Top Beach Travel Hacks For Your Sandbridge Vacation

No matter how excited you are to finally be going on vacation, the packing and travelling it involves can cause a lot of stress, especially for those traveling in larger groups or with kids. Fear not! We've compiled a list of beach travel hacks to help your Sandbridge vacation get started the right way.

Planning Ahead

1. To make your suitcase the most effective, roll your clothes instead of folding them. You could even place each day's outfits in a bag and vacuum seal them to maximize storage.
2. When packing toiletries cut out squares of plastic wrap and place it under the cap of your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. to keep liquids from spilling.
3. Research apps and websites like gasbuddy.com to find stations with the lowest prices on your trip to save a little extra cash.
4. Bring backpack chairs, extra towels, coolers, etc. for the beach. When hauling all of your belongings onto the beach while chasing little ones, it'll be helpful to have as much stuff as possible in a way that is easy to carry.
5. Pack things like duct tape and traveling sewing kits for those inevitable moments when you need a quick fix.
6. Keep a rolled up trash bag in one of your shoes to use for dirty laundry throughout your trip and on the way back home.
7. Keep money in a few places like inside an empty Chapstick tube, or even in a clean panty liner or diaper so that nobody just walking by will pick it up; just be careful not to accidentally throw it away!
8. Pack an emergency kit in case of car troubles with jumper cables, flashlights, water, a blanket, a tire pump, etc.
9. Before heading out to the beach, put aloe vera in an ice cube tray to soothe sunburnt skin.

In The Car

1. Make sure you have the right chargers and plenty of them for each of your family's devices, and bring an adapter that allows charging of multiple devices if possible.
2. To keep the kids entertained, make a binder full of printable pages and activities.
3. Use a shoe organizer hooked around the headrest as a toy caddy that the kiddos can reach when they need some entertainment. If you're worried about making a mess, keep this on the side of the oldest or most responsible child to help things stay neat.
4. Use a plastic tackle box as an organizer for different types of snacks along the ride. This will help curb some of the fast-food cravings and hold everyone over until the next stop.
5. By attaching a clothespin to the vent and gluing some craft pom poms you can create an essential oil diffuser that is a family and ecofriendly way to help get rid of that stuffy car smell.
6. To minimize trash, keep a cereal container in the floorboard as a perfectly sized trash bin.
7. Use empty coffee creamer containers as DIY snack carriers for pretzels, cheerios, mixed nuts, etc.
8. Screenshot your GPS directions and only pull it back up when necessary. This will save your battery life, data, and minimize panic if you loser service on the road.

At The Beach

1. Use Ziploc bags or empty, sealed peanut butter jars for things like phones, iPod, Chapstick and money to keep everything dry and sand-free.
2. Freeze water bottles before putting them in your beach cooler. They are less messy than ice packs and you'll enjoy icy-cold refreshment as they thaw.
3. Baby powder works great to remove sticky sand from skin after a fun day on theSay goodbye to sand in your clothes even after you change; simply sprinkle on and the sand will rub right off.
4. Use a fitted sheet with your heavy items in the corners to create raised edges to keep a sand-free zone for eating or lounging.
5. Bring a mesh bag for beach toys. The water will drain and dry off and you can shake the sand out before putting it back in the car.
6. Use a dry erase marker to write the next reapply time on your sunscreen bottles so you won't forget.
7. Check the tide chart when setting up camp so you aren't stuck with soaked belongings and having to move everything when the tide comes in later in the day.
8. No speaker? No problem. Just place the speaker side of your phone in an empty plastic cup to amplify sound.
9. Bring a kiddie pool to fill up for the little kids to play without the dangerous waves or strong currents.

There are hundreds of travel hacks like these all over the internet and we hope you find these tips and tricks useful and they alleviate the little bit of stress that sometimes comes with travelling. Of course, no matter the trials and tribulations, a trip to the Sandbridge with family and friends can sooth the biggest of worries!