Beach Vacation Must-Haves
Whew! Have you ever felt like you needed to recover from your vacation?! We took a beach trip a couple of weeks ago and getting back to “normal” after coming home has been ROUGH. I don’t know if it was all the sun, being off of our daily schedule, or overstimulation, but we weren’t good for much of anything last week. It also gave me a little time to reflect, and I always appreciate time to consider what I’d do the same and different on another similar trip.
I packed a lot of the same things that we took for our cruise, and I’ve learned that being on a cruise ship and stopping at a beach for the day is very different than being at the beach all day multiple days in a row. Isn’t that funny? Some things that we didn’t use on our cruise I used everyday on this trip, and some of the things that I loved for the cruise I never touched this time around. Here are some of our beach vacation must haves (all links are affiliates).
Mesh beach bag – I decided to pack a different beach bag than the one I used on our cruise and I’m so glad I did. This one was much more appropriate for all of the sand, and the bigger size let me shove in everything I might need for the day. I really love that the top zips, and that I could just shake the sand off at the end of the day.
Small Mesh Zipper Tote – This was the perfect shell-hunting bag! The sand was able to fall out of the mesh, and the zipper kept everything safe inside. It was the perfect size for my 7 year old to carry as we searched for treasures.
Sand-proof Beach Blanket – This is one of those items that I bought for the cruise and never used, but I’m really glad I stuck it in my bag for this trip. It was absolutely perfect. The sand really did fall right off of it (once the sand was dry), and it came with plastic stakes so it stayed right where we wanted it to. It was also really helpful to be able to scan the beach and easily see where our things were thanks to the bright pattern.
Waterproof phone pouch – We originally bought these for a rafting trip and I throw them in my bag every time we’re going to be near water because they don’t take up any space. They really do work and it saved my phone from the water and sand so many times. You can also take pictures with your phone in them and the quality is no different than if you had taken your phone out of the pouch. Definitely worth it!
Collapsible Bucket – These are so much easier to pack than a traditional beach bucket. They aren’t my favorite for classic sand-castle building, but for carrying water and shells they definitely do the job without compromising suitcase space.
Wet Bag – A waterproof pouch is a must for me. I throw in all the hair ties, goggles, and sunglasses to keep them together and easy to find.
Turkish Towels – I always have a couple of these when we travel. Sometimes we do use them as towels, but more often they end up being a blanket to wrap up in or sit on. They’re so thin and easy to pack that even if we don’t use them, I’m always glad to have them just in case.
