Question

H E Y M A M A S!  We will soon be booking our flights and condo for #beachvaca2020 and I CAN.H E Y M A M A S! We will soon be booking our flights and condo for #beachvaca2020 and I CAN. NOT. WAIT!  This is a first for us and I need ALLLLL the tips I can get! Here are questions I need answered. MAJOR  BONUS  POINTS for inexpensive tips and ideas! FYI we have a 4 month old, 5 year old and 7 year old! ;)  What are your must have beach items for kids and adults? I am obsessed with organization and planning so BRING  IT  ON!  What are your tips for flying with babies/kiddos?  What are your tips for staying in a condo? Must bring items? Money saving tips?  What are your best vacationing tips just in general? With kiddos? Spam me with your wisdom and please in layman's terms! Total newbie here! ‍♀️ Thanks, mamas! ❤

Answer 1

Stay somewhere with a kitchen, it saves tons of food money! We do mostly free outdoor activities when we travel with kids

Answer 2

We used VRBO to rent condos and most of the time they included beach toys, umbrellas and other stuff for the kids. If we needed something for them to okay with, we went to the dollar tree and got stuff super cheap. And then we left it behind in the condo for any other families traveling after us. We got groceries for the week and cooked a lot of meals instead of going out. When we did go out, we did lunch instead of dinner so we could skip all the lines.  

Answer 3

Yes stay somewhere w/a kitchen to buy food. Buy an infant beach tent for the little one. Don’t spend a fortune on beach toys. Your older 2 will likely be elated to just play in the ocean. Also don’t bring a book you won’t be relaxing with kids on the beach. Hehe.  (mom of 2 little ones here) Check w the beach beforehand to see if you can bring a beach umbrella. This is great w/little ones. Beach towels, lots of sunscreen of course. Take a cooler of snacks and water on the beach. And if you can find a place w/ a pool that will be nice to have.  

Comments

@pioneer this may be a dumb question but I'm totally serious lol  how do you fly and bring an infant tent and cooler?  

Answer 4

Go to a dollar tree when you get there. Spend about $30 on boogie boards for the bigs and sand toys and easy beach snacks. Order groceries from Walmart and do pick up so you aren't grocery shopping on vacation. If it's in the budget get the groceries delivered. Be sure and buy detergent for the dishwasher and the washer so you can throw a load in at night and not go home with a weeks worth of dirty clothes. Take a sweater for everyone because after you are in the sun all day if you go to a restaurant at night you can be cold. Get one of those baby tents on amazon for $20 or under. They fold flat and are easy to pack. Great for naps.  

Answer 5

Check what the condo offers: kitchen utensils and cookware, plates, silverware? Is there a pool at the condo? A park? Free stuff to do? Also, the condo office will know what's fun to do locally or any kid friendly events. Find out if you can ship stuff to the condo so you dont need to pack it. like beach towels, sand toys, extra swimsuits, sunscreen. beach hats. stuff that's bulky but needed!  

Answer 6

Beach stuff (boogie boards, toys, chairs, etc) will be about 50% more expensive in the beach town. If these aren’t provided at your condo consider ordering on amazon and having them shipped to the condo. You’ll save a ton of money.  

Comments

@manille how do you fly back with beach chairs?  

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You just leave them. I live very close to the resort beaches in Delaware and at night there’s always abandoned chairs from people that can’t travel home with them. It’s still usually cheaper than renting them.  

Answer 7

Honestly, I would look at VRBO. com or AIRBNB. com before just booking a condo. Sometimes you can find cheaper and better places to stay that way  

Answer 8

Bring snacks for the plane. The pouches are great to bring and you can have a bottle or sippy cup already filled ta wont make you dump out the liquids as long as they are feeding the kids. I fly with my 2 year old all the time. Also bring toys that dont make noise. For your 4 month old you can carry them as a lap infant so you wont have to buy a plane ticket for the little one. Also you can check your car seats when you check k your baggage. But you are able to bring the stroller right up to the gate and they will put a tag on it and you will be able to pick it up st the gate when you land. Makes it easier to put all the carry on bags in the stroller while holding your 4 month old in a baby carrier

Answer 9

Not sure if this an option for you through your work. Through my work they utilize different websites like Perks At Work. We get discounts on housing, airplanes, Car rentals and activities. I got over $100 off my car rental when we went to the beach and about $40+ off each attraction we did. I was able to go ahead and figure the prices months in advance so I could save for that then a few weeks before we left i went ahead and bought the tickets for the attractions. The kids used their spending money they had earned for anything they wanted to buy at the attractions.  

Answer 10

Since you’re getting a condo precook or buy some frozen dinners like lasagna or chicken pot pie. Something you can throw into the oven. One it makes for a few easy night dinners when everyone is worn out from being in the sun all day and it makes your total food spent on the trip much lower.