When you think of planning a family vacation, a beach trip comes to mind easily. Our family has been on several beach vacations. Some that were solely about the sun, sand and the ocean like a beach resort in the Maldives. Others where we had some R & R at a beach location baked in the overall itinerary, like Croatia, Italy, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka. So a beach packing list for the entire family comes in quite handy.
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Beach Vacation Packing Checklist for a Family
Clothes and other basics
For everyone in the family, these are clothing basics that need to be packed. As opposed to packing for winter vacation, thankfully, clothes for a beach vacation take a whole lot less space!
Do remember that kids mess up clothes easily on a beach and by the poolside, so pack extra. The quantities specified here are for a short beach vacation, say for 4/5 days.
For kids –
Daily wear – Shorts and t-shirts / tops / tank tops, summer dresses, or onesies, depending on age and gender of the kids. Pack 1 set for each day + 2 extra. (Keep one extra set in your carry-on. This is an important flying tip for babies and toddlers.)
Undies – Pack 1 for each day + 2 extra
A light cotton jacket – This is helpful for windy, chilly nights
1 or 2 sets of pajamas, or whatever your kids wear in the night.
Nice outfits – A couple of nice outfits, especially for older kids for dinner time is a good idea.
Footwear – flip-flops or sandals. Also carry shoes and socks for any outdoor activities. Do the research if you are going to a rocky beach. If the beaches are mostly rocky and not sandy, it is good to carry water shoes.
For adults –
Clothing essentials don’t change much for adults for a beach vacation.
Daily wear – Keep it casual with shorts and tops / tank tops, summer dresses, capris.
Undies – Pack 1 for each day
A light cotton jacket – This is helpful for windy, chilly nights
1 or 2 sets of pajamas, or whatever you wear in the night.
Footwear – Flip-flops or sandals, whatever you are comfortable in at the beach or by the poolside. Also carry shoes and socks for any outdoor activities. When we went to Jamaica on a beach vacation, we needed shoes / sturdy sandals with a good grip to climb the Dunn’s Falls.
The tip for carrying water shoes for rocky / pebbly beaches applies to adults as well.
Dinner outfits – 3/4 summer dresses are essential according to me. If it is likely to be cooler in the night, I carry a fancy shawl or stole as well. I like to change for drinks and dinner, especially if you are staying in a nice resort or a boutique hotel
Jewellery and other accessories – I don’t carry any real jewellery with me onn a beach vacation. But 2/3 pieces of light fashion jewellery and light make-up (just a eyeliner and a lip gloss) work well for me.
Family beach packing list: Swim wear and related stuff
This is important stuff in the beach packing list.
Swimsuit – Pack 2 swimsuits for every family member, even for a short beach vacation would be my recommendation. No one likes to get into a wet swim wear.
Cover up – This is a good idea for adults and older kids. Young kids can’t be bothered covering up their swim wear!
Sunglasses – Again, essentials for adults for eye protection.
Sun Hat or Cap – Pack 1 for each family member for sum protection.
Swimming diapers – This is needed only if you are travelling with a baby or a toddler. It is part of the packing checklist for travelling with a baby.
Towel – A Quick Dry Towel is needed for each family member on public beaches and also for water activities when you get back on the boat. All resorts will provide beach towels for within the resort area use and you needn’t use your personal one.
Beach Tote – I find it handy to have a large tote bag to shove all the stuff.
Wet Bag – Not an essential but a wet bag for beach is a handy item to carry all wet clothes back from a public beach / boat.
Beach Vacation Packing Checklist:Toiletries and medication
A toiletry bag is needed to pack all this separately. You can carry separate toiletry bags for each family member like we do, or put it all in one large bag. See some of the options for travel: Toiletry Bag.
- Regular toiletries like toothbrush, toothpaste, contact lens kit, menstrual products, etc. If you are staying in nice resorts / hotels throughout your trip, shower soap / gel, shampoo, conditioner are all taken care of. But do carry them if you prefer your own brand.
- Hair accessories, hair brush, hair styling equipment (if you use any) become more important when your hair gets messed up with being in the pool or ocean.
- For any beach vacation, It is important to travel with good quality sunscreen with a SPF of at least 40, deodorant, and lip balm. Make sure you pack Sunscreen for your kids that is safe, natural, and hypoallergenic.
- Prescription medication and allergy medication, as per your needs.
- Mosquito repellent (Some tropical countries have mosquitos so you will need to spray liberally just before dusk. All good resorts should be able to provide you with this).
- Some basic medicines for adults like paracetamol and for stomach upset.
- For my daughter, I carry essential medication like paracetamol for kids, stomach bug, anti-itch cream for bug bites, band aids, pain killer appropriate for a kid, cough syrup in a separate medicine kit.
Fun stuff for a family beach vacation
You got to have some fun stuff, especially when travelling with young kids for a beach holiday.
Swim Float – I carried swim float until my daughter was a good swimmer.
Beach Toys – I can’t term a beach bucket and some beach toys as non-essentials. This is a must if you want to enjoy your cocktail while your kid plays in the sand 🙂
Arm floaties – Until your kids are good swimmers, arm floaties are required to be packed.
Beach tent – This is a non-essential but so much fun!
Board and Card games – If you are travelling as a couple or with older kids, it is great to have some family bonding over a board game or a card game. The variety of travel games available is huge.
Electronic essentials
Some electronics will be required in your packing list for beach vacation with family.
- We now read books on kindle app on the ipad. So we carried our iPads.
- Phone
- Also charging cables and travel adapter for the same. We use packing cubes for electronic items like chargers and cables to keep them separate. See options here for Packing cubes
- Portable power bank, not an essential item.
- Camera. I use my iPhone mostly for taking photos, but a good camera comes in handy for high quality photography.
Some ideas for a beach vacation –
Best resorts in Maldives for family and for couples
Beach + History + Food + Nature: So many Things to Do in Da Nang
Ubud and Uluwatu: The Most Sought-After Destinations in Bali
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Lots of essentials on this list to take on a beach holiday. Living in Australia I regularly visit the beach and need most things on your list.
I feel like I forget mosquito repellant every time I travel — this is a helpful reminder! thanks for such a thorough list!
Many beach resorts have it these days, but you never know.