” and “fabulous,” and “love that it has a carrier as well.” It would make a great wedding or anniversary gift.
Best sand-resistant beach towel: Tesalate Bohemian Sand-Free Towel
Imagine being able to spend the day at the beach without bringing all that sand home with you. The original sand-free towel, this Australian-designed brand boasts more than 30,000 five-star reviews by ecstatic users who are amazed that “the sand does not stick to it.” So many shoppers call it the “best towel ever,” and one “wouldn’t go to the beach without a Tesalate ever again!” It’s compact, ultra-absorbent, and it comes in stunning designs, like this bestseller. To quote one reviewer, “Everyone should have one.”
Best microfiber beach towel: Wise Owl Microfiber Beach Towel
Microfiber towels offer so many benefits, including ultra-absorbency, lightweight, and compact size. This one goes a step further—or, rather, many inches further—making it, at seven feet by four feet, almost the size of a double bed. An Amazon’s Choice, it has hundreds of five-star reviews praising the fact that it’s a “giant beach towel that fits in your small bag easily!” and that it’s an “awesome size for tall dudes.” It’s converted first-timers who are used to plush, fluffy towels and made fans of those who already swear by microfiber towels and claim that “this one is literally the best ever!”
Best Turkish beach towel: Nature Is Gift 100% Organic Cotton Peshtemal Towel
Whether you call them Turkish, Peshtemal, Hammam, or Fouta towels, users love them because they’re made from premium Turkish cotton which actually gets softer, fluffier, and more absorbent with each wash. Hundreds of happily surprised users give them five stars. “These are magic,” says one. “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. At the beach—bam, I’m dry, and the towel is barely even damp.”
Best quick-drying beach towel: ECCOSOPHY Microfiber Quick Dry Beach Towels
Available in a dozen eye-popping designs, this microfiber towel will be a real conversation piece at the beach. But what more than 1,400 five-star reviews mention 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 is very absorbent, it dried me up, and then it, too, dried up super fast!” says one user. “This way, I had a dry towel every time I got out of the water.” Another exclaims, “It is amazing how much water it absorbs and how quickly it dries!”
Best personalized beach towel: Personalization Mall Colorful Custom Beach Towel
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. More than 86 percent of their reviews are five stars, with one shopper saying, “Love the color and feel of the towels. They were huge. The embroidery was beautiful,” and another saying, “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.” They would make a great gift for a girlfriend’s getaway.
Best round beach towel: Polly House Large Round Beach Towel
This oversized round towel is large enough for two people and comes in an eclectic variety of Instagram-worthy designs, from fun donuts and pizza to sophisticated mandalas like this one. Hundreds of reviewers give it five stars, and one gives a laundry list of reasons why: “Love bringing this to the beach and for laying on the grass and reading a book. It is absolutely adorable and I always get compliments on it! Nice and soft and doesn’t bleed when you wash it. Folds up nicely to carry in a bag or backpack. Can’t beat the price!”
Best kids beach towel: Athaelay Soft Cotton Hooded Towel Poncho
OK, the cuteness factor of this shark-themed towel is through the roof—and so are the reviews. “I’ve had so many compliments,” writes one shopper. “Our grandson looks adorable in it,” says another. Parents also appreciate the fact that these poncho-like towels keep kids warm and dry, unlike traditional towels that never stay wrapped around them while they’re running around. Made for children aged one to five, they also come in other themes, including mermaid, dinosaur, astronaut, and unicorn. “I wish it came in adult sizes,” sighs one customer.
Best blanket beach towel: Benevolence LA Authentic Mexican Blanket
You might not think of using a Mexican blanket as a beach towel but think again. These gorgeous 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 10,000 five star reviews, praising the fact that they’re “soft yet durable enough to bring to the beach on sand” and recommending them as “a great beach/outdoor type blanket.” Each Aztec blanket is unique, but all of them are made of 100 percent recycled materials and bursting with vibrant colors. Plus, each purchase gives back to charity.
