estabamos vs. fuimos

When would it be proper to use estabamos in place of fuimos i.e. Nosotros estabamos a la playa or Nosotros fuimos a la playa, which is correct? Thanks

I don't know whether you realize this, but you've combined two of the most difficult aspects of basic Spanish: when to use estar vs. ser, and when to use the imperfect vs. the preterite. There's at least one entire book written just about estar vs. ser! And I certainly don't feel confident about these issues. I can say just the following. I'd use estabamos a la playa if I were emphasizing where we were. If someone said, "where _were_ you guys--I was trying to reach you all day," I might answer "estabamos a la playa." "Estar" is used to indicate location. I'd also use estabamos if I wanted to indicate that we were at the beach when something else happened. For example, "estabamos a la playa cuando comenzó la tormenta" (we were at the beach when the storm began). The imperfect (estabamos) is used for an action that sets the stage, so to speak, for another past action. I'll leave it to others to discuss these issues further.

My old high school Spanish teacher taught us a good way to remember ser vs. estar.. "How you feel and where you are is when you use the verb estar" Any other time you would use ser. I wish I could help you with the preterite vs imperfect but I'll have to go over that first :?