My Must Have Beach Essentials

Summer break is drawing to an end, but that didn’t stop us from squeezing in one last trip. We flew from Houston to Harlingen to visit South Padre Island. As I packed, I couldn’t fight off the looming feeling that I was probably forgetting something. I wished there was a list that I could reference to offer me some reassurance with my packing. Now that we have returned, I feel seasoned enough to create my own list… So, here it is–my list of very necessary must have beach essentials!

• Sunglasses

As soon as we landed,  the heat hit my like an Amtrak train. I don’t know why I expected it to be any different than Houston, it wasn’t! The sun was directly overhead. I was highly relieve to have my big bourgeoisie sunglasses that covered almost half of my face. Eye protection is of the utmost priority when you’re visiting a beach.

• Sun Hat

A beach trip is simply not a beach trip without a beach hat. You can go with the big floppy sun hat or a cute little beach fedora as I did. I was able to kill two birds with one stone. Not only did the keep my curly tresses in place, but it allowed my sensitive scalp to be protected from the beaming sun rays.

• Beach Cover Up

You all know that I’ve been up in the gym just working on my fitness, like Fergie. The goal was to be the most slim thick chocolate morsel on the beach. I hopped at the airplane at a smooth 130 pounds, go me! However, I still felt like it was necessary for me to cover up my bum and tummy. No lie, I sifted through page upon page on Amazon before finding this lovely cover up. I knew it was meant to be because it matched my beach hat perfectly!

• Lip Balm

If it’s a couples trip, then you know you better have an ample supply of lip balm or chapstick. The lips have to be soft and supple for bae. I’m a big fan of the EOS lip balms because the smell and taste aren’t too overpowering. It’s mind boggling how this cute little ball of ingredients works so efficiently to keep my lips moisturized and baby soft.

• Beach Blanket

I have the best beach blanket! But guess what, I didn’t remember to bring it along. Anyway, I highly recommend bringing this as it will keep your towels [mostly] free of sand. If there’s one thing that I hate, it’s drying off with a sandy towel. Which brings up straight to our next item.

• Beach Towels

I really don’t have much to say about this one… We ended up getting ours from the hotel that we were staying in. They were white and plain, but at least they were huge. If you can, try to buy your towels before heading to the beach! The ones I saw at the tourist shops and the surrounding stores were going for an arm and a leg. Ummm, nope!

• Sunscreen

Now, I for sure gained some color on this trip. I remember putting on sunscreen for about 2 days out of the trip. I left with a nice melanin style tan that was tender to the touch. Yes, African Americans can get sun burns. So, be sure to pack a sunscreen with an adequate SPF for your skin type. I prefer the spray on sunscreen because it’s easy and umm, who doesn’t like that.

• Swimsuits

If you’re planning a multiple day beach trip, be sure to pack enough swimsuits. Call me uppity if you want, but I needed a new swimsuit for each day of the vacation. It was great, because we ended up taking so many pictures while we were on the beach. I love bright, bold hues. I had a colorful set of photos for each day of our excursion. You can get browse for unique swimwear here.

• Wet Bag

These definitely came in handy with all of the wet swimsuits that I had. Once I got done at the  beach, I rinsed any residual sand my swim wear. I didn’t want it touching bathroom floors (Yes, I’m a germophobe!) or even worse risking it accidentally getting left behind in the hotel. I mean, the hotel was pristine… but you just never know. So once I was done rinsing, I placed it directly in my wet bag.

• Mobile Phone Charger

The trip was great. I wanted to capture every moment. And I did, until my cell phone battery died. The battery capacity on Apple phones is a complete joke. Oh, and guess what, the Jeep that we rented didn’t have a working charging port. It was a miraculous work of God that I had my mobile phone charger with me. I was able to charge my phone just enough to upload the select few pictures I wanted showcased for that day and to navigate us to a cute little dinner spot.

• Beach Toys

We didn’t have any kids, so I totally didn’t think about bringing along any beach play toys or other forms of entertainment. Once we got there, I was jealous of the family next to us. They were very well  prepared. From oversized beach floats to a luxury sandcastle building kit… I wanted in on the fun, but felt it would be too awkward to ask if I could play too!

Moral of the story: Don't bring sand to the beach. Do bring toys! Click To Tweet

I hope you enjoyed the list that I’ve compiled. Was there anything that I missed? If so, drop me a comment below! If you want to see video footage from the trip, be sure to check out (and subscribe to) my Youtube channel. We went horseback riding, zip lining and much more. You can find the South Padre Island vlogs here. This was definitely one for the books!