5 Travel Gadgets for Your Next Beach Vacation

Casual beachgoers don’t realize this, but it actually takes a lot of planning to pull off a successful beach day. First, you have to realize that beaches are going to be relatively far away from city amenities, and there may be limited options for food and drink. Then, you have to cope with the variety of weather, as well as the harsh sun conditions that occur over the span of a day. Finally, you have to realize that if you want to keep the whole family entertained for hours, you may need to enlist some help.

Today, we’re here to show you that going to the beach or spending the day on the water, doesn’t mean you have to pack a whole suitcase full of stuff. It just means that you have to do a little research, and spend some time exploring new technology that will help you out. These gadgets that we’ve discovered for you today are both practical and fun, and generally won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

Here are some of our favorite travel gadgets out today that are specifically designed for beach vacations.

eReader

The term “beach read” was coined for a reason. Many people enjoy reading for hours at the beach, and the books that they tend to gravitate towards are usually light, fun reads rather than heavily-involved tomes meant for careful study.

If you know that you’re going to spend the majority of your time at the beach reading, then you should definitely pick up an eReader, an electronic device that can store thousands of books at a time. The most popular eReader on the market today is the Kindle, which is designed to be used primarily with the .mobi format. Kobo eReaders, which are Kindle’s main competition, can accept multiple different e-book formats. Whichever one you choose, make sure to pick one like the Kindle Paperwhite that has a backlight for reading in the dark. The Paperwhite retails for $119.99 on Amazon and is great for beach reading because you can adjust the brightness so it’s comfortable even if you’re reading with sunglasses on.

A Great Cooler

If you’re going to be at the beach all day, and don’t want to be at the mercy of whatever food stands happen to be open that day, you should definitely pack a cooler. It helps keep food fresh and water at a comfortable temperature for drinking.

There are tons of different options out there for coolers, depending on your needs. The popular Stanley Adventure Cooler costs either $36 or $50.40, depending on whether you purchase the 7-quart or 16-quart model. The body of the Adventure Cooler is insulated 2.5 times more than the average cooler, so it’ll keep your things cold longer. It also comes with a little pop-out seat back, so you can use it as a chair in a pinch. The YETI Hopper Portable Cooler is much pricier, but tests have shown that it can keep ice frozen for an unbelievable four days. It retails for $199.99 and is completely leak-proof.

Sand-Free Accessories

Another amazing innovation that has become more popular in the last few years is sand-free gear, accessories that can repel sand.

The best options are sold by a company called CGear. Their products are made with a trademark double-layer of fabric that is woven thinly to allow sand to fall back through the weave instead of staying on top. It’s pretty amazing to watch, and even more amazing to experience for yourself as it provides a comfortable, clean place to lounge, and will help ensure that you don’t wake up the next morning still picking sand out of all your crevices.

CGear carries a series of sand-free mats and towels, which come in various colors and sizes and range in price from $29.99 to $49.99. Their Original Sand Mats even come with handy D rings, which allows you to secure your mat to the ground. They also carry a line of tote bags made out of a similar fabric which cost between $29.99 and $59.99.

A Beach Tent

One of the only ways to get reliable sun protection at the beach is to remain out of the sun the entire time. On an open beach, this is usually a difficult proposition, and if you’ve tried this in the past, it has probably involved large, unwieldy blanket forts, and precariously placed umbrellas. One of the best innovations of the last few years are tents meant specifically for the beach. These light and airy tents are easy to set up and provide UPF sun protection.

The best beach tent that we found was the $69.99 Pacific Breeze Easy Setup Beach Tent. It’s easy to set up, weighs less than five pounds, and provides UPF 50+ protection from the harsh sun. It comes in an easy carrying case and is perfect for those of us who are sun-averse or traveling with small children. Pacific Breeze also carries an extra-large model, which can comfortably fit a family of five.

Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker

If you’ve got a bunch of friends up to your cabin or you’re lounging together on the beach, it’s great to be able to listen to music all together since it keeps people from retreating into their own world and sets the mood for a fun day. However, bringing a speaker near the water makes some people nervous. Enter the waterproof Bluetooth speaker, a device meant for beach parties.

The best waterproof Bluetooth speaker of 2018 is the UE Boom 2. Not only is it waterproof, it can be sunk into water for 30 minutes and still function. The battery lasts 15 hours, and you can pair to it from up to 100 feet away. Plus, with its signature range of eye-popping colors, you’ll never lose it in the sand. You can find it on Amazon for $180.

Syda Productions / Shutterstock