Just Beachy: 10 Tips for a Fun Family Beach Trip

Going to the beach before the rainy season hits? Here are some tips to guarantee a fun vacation for the family.

Holy Week 2024 promises a long weekend and a restful break. With that, it’s no surprise that we’re all building up an itinerary full of fun-filled activities for the family! Whether up on the mountains or down at the beach for some fun under the sun, a lot of us are using the time to escape the hustle and bustle of the metro momentarily.

If going to the beach is your agenda this Holy Week, here are 10 tips to make sure everything happens swimmingly.

1. Bring shampoo with conditioner.

While there’s sunblock to protect your skin, we’ll need shampoo with conditioner to protect your hair. The salt in the sea, paired with the blazing sun can hit hard—leaving you with a bad case of itchy scalp and frizzy hair.

Although you can only bring liquids up to 100 mL in your carry-on baggage, check-in baggage allows bottles up to 250 mL. But in case you’re not sure, always check with your flight provider!

2. Invest in aqua shoes.

Unlike the typical commercial pool, the reefs and the shoreline itself are filled with jagged rocks and edges that will scrape your feet and cause injuries! More than that, the currents at the beach can be strong enough to whisk away your beloved slippers! Aqua shoes luckily work in the sea and on land—offering protection while being snug enough to stay on your feet.

Did you forget to bring some on your trip? Not to worry! Some snorkeling areas nearby have shops that sell aqua shoes for around PHP 300.00 or so.

3. Bring hard cash and small change.

If the beach you’re at is far from the usual developed tourist spots, then for sure, the internet won’t be strong enough to get us past the loading screens of our e-wallets or e-bank accounts. This is why bringing cash is still important, even more so during emergencies.

While Starlink as an internet service provider has made progress in the Philippines, many areas and establishments still prefer hard cash and small change.

4. Pack clothes made from moisture-wicking material.

Not all beach resorts are equipped with proper bathrooms where we can quickly change. This is why gym clothes—or clothes made from mesh or any moisture-wicking material—help guarantee that the trip to the next destination won’t have everyone feeling squeamish and sticky for a long time. Besides, the leather seats of the car will also thank you, since moisture tends to make things smell.

5. Bring the proper kind of goggles.

There are different kinds of goggles to cater to different kinds of swimming activities. Some goggles even have lenses and grades for those who are near-sighted or far-sighted!

Snorkeling goggles are often bigger and come with a mouthpiece to breathe through because it assumes that you’ll be swimming far distances. Olympic swimming goggles are smaller but may not offer much visual depending on the kind of water. Know what swimming activity you have planned for your beach trip and invest in the right kind of goggles ahead of time.

6. Invest in a GoPro camera!

If the family will be swimming for 80% of the trip, you’ll definitely want a camera that is both waterproof and can withstand the pressure.

GoPro cameras offer that convenience. Instead of constantly fearing for our smartphone’s lives as we tuck them in those plastic waterproof sleeves, you might as well use a camera that is made for these outdoor activities. But in case swimming isn’t a common family-bonding activity, some of the diving spots offer those for rent, too!

7. Bring along a waterproof pouch for all your hygiene and medical items.

Silicone and plastic can help keep moisture away and keep everything else dry, including your jewelry! Although you’ll want to sport our summer-time earrings for that beach-ready OOTD, you wouldn’t want to lose them to the ocean’s and sea’s currents. Likewise, you can use these pouches to store your valuables, like your phone and money.

Plus, having a hygiene-medical kit can ease our anxiety, especially in cases when one of your kids scrapes their knees against the rocks or something. You’ll never know!

8. Bring different kinds of swimwear.

Rashguards, bikinis, one-piece bathing suits—there are so many kinds! Wearing the right swimsuit for the right occasion helps—whether for snorkeling, diving or just light swimming.

What’s more, some areas don’t advise wearing sunblock, especially if you’re swimming with creatures like sardines and the docile whale shark! Rashguards will protect our skin from the blazing sun once we get out of the water, reducing the chance of getting sunburned until we find a spot where we can put on some.

9. Book a beach resort that offers at least 3 to 4 of the activities the family wants to do.

Beach resorts offer various activities, but not all of them have the same equipment or guide. And if we’re spending time in the province, many of those spots take at least 30 to 45 minutes to get to. But by booking a beach resort that already offers snorkeling, swimming, diving, or at least 3 or 4 activities that your family all want to do, you won’t have to spend so much time traveling.

It might even be easier to manage too, since you can charge some of these activities to your rooms!

10. Don’t forget to turn off your WiFi or data!

The reason why most smartphones run out of battery quickly is that we forget to turn off our WiFi or data—leaving our phones constantly roaming and searching for signals. Besides, the trip is meant for you to unplug from social media for a while.

While we do want to share some of the photos and videos right away, that can wait. Safety issues arise from all this, especially if your profile is set to public, because people will know where you are in real-time, too. Besides, if the waves are big, our smartphones might get wet anyway!

Most of all: don’t forget to have fun!

A lot of times, we go to the beach with the family and spend the next few hours locked up in our rooms to post on social media. It’s a family trip to the beach—social media can wait until we get back to the city! While spending the long weekend with the family, enjoy the sun and cool beach waters while it lasts. After all, time flies fast when everyone’s having fun!

Ready to book a family beach trip for Holy Week 2024?

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