Baby-friendly beach vacations

Ready to get away? How about a baby-friendly beach vacation? If the little ones don’t want to bask all day in the sun, plan some fun baby-friendly activities around a beach town. Real moms share their favorite beach memories and inspire us to create our own this summer!

Maria’s favorite vacation spot is Tradewinds Resort in St. Pete Beach for many reasons — it’s a quick trip from her home in Florida, and her own parents took her to the very same resort when she was growing up. Maria says, “My kids were delighted by the pirate performance and the huge waterslide out on the beach. The canals throughout the resort property are a blast for paddle boating.”

In addition to playing in the sand, Jessica and her husband — who homeschool their two daughters — wanted to incorporate some educational experiences into their beach vacation. Enter the Santa Cruz Mission, Natural Bridges State Beach where the girls observed tide pools, the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Exploration Center, the University of California, Santa Cruz Arboretum and Seymour Marine Discovery Center at Long Marine Laboratory where “the girls were able to pet sharks, starfish, see dolphins and learn about the bones of a grey whale.”

Of course, they made time for some good old-fashioned fun on the surf as well as a day spent enjoying rides at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Betsy Johnson, founder of SwimZip, and her family — including her six-month-old son — enjoyed a fabulous family friendly vacation at The Royal Cancun in Mexico, where Betsey says the beach is perfect for little kids.

She says, “It is extremely calm and peaceful! You can walk out 30 feet, and the water doesn’t go above your waist.”

In addition to calm waters perfect for little ones to splash around in, the property has a playground area to keep the kids entertained when they need a break from the beach.

Leigh Ann, mom of three, looks back on her trip to her husband’s family’s beach house in Outer Banks, North Carolina with fond memories… because it was the last vacation with her twins, then just a little over one year old. Why? The couple got pregnant with their third child on that very trip!

Angela considers South Haven Beach in western Michigan to be “the prettiest Great Lake.” Her family vacations there with another family to enjoy relaxing in the sand with “a few discreet cocktails” and snacks and water for the kids, of course!

She says, “There’s a small playground for the kids, and we bring footballs and the latest In Style and enjoy Lake Michigan.”

For Carrie Carroll, founder of The Twin Source, her baby-friendly beach getaway to Gulf Shores, Alabama was about making her vacation for her twins a home away from home.

She says, “Our family rented a large house right on the beach, we were just steps from the calm ocean waters and the babies loved it. We were able to really get into a great routine with dealing with the sand and clean up. We had a little inflatable pool on the deck that we used as their bathtub after the beach and filled it with soapy water and scrubbed them down right there. Having a kitchen and a nice living space also really made it great and allowed us to feel at home with two babies!”

More family-focused vacations

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Chasing the dream: Making a dream trip happen
?3 Best cruises for families