Planning a family trip to the beach with kids?
Here are some beach essentials when traveling with kids that you might want to consider to make your time at the beach easier and more enjoyable…
I was at the beach earlier this week and wanted to write a post while everything was still fresh in my mind about the essentials that you need for the beach. We are renting a house and I will do a separate post with downloadable list for what to take for your beach rental … so stay tuned!
First off, if you ever forget something, there are always beach stores close by most major beaches… while it was an afterthought to take some pictures of those to share… I can tell you I was surprised how reasonable some of the prices were on items… so if room in your car is tight going to the beach you may want to risk it and buy things as you need while at the beach. If you are staying at a resort or hotel, they will sometimes have items for you to use, but it depends on where you are staying.
However, if you are like me… you don’t want to waste beach time at the stores looking for supplies and if you are going to spend the money you may as well get something you really like or at least just be prepared for whatever vacation throws at you.
Everyone travels differently and you have to find what works for you, but I hope that these suggestions will get you thinking and be of help in your planning process. Please note, that this post does contain affiliate links so if you click on them and decide to buy something you see here, it will help me save for my next beach vacation and for that I am eternally grateful…. we just returned 4 days ago and I miss the beach already!
Happy Travels to You!
Beach Chairs
If you are able to spend around $50 a beach chair and plan on using it at future beach visits or summer events, then the Tommy Bahama Backpack Cooler Chair with Storage Pouch and Towel Bar (sold in this 2-pack) is the way to go. Since it can be carried like a backpack it frees up your hands for all the other things you need for kids at the beach. It also has a cooler and storage pouch and a towel bar. You can also purchase a matching umbrella for most chair sets.
Since beach chairs don’t work for babies and toddlers, you may want to consider a travel booster seat, especially with a baby or toddler at the finger food stage. The Summer Infant Pop N’ Sit Portable Booster currently runs for around $26 and if you travel a lot it may be worth it.
Shade
A place for little one’s to nap is especially great… it also gives you some shade to store your cooler and other items when you are in the water. This one provides UV protection and claims to set up in seconds… It also has a 5 star rating on Amazon and free shipping and is priced around $40.
If you have a baby or toddler, you may like The kilofly Baby Toddler (Large) Instant Pop Up which provides 35+ UV protection.
Beach Towels
While I have never tried these before – these compact Turkish Towels on on my “must try list” for our next trip to the beach (or even the local pool)… Besides being lightweight, these towel are said to be super absorbent and dry fast, unlikely thick beach towels which take time to dry.
These are antibacterial microfiber beach towels that were a Kickstarter launch. They are ultra-compact and claim to dry 3 times quicker than a regular cotton towel.
Beach Bags/Coolers
A good beach bag can help keep things organized amid the sand and surf and the MALIBU Beach Bag – 2 in 1 Mesh Beach Tote Bag with Cooler will do the trick.
At around $30 it helps combine the features of a beach bag and cooler all in one. (And it even comes with a free gift to help keep your valuable organized while at the beach). Prefer a turquoise color instead? Here is a very similar bag in turquoise with a great rating and at about the same price.
While a beach bag for towels and sunscreen are great… it doesn’t leave room for the beach toys and usually you don’t want to have it all it the same bag anyway due to all the sand that beach toys collect.
This extra large Beach Mesh Tote Bag is perfect for all the beach toys, shells, boogie boards, etc that are a must when you travel to the beach with kids.
Depending on how far you may have to walk back to your beach house/resort or if you are planning on being at the beach all day.. you may want a larger cooler and one on wheels is a big help . This Igloo Ice Cube Roller Cooler (60-Quart, quaintly enough, in Ocean Blue) has a long handle so you won’t have to bend over to pull the cooler while carrying bags and children and with 4 cup holders it will keep your drinks out of the sand.
A way to haul everything to and from the beach
Strollers don’t work well on the beach. At least most don’t. So when you need a way to haul the little ones or just haul all of the stuff to and from the beach, a good folding beach wagon is just the ticket. I did see a few people with the radio flyer wagons that had the cover and they seem to get along fine, so if you already have a wagon with good wheels, you may want to bring it, pending you have room in the car, if not, a folding wagon like this one may be the solution.
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