There's things you can do at certain beaches you usually cannot do elsewhere like surfing.

There's things you can do at certain beaches with very little equipment that usually require specific things like boats. e.g.: catching live seafood.

There's plenty of things you can do elsewhere (like a park or a forest or even a cave in the side of a mountain), that happen to also be pretty fun if you enjoy sunshine + potentially fantastic scenery to go with it.

The sand is a not one of the stronger points of the experience. It's different than soil or concrete, doesn't get shite dirty and nasty the same way as mud or ambient humidity but it offers a way to make things a pain the arse. You can make sand castles and sculpt things with it, but you can do the same things with snow. A little snow in the awkward places ain't the same as sand. Advantage: mountain tops.

A trip to the beach does not have to be the main feature of a long awaited and planned for vacation (unless you're going to some tropical islands and it is). The beach might be were you go kick-back in the evenings after doing the main attractions during the day during a vacation.

It's like if you're on a snowboarding trip. You're not going up the mountain just to gain elevation, you go there for the activity. It happens to be an excellent and unusual environment for other enjoyable things, just like beaches.

We should mention sea-gulls. They are shite birds. Easiest way to understand them is flying raccoons. They'll try and eat your food and shite all over you, from above. Worst part is I understand they are a revolting excuse for poultry, don't try to eat them. If you're at the beach, go for the water food, not the air food. While they are beach's version of those furry rodent frickers, they're really not as nervy and intrusive as actual raccoons. Advantage: Beaches.

Finally, there's nothing wrong with drinking beer and watching women while sitting in the sand. The practice has been going on for thousands of years, because it's such a simple, obvious and easy pleasure in life.