What to Pack in a Beach and Pool Bag: Toddlers, Kids/Teens, and Adults Only

Pool and beach season is upon us! On my team, we are all in different phases of life. Here is what to pack in a beach or pool bag for babies, toddlers, kids, and teens!

Are you headed to the pool or beach this summer? Chances are yes, and we have some bag-packing tips for you. Here is what to pack in a beach or pool bag depending on your phase in life.

SIMILAR LACE UP SWIMSUIT | SIMILAR WHITE DENIM MINI SKIRT (budget find HERE) | SIMILAR BLACK HAT | CORKCICLE INSULATED BAG (green sold out, other colors available HERE) | REEF SANDALS | BUDHA GIRL BRACELETS

Beach Bag for Babies and Toddlers

A lot of these items I pack for both the pool and beach (sunscreen, beauty blender, etc.) but here are my beach favorites:

• Sunscreen 
• Mesh Bag – cute, lightweight, holds a ton, and doesn’t get sand trapped!
• Beauty Blender – I learned this hack from a friend – apply your kids’ face sunscreen with a beauty blender. It’s a game-changer for wiggly toddlers!
• Baby Tent –  a great place for babies to nap or toddlers to take a break. At the pool, my baby usually sleeps in the stroller, but I don’t like taking my stroller to the beach.
• Collapsible Sand Toys 
• Baby Dusting Powder – this works wonders to take sand off the skin! I love it for babies who get sand stuck in those chunky baby rolls.
• Beach Blanket – I love this one, it collapses so small and has 6 stakes to secure it. It’s so light to pack.

Pool Bag for Babies and Toddlers 

As I said, there’s some crossover between pool and beach gear but here are my pool favorites.

• Bogg Bag – this bag is HUGE and fits all of my hoards of pool gear, including towels and puddler jumpers.
• Snacks/Lunch – I use THIS round snack container and I’m the coolest mom at the pool. For lunch, I always pack frozen Uncrustables and Yogurt tubes!
• Skirt Coverup – I’ve been loving using a tennis skirt to coverup at the pool!
• Reusable Swim Diaper – I’m not a reusable diaper girl, but the reusable swim diaper is a life changer.
• Wet Bag – I always change my kids into dry clothes after the pool for the drive home – wet bags make bringing home swimsuits easy!
• Stroller Fan – I clip this to my baby’s stroller while they nap at the pool.
• Pool Toys 
• Chair Clips – love securing my towel with these!
• Turkish Towels – these are hands down the BEST pool towels. They fold up so small, dry quickly and I have a color for each family member.
• Stanley IceFlow Tumbler 30oz – When heading to the pool on a hot day, you want to make sure you have a good water bottle that will keep your drink nice and cold.  These Stanley Tumblers are nice because they don’t leak.

 Pool Bag for Teen

• Large Pool Bag
  • This bag is perfect for the pool.  It fits all the things I need when we are going to the water park or pool.  It also wipes easily and can sit in a water puddle and still hold up well.
• Large Stanley Flip Top
  • These big Stanleys are great for long pool days.  I usually take two of these full to the brim with the ice and just refill the water throughout the day! The ice keeps the water cold and there plenty for our family!
• Sunglasses
  • I love good pair of sunglasses, but when I am going to the pool or water park I love to have a pair that I don’t mind getting wet or even broken!
• Pool Towels
  • These towels work great when your getting out of the pool or waterpark after a long day and just want to wrap up in a cozy towel.  These are bigger than the turkish towels that I use at the beach, but they are worth it when your kids want to be wrapped up and not just dried off!
• Chair Straps for Towels
  • If you have used these before you know!! These chair straps keep the towel on your chair!! It has been a game changer for the pool chair!
• Sunscreen Face Stick, Spray, and Lotion
  • I love all things Sun Bum! It provides great coverage for all skin types and smells great.
• Tanning lotion
  • My SIL had this tanning lotion the last time she visited and I have loved it ever since.  It gives you a little bit of color while your trying to get your tan! I only really use it on my legs because I want my face to have better sunscreen, but I love the color it gives!
• Pool Toys- Water Football, Skip Ball/Disc
  • A water football is such a great pool and beach toy, but if you haven’t tried the skip ball or disc, you are missing out! Such a fun and easy game to play!
• Wallet Keychain
  • I keep all my pool and water park passes in their own wallet.  I love this one with the O ring on it because its so easy to keep on my wrist and find in the big bag.
• Goggles 
  • Me kids love this type of goggle for swimming and going down the water slides.
• Baseball Hat
  • I have to have some type of hat when I am out in the sun! I love this one, the pink is so cute!

Beach Bag for Teens

• Large Beach Bag
  • This bag is hands down my favorite bag for the beach! It is so big and can fit all the things, with pockets all on the outside for the extra sunscreen, sunglasses, phone, and anything else that you need!
• Beach Towels
  • Turkish towels that don’t trap sand are a MUST at the beach! These are our favorite because they are small and work great.
• Beach Blanket
  • This beach blanket is another beach must have.  The sand does not get stuck on it and it folds right up into a small bag when your done for easy clean up.
• Fanny Pack
  • I keep my phone and wallet in a separate bag at the beach. I can keep this on me while we look for shells or walk away from our area and still be hands free.
• Beach Shade
  • This is new for us, but it has been amazing to use at the beach.  The set up is so easy and unlike umbrellas, it will not blow over!
• Go Pro, less expensive
  • A go pro is our favorite when snorkeling and for my kids to record their adventures.
• Shell bag
  • We love a good shell bag.  I like to have separate ones for each of my kids “treasures” so that they can keep track of them and then I am not the one trying to hold and keep track of whos shell is whos!
• Storage Bags
  • These bags are great to keep things separated.  You can use them for sunscreen, goggles, snacks, or even your toys.
• Snorkel Gear, Snorkel Goggle
  • We love taking two types of snorkel gear when we go snorkeling.  My kids like to use the whole face mask and my husband likes the traditional so its good for us to travel and have both types on hand!

Beach and Pool Bag for Myself

If I’m on a trip with friends or my husband, I don’t really need separate items for pool vs. beach. But these are all the essentials for a bag for myself! I’m using THIS BAG that holds my hat!

• Straw fedora
  • The older I get, the more I’m conscious of keeping my face covered at the beach and the pool, so I always have a hat with me! A wide brim straw fedora is my hat of choice. I bought a really good one on the beach in Mexico last year, but THIS ONE is really similar.
• Stanley Flip Top Tumbler
  • Of course we need water at the pool and the beach to keep hydrated! I just got this new Stanley Flip Top Tumbler, and it’s 30 oz and has a flip top lid so it won’t leak. It comes in lots of cute colors! And of course I bring my BETTERDAYS greens for a little flavor and greens in my water!
• Kindle
  • I don’t have my own kindle, but I use my boy’s kindle and you can just log into your own account and it works like an adult kindle, but it’s cheaper!
• Sunglasses
  • Of course we need sunglasses for the beach and pool! These are a new pair I just got and they’re super affordable and polorized!
• Budha girl bracelets
  •  These are the best bracelets for the pool and the beach to glam up your outfit a bit! They’re flexible rubber so they won’t tarnish or clink together or get ruined at all.
• Dime Tinted sunscreen (code MERRICK for 20% off)
  • I’ve tried lots of face sunscreens, and this is literally my favorite ever. It is perfectly tinted, has SPF30, and gives you a gorgeous glow. It’s also clean ingredients! Code MERRICK works for 20% off.
• Raycon Earbuds
  • If you’re wearing headphones or earbuds for long periods of time, you know that they can make your ears start to ache. These ones don’t at all!!! They’re amazing, and so comfortable. I’ve worn them literally all day tons of times with no ear discomfort AT ALL.
• Mist sunscreen
  • I just got this face mist sunscreen for our trip this week and it smells amazing, has SPF45, and is designed to be misted over your current sunscreen and makeup to give you extra protection and continual protection as your other stuff melts off throughout the day. Just a few spritzes and you’re covered again!
• Claw Clip
  • Claw clips are huge right now, and I’m personally not a huge fan for everyday wear (too nineties for me!) but at the beach they’re so convenient. This gold one is so pretty and great for tossing your hair up at a moments notice.
• Laniege Lip Mask
  • This is my favorite lip gloss. It can be used as a mask at night, but I also use it during the day to keep my lips super hydrated. So important when you’re at the beach and pool, and in and out of the water!
• Crunchy Edamame Beans
  • These are my favorite little snack for on the go. They’re only 100 calories and they’re delicious. If you need a snack in between lunch or dinner at the pool or the beach, I love having these on hand.
• Portable battery charger
  • If you’re on your phone listening to books or music or taking pictures, those batteries deplete quickly! So having a portable battery charger is essential! This one is small and will fully recharge your phone twice.
• Towel Bands
  • These are clever little things that Kristy told me about! They wrap around your towel and the pool chair so your towel doesn’t slip down…genius!!! Grab a pack of them here.

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