Taking your family to the beach can be fun for everyone involved. However, your kids are bound to lose interest in the beach once the novelty of the ocean and sands begins to wane.
A way to keep their attention is by bringing beach toys with you. Beach toys can be a great way to ensure your little ones remain interested and busy for the entire outing.
Beach toys provide children with open-ended play, which, in turn, enables children to use their imaginations. Something as simple as a fun beach toy can be a great way for children to work on their interpersonal skills, reaching out to children they do not know.
Children can use the best beach toys independently and safely while being easy to move to and from the beach. To create this list, we have highlighted beach toys that can withstand the rigors of beach play. This means avoiding any toys that have small parts or electronic components.
The best beach toys highlighted in this article also provide fun for various age levels, ensuring something for the whole family.
Before highlighting the best beach toys, we must first highlight our process.
How We Tested and Compared These Products
When considering the best beach toys for your children, remember that each toy will have an age range that works best for it. The last thing you want is to purchase a beach toy that is too complicated or has too many small pieces for a young toddler or an infant. You also don’t want to get your teen something they will lose interest in quickly.
With toddlers, you are better off with toys such as plastic beach buckets, vehicles, and shovels. You can also get beach toys that encourage imaginative play, like rolling pins, funnels, and cookie cutters.
Older children can also enjoy playing with plastic pails and shovels, collecting seashells, sea glass, building sandcastles and more. Children over 8 can also enjoy playing games and sports on the beach, so you might want to get a frisbeed or a beach ball.
With that in mind, here are the best beach toys for all age groups.
Best for 4 Months to 3 Years Old: Infantino Aquarium Bath Squirters
The Infantino Aquarium Bath Squirters are brightly colored, soft and squeezable beach toys. They can be filled with water when squeezed and submerged. Water can then be sprayed from the spouts with just a light squeeze. Each set of this beach toy comes with 8 pieces featuring creatures in the sea, like a shark or a starfish. These toys can be used for play in the sand or as a fun way to cool down overheated kids with water. They are the perfect beach toys for prolonging a fun beach day and adding extra fun during bath time.
What We Love
The beach-themed toys ensure ocean play is a lot more fun. Squirting water can be a wonderful way to cool down, and the bright colors ensure your kids are stimulated.
What We Don’t Love
These beach toys can float away into the ocean if care is not taken, and they can easily develop mold if they are not properly cleaned after every use.
Best for Ages 7 and Up: Activ Life Ultimate Skip Ball
Transform your regular game of catch with this skip ball from Activ Life. These balls have been designed to float on water, be it an ocean, lake, or pool. You can also choose to skip them across the surface as a way to up the challenge.
This fun beach toy is great for children that are already independent swimmers, especially those that can play in shallow water without the close supervision of an adult.
What We Love
This skip ball is great for children of all ages. Players can make their own rules with this beach toy. Additionally, this skip ball can be used on the water and at home out of the water.
What We Don’t Love
Materials used to construct this beach toy might not last for more than just a season.
Best for 5 Years and Older: SwimWays COOP Hydro Lacrosse Game Set
Want your children to be more active? The SwimWays COOP Hydro Lacrosse Game set is one of the best ways to do it. Thanks to this ocean-friendly, waterproof lacrosse set, your kids can remain cool. It works both in and out of the water, ensuring your kids can go in and out of the water at will.
This two-player game set comes with a single ball and two lacrosse sticks. The ball and sticks are brightly colored to ensure they can be easily recovered if dropped. Furthermore, to ensure the lacrosse sticks aren’t dropped too often, they are created with slip-proof foam handles to provide a better grip.
What We Love
The lacrosse set is great for the ocean and pools and makes getting active fun. It is also a great beach toy to get older kids involved.
What We Don’t Love
This beach toy requires two players, so it might not be the best for families with just one child.
Best for Ages 3 and Up: Melissa & Doug Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Set
One way to trigger the imagination of your little one is via the Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking set. These are some of the best beach toys crafted to resemble baking supplies. This ensures your toddler can create amazing pretend dishes for the rest of the family to enjoy at the beach. Your little one will enjoy playing with the shell-shaped measuring cups, turtle sieve, octopus whisk, mixing bowl, and crab mixing spoon.
What We Love
This beach toy set is extremely portable, considering the number of items in it. It has a cute, kid-friendly design and resembles baking supplies, enabling your little one to use their imagination.
What We Don’t Love
The lid comes off quite easily.
Best for Ages 6 and Up: Champion Sports Rubber Horseshoe Set
Want to add a bit more fun to your beach day? You can transform the beach into a horseshoe pit with this beach toy. This rubber horseshoe set has everything you need to create your game, including pegs, plastic dowels, two rubber mats and 2 pairs of horseshoes. All you have to do is bring a mallet to set everything up. You can play in pairs or as 4 single players, making it great fun for the whole family.
What We Love
These horseshoes are less dangerous and lighter than real horseshoes made of metal. This game is great for developing camaraderie among your kids and providing great fun for adults and kids alike.
What We Don’t Love
The plastic stakes might not remain secured during play.
Best for Ages 3 and Up: Melissa & Doug Speck Seahorse Sand Ice Cream Set
The Speck Seahorse Sand Ice Cream set from Melissa & Doug might not be the best way to satisfy your child’s sweet tooth. However, it can certainly keep them entertained when at the beach. This beach toy is a 6 piece set with a sand bucket, two cones, two ice cream scoops, and a sprinkle shaker.
This beach toy can spark your child’s creativity by enabling them to create cool treats at the beach. It can also be used to take pretend ice cream orders for the rest of the family. The buckets can also be used to help your kids move water from the shoreline to their place area. This enables them to get even more creative with their custom ice cream shop.
What We Love
This beach toy is an extremely creative way to have fun on the beach. All the pieces can be stored neatly together, and the sand bucket with this beach toy set can be used with other toys.
What We Don’t Love
This toy set might make your children want ice cream at the end of the day.
Need something to help haul your gear to the beach? It might be time to look for the best beach wagon options for your next beach outing.
Best for 12 Months and Above: Green Toys Dump Truck
Think of the beach as a big and wonderful sandbox, making this dump truck from Green Toys a fun option for your child. Not only can your little one use it to move sand to create their sand castles, but they can also create obstacle courses and roadways to drive around. This is one of the best eco-friendly beach toys, constructed from 100% recycled plastic.
It is also child safe as it has no small parts to endanger your child. This toy dump truck is also dishwasher safe, ensuring that it can be taken from your mesh beach bag to a wash cycle. This means less work for caregivers and parents exhausted from a day at the shoreline.
What We Love
This toy is constructed from 100% recycled plastic, which is perfect for a family looking for eco-friendly beach toys. This toy is easy to clean, and the wheels on the toy dump truck are sufficiently large to drive in the sand.
What We Don’t Love
The toy dump truck doesn’t have additional features. It is a simple and straightforward toy without the bells and whistles.
Best for all Ages: Top Race Set of 3 Foldable Buckets
Beach buckets are a mainstay for any fun day at the beach; however, these sand buckets can be a pain to carry and store. Fortunately, that is no longer the case, as the Top Race Foldable Pail Buckets have a collapsible design.
These beach toys are sturdy, making them the best for making sand castles. Your kids will love the 3 colorful 2-liter silicon buckets that can be folded into 1-inch tall circles.
These sand buckets also have durable plastic handles that make transporting and storing them easier. Another benefit of these beach toys is that they are dishwasher safe.
What We Love
These sand buckets come with durable handles and are dishwasher safe, ensuring cleaning after a day of beach fun is easy and not a huge chore. Thanks to the collapsible design, these sand buckets are also easy to store and transport.
What We Don’t Love
Since they are collapsible and foldable, they aren’t as sturdy and durable as traditional plastic buckets.
Best for Ages 3 Years and More: SINGARE Set of 2 Large Octopus Kites
When your children get older, they prefer more active beach toys like these Singare Large Octopus kites. You get two kites available in a plethora of colors. Each kite has its own carrying case. It also has 200 feet of line, enabling you and your kids to launch them high into the air.
What We Love
The octopus-shaped kites provide a fun activity at the beach. These kites require no assembly, and you get two kites with each purchase, so nobody feels left out.
What We Don’t Love
The kites are best used on windy days.
Best for 18 Months to 8 Years old: B. Toys by Battat Wavy Wagon Beach Play Set
Cart all your kids favorite beach toys with this wagon beach play set. This beach toy comes with all the tools and molds your child needs to have a great day at the beach. Your children will enjoy these beach toys as they can feel independent carrying them to the beach.
Parents will also love this beach toy as it has various shapes bound to spark their creativity. Each nesting cup in this beach toy set has holes, ensuring they can be used for water and sand play. It also comes with a sand sifter so your little ones can look for seashells—all of which can be taken back home in the wagon.
What We Love
This beach toy can be used for both sand and water play. There are various shapes to select from, ensuring your kids are never bored. The best part? The wagon set can be used to carry other toys.
What We Don’t Love
The wagon set is a lot smaller than it looks.
Best for 18 Months Old and Above: Hape Beach Toy Essential Set
Nothing screams beach fun day more than creating sandcastles at the beach. The Hape Beach Toy Essential Set is a must-have for all beach bags. This essential set is a 10-piece that provides a structured way for your children to get their creative juices flowing.
This set of sand toys comes with buckets that make water transportation easy—this is essential to help firm the sand up, making it more workable. There are also molds that kids can use to create bigger castle structures.
The rake and shovel are just the right size for small children, ensuring they can have a strong grip even when their hands are slippery with sunscreen. These eco-friendly beach toys are PVC, phthalate, and BPA-free, ensuring they hold up for a long time.
What We Love
Thanks to the bright colors, the pieces can be found easily in the sand when packing up. There are also numerous shapes to share, and the beach toy comes with a travel case.
What We Don’t Love
There isn’t space in the travel bag for additional beach toys. Additionally, older children are likely to quickly lose interest in these toys. They are best suited for younger children.
Buyer’s Guide
The following are factors to consider when looking for the best beach toys:
Portability
Portability is an important factor to consider when purchasing the best beach toys. You should consider if they can fit in your wagon or beach bag.
How do you intend to get them to and from the shoreline? Will they need their own transportation, or are they sufficiently light for your children to carry them? The best beach toys are typically ones that can seamlessly fit into your beach gear.
Encourage Independent Play
The simple fact is you won’t be able to completely disengage from children while at the beach. This is why it is imperative to have an adult supervise children at all times when they are around water.
Nevertheless, certain beach toys can give you a bit more leeway. You need to ensure that these toys enable your children to play independently for a while.
Safety
For most people, the perfect beach trip is done on a nice sunny day. To this end, you will need to ensure the toys you bring can stand up to the sun without becoming brittle or getting too hot. To this end, you must avoid beach toys constructed from ultra-thin plastics or dark-colored metals.
Conclusion
The Hape Beach Toy Essential Set is the top choice when searching for the best beach toys for children of all ages. This beach toy set has everything you and your children need to create many sandcastles and memories.
FAQs
What are the best beach toys for kids?
There are a variety of great beach toys for kids, but some of the most popular options include sandcastle-building sets, beach balls, frisbees, water guns, and boogie boards. Other options to consider include beach-themed puzzles and games, inflatable pool floats, and snorkeling gear.
What are the best beach toys for adults?
Adults can also have fun at the beach with some great beach toys. Some of the top options include beach volleyballs, paddle ball sets, cornhole boards, and bocce ball sets.
Are there any beach toys that are safe for young children?
Yes, many beach toys are safe for young children. Look for toys specifically designed for their age group and made from non-toxic materials. Beach toys with rounded edges and no small parts are also a good choice.
Can I bring my own beach toys to a public beach?
You can usually bring your own beach toys to a public beach. However, it’s important to be respectful of others and not take up too much space. Make sure to keep your toys contained in your own area and don’t block other people’s access to the water. Additionally, be aware of any beach rules and regulations regarding using beach toys.