5 Surprising Things You Should Always Bring to the Beach & 6 Beaches Near NYC

New York City is amazing, but sometimes you just need to get away to the beach and recharge. After a handful of years of living here we’ve explored a plethora of nearby beaches and have figured out which beaches are the best for weekend trips and/or day trips.  We’ve also found a few items we always bring with us to the beach- items you might not normally think to pack. So in an attempt to save you hours of research, here are 6 beaches near NYC worth visiting {in no order} and 5 surprising things you should always bring with you to the beach.

5 Surprising Things You Should Always Bring to the Beach

• Gathre Mat :: We love our circular Gathre mat. It rolls up decently small, water rolls off of it and sand doesn’t stick to it.
• Huggies Baby Wipes :: You’ll be surprised at how many times you will find yourself using baby wipes at the beach. I use them to wipe down our beach mat and keep it clean before/during/after our day. I also use them to remove makeup that may have smeared after swimming {or sweating}, to keep our hands clean, to wipe our faces, to wipe sand off our feet at the end of the day, etc. We also like to keep some wipes in a cooler so we can use them to wipe our body & cool off when we get too hot. {click here for a discount on your own!}
• Frozen water bottles :: This will help you keep cold water with you all day long!
• A small fan :: Bring a small fan that clips on to umbrellas, chairs or whatever is nearby. This gives you a little breeze, regardless of the temperature outside.
• Zip locks :: These are great for wet clothes, protecting your cell phone, saving momentos {shells, sand dollars, etc}, and so much more.

6 Beaches near NYC

• Brighton Beach :: This Brooklyn beach is a quick day trip from NYC. You can visit via train very easily. There is a strong Russian community here.
• Rockaway Beach :: This Queens beach is a quick day trip from NYC. You can visit via train very easily.
• Coney Island :: This Brooklyn beach is a quick day trip from NYC. You can visit via train very easily. Be prepared, it is extremely busy.
• Jones Beach :: This beach is on Long Island. It takes just under an hour and a half to get here from Manhattan. You can also take the LIRR and connect to this beach via bus.
• Long Beach :: This beach is on Long Island. It takes about an hour to get here from Manhattan or you can take the LIRR.
• The Hamptons :: This area on Long Island is famous for a reason. It is a little harder to get to and the commute is even longer in the summer due to traffic, but it is an amazing getaway from the city. We’ve taken the Jitney to get out here, but prefer renting a car.

***Thank you Huggies for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.