Antisocial Tourist

We love the beach! We’ve been to beaches all over the world, and during our travels, we’ve tried and tested all types of beach accessories. We prefer to travel with our carry-on bags only, so it’s important that our favorite accessories are compact and portable. After a lot of trial and error, now we have a list of our absolute favorite beach day accessories that we can’t live without!

We hope this beach day packing list helps you craft the perfect beach experience, just like it did for us. This packing list is especially perfect for a trip to the Caribbean!

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1. Waterproof Belt Bag

Keeping our valuables safe at the beach can be really challenging, especially when want to spend a lot of time in the water. We considered trying a beach safe, but even leaving our keys and money locked up on the shore did little to ease our minds. Then we saw this waterproof belt bag and decided there was no better way to keep our things safe than to take them with us! Now we go right into the water with our keys, cash, cards, and phones. Get yours here!

2. Inflatable Floaties

After our first trip to Aruba, we decided to look for some inflatable floaties to bring on our next beach trip. Our floaties go with us everywhere now! They roll up so small in our carry-on luggage, and they can be inflated with little effort in just a few seconds. They’ve seriously leveled up our beach game — we can’t even imagine a beach day without them. Just be sure to tie a string or floating handle to the inflation piece so you can secure them on a windy day. Get yours here!

3. Portable Cooler

Having a portable cooler can take any beach day to the next level. Most coolers are hard-shelled or on wheels though, which doesn’t really work on the sand or for travel. We tried a few different collapsable coolers before finding the Ice Mule Cooler, which easily fits in our carry-on bag. The Ice Mule Cooler is meant to roll up for easy packing, but we actually leave it flat in our suitcase to save even more room. We fill it with ice, drinks, and snacks, and it keeps everything cold all day long! Get yours here.

4. Waterproof Speaker

Do yourself a favor and bring a speaker to the beach! There’s nothing worse than getting all set up for a day at the beach, and finding out too late that the music playing from your phone can barely be heard over the sounds of the ocean. This JBL speaker is waterproof and can easily clip onto your beach chair, and the sound quality is great! Grab one here.

5. Turkish Towel

Terry cloth towels are a thing of the past. Turkish towels and other sand-free towels are the only towels worth packing nowadays. Turkish towels are super absorbent compared to traditional towels and they dry very quickly. They’re also bigger than a standard terry cloth towel, so they can easily wrap around any body type. The best part about Turkish towels is how thin they are, so they hardly take up any room in your carry-on bag. Buy one here!

6. Reusable Shopping Bag

These reusable shopping bags are so useful! More and more countries are going plastic-free, and we’ve found these bags to come in handy more times than we can count! Whether you’re using them as beach bags or swinging by the store to load up on snacks before you get to the beach, you’ll find a use for these. Get yours here!

7. GoPro Camera

We love our GoPro camera! It’s completely waterproof and great for adventure photos and videos. We use our GoPro when we’re snorkeling and to snap selfies while we’re in the water. This camera did come with a hefty price tag, but we have no regrets about our investment. The GoPro even syncs with our phones so we can view all of our photos and videos right away. Just be sure to get the floating handle if you plan on taking it into the water because the camera does not float. Get your GoPro here!

8. Water Shoes

There are tons of water shoes on the market today, but many of them are thin like socks. This is fine if you’re only using them to walk through murky water, but if you want to keep your feet protected from sharp rock, you need a sturdy water shoe. We tried a few before finding our favorites, and now they go with us everywhere. They’re especially great for adventure tours that involve off-roading and water activities! Get yours here!

9. Wet Bag

You’ve probably heard of a dry bag, but what about a wet bag? Wet bags are used to hold wet items, like towels, blankets, and bathing suits. After soaking the seats of our rental car one too many times, we finally got this wet bag, and now we use it every time we go to the beach. It even doubles as a changing mat to keep you sand-free while you change into dry clothes! Get one here!

10. Pocket Blanket

There are tons of great beach blankets on the market today, but many take up too much room if we’re traveling with limited luggage. This pocket blanket is the solution. When it’s folded up, it fits into the palm of our hand. When it’s unfolded, it’s a full 5-foot by 3.5-foot blanket! Get one here!

11. Portable Wine Bag

Not only do most public beaches have a no-glass policy, but wine bottles often don’t fit in standard coolers! Sadly, we’ve had to trade our favorite bottle of wine for a beach-friendly product in the past. This portable wine bag changed that! The thermal insulation kept our wine chilled for hours and the waterproof padding prevented the bottles from breaking. Although this doesn’t resolve the no-glass policy at some beaches, we felt responsible enough to make an exception. This would make a great gift, too! Get one here.

12. Kindle

If you love to read on the beach, you probably know how annoying it is to keep the pages from blowing back and forth and how hard it is to get the right amount of lighting. If you haven’t ditched the paperbacks for an e-reader yet, you’re missing out. The page brightness adjusts automatically and you can turn the page with the tap of a finger. Buy one here!

13. Portable Power Bank

We have yet to find a beach with a power supply, so we always bring a portable power bank to keep our devices charged all day. We’ve tried so many different power banks over the years, and they’re either too heavy, they take way too long to charge devices, or they simply don’t hold enough charge. Finally, we stumbled across our favorite. It’s lightweight but it can stand up to its heavy-duty competitors. Get yours here!

14. Insulated Phone Case

This insulated phone case was the solution for preventing our phones from overheating on the beach! Before we tried this case, we were burying our phones in layers of towels and hiding them at the bottom of our beach bags, just to keep them cool. The case also prevents phones from freezing in cold temperatures, so we’ve used it when traveling through Iceland and Alaska, too! It’s even been featured on Shark Tank! Get yours here.

15. Towel Clamps

Most beaches are windy, and towel clamps can have a huge impact on how your day at the beach goes. These clamps will keep your towels secure on your beach chair, but they actually do so much more than that. We’ve used these to keep our beach bags closed, to hang our wet suits and towels to dry, and even to keep our pool floaties from flying away. We’ve also used them to hang clothes in our hotel when there isn’t enough closet space! Get some here.

16. Umbrella Hook

This umbrella hook is a game-changer, so we pack it whenever we plan on using a beach umbrella. It keeps our bags, hats, and sunglasses sand-free and out of the way. We especially like these because it’s easier to keep an eye on our belongings while we’re in the water. They’re a bit awkward to pack, but it’s worth it! Get one here!

17. Beach Pillow

Beach pillows are awesome for lounging under the sun all day. They’re easy to inflate, comfortable to use, and take up very little room in our bag. They’re perfect for beach days, pool days, traveling, and even camping. This beach pillow has bungee straps on each side too, so it can secure it to a pool chair. The material is water and sand resistant. Get one here.

18. Sand Coasters

We used to think sand coasters were gimmicky until we actually needed them. When we’re lounging on the beach all day with a cooler full of ice-cold drinks, it can be frustrating to keep our drinks nearby without needing to use the cooler lid or balance them in the sand. These beach coasters have spiked legs so they stand in the sand easily, and they hold any size bottle or glass. They even have a built-in bottle opener on the bottom! Get yours here.

19. Portable Fan

Most beaches have a nice natural breeze, but that’s not always the case. Having a small fan to create a breeze can be the difference between a good beach day and a great beach day. While we normally travel everywhere with our handheld fans, we prefer a fan that easily hooks to our beach chair, umbrella, or cooler handle when we’re spending a day at the beach. Get one here!

Thank you for reading our post! We hope it helps you plan the perfect trip! Check out our other guides here and follow us on Instagram (@AntisocialTourist) or on Facebook to see our latest adventures!