In standard English, the correct and most common phrase is "on the beach." This is because the beach is considered a surface or an area of land that you are positioned upon. You sit on the sand or on the shore. The only context where "in the beach" might be used is if you were referring to being physically inside the geography of a specific beach town or buried within the sand itself (e.g., "I buried my feet in the beach"). When describing a relaxing day under the sun, you are always sitting on the beach. This prepositional choice aligns with how we describe being on other surfaces like "on the grass" or "on the deck." In 2026, linguistic nuances remain important for travel bloggers and writers who want to convey an authentic sense of place; using "on" ensures your descriptions of coastal relaxation sound natural to native speakers.