Me hace mucha ilusión volver a la playa con mi familia este verano.

Yes. In Spain, hacer ilusión is a very common expression. It means something like to make someone feel excited, to make someone really happy, or to make someone look forward to something.

So Me hace mucha ilusión... is a very natural way to say that the idea of something gives you a happy, excited feeling.

This is especially common in Spain Spanish. In some Latin American varieties, people may prefer other expressions more often, such as me emociona or tengo muchas ganas de, depending on the context.

Me is an indirect object pronoun, and it means to me.

In Me hace mucha ilusión, the structure is literally something like:

• It gives a lot of excitement to me
• more naturally: It really excites me / I’m really looking forward to it

So me tells you who feels the excitement.

Other examples:

• Me hace ilusión verte. — Seeing you makes me happy/excited.
• Le hace ilusión el regalo. — The gift makes him/her happy.

The subject is the whole idea expressed by the infinitive phrase:

volver a la playa con mi familia este verano

That entire action is treated as a single thing, and that is what makes me excited.

So the structure is:

• [Volver a la playa con mi familia este verano] = subject
• me = the person affected
• hace mucha ilusión = causes that feeling

Because the subject is an infinitive phrase, and in Spanish an infinitive phrase normally takes singular verb agreement.

So even though the phrase contains several words, it is still treated as one idea:

• Volver a la playa... me hace ilusión.

Compare:

• Viajar solo me gusta.
• Aprender idiomas lleva tiempo.

In each case, the infinitive phrase acts like a singular subject.

Mucha simply intensifies the feeling. It means a lot of.

So:

• Me hace ilusión = It makes me happy/excited / I’m looking forward to it.
• Me hace mucha ilusión = It makes me really happy/excited / I’m really looking forward to it.

This is a very natural collocation in Spanish.

Volver a + infinitive usually means to do something again.

But here, because the verb is volver followed by a place phrase (a la playa), it means to return/go back to the beach.

So in this sentence, volver a la playa is best understood as:

• to go back to the beach
• to return to the beach

Be careful not to confuse these two patterns:

• volver a + infinitive = to do something again
  
  • Volvió a llamar. — He called again.
• volver + place = to return to a place
  
  • Volvió a casa. — He returned home.

In your sentence, a la playa is a place, so it is the second use.

Because Spanish uses a with verbs of movement when you are going to a destination.

So:

• ir a la playa — to go to the beach
• volver a la playa — to go back to the beach

Here, a is simply the preposition to.

In Spanish, many time expressions do not need a preposition.

So:

• este verano = this summer
• este año = this year
• esta semana = this week

Using en here would usually sound unnatural in this kind of sentence.

English often needs a preposition in some time expressions, but Spanish often does not.

Yes, absolutely. That is also very natural.

There is a slight nuance:

• Me hace mucha ilusión... focuses on the emotional excitement or happiness the idea gives you.
• Tengo muchas ganas de... focuses more on a strong desire or eagerness to do it.

In many situations, both work well.

Roughly:

• Me hace mucha ilusión volver... — I’m really excited about going back...
• Tengo muchas ganas de volver... — I really want to go back / I can’t wait to go back...

Yes. Spanish word order is flexible, and this sentence can be rearranged for emphasis.

For example:

• Volver a la playa con mi familia este verano me hace mucha ilusión.

This version puts the activity first and can sound a bit more explicit or balanced in writing.

The original version:

• Me hace mucha ilusión volver a la playa con mi familia este verano.

is very natural in everyday speech, especially because it starts with the feeling.

Because familia is a singular noun meaning family as a group.

So:

• con mi familia = with my family

Even though a family contains several people, the noun itself is grammatically singular.

If you wanted to talk about several families, then it would be plural:

• con mis familias would only make sense in a very unusual context, such as speaking about multiple family groups.

Not always, but very often it is.

In everyday Spain Spanish, hacer ilusión is normally positive and means happiness, excitement, or eager anticipation.

However, ilusión can also mean:

• illusion
• false hope
• something not real

But in this sentence, because it appears in the expression hacer ilusión, the meaning is clearly positive and emotional.

Yes, Me ilusiona mucho volver a la playa... is possible and understandable.

It means something very similar, but me hace mucha ilusión is especially idiomatic and common in Spain.

Compare:

• Me hace mucha ilusión volver a la playa...
• Me ilusiona mucho volver a la playa...

Both are correct, but the first one often sounds more everyday and more fixed as an expression.

It can be used for both.

In Spain, people use me hace ilusión for very important things and also for small, pleasant things.

For example:

• Me hace ilusión verte. — I’m happy/excited to see you.
• Me hace ilusión estrenar zapatos. — I’m excited to wear my new shoes for the first time.
• Me hace mucha ilusión el viaje. — I’m really excited about the trip.

So it is a flexible, common expression for positive anticipation.