How to plan a trip to the beach with your family

If you are looking for a quiet place to spend the day or the weekend with your family, a warm and sunny beach could be the perfect place. This article will give you some tips and instructions to plan a memorable vacation.

1. Decide when to travel. Consider that the weather conditions on the coast can vary greatly depending on the place where you live and the time of year in which you schedule your trip. Summer is the preferred time to go to the beach since in general, the climate will be sunny and temperate in most places. But if that is not possible, there are some beaches that you can visit all year round, such as Florida.

2. Decide where to go While some beaches are exactly what you expect (with sand, breeze and just in the coastal line) others can be rocky and be near a volcano, as in the case of Hawaii, present some other type of inconvenience or even be dangerous. Investigate the current conditions of the beach on the Internet and make sure you look for any notification or warning of potential hazards.

3. Once you have decided on the date and the beach you will visit, review the weather forecast carefully before leaving. You can do it easily if you go on Weather.com or any other weather forecast site to check how the weather will be on the day of your visit. Unless you have reservations at a hotel if rain or storm is announced and circumstances allow, try to reschedule your visit for a later date.

• Keep in mind that from June 1 to November 30 is the hurricane season in the United States. If you decide to go on those dates, plan your trip accordingly and prepare to cancel it or return sooner if your trip coincides with the same week in which a horrible hurricane is forecast to reach the coast.

4. Decide if you want to spend the night on the beach or not. If the beach you want to visit is more than 4 or 5 hours away by car, it may be worth staying overnight at a budget hotel or a nearby motel, especially if you are traveling with small children. Otherwise, spending the day at the beach and returning home at night will be less expensive if it is a short trip.

5. Pack according to your plans. It includes the following things, the first of which are the standard outfits for the beach:

• Swimsuits.
• Pareo and beach trips.
• Sandals, Hawaiian or water shoes.
• T-shirts
• A wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses to block out sunlight.
• Towels
• Sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or more.
• Insect repellent.
• Aloe vera gel for sunburn.
• Bottled water.
• A large bag or backpack to store everything and plastic bags for wet clothes.

6. If you are traveling by car, leave early to avoid rush hour or weekend traffic. You probably do not want to leave the house at 6 in the morning, but it's better than getting stuck in traffic, moving around the clock, for hours. Take with you some games, books, toys and an iPod with the full load, or some other form of entertainment to keep children occupied during the trip, also includes some snacks and a pillow or blanket to rest.

7. Once you are on the beach, enjoy the day with your family. Go swimming, surfing or diving, snails, play with the waves, make a sand castle, etc.


8. Prepare a picnic for lunch. This will help you save money and allow you to enjoy a homemade meal on the beach. Some things you can include are sandwiches, rolls, salads, fried foods, pretzels, popcorn, cut vegetables, bottled beverages and a wrapped dessert such as cookies or fresh fruit. While it is best not to swim right after eating, you can return to the water safely after a few minutes have passed.

9. Come back at sunset. Families with small children can put them in the back seat of the car to take a nap during the trip home, and returning just before rush hour will give you the necessary time to avoid traffic on the main roads.