Heading on a sunny holiday soon? Here are our toddler swimming holiday essentials
I have my beach bag ready, my flat sandals and my husband’s Summer holiday shoes ready. Add some sunscreen and I am almost good to go!
But not before I pack everything my wonderful daughter may need for a good sunny swimming holiday which includes a few more things than I thought.
Here is a list of things we have bought and find it a swimming holidays with kids essential.
Liewood Swim Vest
Costs £40 but seems to be out of stock. Try Scandiborn or Junior Edition. Liewood has some sizes still available.
We can’t rave enough about these swim vests – they are fantastic quality and absolutely fit for purpose. And I love that they have no unicorns on them.
Sunnylife seem to do similar ones and Splash About too.
If you prefer arm bands, these were the ones we had for a few years.
Foldaway bucket and spade
We were gifted this set by a friend and have used on every trip as it folds away to almost nothing (and I really do not want to be buying a cheap plastic set on every destination). We have added some more bits to it like sieves, sand moulds etc.
Shops like Flying Tiger do some brilliant bits seasonally. (they ship everywhere in Europe so just change the country on the website).
Cotton poncho
Costs £14.99 (available in blue and green).
I wasn’t sure I needed these but a friend gifted us one last year and we bought one again as they were brilliant for quick swims (she would go actually dressed in that and return in that). Also handy to keep in my beach bag.
Toddler girl swimsuit
Costs £8. Other patterns available but I love this one.
We tend to buy most of her swimwear in Spain (and we go through quite a bit). Hipercor has a brilliant selection (and they are great value).
H&M have a great variety of swimwear, and you can find some very plain patterns for both boys and girls.
We also have something with more coverage for when it is very hot – H&M do some great ones and so does Liewood.
Kids sunglasses
We love these (and we lose a lot of them!). If you are looking to spend a bit more, these are great.
Jelly Sandals
Costs £24 from Kidly
These Liewood jelly sandals cost more than other similar ones but they last a lot longer (and dare I say look much better). We have them in a variety of colours and I cannot recommend them enough.
We also purchased a pair of Native shoes for little one following our trip to Florida. Every kid had them and they are great water shoes (much needed sometimes on the Spanish coast).
Kids Havaianas
Cost from £12 for the ones with the back and the ones without the back (normal ones)
Our little one loves her flip flops and we never had a problem. She graduated from the ones with the back to the normal ones, but actually I bought another pair with the back as it works better for some outings (we had a hairy moment on a boat trip recently where we almost lost one). So for the season she has a pair of white ones without the back and a pair of navy ones with the back and that is plenty. They obviously come in every colour in the world.
If you are looking for women’s options, these are my favourites. I have a post with some ideas for women’s flat sandals and also men’s holiday shoes.
Sun hat
Costs £16 from Polarn o Pyret
Hands down the best hat we have ever had. Little one had the baby sizes and how upgraded to a size which should last a few years. We have it in white and in navy and it is enough – they wash beautifully and do not lose their shape.
Kids Sunscreen
We love Isdin SPF 50 for face (I use the adult version too, which is currently on sale, so stock up) as it is very easy to apply and little one cooperates. You can see where it goes (mineral SPF has proven to be challenging for us and type of skin).
For the body, the best sunscreen we have found is the Vichy Anti Sand for kids, which has some magical superpowers and does not get sand stuck to it. It is really great. In the USA we have purchased (and stocked up) on Sun Bum Kids SPF 50 which has the same effect and we loved it.
A water bottle that remains cold
This one is from Liewood and costs £25 and you can find great options on Amazon of course. We have these ones.
We learned our lesson (warm water… yuck!) and now always take one stainless steel bottle with us which has saved us on occasion.
We still use our Liewood bottle, but little one drinks from open top as well, so we have our own Sip by Swell which she uses as well. As much as I love these bottles I hate them because they aren’t dishwasher friendly (and I find it always a pain, but there are other problems in the world.
A portable fan
Costs £20 from Amazon
This one has served us since little one was a year old and it is perfect for beach naps and also works with the Yoyo.
A beach ball
Costs £3 from Amazon
We have not bothered with towels or anything as she just uses one from the hotel or our home (just like ours).
I hope you find this list useful on future swimming holidays with kids and the whole point is that all these items will be used again and again. Some of ours here are almost 3 years old and pristine – so it has been worth the money.
Until the next holiday
xo
Mrs. O
PS. Have a look at my Airplane (or car) activities for toddlers (some useful bits there!). Also have a look at my Toddler Girls Clothes Edit and our Baby and Toddler Travel Essentials.
