We live 5 minutes from the beach and growing up by the beach was a real highlight of my childhood.  However, I married a man that hates the sand!  One of my favourite ways to spend the summer is at the beach with the boys and these great beach hacks will make a day at the beach a dream.

So I am going to share with you my top beach hacks for families that make a beach day much more fun for all involved. You will find that a little preparation can go a long way and make the day fun for everyone and take the pressure off you as a parent and as we all know most of the planning and organising always falls to Moms and they deserve some relaxation too.

I find preparation key when planning a beach holiday or beach vacation. As we live near the beach we have all our stuff in the garage in a plastic container just to pop straight in the car.

Beach Hacks for Families

My top tip is to take along some baby powder or talcum powder, you cover the sandy area in baby powder and then leave it a couple of seconds before brushing it off.  No more sand scratches.   The baby powder absorbs the water in the damp sand, making it easier and softer to remove sand. As we live near the beach this is something that I always have in the back of our car – PS it works on the dog too! Our local beach doesn’t have showers so this is an invaluable trick.

Keep your water cold.  By filling up water bottles to about a third and then freezing them in their side.  Once frozen, fill with cold water and you will have cold water for most of the day. Also instead of using cool blocks in your cooler, use extra water bottles. We also freeze tubes of yoghurt too.

Turn an empty suncream container into a place to store your money and valuables.  Alternatively, put them inside a nappie and fold it as though it is used and pop it in a nappy sack (nobody is going to look in there)! Have a secret stash of spare cash rolled up in an empty lip balm tube

Use a fitted sheet instead of a beach towel to lie on, place a heavy item in each corner (like a beach bag, cool box or even large stones as DIY weights), and pull the corners up over them. Viola, No more sand in your sandwiches!

Take a small paddling pool or kiddie pool. This is a brilliant way to make corral younger children. We just add some sand and some water and just let them play near us. It always feels safer than letting them in the open water with the waves.

Turn your steering wheel,  Parking in the sun? Turn your steering wheel 180 degrees. That way when you’re ready to leave, the part of the steering wheel that you use won’t burn your hands.

Go early or late.  We love going to the beach later in the day.  The car parks are usually emptying and the sun is not as strong.

Do not take a good camera.  Use your phone camera, but also take a zip lock bag and pop it in.  Trust me the touch screen works through the ziplock.  Same for your Kindle, but nothing beats a book on the beach.

String bags (or pop up mesh bag – like a mesh laundry bag) are great for beach stuff, we store all our beach toys, buckets, spades and balls in them,  As they dry out and you are carrying the bag all the sand falls off before you store it in the car.

Sun protection is key.  There is nothing worse than reapplying sun cream and getting sand on it (urg to scratchy cream).  Instead, use once-a-day sun protection or a sunscreen spray on one that doesn’t need rubbing in and wear UV surf suits. Prevention is always better than cure and you don’t want anyone getting sunburn.

Take a trolley.  A trolley is great for getting all your gear to and from the car to the beach and also perfect if one of the kids falls asleep. I always found a trolley much better on the sand than a stroller.

Take a small pop-up tent or beach tent.  We live by the North Sea, it can get really windy, so our inexpensive pop up tent is a must not just for the wind but also as shade for kids naps.  It is also perfect for storing all our stuff in.

Pack all your food and snacks in separate small bags.  There is nothing worse than getting sand in your food.  So limit the chance of this by packing each sandwich separately.  

Be prepared.  As we live by the sea and good weather is not always guaranteed I have a basket in the boot of my car with everything we need for a short trip to the beach.

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Activities for Beach Visits