Renting a beach house with kids..do you get disappointed?

[Anonymous]

Yes! My kids are now teen to young adult and I always felt this way. Beach vacations were so stressful and so much work! It gets better when they hit late elementary/middle school. By then they packed themselves, applied their own sunscreen, fed themselves and could even stay at the house alone allowing DH and I alone time on the beach or a dinner out. I also learned to be clear with DH about why I didn’t feel it was a vacation and he was great about suggesting ways to ease my burden. The biggest change was I stopped cooking. Now we do takeout or serve convenience foods for dinners.

[Anonymous]

Beach houses are great for big family trips and little kids. Now that my kids are older, we want to travel to other places than the beach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone feel like beach trips in a rental home with kids are a *ton* of work and not worth it? We went to the mountains this year and it was a much better fit for my family. We didn’t have to pack as much, I could actually relax and not worry about my 4 year old drowning every second we were by water, didn’t have to pack a million things and set up umbrellas and a tent for the day. We did other things like rode horses, paddle boarding with life vests, hikes, and just enjoyed it as much if not more. I love the beach but next time we are going to a resort.

Yes of course resorts are more relaxing. They are also a lot more expensive, as is paying for all food out, and families share a much smaller sleeping space. There are pros and cons.

This. Its not about beach vs mountain, you're comparing rentals to resorts.

FWIW we rent bayfront for our beach vacations. Water is calmer and shallower, and we don't schlep more than a bag of toys and towels. You're making your beach vacation hard on yourself by bringing tents and umbrellas and a million things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone feel like beach trips in a rental home with kids are a *ton* of work and not worth it? We went to the mountains this year and it was a much better fit for my family. We didn’t have to pack as much, I could actually relax and not worry about my 4 year old drowning every second we were by water, didn’t have to pack a million things and set up umbrellas and a tent for the day. We did other things like rode horses, paddle boarding with life vests, hikes, and just enjoyed it as much if not more. I love the beach but next time we are going to a resort.

Yes of course resorts are more relaxing. They are also a lot more expensive, as is paying for all food out, and families share a much smaller sleeping space. There are pros and cons.

This. Its not about beach vs mountain, you're comparing rentals to resorts.

FWIW we rent bayfront for our beach vacations. Water is calmer and shallower, and we don't schlep more than a bag of toys and towels. You're making your beach vacation hard on yourself by bringing tents and umbrellas and a million things.

Some of us are very white and need umbrellas!

[Anonymous]

My family always goes to the beach every year. We don’t set up a tent and chairs on the beach. We just walk to the beach a couple times a day and go swimming and maybe play in the sand a little bit if we feel like it. This idea that you have to haul a ton of crap to the beach and set it all up and stay there all day is not enjoyable to me at all. We tend to stay ocean front in family owned houses Where we can see the ocean all day from the living room or bedrooms or porch. The kids can play outside or in the house. The adults consider around and talk. You can do an outing like a movie or outlet shopping or putt putt or water slides or going to Fish Camp to eat. There is a community pool.I find all of that enjoyable.

Staying a long walk from the beach and getting there early in the morning and setting up camp on the beach with a bunch of kids all day long does not look even remotely enjoyable to me. Especially when you go back to a house where you can’t see the ocean or the sound or anything that reminds you that you are even at the beach.

So it just depends how you do it. If you can borrow families oceanfront beach house, Or have lots of money and can afford to rent one, it’s nice. If you have to stay a long walk from the beach in a cruddy house, I can see not finding that enjoyable.

[Anonymous]

For this to work when kids are small, (helpful) adults need to outnumber kids 2:1. Less important when kids are older. And everyone has to be “beach people” and want it. MIL thought she wanted to do this because my family does it, but turns out she’s not a “beach person” and doesn’t understand how to relax at the beach. She won’t sit down, takes a walk or two, and declares she’s going back to the house. It takes her longer to get ready each day for the beach than the amount of time she is down at the beach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone feel like beach trips in a rental home with kids are a *ton* of work and not worth it? We went to the mountains this year and it was a much better fit for my family. We didn’t have to pack as much, I could actually relax and not worry about my 4 year old drowning every second we were by water, didn’t have to pack a million things and set up umbrellas and a tent for the day. We did other things like rode horses, paddle boarding with life vests, hikes, and just enjoyed it as much if not more. I love the beach but next time we are going to a resort.

Yes of course resorts are more relaxing. They are also a lot more expensive, as is paying for all food out, and families share a much smaller sleeping space. There are pros and cons.

This. Its not about beach vs mountain, you're comparing rentals to resorts.

FWIW we rent bayfront for our beach vacations. Water is calmer and shallower, and we don't schlep more than a bag of toys and towels. You're making your beach vacation hard on yourself by bringing tents and umbrellas and a million things.

Some of us are very white and need umbrellas!

NP - right! We rent bayfront, too, which helps, but we still can't tolerate all day sun exposure, nor can our fair-complexioned kids. I mean, do you not need water? Snacks? Some people do make things harder for themselves, but parents of very young kids who need to bring lots of stuff to the beach don't meet that description, IMO.

OP, the bayfront made it much easier for us, but really it's about your kids getting older. Ours are 11, 9, and 7 now, and we have SO much fun.

[Anonymous]

Depends I guess.

What you describe is how I felt at our community pool - super crowded, several pools, slides, etc. and had to follow my kid around with his friends from pool to pool. Not relaxing at all, so I stopped buying the summer membership.

Beach vacations were some of our best tbh. Didn't do them until my son was maybe 10 or 11 y/o. By then he was a good swimmer, his dad is a strong swimmer also and they'd go in the water together, go boogie boarding, and afterward built sand castles while I relaxed under an umbrella with a good summer book. He's 15 now and doesn't really want to go anywhere with us anymore, but that's another story.

The mountains are fun too.

[Anonymous]

This is why we do a beach resort and for less than a week. I’d rather pay a bit more for accommodations in order to have a nice resort pool and easy beach access where they’ll set everything up for you. And then eat meals out instead of cooking. Eating out over a 4 night stay isn’t necessarily that much more than buying groceries and cooking for a whole week. Also a lot of hotels will include breakfast and coffee.

I also refuse to do any house where I have to go somewhere to rent towels and sheets. I know some beach houses offer linens on site, but you still have to strip beds and wash dishes, etc. I prefer housekeeping coming in a hotel. Also, resorts are generally more walkable to cool stuff than the houses that are out on a reclusive beach (or the walkable houses are super $$$$ and book up fast). With young kids, I want to walk to ice cream, putt putt, restaurants, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My family always goes to the beach every year. We don’t set up a tent and chairs on the beach. We just walk to the beach a couple times a day and go swimming and maybe play in the sand a little bit if we feel like it. This idea that you have to haul a ton of crap to the beach and set it all up and stay there all day is not enjoyable to me at all. We tend to stay ocean front in family owned houses Where we can see the ocean all day from the living room or bedrooms or porch. The kids can play outside or in the house. The adults consider around and talk. You can do an outing like a movie or outlet shopping or putt putt or water slides or going to Fish Camp to eat. There is a community pool.I find all of that enjoyable.

Staying a long walk from the beach and getting there early in the morning and setting up camp on the beach with a bunch of kids all day long does not look even remotely enjoyable to me. Especially when you go back to a house where you can’t see the ocean or the sound or anything that reminds you that you are even at the beach.

So it just depends how you do it. If you can borrow families oceanfront beach house, Or have lots of money and can afford to rent one, it’s nice. If you have to stay a long walk from the beach in a cruddy house, I can see not finding that enjoyable.

Wow, so what you are saying is, being rich is better and makes life easier? Even on vacation?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For this to work when kids are small, (helpful) adults need to outnumber kids 2:1. Less important when kids are older. And everyone has to be “beach people” and want it. MIL thought she wanted to do this because my family does it, but turns out she’s not a “beach person” and doesn’t understand how to relax at the beach. She won’t sit down, takes a walk or two, and declares she’s going back to the house. It takes her longer to get ready each day for the beach than the amount of time she is down at the beach.

There’s nothing wrong with not spending a ton of time at the beach. It’s OK to just go for a walk in a swim and then go back to the house. A lot of people don’t like just hanging out on the sand. I love the beach but I do a swim in the morning and a swim in the afternoon and maybe a walk along the beach in the evening. I don’t hang out all day.

[Anonymous]

Love DCUM. People complaining about vacation. Poor you.

[Anonymous]

OP I agree beach feels like the hardest vacation. Just so much cleaning with all that sand, showers, sunscreen , tons of wet clothes and laundry. Other vacations we've done like cabins/hikes have all felt easier than the beach with young kids (mine are under 5).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why we do a beach resort and for less than a week. I’d rather pay a bit more for accommodations in order to have a nice resort pool and easy beach access where they’ll set everything up for you. And then eat meals out instead of cooking. Eating out over a 4 night stay isn’t necessarily that much more than buying groceries and cooking for a whole week. Also a lot of hotels will include breakfast and coffee.

I also refuse to do any house where I have to go somewhere to rent towels and sheets. I know some beach houses offer linens on site, but you still have to strip beds and wash dishes, etc. I prefer housekeeping coming in a hotel. Also, resorts are generally more walkable to cool stuff than the houses that are out on a reclusive beach (or the walkable houses are super $$$$ and book up fast). With young kids, I want to walk to ice cream, putt putt, restaurants, etc.

I’d love to know which resort has all this for not that much more than a rental home! No snark, I just think you are downplaying the additional expense. It’s common on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

I was never a beach person, OP, even as a child, and I always enjoyed the mountains more. The only time we went to the beach in my younger child's life was during the pandemic when we couldn't go anywhere else. She was 11. It was just as bad as I thought it would be, but we were desperate.

No beach for me! I prefer my little corner of the Alps