The Ultimate Family Beach Vacation Packing List

Planning beach trips with kids (and all their gear) is no easy feat—we’d go so far as to say it’s a discipline that, when skillfully executed, should be applauded. That’s why we’ve called on the experts—parents who live within minutes of a shoreline and travel-savvy ones who understand packing constraints—to share their best family beach gear recommendations for days by the water. With their collective decades-worth of caretaking and vacationing experience, their perspectives are parenting gold. 

Read on for their top family beach packing list picks, useful whether you’re hitting the road to spend the summer at a beach house or live within driving distance of the shore year-round. (Planning for a trip with babies in tow? That requires an even more specific packing list—we’ve got you covered.)