We have been on 3 beach trips so far this spring/summer (not an easy feat from the mountains…lotssss of time in the car!) and have one more coming up in June. I have received various questions about what I pack for Emma so I figured I’d take some time to round up what to pack for a beach trip with a toddler based on what we find both easiest & most useful!
What to Pack for a Beach Trip with a Toddler
I’ll preface this by saying my goal is to pack as light as possible – but inevitably with a child you end up taking A LOT of stuff even if you aren’t trying to! But I think this is mostly a no-fluff list. I always have to write out a list or I will definitely forget something…so that is step one. I try to only pack enough outfits as days we will be there, with maybe one extra outfit in case of spills. I pick stuff that can mix & match together so that if a shirt does get ruined, I can still pair the shorts with another top, etc. Swimsuits, PJs, undies, socks, pull-ups/diapers…these are the standard things.
For a beach trip specifically, here’s a list of what I take for her:
Car Entertainment
- Amazon Fire Tablet – sometimes it’s literally the only thing that keeps her attention, and if you’re going to be in the car a long time, I would recommend it or something similar! I just download several shows/movies/games so that they are ready to go.
- Magnetic Busy Book – it has lots of pages and different themes
- Water Wow Coloring Books – the pens are filled with water to color in the books so no worries about colored marker going everywhere!
- Portable potty (okay so this isn’t entertainment but don’t forget to take it if your child isn’t in diapers anymore! we usually have her travel in pull-ups just in case but she will generally tell us when she needs to go potty)
- Take snacks. Lots & lots of snacks 🙂
Sleeping Needs
- Bumpers – since she’s in a big girl bed now we take these! It replaced the pack & play in the car
- Sound Machine – we just take this one with us from her room because she likes that it’s a nightlight too!
Beach Toys & Accessories
- Sunglasses – Emma has these and these, both are so dang cute!
- Sunscreen – I use both this kind and this kind! You can never have too much sunscreen. Both are nontoxic and safe sunscreen options!
- Sand castle toys – Emma LOVES these and played with them for so long (when she wasn’t in the water!)
- Puddle Jumper – We have her wear this basically the whole time she’s at the beach but it’s helpful for pool days too.
- Water Shoes – Emma has these and seems to love them!
- XL Beach Bag – 100000% recommend this bag! It fits SO MUCH. I can carry our 3 huge towels, water bottles, books, snacks, all the items listed above, and it has an interior zipper pocket for your phone so it won’t get sandy.
- Hair Detangling Spray – we love this & use it every night after bath time, but it’s great to throw in the beach bag!
- Cute swimsuits – can’t forget the cute swimmies!! Emma has this one and this one. And she also has this cover up 🙂 oh, and don’t forget a hat!
We have been at places where we had access to an umbrella but I’d definitely recommend making sure you have some sort of shade coverage so babe doesn’t have to be in the sun the entire time you’re outside! Something like this sun shade canopy, for example. I haven’t tried that one specifically but it does have a lot of good reviews!
SHOP THE POST:
I hope this post about what to pack for a beach trip with a toddler has been helpful! Do you have anything else you’d recommend? Leave it in the comments!
xo,
Bess
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