Making the Most of a Beach Vacation with Baby in Tow

I really do believe salt water is the best medicine: sweat, tears, and the sea help us feel better about many of life's problems right away. For that reason, spending relaxed days beachside is my idea of a perfect vacation. Luckily, earlier this month, my 9-month-old son and I took an impromptu flight to Florida to visit friends and family while dad took a last minute work trip, and it was oh-so-sweet.

By now we are quite used to traveling with our babe, and he is just the cutest travel buddy there is! If you follow us on Instagram you know he's a beach bum at heart, just like his mama and dada. But even though he's an easy-going little man, there are certain things we do/avoid to make our beach trip go as smooth as possible:

Go off the beaten path

Sunset and full moon bliss

This blog's name is no coincidence - exploring the undiscovered is one of my favorite travel themes. As far as Florida goes, there are many smaller, less crowded beaches that are just as gorgeous as the popular ones. This time around we spent our days in a sleepy beach town near St. Petersburg called North Redington Beach. Between the calm Gulf of Mexico waters and mostly empty sands, I really favor those versus Miami or Daytona Beach nowadays. Don't get me wrong, I actually lived in South Beach and had my fair share of Sunday Fundays (and loved every second of it). But drunken crowd shenans around my precious? Uh-huh honey.

Camp out 

Heading to the beach with a baby requires a bit more preparation than just grabbing a beach towel, some sunscreen and a book. We had two beach canopies set up side by side and that made all the difference (we were a group of 10 and just a regular beach umbrella wouldn't do). Under the canopies we had chairs, beach blankets, a buffet table, a waterproof radio, you name it. For the baby, we used this sunscreen, this rash guard, a lightweight ring sling, easy to clean toys, and had tons of fruit (watermelon, mango, blueberries, anything extra juicy to avoid dehydration) and fresh water. {affiliate links}.

Enlist help

Gotta love the shallow gulf waters

With so many family members around who we barely get to see, I had constant volunteers to help change, bathe, feed, watch, entertain and love my son, and it felt great. Having so many kind helpers took a huge load off my back, and I was able to relax and enjoy our time there without being overwhelmed.

Skip the hotel and go for a vacation rental 

Regarding accommodations, I can't think of a better option than a vacation rental. R's family rents a beach condo every summer for a week, and this year we were thrilled and grateful to be able to tag along. (Thanks again, guys!) It turns out July is National Vacation Rental Month - for good reason. Renting an entire apartment versus a hotel has so many advantages:

Wyndham Vacation Rentals survey findings

Extra space, less cost

The apartment was big enough to comfortably sleep all 10 of us! We had enough privacy, yet it was fun to have everyone staying together. We spent most of our days downstairs at the beach anyway, and only came upstair after the sunset for dinner, a shower, and bed.

A kitchen

Speaking of dinner, we prepared every meal ourselves. Home-cooked meals on vacation are a huge source of savings. Also, taking an older baby to a restaurant can be a bit challenging and stressful. Our little guy's mood goes downhill FAST at night, and the best place to be is at our home for the evening.

Flexibility

Some owners only rent for a week or longer, some allow only weekends; some accommodate larger parties and special requests such as highchairs, pack 'n' plays, etc. There is a lot more flexibility than at hotels, especially if you plan ahead and rent in the off-season.

As with any trips involving kids, having a plan, a good attitude, and family and friends around to help are some of the most important things you can do. These are great memories in the making, and there's no better place to create them than at the beach.

What are your favorite beaches to visit?