10 Things to Pack for a Tybee Island Beach Trip

There are two kinds of beach packing lists. The first is the one Google gives you: sunscreen, towel, swimsuit, snacks, repeat across a hundred blog posts. The second is the one a local writes after watching another summer of guests forget the same five things.

This is the second list. We've left out the obvious — you know to bring a swimsuit — and focused on the things that come up after you've already left, plus a few things you can safely leave at home.

1. A microfiber beach towel (not the fluffy hotel kind)

The big plush towel you brought from home will hold a half pound of sand for the rest of your trip. A flat-weave microfiber towel sheds sand when you shake it, dries in twenty minutes, and folds down to the size of a paperback. If you're buying one, get a 60×30 — full body but not unwieldy.

We keep extras at the front desk if you forget yours — but you'll wish you'd had your own for the morning walk.

2. Polarized sunglasses (not just sunglasses)

The water off Tybee is bright. The glare off the wet sand at low tide is worse. Polarized lenses cut both. The difference between polarized and regular sunglasses on a sunny day on the pier is the difference between squinting all afternoon and actually seeing the bottlenose dolphins that come around at high tide.

Cheap polarized works fine. You don't need designer.

3. Reef-safe sunscreen — and SPF lip balm

A few rules:

• Reef-safe matters here. Tybee's beaches are loggerhead turtle nesting grounds from May through October. The chemicals in conventional sunscreens (oxybenzone, octinoxate) wash off swimmers and accumulate in coastal ecosystems. Mineral formulas (zinc oxide, titanium dioxide) work without the runoff.
• Reapply more than you think. Salt water, sweat, and humidity strip sunscreen faster than freshwater pools. Plan to reapply every 90 minutes.
• Lip balm with SPF is the one most-forgotten thing. Lips burn surprisingly fast in the reflective light off the sand. A tube of SPF 30 lip balm lives in everyone's beach bag.

4. A reusable water bottle (insulated, big)

The cheapest mistake you can make on Tybee is to spend the day on the beach without enough water. The food stands sell bottled water, but at marked-up prices, and they're a hike from most stretches of sand. A 32-ounce insulated bottle filled with ice and water from the room in the morning will stay cold until you leave the beach.

Pro move: freeze one bottle overnight, bring two. One stays in the cooler as ice, one to drink.

5. Cheap water shoes

Tybee's beaches are mostly soft sand, but the south end has more shells, and at low tide there are stretches where you'll cross small tide pools or rocky patches getting back from the surf. A $15 pair of mesh water shoes lives in the beach bag for those moments. They're also useful for the back-river side, where the bottom is sometimes muddy.

Bring something you don't mind getting beat up. Save the nice sandals for dinner.

6. A wide-brimmed hat

A baseball cap leaves your neck and ears exposed. A wide-brimmed hat (something with a 3-inch brim or more) covers everything that gets burned worst. Straw weighs nothing and packs flat if you put it on top of your suitcase.

Worth saying out loud: skin damage on Tybee in July is real and fast. Hats are not optional.

7. Bug spray — for dusk on the marsh side

The Atlantic-side beaches are breezy enough that bugs aren't usually a problem. The back-river side, the marsh, and the lighthouse grounds at dusk are a different story. Mosquitoes and no-see-ums emerge after the wind dies down around 7 PM.

A small bottle of DEET-based spray (or picaridin, if you prefer) handles it. You'll thank yourself the first evening you walk over for sunset on the back river.

8. Cash for parking and tips

Tybee runs on the Park Tybee app for meters, but cash still solves a lot:

• Tipping a server at a beachside stand who doesn't take cards
• Small charge if a vendor's reader is down (it happens more than it should)
• The honor box at some of the smaller attractions

Bring $40–60 in smaller bills. You probably won't use it all. Better to have it.

9. A wagon or beach cart (if you have kids, definitely)

For a couple traveling light, you don't need this. For anything bigger — kids, multiple chairs, a cooler — a beach wagon is the difference between three trips back to the car and one. The big-wheel folding kind that handles sand costs about $80 on Amazon and pays for itself the first day.

If you don't have one, the public beach access points have flat boardwalks all the way to the sand, but the last twenty feet over soft sand is where everyone struggles. The wagon glides over it.

10. A book — paper, not phone

This is the most overlooked item. You're going to want to read on the beach. You're not going to want to read on your phone in direct sunlight (you literally can't see the screen). A paperback is the answer.

If you forget one, the Tybee Island Library on Butler Avenue has a small selection, and there's a Little Free Library on 14th Street. A book is the kind of thing you want to have already chosen, though.

Honorable mentions

A few more we'd add if there's room:

• Dry bag for your phone. Anyone walking the pier or surfing.
• A small first-aid kit. Specifically: tweezers (sand fleas), bandages, hydrocortisone for jellyfish stings.
• A beach umbrella. If you'll be on the sand more than three hours at a stretch. Rentable on-island if you'd rather not pack one.
• Ear plugs. If you're a light sleeper and the room is over the pool. (Ours aren't, but still.)

A note on what's different for July specifically

The general list above works year-round, but a July visit to Tybee has a few extras worth packing:

• A second swimsuit. Two suits, alternating drying, beats trying to put on a wet one. Cotton hammocks for drying tend to be on porches at most Tybee rentals.
• A light long-sleeve UPF shirt. Mid-day sun in July is intense enough that even sunscreen isn't always enough. A UPF 50 long-sleeve from any outdoor retailer covers your shoulders without sweating you out.
• Electrolyte packets. Liquid IV, Nuun, anything similar. The combination of humidity and salt water is dehydrating in a way that plain water doesn't fully address. One packet in the morning water bottle helps.
• A pop-up beach tent if you have small kids. Most beach rentals start at $25/day for an umbrella; a $40 pop-up tent gives you better sun protection for a baby or toddler and lives in the car between trips.
• A poncho or rain jacket. July afternoons bring thunderstorms most days. Light, packable, lives in the beach bag.

Special considerations for different travelers

The list above is the baseline. A few tweaks depending on who's coming:

With small kids (under 5): Add a sand-free baby blanket (you'll appreciate this), a beach tent (above), a small first-aid kit (sand fleas, scraped knees), and at least one full backup outfit in a dry bag. Babies and toddlers attract sand to themselves at remarkable rates.

With teens: Don't bother bringing entertainment for them — they'll be on their phones either way. Do bring extra chargers and at least one battery pack. Lifeguarded swim areas and the pier are reliably good cell signal; further down the beach, less so.

For photographers: Add a microfiber lens cloth (sea spray is the enemy), a UV filter for your everyday lens, and a small dry bag for your camera body when you're walking the pier. Bring a polarizer too — see the sunset post for why.

For longer stays (5+ nights): A small fan with a USB port. Most Tybee rooms have AC but the older properties run their thermostats warm to save on electricity. A cheap fan on your nightstand is the cheapest upgrade you can bring.

For dog owners: Dogs aren't allowed on the beach, but if you're bringing one, pack a long line (15+ feet) for the back-river side where leash rules are looser. Plus collapsible water bowls and a sun-protective dog hat if your dog will tolerate one.

What we'd leave at home

Equally important — the things first-timers pack that they don't need:

• Boogie boards and surfboards. Rent on the island. Cheaper than airline baggage fees, no haul.
• Beach chairs and umbrellas if you're staying ≤ 2 nights. Rent for $25–35/day at the public access points.
• Heavy towels. Microfiber, see above.
• Hairdryers and ironing boards. All hotel rooms on Tybee have these standard.
• Formal wear. Tybee restaurants are casual-casual. Even the nicer spots are flip-flop-friendly.

That's the list. Pack the first ten, consider the honorable mentions if there's room, and skip what we said to skip. You'll spend less time on logistics and more time on the part you came for.

If you're planning a weekend on Tybee or looking for somewhere to stay, we're one block off the beach with rooms that fit a family of four. Come say hi.