Travel Expert Anne McAlpin has been a featured guest on Oprah®, The View, and CNN, sharing up-to-the-minute travel tips. She has flown more than 2 million miles, traveled in over 71 countries, and cruised through the Panama Canal 98 times. When her nieces and nephews turn 16, she gives them a passport and takes them on a trip anywhere they’d like to go. She is currently planning next summer’s adventure for her niece, Mary Beth: Africa.

Is there anything more fun than a summer trip to the beach with your niece or nephew? Well, with a little planning, it can be even MORE fun! Here are some tips to help organize your next beach trip to make it the best one yet.

Part of the fun is in the planning, so get everyone involved. Find out what date works best for everyone and then decide where you want to go based on the amount of time you have. Will it be a quick half-day excursion or an all-day event?

Most importantly: Ask your nieces’ and nephews’ parents for their instructions about each child’s swimming abilities and maintain constant adult supervision at all times. Better yet, invite parents to join you and help with swim time (ensure babies and young children are fitted with life jackets anytime they are in or around water).

Ideas for what to pack for your trip to the beach:

A plastic laundry basket
Instead of spending money on a beach tote, look no further than your laundry room! A laundry basket is lightweight, fits into your car or trunk easily, and you can carry it right down to the beach. Pack it with items you want to take as you think of them. While you’re in the laundry room, grab a mesh laundry bag to help organize items in your basket.

An extra bonus: The holes allow the sand and the water to drain out (which is great for the trip home!).

Clear plastic tote bags
These also make great beach bags since you can see everything that you’ve packed at a glance, and it doesn’t matter if they get wet.

Swimsuit, extra t-shirt, etc.
Pack an extra set of dry clothes for everyone. It’s never fun driving home in wet clothes.

Flip-flops, water shoes
These are your friends and are a must for any summer trip – great for rocky beaches and hot concrete parking lots.

Quick-drying microfiber travel towel
This is perfect for the beach. It can be used as a beach towel, sarong or coverup for your swimsuit, and also a blanket for a nap on the beach or in the car. Quick drying means it dries off between swims, and you won’t have to pack a bunch of wet towels for the trip home. These are good to cover the kids’ shoulders when they’ve had too much sun, and are available at travel stores.

Sun protection, insect repellant
Protect delicate skin from hot summer sun with sunscreen, hats, coverups and sunglasses. Also, bring a large beach umbrella for shade. (Even a small umbrella is helpful in a pinch for hot sun.) To keep your beach bag lighter, pack a double duty sunscreen and insect repellant in one spray.

Packable sun hat
You can literally roll and pack it in your bag without it getting crunched. Suggest one with a cord so your niece or nephew won’t lose it or leave it behind when they take it off.

Beach toys, contests
Make a plan to include a stop at the $1 store and give everyone $5 to spend on some new beach toys like inflatable beach balls, sand buckets and shovels, sand molds, digging tools, and Frisbees (not only fun to play with but make great scoops for making sand castles, and plates for lunch!). Have sand castle-building contests, and see who can find the most interesting shells on the beach.

Inexpensive waterproof camera
Keep your good camera (and smartphone camera) away from the sand and salt water. Save money and buy a one-time-use waterproof camera in a 3-pack for about $12 at most drugstores and convenience stores.

Waterproof pouches
Pack your cell phones in waterproof pouches or save money and use plastic zip-top bags (double-bag to make sure items stay dry).

Biodegradable travel soap
Rinse swimsuits with soap, as salt water can take out the color and elasticity. Biodegradable soap is not only good for the environment but also works on your body as shampoo in a pinch at the outside beach shower. These are available at travel stores or sporting stores.

Collapsible cooler and fun food
Prepare a lightweight cooler packed with some healthy fruit, juices, etc., and also some fun food for the beach that won’t melt: animal cookies, nuts (ask about allergies), chips, and plenty of water. You can collapse the cooler for the trip home to take up less space. If you’re packing lots of food, consider a wheeled cooler, especially if you have a long distance to walk from the parking lot to the beach.

Small bills, coins
Be prepared and have some $1-$5 bills and quarters ready for parking fees, soda machines, ice cream vendors, etc.

PS: Before any car trip, have your car serviced and checked out before you hit the road.

Published: June 26, 2013