What to Pack In Your Beach Bag

I am fortunate to live fairly close to the beach so my beach bag gets used often between hitting the beach and nearby pool. I love my beach bag and love it when summer comes because I know fun days have arrived. Packing the right items in your beach bag can make your beach day more enjoyable , comfortable and hopefully longer. Theres nothing worse about having the leave the beach to get an item… especially if the item isn’t easily found.

Is my bag pristinely packed? No. Does it hold everything I need? Well maybe for me… but towels for the whole family can just take up too much room. Is everyones bag a little different? Of course… kids, location/distance from beach, activities… so many factors to consider whats in your personal beach bag.

Here are some of the best items to include in your beach bag:

1. Beach Tags: Maybe this is just a Jersey thing but beach tags are required for most shore towns during Summer. They can run from like $5-$10 a day and can cost over $100 a season so leaving the tags at home definitely hurts. You can buy them at the beach usually by a beach tagger but its never fun to have to look for cash for this.

2. Cash: The beach is free right? Thats hardly the case when we go with kids. Assuming we remembered the tags, theres always the ice cream truck. The ringing bell is a universal sound for all the beach kids to get a treat. If I can avoid the beach arcade with the kids, then thats a good day.

3. Beach Towels: Large towels are essential. I love the idea of turkish towels but our crew isnt fully on board. An absorbent beach towel definitely makes everything much more comfortable after getting out of the waves.

4. Sunscreen: Bonus if you put it on before you get to the beach. Any mom knows it is so much harder doing it on the beach.

5. Hat/Sunglasses: Leave some junky ones in the the bag for the day you forget your good sg’s. A hat is a good idea for your bag too.

6. Swimsuit: Of course, you’ll need your swimsuit for a dip in the water. If you didn’t wear it to the beach, of course bring one but if you did you should probably bring a change of under- (you know whats) for all. Being wet for too long is never fun. Maybe pack those items in a smaller bag so the kids arent digging and pulling out every little thing in your bag.

7. Water: Drink up … a reusable water bottle is a bonus. Water is also code for a hidden cocktail but drinking is not usually allowed on the Jersey beaches so you do you.

8. Snacks: Pack some light snacks . Fruit, granola bars, and nuts are recommended but my family rolls up to the beach with chips and nutella pretzels. The grapes are usually left at the bottom of my bag making wine until I find them weeks later.

9. Ziplock Bags: These are handy for storing wet swimsuits or keeping your phone and other electronics sand-free. My kids hand me all kinds of stuff like shells to bring home so be prepared with your bags.

10. Bug Spray: Nothing is worse than a green head day at the beach. Once those winds shift, you are going to need some decent bug spray.

11. Detangler – I’m not high maintenance but my hair looks crazy if it gets wet.

12. First Aid Kit: Essentials like band-aids, antiseptic wipes, hand sanitizer and pain relievers are a good idea for your mini first aid kit. Beach bathrooms are never pretty so the hand sanitizer is what we use the most. Life guards have this stuff too so dont go too crazy bringing your home hospital.

13. Bluetooth Speaker: If you want to listen to music, consider a waterproof Bluetooth speaker for beach-appropriate tunes at a low volume.

14. Chargers and Power Bank: Keep your devices charged with the help of a power bank and the necessary chargers. My solar charger weighs a bit much but has saved me.

15. Beach Read or Magazine: I prefer to put them in a large zip lock bag because they are guaranteed to get wet if left in my beach bag. This is funny because it would be really high on my list once up a time but with kids in the water I barely sit yet alone read.

I’ll save the post of my actual beach bag and highlight some of my favorite items for another post but the basics are always important.

So many options for the perfect beach bag but its whats inside that counts.