We live on the beach so we take our beach gear very seriously! After hours of research, here are our picks for the beach, the pool and all things in the sun.
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For the Sun
Reef safe sunscreen in stick and lotion. We like the All Good brand for kids. The stick is perfect for face application (find it here) and the lotion is good for the rest of the body (check it out here).
UPF Hat with good coverage. You can find the one that Claire uses here. It’s not exactly the cutest or most fashionable, but for long days in the sun, it’s best to make sure her neck and ears are properly shielded.
UPF long-sleeve bathing suit. I love Rufflebutts girls bathing suits! They make great one pieces in the cutest patterns. Check it out here.
Hipster Kid Sunglasses. Gosh, I cannot say enough good things about these sunglasses. They never fall off and Claire never even wants to them off. She has used this brand since she was a little baby until toddlerhood. You can check out all the cool colors they offer here.
Shoes. For rocky beaches, hot sand, or preventing falls by the pool. The sizing can be a little tricky, after all they are meant to stay on in the water, so I recommend to try them on in person. Claire got her Speedo ones at Target and they had a convenient Velcro strap in the front to get a better fit.
Reusable swim diapers. We use these after Claire has pooped for the day otherwise we use disposable swim diapers (or if she is wearing a one-piece). I haven’t had any problems with the iPlay brand that you can find at Amazon here.
Cute beach bag. After a long search, I stumbled upon SeaBags Maine. The bags are actually made out of recycled sails, so they are really durable and are machine-washable. The nautical patterns are really cute and the bags are big enough to carry all of your sun essentials for the whole family. They are a little expensive, but definely check all of the boxes. Check out Sea Bags Maine’s website here!
For the Beach
Life vest. We use a lifevest when we’re on a boat or if Claire is walking on her own next to us in open water. We brought ours to Hawaii so if we were hiking and came upon a waterfall, we wouldn’t miss an opportunity to hop in. You can use a carabeener to attach it to your hiking carrier. I also wanted to have our own so I didn’t need to rely on our hotel having extras.
Fun baby floatie. So you can relax and they can float around in calm waters. You can buy upon arrival to your destination or buy yours in advance if you want a specific floatie.
Optional: Fun mommy floatie. You can also buy the adult sized floaties on many hotel properties so you don’t have to travel with one, but if you want a specific floatie, buy it in advance. Many hotels also have air and can blow it up for you.
Optional: Sand toys. You can buy a collapsable pail on Amazon (like this one we have here) to bring with you or buy at the hotel/target upon arrival. But really, you don’t even have to buy any toys. There are tons of other things you can do on the beach, so I think beach toys are a “nice to have” and not a “have to have”, especially if you are flying to your destination.
For the Pool
Fun baby floatie. So you can relax with the baby or toddler as they float around! You can buy in advance and bring with you on your trip, but many hotels sell these poolside.
Fun mommy floatie. Because everyone loves a floatie and matching your child’s floatie is fun! If you do travel with this, most hotels have air and will blow your floatie up for you.
Puddle jumper or arm floaties. While the regular floatie is nice for relaxing, the puddle jumper or arm floaties is great to have on hand for jumping and playing in the water. (Note: some experts discourage the use of puddle jumpers or arm floaties since it may give kids a false sense of security when they are around the pool and don’t have the floaties on. Use your best judgement.) Check out a ton of different color combos on Amazon here.
If you’re driving to the beach and setting up your own beach city
Like I said, we live on the beach and have gotten our beach set up to an exact science. If you are driving for a week long beach vacation or live at or near the beach, here are our recommendations of what to bring!
Beach chairs. We love the Tommy Bahama chairs! You can check them out on Amazon here, but they sell them for much cheaper at Costco.
Beach table. This is also a great table to bring for concerts in the park or picnics!
Beach cart. Because how else are you going to get all your gear down? Our cart has survived pretty intense hills and a mean set of stairs, so it’s pretty durable. Find a cart like ours on Amazon here.
Beach wagon. A beach wagon is another option if you don’t want a huge beach cart. We have both. We use this exact beach wagon for if we are going to a concert in the park since the beach cart is better for us taking the stairs at our beach entrance.
Beach tent. Clem spent hours looking up different tents and decided on these. You can put on the detachable sun shades to get great coverage and shade or you can take them off for more breeze and rays. You also have the option to zip up the bottom tent liner and expose the sand so your little one can play comfortably without scorching their feet. We have two tents (I told you we were serious about our beach set-up!) and leave one tent with the side shades up and the floor zipper closed for Claire to rest and sleep in and the other tent’s sides open with the sand exposed for playing. You can find our tents here on Amazon.
Indoor/Outdoor Play Pen. I absolutely love our Indoor/Outdoor Play Pen. To be honest, I actually had it set up at all times inside our house as a safe play place for Claire to play and corral all of her toys. It was nice to have as another option for outdoor use when meeting up for play dates with other families. You can find ours here.
Beach volleyball or another fun sport to play with others. Obviously, you aren’t going to bring a volleyball on the plane with you, but if you are driving to your beach destination and have room, it’s always fun to have a game that you can play with others!
Durable music speaker. Because you’ve got to have something for your “90’s Throwbacks” playlist!