Sand is going to be everywhere. We love the beach but be prepared for sand to get in your beach bag. We brought a small collapsible cooler that zipped closed to put our cold stuff in trying to prevent the sand issue.
When we first started going to the beach we wouldn’t bring a beach bag but then we would have to leave the beach to go get one of these things.
1. Towels
Buy a towel when you arrive, save the room in your personal bag. They make good souvenirs and useful while on your trip. We stayed at Villa Verde Flamboyan, so we were able to take their towels with us to the beach. Daily, we picnicked at the beach while were staying in Puerto Rico. Towels were 1 of the 4 essential things we needed when we were at the beach.
2. Water
Stay hydrated, it’s easy to swim all day in paradise. We bought a case of water when we arrived and froze majority of them for beach days. We also would freeze juice pouches to take to the beach (kids and adult versions). Most of the beaches have garbage containers for the pouches. We would refill the bottles and refreeze at night.
3. Sunscreen
I go back and forth on sunscreen, we never use it until we get burnt. After multiple days at the beach we started needing sunscreen every day. Then it just became a habit to put it on when we left the house, again we arrived at the beach. Once we started using it we were thankful we made it a beach bag essential.
4. Food/Snacks
Our food would include a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, apple, jar of peanut butter, and crackers. Don’t forget a spoon, apples are good beach food because easy to dust off the sand and don’t get smooshed in the bag. Most of the beaches in Puerto Rico have food and drink vendors if you’re not the picnicking type.
5. Snorkel and Mask
We learned early on when taking kids to play the beach all day snorkeling was key. Sometimes we rent the snorkel gear from a dive shop if we are only going to be there a week. If we plan to be there longer than a week we buy the gear and donate it before we leave.
Essential Items:
- Sunscreen
- Water
- Towel
- Food/Snacks
Optional:
- Life Jacket (the front style ones clip to the front of your personal bag for flying)
- Snorkel
- Mask
Family Travel Tips 
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