6 Essential Items to Pack for Your Beach Vacation

No matter where you are going on your vacation, one of the most troubling and potentially anxiety-inducing parts of the entire trip is the packing.  What should you pack?  What will you need?  What is the most important thing to take?  Can you do without anything?  Depending on where you go on vacation, you are going to need to pack a number of different essentials that are tailored to your destination.  Keeping that in mind, here are 6 essential items that you need to pack for your beach vacation.

Remember when you are going through this list that it is not comprehensive.  You are going to need to pack more items, of course.  These are just the essentials.  Also keep in mind the type of vacation that you are going on when you pack, where you will be staying, and what is included in your accommodations.

6 essential items to pack for your beach vacation

1. Your swimming suit. This might seem like a pretty obvious thing to pack.  But it should be the top item on your list.  It’s easy to forget the obvious things when you are packing and obsessing over the details.  Don’t forget your suit.  Also don’t forget to pack a suit for your kids, if they are coming along for the fun.  You might want to even bring two suits just in case, or to suit your personality and how you are feeling on a particular day.  For example, maybe you could pack a bikini for certain days and a one piece for others.  It’s up to you, of course.  Just don’t forget a swimming suit when you are going on a beach vacation.
2. Sunscreen/sunburn lotion. Skin cancer is incredibly dangerous and you are putting yourself in harm’s way simply by going outside.  This doesn’t mean that you should never leave the house, of course.  It also doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go on that beach vacation.  All that it means is that you need to be conscientious about the fact that you are making yourself more susceptible by going to the beach.
   Take the strongest sun block or sunscreen that you can find.  Apply it regularly.  Make sure that you buy the kind that is waterproof, or else it’s not going to last very long on your beach vacation, assuming that you will be going into the water.  Don’t forget to take sunburn relief lotion in case you or your kids gets burned.
3. Clothes for all temperatures. You’re going to the beach.  You’re probably assuming that shorts and t-shirts and sundresses are going to suffice for everything that you will be wearing.  Well, think again.  Don’t forget to pack a light jacket, because the temperatures will drop during the night.  Also don’t forget to bring extra changes of socks and also different kinds of shoes.  Bring a nice sweatshirt, along with the t-shirts for you to wear at noon.
4. A camera, extra batteries, and extra memory cards/film. You will not want to forget your camera, whether it’s a conventional film camera or a digital camera.  How else are you going to remember your beach vacation?  And you might remember your camera, but how much good will it do if you run out of space on your memory card, you run out of film, or the batteries die and you don’t have any replacements?
   Bring a camera, and bring backup.  This means bringing the proper cord if you have rechargeable batteries.  Bring extra batteries.  And bring enough memory space or film to ensure that you will be able to take all of the pictures that you want to.
5. Beach towels. You won’t want to be sitting on that hot sand.  Bring beach towels to sit on, and extra ones to wrap up in when you get out of the water and get cold.
6. Sunglasses, sun hat, and sun umbrella. You can’t protect yourself too much from the sun.  You’ll be uncomfortable if you are stuck outside without any protection or relief.  These three items will help make your beach vacation more enjoyable.