19 Best Movies About Summer Romance That You’ll Totally Fall in Love With
Escape into these movies about summer romance when you’re looking to remember what it was like to fall in love under the summer sun.
Whether it’s a chance encounter by the beach, a whirlwind vacation romance, or a coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of lazy summer days, these movies beautifully portray the joy, passion, and bittersweet nature of summer love.
So grab your popcorn and get ready to be swept away by these movies about summer romance that capture the nostalgia of unforgettable summer flings and the magic of summer love.
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The Best Summer Romance Movies
The Notebook
In Seabrook, North Carolina in the 1940s, teenaged debutante Allie Hamilton and local boy Noah Calhoun spend one passionate, carefree summer together and fall deeply in love.
But when the summer ends, war and duty separate the young couple.
The Notebook is one of those quintessential movies about summer romance where young teens fall head over heels for each other in spite of their different upbringings and those who want to keep them apart.
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams knocked this one out of the park, making it the most popular movie adaptation from Nicholas Sparks books.
Dirty Dancing
Frances “Baby” Houseman has never stepped out of line. When she meets dance instructor Johnny Castle at a holiday resort she visits with her parents, all that changes.
She sneaks out to see Johnny and his friends, but it’s when Johnny’s dance partner is unable to dance with him and Baby takes her place that she truly falls for him.
Dirty Dancing is another classic movie about summer romance that should be on everyone’s watch list.
Disappear into the Catskill Mountains with the Housemans and other privileged families who summer on the lake and pretend not to mix with “the help” at this posh family resort.
It’s a classic look at the girl falling for the guy from the opposite side of the tracks that Daddy doesn’t approve of.
Set in 1963, this film is not only the epitome of summer romance but also highlights significant social issues as well. It’s an iconic romance movie that lives on in popularity as everyone knows “Nobody puts Baby in a corner!”
Say Anything
Lloyd Dobler is determined to have the beautiful and intelligent Diane Court in his life. In the summer after their high school graduation, he tries to woo her in all the ways he knows how.
But in the end, it is not only her protective father standing in the way of their love story, because Diane has a choice to make. Will she end up choosing love?
1980s fans will remember this cult classic movie about summer romance where the quiet guy on the outskirts finally makes his move on his teenage crush.
Say Anything is the full package when it comes to movies about young love, opposites attract, summer romance, and the boy getting the girl.
Grease
Sandy and Danny are two strangers who meet one summer and fall in love. But when summer ends, they have to say goodbye only to discover that they are now going to the same high school.
But who they were as teens falling in love at the beach is not necessarily who they are in school among their friends.
Can good girl Sandy and bad boy Danny overcome social pressures and find their way back to one another?
This is one of those movies about summer romance that I can watch and rewatch over and over again.
I fell in love with Grease as a kid because I loved watching Sandy and Danny navigate the social divide at their high school after falling in love one summer.
Who didn’t want to be a Pink Lady or a Greaser after watching this movie that has you singing along with each musical number?
Mystic Pizza
One summer, three women, three love-lives and the pizza parlor they work at, that is in dire need of new customers. Will the girls find their happily ever-afters as well as secure a future for the workplace they all love?
Check out one of Julia Roberts’ first films in this classic movie about summer romance that focuses not only on a tight-knit friend group but their place of employment for their summer jobs as well.
Each girl struggles with their own relationships and feelings of love that develop this one fateful summer while making pizza in Mystic, Connecticut.
500 Days of Summer
For Tom, it was love at first sight. Too bad, that the object of his affection, Summer, doesn’t feel the same way and breaks up with him after just one summer together.
Now he is trying to figure out, where he went wrong and what he can do to get her back.
Zoey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are the perfect cast for this quirky movie about summer romance.
While Tom falls in love one summer we are told at the beginning of this movie that “This is not a love story,” so you’ve been forewarned!
Call Me By Your Name
Elio is spending his summer at his family’s villa on the Italian Riviera. When his father, a college professor, invites American Ph.D candidate Oliver to help him with his work, Elio experiences first love.
Despite their different life experiences, the two spend an intimate summer together, that neither will ever forget.
This movie is based on Andre Aciman’s novel Call Me by Your Name which became an instant hit and best book of the year.
Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer earned critical acclaim for their roles in this movie about a summer romance between an adolescent boy and the family’s guest that sparks not only passion but also consequences for their actions.
Related: Best Gay Romance Novels
Love and Gelato
In the summer before starting college, Lina follows her mother’s dying wish to Italy, to get to know her father.
At first she is less than enthused, but due to one last surprise from her mother, she can’t help but fall in love… with the city of Rome, the people and one boy in particular.
This Netflix film is based on the novel, Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch and is the perfect movie about summer romance if you want to find young love in Italy.
While Lina finds love in Italy, she also learns more about her mother’s past and the father she never knew.
Related: Romance Books That Inspire Travel
Along for the Ride
Auden can’t sleep. In the summer before going to college, she meets fellow insomniac Eli. Together, they experience their city while everyone else is asleep and Auden experiences a side of life she never knew she was missing.
This is another young adult movie about summer love that is based on a book. This one is a film adaptation of Sarah Dessen’s book, Along for the Ride.
Though this movie may be a bit heavier than others because Auden and Eli are both struggling not only with insomnia but with recent changes in their lives.
I love movies about young love when the characters often seem like they are in a world of their own. Riding bikes at night while everyone else is sleeping definitely adds to that vibe in this one.
Related: Books About Summer Romance
Safe Haven
Katie is running from her past and towards a new beginning, which she finds in the small-town community of Southport.
Despite being resolute about not letting her guard down in front of other people again, she finds herself befriending her neighbor Jo and falling for the widower, Alex.
Nicholas Sparks books make the perfect movies about summer romance and it’s no different with Safe Haven.
Though this movie has a bit more suspense to it when Katie’s past collides with her present, it focuses on her ability to trust in love again one summer.
Dear John
John is on summer leave from the military, when he meets college student Savannah in his hometown.
They spend two intense weeks together, before John enlists again and she returns to college, leaving their communication with one another with only letters.
Will the two of them find each other again and their love last despite their distance?
Movies about soldiers returning to the front lines are always a bit rough on the heart and if this is a movie about summer romance based on a Nicholas Sparks book then you know it will put your heart through the wringer.
Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfriend definitely brought it in this movie about two star-crossed lovers who find their way back to one another.
The Last Song
Ronnie and her little brother are sent to spend the summer with their father in the small beach town of Wilmington, NC.
Since her parents’ divorce, Ronnie resents her father and has no intention of forming a relationship with him.
But after meeting a handsome guy and slowly falling in love, she rediscovers her love for music – something she shares with her father. And suddenly, there may be hope for their relationship yet.
In yet another movie about summer romance from Nicholas Sparks – you can see the real-life love affair that bloomed between Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth while filming.
While Ronnie discovers her first love the summer she spends with her father, this movie is also about the love between parents and their children.
Summer Catch
Ryan hopes to become a major league baseball player not only for his love of the sport but also to escape the small town he lives in and where he is trapped between his father’s expectations and his brother’s judgment.
When he manages to be part of a baseball team of college hopefuls, he spends his summer away from his family. It’s there that he meets a young woman, who is on summer vacation with her family, and Ryan has to remind himself of what his priorities truly are.
What’s summer without baseball? In this movie about summer romance, you get to enjoy both – young love and baseball since it’s about a young college hopeful who has dreams to play in the big leagues one day.
Enjoy summer at the Cape and on the field with this romance featuring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jessica Biel.
Related: Best Baseball Romance Books
Before Sunrise
Jesse, an American tourist, and Celine, a French student, meet on a train between Budapest and Vienna. They spontaneously decide to spend the day together, until Jesse has to catch his flight home.
Their connection grows stronger and stronger in this very short amount of time. Will they be able to find love together, even though everything – including time – seems to be against it?
Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are extraordinary in this movie about summer romance that focuses on the amazing conversations and banter between the two characters who you see fall for one another while spending one day in Vienna.
It’s such a unique and different rom-com because it’s so character driven but it’s wonderful and a must-watch!
In a Relationship
This is the story of a long-term couple just about to break up. Or are they? And two people, who are just finding each other. Told over the course of one summer, In a Relationship shows different aspects of relationships in different points in time while chronically the lives of two couples.
Emma Roberts has become one of my favorite actresses in quirky romcoms which began with this movie following two couples at very different stages.
This movie has more of a character drama feel as these four twentysomething friends try to manage their relationships when they each have different ideas and expectations about commitment.
Ibiza
Harper is a single thirty-something New Yorker who flies to Spain for a business trip. But taking her two best friends with her, results in partying, meeting new people, flirting with a famous DJ and living a different life.
Soon, Harper has a choice to make: Will she follow her heart and her friends into adventure, or will she be sensible and focus on her work?
Ibiza is one of those movies that I just sat back and enjoyed – not because it had any real drama or any real meaning to expound but because it was fun! And boy did it want me to book a trip to Ibiza ASAP.
If you love movies about girlfriends, crazy vacations and an unforgettable romance, you’ll adore Ibiza, which is available on Netflix.
Moonrise Kingdom
In the 1960s, on an island off the coast of New England, twelve-year-old Sam and his equally young pen-pal Suzy fall in love and decide to run away together. Soon, everyone – including local Police – is looking for them.
As a violent storm approaches closer and closer, the search party tries to figure out the motive of the two children and their actions before it’s too late.
For a more endearing movie about summer romance, consider Moonrise Kingdom where two tenacious tweens fall in love as pen pals and run away to be with each other.
The setting, the scenery, and the set-up make this such a fun and quirky summer movie!
Wet Hot American Summer
On the last day of camp, nobody is ready to leave. Too many questions and problems remain unsolved, plus, there is the big talent show to look forward to at the end of the day. Will the staff and the campers be able to say goodbye?
While this movie didn’t amass critical success, it has earned a cult following and has many big names stars attached to it.
Follow this group of camp counselors on their last day of camp as they attempt to resolve unfinished business including building relationships and their impending separations.
One Crazy Summer
Aspiring cartoonist Hoops did not get a basketball scholarship but must write and illustrate a love story for his application to the Rhode Island School of Design.
In an effort to find inspiration, he joins his friend George and his sister to spend their summer Nantucket.
On their way, they pick up Cassandra, a rocker who is being chased by a motorcycle gang, which kicks off one wild and crazy summer while Hoops finds inspiration for his application with his own love story.
I’ll watch any movie with John Cusack but he’s joined by Demi Moore, Curtis Armstrong and Bobcat Goldthwait in this zany comedy.
While romance isn’t the main focus to this movie, I love how his run-ins with Cassandra give Hoops the inspiration he needs to finally complete his application.
What did you think of my list of best movies about summer romance? Did your favorite make the list? If not, be sure to share it in the comments below then check out my other movie lists!
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