Family Beach Packing Checklist: The Ultimate Beach Packing List

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Who doesn’t love a great beach vacation? We do! Chances are if you found this article you are planning your next beach trip but looking for an easy beach packing list. You found the right place to make your next beach vacation packing easier for you and your family. Everyone loves going on hot holidays, but sometimes the packing can be a challenge. Let us help you with your hot holiday packing list!

What to pack for a family beach vacation?

This vacation packing list is a great checklist for a hot holiday for anywhere from 7 days to 14 days. This is also part of our 1-year trip packing list with just for the items for our hot destinations so you can use it for longer… with a bit of laundry!

Beach Packing Checklist

All the items you need for your next beach vacation. We’ve included everything in this list that you could possibly need to pack, you can remove those items that don’t apply to you.

Don’t forget to get your FREE printable Beach Packing Checklist.

Beach Packing List

• Sunglasses – Essential for any beach holiday packing list!
• Beach Bag
• Sandproof Beach Blanket – these are amazing and compact
• Sunscreen (try to find safe sunscreen for the oceans and reef safe)
• Anti-Chafing Balm (Body Glide is our favourite) – A must on your beach packing list for kids!
• Inspect Repellent
• Dry Bag (these Sea to Summit dry bags are amazing for keeping your valuable dry including your camera, id, money, etc. We have the 8-litre bag)
• Eyeglass case
• Books / Magazines
• Snorkel Gear & Dive Mask – A must for beach list for family vacations!
• Water Shoes – A necessity for rock beaches and on the beach packing list for family holidays.
• Diving Toys – Fun thing for little ones on the beach list for kids!
• Lifejacket or Flutter board – This Speedo swim vest was perfect for packing and taking our 1-year trip to keep the kids safe in the water. We think they are essential for a beach packing list with kids!
• Inflatable Pool Toys – We love these easy items for the kids beach packing list.
• Swimming Goggles – Put this on your beach bag checklist when you go to the beach too!
• Water Bottle
• To Go Cups – perfect for keeping your drinks cold
• Foldable Cooler Bag – perfect for keeping lunch items cool (we use lightweight insulated cooler since they are easily foldable)
• Beach Towel – most places will have towels to use but if you want your own
• Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP) – This is our full review and recommendations for the best SUP for kids.

Beach Clothing Items

List is per person. For small kids or babies you may want to increase the numbers of clothes for this beach vacation packing checklist.

• Shirts (4-5)
• Tank tops (4)
• Pants (1-2)
• Shorts (3-4)
• Sundress / Skirts (2) Or Dress Shirt (2)
• Swimsuit (2-3)
• Swimsuit cover-up
• Sweater (1 dressy and 1 casual)
• Pyjamas
• Work out clothes (exercise/tennis/running/etc)
• Sun Hat (try finding one that folds up for travel with SPF)
• Underwear (7)
• Bras (2)
• Socks (3)
• Belt
• Rain Jacket
• Running Shoes Or Walking Shoes
• Flip Flops or Sandals (1-2) – A must for your packing list for family beach vacation.

Toiletries

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Floss
• Soap
• Brush or Comb
• Deodorant
• Hair elastics / Hair Product
• Hair Product
• Makeup
• Lotion
• Lip Balm with SPF – Don’t forget to protect your lips from the sun rays and put this on your beach family packing list!
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Razor / Shaving Cream
• Flat Iron / Curling Iron
• Hairdryer (we always use the one in the hotel but some may need the diffuser)
• Feminine Product
• Prescription Glasses (2)
• Contact Lenses / Case / Solution
• Jewelry / Watch
• Perfume / Cologne
• Ear Plugs & Eye Mask
• Hand Sanitizer
• Disinfecting Wipes
• Toiletry Bag (By far the best toiletry bag I’ve found. This one can hang on almost anything in the bathroom and gives lots of space in small countertop spaces)

Medicine Kit for Beach Holiday Checklist

We always bring medicine along with us on any trip. Both for adults and kids dosage usually 2-3 days worth of each which gives us enough time to find more and late night illnesses. Don’t forget these items on your packing list for beach vacation with kids to keep you healthy.

• Prescription Medicine
• Vitamins
• Acetaminophen
• Ibuprofen
• Aloe Vera – Just in case someone gets a sunburn this is always a good thing to have on your holiday checklist for families.
• Allergy Medicine
• Cold/Flu Medicine
• Polysporin
• Waterproof Bandaids – It is going to happen and by the beach you’ll need waterproof ones so put this on your kids holiday packing list.
• Ear Infection Drops – We always have this on our packing for the beach list with kids since someone always get ear infection near water.
• Eye Infection Drops
• Swimmers Ear Drops – A must on any kids packing list, especially when flying and if kids have plugged ears from swimming.
• Emergency Medical First Aid Kit

Extras for Beach Vacations

These are all extra ideas for your beach trip packing list for family holidays.

• Cards
• Travel Games (Uno, Monopoly Deal, etc)
• Camera / Memory Cards (This is all the camera gear that we bring)
• Waterproof Camera or GoPro
• Colouring Books / Crayons
• Frisbee
• Water Football (These Waboba balls our kids favourite and doesn’t fall apart or break)
• Portable waterproof speaker (we use this one all the time and has held up to the beach test with sand and water)
• Laptop
• Cords and Chargers for all electronics

Personal Items & Documents

Sometimes these are the items we forget to pack on our family beach vacation packing list printable version here!

• Passports
• Credit Cards
• Cash
• Phone & Chargers
• Immunization Records – Sometimes an item that get forgotten on a family beach checklist, but a good thing to have just in case.
• Tourist Visas
• Travel Insurance – This is the travel insurance we use for all our travel needs
• Health Insurance
• Drivers License
• Hotel / Car Rental / Flight Information

Travel Gear & Luggage

Don’t forget the foundational items of packing list family beach vacation essentials – the Travel Gear!

• Suitcase (our favourite is the Deuter Helion suitcases and Rip Curl F-light Cabin for the kids)
• Packing Cubes
• Electronic cable storage (this one is the ultimate favourite one that keeps us organized and we’ve never lost a cable)
• Ipads – with movies and shows downloaded for the family in case there is limited wifi at the hotel
• Headphones
• Universal plugin adaptor
• Day Pack or Backpack
• Suitcase locks

Home Checklist Items

Before you head out on a beach vacation here are a few things to make sure you’ve covered off your to do list:

• House Sitter
• Dog sitter / Dog food
• Plants watered
• Empty Garage
• Empty Fridge
• Turn off inside water
• Alarm Set
• Pause Newspaper Delivery
• Mail – have someone pick up
• Let neighbours know you will be away with contact info
• Bills – pay in advance to cover while on vacation
• Heat / Cooling – turn to Econo mode to help cost savings

Don’t forget to do these items and check them off your family beach vacation checklist.

Beach Packing List Family Trip & Beach Packing Travel Tips

• Packing Cubes! Colour code each person’s clothing with packing cubes for a quick find. It also keeps clean and dirty clothes separated. A must for beach packing list family trips.
• Roll your clothes for more space.
• If you need more space on top of your car, these car cargo carriers are an easy fix!
• Remember you can buy almost anything EVERYWHERE in the world!
• Less is more when travelling so don’t overpack.
• Try having all bottoms and tops be interchangeable and match with everything. The best advice for family beach vacation packing list since all kinds of spills happen with little children and makes it really easy for clothing changes.
• Always double-check what the destination weather will before you finalize your packing and adapt your packing to the expected weather.
• If you are driving to your beach vacation check these best tips for surviving long car rides with kids, including some must bring items specifically for road trips.
• Beach toys for kids can be a family favourite. We always buy when we get to the hot destination to help save space in packing. We usually then give it to another family that just arrived or leave it in the room at the end of our stay.
• If staying at VRBO, check with your host to see if they have beach gear that can be used while you are there. Typically for beach vacation spots hosts usually have some items for guests to use. That way you have less stuff on your beach checklist for family.
• Print off this printable Beach Packing Checklist and have your kids get involved with packing their items. I always like to get the kids participating and learning life skills with the family beach packing list!

Looking for Beach Travel Ideas?

Here is a list of hot holidays that we have explored in the world that may give you some inspiration or itinerary plan ideas that you’ll need this beach vacation checklist for family trips!

• Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba
• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
• Day Trip to Sayulita, Mexico
• Beaches in Malta
• Croatian Islands
• Palm Island, United Arab of Emirates
• Gold Coast, Australia
• Phuket, Thailand
• Phu Quoc, Vietnam

Did we miss anything on the family beach trip packing list and answer your question of what to pack for beach holiday? If we’ve missed something let us know in the comments below what you put on your family packing list for beach vacation.

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