Crystal Beach: Items To Take To The Beach

Beach vacations offer great fun and relaxation for families and individuals.

Crystal Beach offers a less crowded beach option for those just wanting relaxation or a smaller area with kids.

The beaches around Galveston Island and on Crystal Beach don’t offer the crystal clear beautiful blue water as some may be looking for but is still most enjoyable to all. If you are looking for the crystal clear beautiful blue water in Texas check out South Padre Island.

Crystal Beach is on the Bolivar Peninsula.

There are two ways to get to Crystal Beach. One way to get there is taking Hwy 124 to hwy 87 and down to Crystal beach. To get to Crystal Beach from Galveston you have to take the ferry. The ferry is free which is a great benefit to all. It only takes about 20 minutes on the ferry to reach your destination of Crystal Beach or back over to Galveston Island.

My kids loved traveling on the ferry and it was quite easy to do. You can drive your car onto the ferry or you could just park and walk on if just wanting to enjoy the ride to and from but not staying there. When you drive onto the ferry you can park and get out of your car. They have an indoor area you can ride in or stay out in the open breeze.

My children thought it was cool to see the seagulls flying low at the back of the ferry and feeding them. I’d say if you are in that area beware of falling poop. Yes, we did encounter that right on the head.

Keep an eye out for dolphins as you might get a chance of seeing them as well. Barges transport goods through that area and you might pass by one or more on your way to Crystal Beach.

Crystal Beach is a good area for families. My family and I visited quite a long time back and loved it. We especially loved that it wasn’t very crowded, unlike the Galveston beaches.

There is not much to do on Crystal Beach which is one of the reasons we liked it. My kids were just wanting to swim, play in the sand and have fun as a family.

We stayed at a beach house where we could just walk back and forth to the beach staying as long as we wanted then back to the house for meals.

It was so nice to be able to get in the car and ride the ferry to Galveston for shopping, sightseeing, checking out the boardwalk and any other activity we wanted to do. The ferry ride was always entertaining for the kids. When in Galveston we would pick up grocery items we needed for our trip. At the time we visited there wasn’t many restaurants or grocery stores. There still isn’t much around there so you will want to bring some groceries with you.

We enjoyed hunting for sea shells, finding hermit crabs and watching them crawl. Surprisingly we found tons of hermit crabs to watch and check out. Digging up small sand oysters and watching them return back into the sand quickly was a fun site to see.

During that time period at the beach a lot of seaweed washed up in the water. My kids actually had a fun time playing with it and making fun seaweed hats. Funny how kids are entertained with the simplest of things. Let your kids fully emerge themselves in all that fun tactile stimulation that the beach offers.

I’d suggest bringing some floats or waterboards that the kids can play on. Most important if your kids are very young or don’t know how to swim, you may want to bring life vests or arm floats. My kids were very young and we stayed right near them even while they played close to the shore as I’d suggest all parents do.

The beaches at Crystal beach are drive-able and people do so but we never encountered any problems. However I’d suggest you warn the kids to watch out and you stay near by.

On beach trips where you may be limited on activities try some of these recommendations for family fun.

Have hermit crab races. Okay I know some will have a rebuttal on this idea, but if you aren’t harming them it’s fun to watch them crawl. My kids would get a hermit crab each and put them a little way from the water and watch them crawl back fast.

Build sand castles – building sand castles are fun for the whole family to get involved in. Bring the proper items needed.
- Bucket, hand shovels, sand castle molds or make your own free style sand castle.
  - When we visited South Padre Island on a trip when the kids were older we hired a professional sand castle maker to teach us. That is something worth checking into if you go to South Padre Island.
- Have the kids hunt for shells, sticks, seaweed and anything else fun to add to your castle world.

Make foot print sand stones or fish sand stones decorated with shells to bring home and remember your fun vacation.
- Pack items needed to bring to the beach to make your sand stone.
Go shark teeth or shell hunting up and down the beach.
Make necklaces out of shells you find on the beach.
- Pack some string, jewelry wire or thin rope to use. You could bring beads to put on the necklace as well.
Feed the seagulls along the beach. Just make sure you are ready for them to swarm you.
Fly a Kite – My kids love flying kites if there is enough wind.
Play beach games – Any type of game that is fun for your kids age and easy to pack up and bring. If you didn’t bring any you can make up games with items you find on the beach.
Have a scavenger hunt on the beach. Have a list of items to find and or see.

If you don’t happen to be staying very close to the beach and plan to spend the whole day there then pack these items to help out.

Items to take to the beach:

Sun umbrella or sun umbrella tent – There are many different options out there to purchase. We chose an umbrella tent that is able to stake down and offer a little privacy as well. When the wind is strong this type of tent has more of a chance staying up and not flying away as just a sun umbrella.

Beach canopy – These are nice especially with a large family or group. This can offer a bigger area of shade or refuge from the sun.

Beach chairs – Chairs are nice to have during a long day at the beach. You can take beach chairs that sit low to the ground, camping chairs, or fold-able layout chairs.

Dry bag – A dry bag is good do keep your phones, money, books or anything you may want on the beach with you but don’t want to get wet.

Beach towels – Beach towels are good to dry off with or to lay out on in the sand.
- Beach blankets are great too.

Rolling cooler – Pack your cold drinks in there. Lots of water and sports drinks are good to have. Just don’t pack any glass items.

Snacks/food – Pack items for your day on the beach. Items for sandwiches, chips, fruit, and charcuterie boards are good items to pack for the hungry beach goers.

Beach wagon – or some type of wagon that you can haul your beach items in can be helpful. This is a big plus when hauling a lot of stuff to the beach and the kids aren’t big enough to help carry the items.

Sand castle equipment – Buckets, hand shovels, any other items that you may need to make a sand castle.

Water toys – Pack floats, inter tubes, life vests, or any other toys to play in the water.

Hat and sunglasses – To protect yourself from the sun and it’s rays.
- Our first beach trip we noticed how bad our son’s head was getting sun burnt so a hat or bandana they could wear on their head even in the water is a great option.

Sunscreen – Always a given when you go to the beach and something you definitely don’t ever want to forget to pack. If spending the day on the beach don’t forget to reapply it really makes your other beach days uncomfortable when burnt the first day.

Mosquito spray – Where there is water there will be mosquitos. If you don’t come across any on the beach you may as you walk back to your accommodations.

Beach ball, Frisbee, or football – one that can be thrown around and not sink in the water.
- My husband and son always love to throw a football and play catch on the beach.

Beach Toys/games – Any type of game that is fun for your kids age and easy to pack up and bring.
- My older kids now like to play spike ball.
- Bring a Kite.
- Portable corn hole game

If traveling by car on a road trip be sure to check out my road trip tips and activities to do in a car.

Whatever activities you do, I’m sure that you can have a fun day at the beach.

In addition there are so many teachable moments with your kids and fun in just playing with them in the sand and water.

Finally whether you are seeking a peaceful relaxing get away or a fun beach exploration with your family, I’m sure you could enjoy it at Crystal Beach.