Are you excited for summer 2024 but not sure which beach essentials to pack? Tired of all the over-the-top beach packing lists stuffed with expensive equipment? You’re in the right place!
As avid beach-lovers, we are so excited to share our list of affordable, tested and approved beach necessities and beach hacks!! This list is for the adventurer. We’ve curated this post to help you pull the car over, spontaneously swim, dry off, get to dinner, and do it all again the next day!
This post is all about the top 15, must-have beach essentials that you’ll want to have in your beach bag!
1. Foldable Beach Bag
Looking for the perfect, easy to pack beach bag? This is the exact beach bag I have used for countless trips! Inspired by the colors of the sea and the Greek flag, this tote will put you in the mood for an aesthetic beach day and is equally useful! With its sturdy design, ample space, and zipper closure, it’s perfect for carrying all your beach essentials. And it’s so affordable on Amazon!!
2. Stylish Sun Hat
You need a hat that looks cute with a day dress, a bathing suit, and everything in between!! This is that PERFECT hat. Initially, I’d bought this hat for Larry, but it looked so good that I ended up borrowing it … a lot. Eventually, I caved and bought my own! Trust me, you will live in this hat on your beach vacation! This is a holy grail beach essential in our opinion.
3. Hat Clips
If you’ve been stuffing your cute new beach hat into luggage and bags, then You need these hat clips! They are such a beach hack! Once you start using hat clips, you’ll never go back! And, I’m happy to report that the magnets are actually very strong, and they haven’t dropped my hat once!
4. Wet Bag
Stay prepared for spontaneous beach stops, waterfall hikes, and lake days by keeping a wet bag in your beach bag. I always carry this wet bag to put a wet bathing suit or wet clothing into. That way, I can carry on with my travel itinerary without getting everything else in my bag damp.
5. Towel Clips
If the weather gets randomly windy, or if you’re traveling to the windy Mediterranean, you’ll want something to keep your towels and/or coverups clipped to your lounge chair. Towel clips like these also double as clothing line clips to help dry your towels and bathing suits after an awesome beach day. Make sure to add at least two of these clips to your beach essentials checklist.
6. Waterproof Phone Case
An easy-to-clean waterproof phone case can be a life saver. If you come upon a nice photo opportunity, a waterfall hike, a cave to explore, or some cool snorkeling, you’ll be glad to have an easy to use waterproof phone case among your beach essentials!
This phone case is excellent and affordable!
7. Power Bank
You NEED to keep a power bank available for your beach day. There are no outlets on a beach! If you’re taking pictures, reading on your phone, or listening to music while lounging, you’ll drain your battery faster than you realize. I strongly recommend this exact power bank because of its many different charging ports! You’ll be the hero of the beach day for other people whose electronics die!
8. Comfortable sandals
This list of must-have beach essentials for summer is designed to take you from adventure to dinner, so I recommend having a pair to comfy, easy-to-clean sandals with you, so you can easily go to lunch or dinner straight from the beach.
These go-to comfy cute sandals are perfect for walking along a boardwalk, shake off sand easily, and then pair with almost any dinner outfit!
9. Versatile Long Shawl or Sarong
Speaking of converting from day to night, remember to keep a light shawl or sarong like this in your beach bag! You’ll feel more comfortable walking into the beach bar or restaurant for a meal if you can quickly drape something over yourself. A light layer makes all the difference when it’s getting windy at the outdoor beach restaurant, too!
10. Beach Cooler
I love this cooler backpack for the beach! Personally, I hate dragging coolers through the sand, even when they have wheels. This is a much easier way to get around. I recommend a few cold seltzers, adult beverages if you wish, tangerines, and a couple sandwiches for a perfect beach lunch!
11. Sand Cup Holders
And speaking of beach lunch, you don’t want to bring a seltzer or adult drink and immediately drop it in the sand where it gets hots quickly. These Beach Drink Cup Holders are the perfect ways to keep your drinks stable and cool in the sand!
12. Water shoes
Another non-negotiable beach essential! You never know when you might want to walk on some rocky pier, go wading around tide pools, do some water activities, or just encounter a beautiful rocky beach in general.
These are the holy grail beach shoes that Larry and I both use. We have each worn them and repurchased at least once since 2021!
13. Tweezers
Speaking of foot care at the beach, you never know if the beach you’re exploring might have urchins, sea glass, ocean/lake debris, fish hooks, or other trash that could get stuck in your foot (This has happened to me, I once got 8 sea urchin spines in my big toe!)
I will NEVER forget to put tweezers in my beach bag again. Here’s a pair of tweezers that I have used for years and that I travel with.
14. Foldable Beach Mat
Okay, more beach hacks! Not every beach is made of comfy white sand. Be prepared whenever you go to an unknown beach with this comfy, light, and compact beach mat.
This is a tip I learned in my over 20 trips to the Mediterranean. The locals there know that a small layer of bamboo or plastic is the difference between comfort and pain when laying out on even a super rocky beach.
Think of it this way: going to the beach with just a towel is like camping with just a sleeping bag and no mat. Doable, but you could make your life way better with just one extra layer. That’s why I love these bamboo beach mats and always bring one with me!
15. Quick Dry Towel
Especially if you’re traveling and don’t want to carry heavy beach towels around, make sure to pack a quick dry towel in your beach bag! Here is an inexpensive microfiber one, that we use for beach days, camping trips, and more!
We hope this list of the 15 Must-Have Beach Essentials was helpful!
Check out our Greece Travel Guide & our 3-day Athens Itinerary next!
