Let me tell you about my happy place. I’m lounging on a padded chair by the turquoise water under the shade of a colorful umbrella on a beach vacation. The roar of the ocean is peppered with the laughter of kids playing in the sand by the lapping waves. A salty breeze and cold drink keep me comfortable as I enjoy a good book.

Sounds nice, huh?

I just got back from a weeklong vacation in North Myrtle Beach, a change from our normal Gulf Coast trips. With a three year old and a six year old. If you think that I spent my beach time relaxing and sitting around, you are sorely mistaken. I’m still several years away from that.

Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time. But the beach with young children is an entirely different experience than vacations before kids. I know people who completely avoid these trips with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Not me!

With a little prep work, you can have an enjoyable trip to the beach. We’ve now had five seaside vacations since having kids, and I’m happy to share the tips I’ve picked up to make it worthwhile.

Pin me!

Tip 1 – Stay as close to the beach as possible.

Toddlers and babies require a lot of stuff. That you have to carry. Back and forth. Plus, you have to carry them. Back and forth. And back and forth again. Before our first family trip I asked friends for recommendations of places to go. I wanted a coastal town with lots of things for kids to do. A been-there-done-that mom told me that this didn’t matter. My number one priority should be having the fewest steps to the sand. I am so glad I took her advice!

Get yourself the shortest distance possible for lugging that stuff. You will thank me later.

Plus, if your kid still requires 11-12 hours of sleep a day, you aren’t going to be out on the town that much anyway. You might as well have a room with a view that is convenient to the beach. We like to have a balcony overlooking the water so that we can eat there and still feel like we’re on a beach vacation after we put the kids to bed.

Location of the condo is so important that it dictates all the other details of our trip. I spend a lot of time, months in advance, researching the best deals on beachfront condos. I compare tons of locations, read reviews, and have found decent deals. Booking in advance is the way to go on this because if you wait you’ll spend a lot more. I’ve also found that booking directly with the rental place instead of a third-party site will save you some money. But sites like VRBO are my go-to for reading reviews and finding the perfect spot. (Check out VRBO here.) And BookingCredits.com offers savings up to 40% off.

Tip 2 – Get an inflatable baby pool for the beach vacation.

I know what you’re thinking. Why would I need a baby pool when I am going to a giant body of water? I wondered the same thing until I tried it.

We got an inexpensive baby pool that we inflated after we arrived with a small pump. Each day, we carried this lightweight pool to the beach. You’ll want to get close to the shoreline so that you don’t have walk a long way with the buckets of water you’ll use to fill it up. We shaded ours with an umbrella, allowing our little one to have a place to stay cool and splash around when we weren’t in the ocean with them.

It was so popular that we’ve had other kids on the beach join in on the fun! When you are finished for the day, simply dump out the water. We didn’t deflate it until it was time to go home. Our pool has survived four years and is still going strong!

Note: I originally wrote this post in 2018, and decided to skip the baby pool for our 2019 trip because my youngest didn’t use it much last year. It turns out that she hates the sand this time, so we had to stop at one of those beach vacation stores and buy another inflatable pool. In other words, don’t think you are beyond this step. Take the baby pool.

Tip 3 – Take age-appropriate kid floats.

This was a moot point my son’s first beach vacation because he was terrified of the waves, but every year since we’ve spent lots of time in both the ocean and complex pool. Even if your child is a good swimmer, which most young children are not, having a way to float makes it more enjoyable for everyone.

My daughter, who is around 23 pounds, loved this baby float. She felt like she was riding the waves in it and we would just lift her up when big ones came. Plus. it is great for the pool and comes with a sunshade and toy. Though it is fairly big, when deflated it lays flat. We put it in the floorboard of the back seat in front of the car seat and set other things on top of it.

For my son, we’ve used this Puddle Jumper since he hit the 30-pound weight limit. This one is a lot more comfortable than the ones that clip between his legs or float up around his neck. It is also Coast Guard approved.

Parental supervision is required with any of these, but they are a great tool to help you in the water.

Tip 4 – Invest in a wide-wheeled wagon for your beach vacation.

In years past, my husband would take multiple trips carrying all our crap necessities to the beach each morning, then back when we were finished. As much as he loved doing that while I chased down and sunscreened a toddler, this year we decided to purchase a beach wagon to haul everything in one load. We sacrificed precious cargo room in the back of the SUV, but it was so worth it. My skeptical hubby was especially appreciative during our several quick getaways before a few rainstorms this year. Two years in and he still says the wagon in one of “our best purchases ever.”

If you opt for a wagon, be sure to get one with wide wheels that will roll in the sand. I read reviews on some of the skinny-wheeled ones where people had to pick up the wagon and carry it anyway. This defeats the purpose. We loaded our umbrellas, chairs, cooler bag, beach toys, sunscreen, towels, and sometimes a kid or two and pulled them from the room right to our spot.

The wagon is a little more than I wanted to spend, but I caught it on sale and we can use it on the soccer field and for trips to the neighborhood park. Ours has an adjustable handle to make it more comfortable for different heights. It also folds up to take up less room in the trunk. We decided to make this investment for our future beach vacations. I have also heard of people renting them at the beach if you don’t want to spend that much on your own. Either way, It was really helpful for us and all the things we were packing around each day.

Tip 5 – Protect everyone from the sun.

Sun protection is high on my priority list. We lost my husband’s father to melanoma a few years ago, so I don’t mess around with it. If the health and anti-aging reasons weren’t enough, having a kid with a sunburn is no fun for anyone.

To avoid constantly slathering their entire bodies with sunscreen, I make sure to pack a rash guard. There are tons of cute options these days (I LOVE these from RuffleButts for girls, and we’ve had good luck with shorts and rash guards from Children’s Place for my son) and most are made to block UV rays. My son now prefers to wear a long-sleeve one because he knows that means less sunscreen application time.

In addition to the shirts, I also take a hat and sunglasses. Sometimes we rent umbrellas once we get there, but I found this sturdy Tommy Bahama one on sale this year. I’ll offer up snacks or a drink every hour or so and make the kids sit in the shade for those.

Even with these measures, sunscreen is still a must. I like a gentle sunscreen with a high SPF (we use this one from Banana Boat). The first application is always done in the room before we head out. To reapply, I have them take a dip in the ocean or baby pool first to get off as much sand as possible. Then I let them sit a few minutes to dry off so that it goes on smoother. This stick sunscreen made reapplications much easier this year. Coordinating this with snack time makes it easier!

Tip 6 – Bring baby powder for the sand.

One downside of a beach vacation and kids is that SAND GETS EVERYWHERE! We’ve been home almost a week and I’m still finding little grains hiding in bags and shoes. But you can minimize this.

Be sure to utilize the showers and hoses on the way back from the beach to wash off the obvious sand. Despite my best efforts, there is always some that sneaks back to the room with us. Our rule is that we go straight to the balcony when we get back and strip them down.

Then I pull out my secret weapon…baby powder! This stuff dries up the moisture allowing the sand to wipe right off. Just sprinkle it on sandy skin and wipe off with your hands or a dry towel. I was impressed with how well it works!

To avoid sand getting all over our rooms, we don’t allow any toys that were played with at the beach to be used in the room and we try to keep all the sandy items together in one spot. I’m not going to claim perfectly sand-free condos, but these steps do minimize the impact.

Tip 7 – Get a room with a washer and dryer.

No one wants to do laundry while on a beach vacation. Heck, I don’t want to do laundry even when I’m not on vacation! But if you are hitting the beach with a young child, it is something that you want readily available.

In our five beach trips with toddlers and preschoolers, the following messes have occurred:

• Chocolate ice cream drippings down the front of a swim shirt
• Delayed motion sickness all over the sheets (I do not recommend trying your son’s first roller coaster at a beach carnival…)
• Nighttime diaper blowout on pajamas and Pack n Play sheet
• Swim diaper blowout on swimming trunks
• Drinks spilled in my lap
• Sitting on melted candy
• Spaghetti dinner aftermath

You get the idea. I was so thankful to be able to throw those dirty items in the washer quickly. We also do a load of swimsuits and beach towels every few days to get rid of sand. Our last night there we washed a load of our dirty clothes from the week so that we took home clean laundry. It makes the transition home much easier when laundry isn’t the first thing you have to do when you arrive. VRBO and similar sites have search filters to check for washers and dryers. I recommend confirming that they are in your unit and not communal ones on the property.

On a side note, when we traveled to China for our daughter’s adoption, packing cubes were highly recommended to us. We bought a color for each family member and now I don’t want to travel anywhere without them. For our beach trip, I just slipped each person’s cube in a drawer instead of unpacking everything separately or living out of a suitcase. After our last load of laundry, I repacked in the cubes and we were good to go.

My husband and I are so cool that we even showed off our packing cubes to my brother-in-law when we stopped at his house for a few days before the beach. Try not to be jealous of how much fun we are as house guests. If you want to try out the cubes, here are ones like we have. You won’t be sorry!

Tip 8 – Plan for dinner on a beach vacation.

Okay, here’s another normal chore that you probably don’t want to deal with on a beach vacation. Before you skip over this one, hear me out. You (and your kids) are going to be hungry after a day at the beach. Do you know who else will be hungry? EVERYONE ELSE AROUND YOU.

If you are at a popular tourist destination, my guess is that there are going to be long waits at every single decent restaurant up and down the coast. Maybe you have sweet, precious children who sit quietly without whining for 45-60 minutes when they are tired and hungry in public. This does NOT describe my kiddos. By the time we get our table, everyone’s nerves are frayed and I have a difficult time enjoying my overpriced meal. No fun.

To avoid this, we try our very best to be early bird diners. This is especially true for beachfront hotspots. Our goal is to be at these restaurants around 5:00. Typically, this means that tables are available with good views and we get everyone fed before they get too cranky. Plus, we’re done in enough time to attempt mini-golf or ice cream before the rest of the crowds get there (if we are feeling brave!).

Our budget was tighter this year, so I opted to prepare dinner at the condo three nights this time. There were multiple grills on the property so we made steaks, fresh seafood, and foil potatoes one night, with hamburgers and hot dogs another night. I watched my kids in the pool while my husband grilled, then we ate on our balcony overlooking the water. (Read my ezpz review for my favorite no-mess travel plate for kids.) Much less stressful (and way cheaper) than a restaurant meal. I always plan one spaghetti night with bagged salad and garlic bread as well. Leftovers make great lunches as well! (And if you don’t want to actually grocery shop, you can always do a grocery pickup instead!)

Bonus Tip for Traveling with Young Kids!

We typically don’t let our kids have screens in the car, but for road trips all bets are off! We used our kids Fire tablet from Amazon to download games, videos, and books for the car ride. With the kid-proof case, I didn’t have to worry about drops (or throws). And the Amazon Kids+ subscription on them meant that I knew they were only accessing age-appropriate content that I manage from my parent account. Plus, you can use it on all kinds of compatible devices. Try Amazon Kids+ today!

Will these tips guarantee a perfect beach vacation with a young kiddo? Nope! But they have made our trips a lot more enjoyable for our entire family.

Did I miss something? Please leave me your tried-and-true ideas in the comments below.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you liked this beach vacation with kids post, you may also like:

Save Your Sanity with this Free Kids’ Summer Schedule Template

The Meal-Time Hack New Parents Love: An ezpz Review

How to Make the Best Summer Bucket List for Kids

3 Easy Last Day of School Traditions