If You Loved The Summer I Turned Pretty, Here Are Trips With the Same Vibe

If The Summer I Turned Pretty made you crave beach days, summer houses and complicated holiday romances, the feeling doesn't have to stay on screen. Belly's summers at Cousins Beach were never just about the beach. It was family, friends, first crushes, and growing up. Cousins Beach itself isn't real, but Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Paros offer real places where that same carefree summer mood comes alive.  From old American beach towns to tropical islands on the other side of the map, here's a handful of Summer Getaways that could become your own Cousins Beach.

Cape Cod, USA – Your Real-Life Cousins Beach

Cape Cod is probably the closest thing you'll find. New England coastline, weather-worn beach houses, sandy shores, small towns where the guy at the coffee shop already knows your order by day three. It has that same slow, unbothered summer feel the show does so well. Spend your days biking, swimming, eating more seafood than you probably should, or just sitting there, doing nothing, watching the water. Nobody's rushing you here.

Highlights:

• Coast Guard Beach
• Nauset Beach
• Chatham
• Provincetown
• Cape Cod Rail Trail
• Sunset by the coast

Good pick for families or friend groups who like returning to the same place summer after summer, the kind of trip where traditions just happen without anyone planning them.

Nantucket, USA – Where Summer Feels Like a Tradition

Nantucket has its own New England charm: pretty beaches, cozy coastal houses, cobblestone streets that make your ankles hurt a little but are worth it, plenty of reasons just to slow down here. Rent a bike, wander Nantucket Town, visit the beach for a few hours, wrap it up with a sunset walk. 

Highlights:

• Jetties Beach
• Brant Point Lighthouse
• Nantucket Town
• Cycling around the island
• Coastal walks
• Local seafood

For a lot of people, Nantucket ends up special not because of one big attraction, but because of everything that happens while you're there.

Paros, Greece – For the Summer With Your Favourite People

Paros gives you that same Summer I Turned Pretty energy, just with a Mediterranean twist. Blue water, hot sand, whitewashed streets that all sort of look alike, evenings spent by the harbour with a drink sweating in your hand. Naoussa alone is worth a slow wander for its restaurants and waterfront lanes, and a boat trip or bit of island-hopping keeps the days from all blurring together.

Highlights:

• Naoussa
• Paros beaches
• Boat trips
• Island-hopping
• Greek food
• Sunset by the sea

Works well for friends who like keeping plans loose and changing everything last minute.

Amalfi Coast, Italy – For a Little Romance by the Sea

If the romance side of the show is what got you, Amalfi Coast is the obvious answer, isn't it? Positano, Amalfi, and the little towns clinging to the cliffs stunning views, seaside restaurants, boat rides that don't need to go anywhere in particular. Basically built for Romantic Summer Trips. Long dinners, long sunsets, no rush to check off a list of sights.

Highlights:

• Positano
• Amalfi
• Coastal boat rides
• Seaside dining
• Sunset viewpoints

A couple's trip, friend group, doesn't matter; Amalfi has a habit of handing you the kind of moments you actually remember years later.

Phuket, Thailand – When You Want a Tropical Summer

Want that same carefree thing but tropical instead? Phuket packs in beaches, boat trips, island-hopping, and a fair bit of everything else into one trip. One day it's just lying on the sand, next day you're out at the Phi Phi Islands, by evening you're on a sunset cruise with salt still in your hair. There are things on the coast too: Old Phuket Town, the markets, all of it.

Highlights:

• Phi Phi Islands
• Phuket beaches
• Old Phuket Town
• Island-hopping
• Sunset cruises
• Thai food markets

A Thailand trip package makes it pretty easy to pair Phuket with other spots around the country.

More Than a Beach: Creating Your Own Summer Story

Here's the thing: the show was never really about the beach. It's the people, the small traditions, the half-thought-out plans that somehow become your best memories. A trip starts feeling like that when it has: 

• Long, uninterrupted days with friends or family
• Spontaneous plans
• Sunset walks and relaxed dinners
• Returning to a favourite destination
• Creating your own holiday traditions
• Leaving some free time instead of planning every hour

That's what good Beach Vacation Ideas really come down to. Not just a pretty coastline, the people you bring, and whatever you remember years down the line. Your own "Cousins Beach" might end up being Cape Cod, Nantucket, or Paros. Maybe even Phuket.

Conclusion

You don't need a fictional beach house to feel like you're in The Summer I Turned Pretty. Cape Cod and Nantucket get you closest to that New England mood, while Paros, the Amalfi Coast, and Phuket each bring their own flavor of an unforgettable summer. So pick a place. Pack your bags. Leave a bit of room in the schedule for whatever wasn't on the itinerary. With Travel Junky, travel packages can be built around the destination you're already dreaming about while still leaving space for that one unplanned moment you'll end up talking about for years.