Seven essentials you should pack for a day out at the beach

Let’s be honest, once in a while, we all deserve a much-needed break from everyday living in Lagos. For some of us, one of the perfect places to go for this break is the beach. Thankfully, Lagos is blessed with some nice beaches.

You know the popular ones like Moist beach, Landmark beach, Elegushi, and even Tarkwa Bay. In fact, you’ve most likely visited one or more of these beaches before now. That’s great but not what this piece will be focusing on.

In this article, we’ll go over the essentials needed for a day out at the beach; and while most of these essentials are quite common knowledge, others might come as a bit of surprise.

Ready? Let’s dive into the list!

• Comfortable Beach Clothing

The right term for this is usually “bathing suit”. However, not everyone who goes to the beach do so with the intention of swimming or even going near the water (we judge you not). Hence, the use of beach clothing, since this covers both clothing items from bikinis, bathing suits, beach shorts, beach dresses.

Whatever clothing you choose will entirely be up to you. Another thing to keep in mind is perhaps considering what activities you’ll be having at the beach. Will you be in the company of a lot of people? Would you be comfortable wearing just a bikini? You get the drill.

Personally, we feel that anything light and comfortable can pass for a day out at the beach. However, be careful not to dress out of occasion (We’re shaking this table for people who step into the beach with thick leather bomber jackets, tight jeans etc).

• Protective Accessory (Sunglasses or Hat)

Beaches are outdoor environments meaning you’ll be in the open air for long hours. And you know what else is in the open air right? The sun! Hence, the importance of a protective accessory (yep! we kind of made up that name).

They’re tons of beach hats and sunglasses designs that are really affordable and everywhere really (by “everywhere” we mean local markets and stores).

These protective gears are important as you must have guessed because they help protect against the sun rays. And also, they save from sunburn (with the help of sunscreen of course).

• Easy-Access & Easy-To-Carry Bag

There are tons of stuff you’ll most likely have on you: Chapstick, comb, phone charger, power bank, wallet, snacks, books, etc. And you definitely need a place to put those in.

This is where an Easy-Access, Easy-To-Carry Bag comes in. Easy-Access because whatever bag you take along with you and to the beach should be designed in such a way that it’s easy to put stuff in and pull stuff out of. On the other hand, Easy-To-Carry is self-explanatory: whatever bag to take with you should be light enough to carry around.

It’s also important that your choice of bag is easy to carry so you have it on you always because they are swipers ready to steal stuff from people all the time at beaches.

• Sunscreen

If you’re one of those people who argue that Africans have no business with sunscreen, please stop reading this article now, and say a short Prayer of repentance to God.

Done that? Thank you. You can carry on reading.

While we can confidently say that sunscreen is good for your skin, what we cannot say confidently is what brand you should use and the quantity of SPF your skin tone requires. Our best advice is to consult a licensed dermatologist.

• Comfortable Footwear (Slippers, Sandals. Flip Flops etc)

You must be quite familiar with beach sand and how difficult it is to walk on them with certain types of footwear right?

This is why comfortable footwear like flip flops and sandals are more ideal for a day out at the beach. Whatever works for you is great though, always remember that!

• Towel

Maybe this item is limited to people who intend to swim or go into the water but really, we think it’s kind of up to you.

But take a towel to dry up after spending time in the water. Staying wet for long can open you up to catching a cold or something worse.

• Extras

In this category, we’ll kind of just list out items that may or may not be important for your time out at the beach.

Depending on your preference or the occasion, but having a novel or book, umbrella, Bluetooth speaker, light blanket or jacket, a bottle of water (or drink of choice wink), could come in really really handy.

Of course, don’t forget to pack in your ATM card or cash to pay for all the goodies you’ll be enjoying on your day out.

If you enjoyed this article please let us know in the comments and if we get up to 5 comments, we’ll publish a fuller article on the essentials to pack for a beach trip or week at the beach.