Best Beach Toys

1. Squidivers / 2. Hape Hand Digger (blue, similar) / 3. Packable Pails / 4. Kid O Cuppi / 5. Zoe B Organic Beach Set / 6. Haba Baudino Sand Bucket Scooter / 7. Quut Alto Beach Toy / 8. Quut Triplet Beach Toy / 9. Quut Scoppi Beach Toy / 10. Quut Ballo Beach Bucket / 11. Biobu Animo Sand Toy Set / 12. Quut Starfish Beach Toy

If you follow me on instagram, you’d know that our beach trips didn’t stop in Maui. We’ve basically been making it down to the beach during every possible opportunity to escape the heat wave we’re having, and because we love the beach. In the past we used to haul every sand toy we own with us in a mesh laundry bag, but now we’ve paired it down quite a bit. I’ve rounded up some of our personal favorites, along with some of the best beach toys for a baby, toddler, or older child.

Our Favorite Picks

These items live in our sandbox and suitcases and while other toys might come and go, these are continually my boy’s favorite sand toys.

1. Squidivers / I know these are meant for pool diving (Aiden’s Favorite), but the boys (Søren especially) loves to play with them on the beach too. He carries them around and uses them like action figures. They are perfect double duty for pool and beach trips.
2. Hape Hand Digger (blue, similar) / We love these scoops, and by love I mean love. They are super durable, easy to use, and have huge digging potential. They are also fun to play with in the pool. And if you’re near an Ikea, they usually carry these at the start of Summer in all sorts of colors.
3. Packable Pails / These are good-size buckets that actually fold down smaller for storage or packing. We took a couple of these to Maui and while they weren’t as small in the boy’s suitcase as I had hoped, they were a very robust addition to our trip.

If You Travel Light

These items should travel well, or at least pack up easily for local beach trips.

4. Kid O Cuppi / This set is very versatile, the scoops can be used to dig, sift, write, or make a marble-type track in the sand for the ball. These are definitely high on my wishlist for the boys. Not recommended for babies.
5. Zoe B Organic Beach Set / The first thing I love about this set is that it is not made from plastic and contain no toxic chemicals. The toys are biodegradable in case they are lost at sea, and it is made in the USA. This set is perfect for toddlers, and I can see it packed into a suitcase with other items tucked inside so it doesn’t take up a lot of room.
6. Haba Baudino Sand Bucket Scooter / Be forewarned, this is small. About the size of a melon, it is perfect for small hands like a baby or toddler. It comes with plenty of beachy-fun stuff and I really love that it all packs away into a single item.

For the Modern Kid

These sand toys might not look like sand toys to start with, but I love the open-ended design that allows kids to use their imagination more for play.

7. Quut Alto Beach Toy / These stacking molds create the perfect sand castles. After you fill them up you simply pull the bottom level up and it collects them all into a single stack, leaving behind a beautiful sand castle. If your toddler enjoys knocking down sand castles as much as mine does, this toy is a perfect time saver.
8. Quut Triplet Beach Toy / This toy serves three functions as a shovel, sifter, and rake. They can also be stacked and made into a water fountain.
9. Quut Scoppi Beach Toy / This large shovel and sifter combo can be used by kids to dig with their hands or feet. It looks like you could do some serious digging with it in the sand or snow.
10. Quut Ballo Beach Bucket / When I discovered the Quut sand toys, I came across this one first and was intrigued about it’s design. It enables kids to carry water without spilling, and can work at the beach, pool, or in the bath. One downside is that it can get very heavy when it’s full.
11. Biobu Animo Sand Toy Set / I only recently came across these but love their cute little shapes and clean lines. Biobu also makes really cute dinnerware for kids.
12. Quut Starfish Beach Toy / These sand molds are easy to shape and remove. They also serve double duty as a sifter. I see these being a big hit for toddlers. One of my favorite thins about the Quut line is it’s openness for interpretation and open-ended play.

What kind of toys did you play with as a kid? If you have kids now, do you have any favorites?