Family beach vacation packing list + free PDF!

When we went to Croatia this June (2021), we drove our car. Which means, we had lots and lots of space for everything that I could think of.

But this time we’re flying, so there’s very limited space!

That means – only essentials are coming with us. SCARY!

This means I’ll first state the stuff that is coming with us and at the end, you’ll get some additional items that we took to Croatia and would have taken if we had the space this time.

Free Printable Beach Packing List

Download our free printable family beach packing list and make packing easy.

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Essential Family Beach Packing List

I have an another whole article on essential items you should always have with you when travelling. So you can check also and let’s see what we are packing to a plane!

Documents and similar to have with you

• IDs and copies of IDs
• Kid’s passport + notarized copy of the birth certificate
• Driver’s licence
• Tickets, hotel, car and other reservations – printed
• Itinerary
• Phone
• Electronics’ chargers
• Keys
• Wallet + cash

As for why to have copies of IDs – in case the originals go missing, copies would make things a bit easier for you. It doesn’t have to be physical copies, it’s ok to have a picture on the phone or on a cloud somewhere.

When travelling with your kid, it is good to have kid’s birth certificate. It’s not a good idea to have the original with you, so a notarized copy it is. And – don’t forget the passport!

If you’re renting a car, don’t forget your driver’s licence! And check if the country you’re going to accepts yours – maybe you need to get an international one.

Printed reservations and tickets – unfortunately, more than once we’ve had trouble in places because we hadn’t had the reservations printed. Once, like 30 minutes before I arrived at the airport, my phone – where the plane ticket was – died. Like, died-died. So for the time until then, I was under such incredible stress! The rates for printing the tickets are ridiculous. Luckily, my phone started working, so I didn’t have to pay, but since then I always have had the tickets printed.

I hate the idea of printing everything, but sometimes it’s better to save the possible headache.

As for the itinerary, no need to make a complete plan of the trip, but at least write down some places to see and things to do.

Clothing for a Beach Vacation

• Warm weather clothes – shorts, t-shirts, dresses
• Cool weather clothes – jeans, jacket
• Socks, underwear
• Flip flops
• Closed toe shoes
• Pyjamas for kids

Well, I guess you don’t need an explanation for most of the items, haha!

As for why I’m putting cool weather clothes on a family beach vacation packing list – easy. When you spend the whole day in hot weather, even the smallest temperature drop feels like winter.

If you’re wondering how much of the stuff to take…

For underwear – I usually take one extra pair.

Warm weather clothes – just the ones that I have on is enough. Socks, though, I take for half the days that we’ll be away.

T-shirts – five for a week of travelling.

And shorts/dresses – a couple at most. Those don’t get so dirty and sweaty, so no need to take more.

Toiletries

• At least SPF30 sunscreen
• Moisturizing cream for after tanning
• Kid’s friendly shower gel/shampoo
• Diaper rash cream
• Clothes washing liquid
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Hand cream
• Lip balm
• Makeup
• Deodorant
• Hairbrush + ties
• Period products, if necessary

There are many kids’ friendly sunscreens, and those are usually much more suitable for kids than the “grownup” versions. Although we use Madara SPF30 plant stem cell antioxidant cream ourselves – Emma seems to be ok with it, even though her skin is very sensitive.

If you’re wondering why 30, not 50 – we talked to our paediatrician, and she said that unless the kid spends the whole day in the sun on the beach, there’s no need for 50. Obviously, talk to your doctor if you’re not sure about it.

Don’t forget an after-tanning lotion as well. It doesn’t have to be specifically an after-tanning lotion – we take a moisturizing cream that Emma can use with us.

If your kid is still quite young, it’s a good idea to take a kids’ friendly shampoo with you. And you can’t go for a whole trip without your child having a normal shower. At least I think so.

Even if your kid is fully potty trained, as is Emma, it’s a good idea to have a diaper cream with you. They still tend to get diaper rashes if there’s a bit of moisture for a bit longer.

For the last few years, I’ve been taking clothes washing liquid with me when travelling. It’s especially useful when you go somewhere with really young children who tend to change like 10 outfits a day because they get everything extremely dirty. I put it in one of the tiny containers that can go in the cabin bag. If we stay in an apartment and there’s a washing machine – perfect. If there’s no washing machine, a sink is good enough to quickly rinse out the clothes.

I don’t think toothpaste/toothbrush, deodorant, makeup, hairbrush and ties need explanation, right? For period products – it’s better to have a bit of an emergency stash with you, even if you’re not supposed to get one.

As for lip balm and hand cream – if you have to spend some time in dry air, whether it be an airplane or your destination, it’s a good idea to have these items with you.

Health & First Aid

• Thermometer
• Medicine against fever
• Medicine for stomach
• Pain medicine
• Band-aids
• Cream against itchiness
• Sanitizer for hands
• Antiseptic for wounds
• Any medicine you need to take regularly

The main first aid kit stuff to take for the kids are thermometer, medicine against fever, and bandaids.

As for band-aids – children, especially toddlers, tend to fall and scrape their knees… a lot. If you’re going on a beach vacation, it’s better to have something to cover them so that sand doesn’t get in the wound.

The fever medicine, though, is useful for grown-ups as well, as are the stomach upset pills and regular pain medicine. You wouldn’t want to wake up in the middle of the night with a crazy headache and think of where to get something to relieve it, right?

Surprised about the cream against itchiness? It is an unusual item to take with you on a beach vacation, but it’s oh so useful! If there’s a mosquito somewhere and it bites you, uff, it’s so much better to have something to relieve that stupid itch. Lately, we’ve been using Bepanthen Sensiderm.

Antiseptic for wounds and sanitizer for hands is quite self-explanatory, as is any medicine that you need to take regularly.

Packing List for Kids

• Beach toys
• Burp cloths
• Wet napkins
• Ikea ziplock bags
• Sun hat
• Sunglasses
• Swimsuit or swimming diaper
• Swimming safety

Sun hats and sunglasses are really important to protect the little ones from the sun. If your kid agrees with it (Emma doesn’t), it’s even better to have an SPF50 swimming suit with long sleeves!

Since Emma is potty trained already, we’re just packing her swimsuit. But, if your family beach vacation includes a pool and your kid is not potty trained, don’t forget the swimming diaper or the special swimsuit!

Beach toys are not the easiest thing to pack for a beach vacation that you need to fly to… I actually ordered a silicone bucket.

But we still take as many of the usual cheap plastic toys as we can. It’s just easier than buying new things at the destination.

Uff, wet napkins. One of the most useful kids’ things that I use Aquaint Happy Planet wet wipes, which contain only water and are biodegradable. They are nice and soft and don’t leave that nasty sticky feeling that other wet napkins leave – I love them! We clean Emma’s mouth and hands with them.

Similar goes with burp cloths. Emma was an MSPI baby (milk protein allergy), so we were going through reallllly many burp cloths in a short time, which made us buy a bunch of them. When the allergy stopped, I was wondering – where will I put all these burp cloths now? Well, turns out, they’re really useful for trips instead of paper napkins or towels. They dry quickly and absorb things better. Useful!

Ikea ziplock bags, especially the bigger ones, are really great for collecting trash that you create. If there’s no bigger trash can nearby, you don’t need to worry about the dirty things falling all around your bag – just close the ziplock!

Don’t forget your kid’s swimming safety! If they don’t know how to swim, take a swim vest, inflatable armbands or something to help keep them safe in the water.

Optional Items for Kids

• Diapers + wipes
• Favourite soft toy
• Pacifier
• Formula or pumping stuff for mom
• Sippy cup
• Blanket
• Travel crib
• Changing pads

If you’re travelling with really young children, this is for you.

I can’t imagine the tantrum if you forgot the pacifier or their favourite stuffed animal! I think I always triple-checked the paci before leaving home.

For the non-potty trained kids, take enough diapers for at least a couple of days, as it might not be as easy to find the proper ones when you’re abroad.

If your kid is still not eating by himself, make sure to take enough formula with you and some filtered water to make it. Or, if breastfeeding, the breast pump (even if you don’t generally use it). One of the first times when we travelled with Emma, I didn’t take it with me and almost ended up with a blocked milk duct because, turns out, she eats much less when travelling. That was… ouch.

Sippy cup – a good thing to have at least when in the car or in the plane, otherwise a huge mess can happen, right?

You might be surprised to see a blanket on the list, but it’s a helpful thing to have. If a nap happens when flying, it’s nice to cover the kid up. Remember, most airlines don’t provide blankets and pillows anymore.

Before taking a travel crib, check if your accommodation may provide it. Even if it’s not stated on the website where you book, contact the place and ask – sometimes, they have completely everything for kids. Once, we even got a baby bathtub! That was really convenient!

If I have space for it, I take changing pads to use as mattress protectors as well. It just seems like a good idea to not be charged extra for cleaning when staying in an apartment. And, well, to make sure the mattress doesn’t get wet in general, as that’s just very inconvenient.

Beach Packing List for Adults

• Swimming goggles
• Snorkel (if necessary)
• Swimsuit
• Sunglasses
• Hat
• A beach bag (or at least a backpack that can be used as one)
• Action camera

I’ve been on some trips where I’ve had to carry things that I need for the beach in my arms. It’s just so inconvenient – and I didn’t have a kid then! So it’s better to either take a beach bag with you or pack your hand luggage in a backpack that can be used as a day pack.

I usually forget to take my swimming goggles with me when we go to a beach, and it’s so disappointing when Michal can just put his head underwater to check out the cute little fish and I have to try and see them through the waves.

Swimsuit and sunglasses – obviously, right? As for the hat – I don’t usually take one for myself, but it’s probably a better idea to have it.

I couldn’t use my GoPro for quite some time because a latch for the cable holes broke, so it was all exposed. Made me quite sad when I thought of all the memories in water that I could have saved with a waterproof action camera! So for this vacation I actually ordered the latch – I’m excited!

Optional Items

• Beach pop-up tent or shade
• Waterproof beach blanket
• Potty

A beach popup shade/tent is one of the best things that I’ve had for beach trips. You know, usually, we have to look for some shade so that we’re not exposed all the time, right? Well, this creates the shade in 2 seconds! And it takes only 20 seconds to put the tent together.

A waterproof beach blanket is much nicer to sit on than a towel. It has a waterproof bottom and a soft top.

About potty – it can be either a travel potty or just the normal one. It’s much more convenient to have a potty with you when travelling with children, but this time we’re gonna try without it.

Tips for Packing for a Beach Vacation

On the first trip, I used just the items in this packing list, and on the second one a month later, I tried taking some things that I felt like we missed on the first trip.

A travel towel. Before travelling with Emma, we always used towels provided by the hotel. Well, as it turns out, it’s much more convenient to have our own towels with us now.

Luggage scales. Honestly, I’m just tired of trying to figure out if our suitcase is still within the weight limits or not and trying to find scales in the airport where I can weigh it. So I got the luggage scales for my peace of mind.

A travel coffee machine with an extra water tank for making a large coffee, not espresso. I just love the coffee that I have at home.

And another thing I got for our last vacation is silicone beach toys. The normal buckets and spades take up a lot of space in the suitcase. And since we’re usually renting a really small car, our bigger suitcases wouldn’t even fit in the baggage compartment. But we did take an inflatable beach ball – it’s always fun to throw a ball around.

Pyjamas, especially if you’re travelling in autumn. Honestly, it was so cold in our apartment during our second trip to Sardinia that we needed to put jackets and shoes on. I was lucky that I packed long-sleeved pyjamas just in case because otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so nice.