The 411 on Beach Etiquette

It’s summertime and lots of people are heading to the beach for vacation. Maybe it’s your first time or you don’t go that often, so you aren’t aware there are unwritten rules. Lol! When you hear most of these things you will probably think it makes sense. But sometimes we are just having fun and don’t think about what we are doing is affecting other people around us. So today I am going to give you the 411 on beach etiquette.    

I don’t know about you but when I go to the beach I love to sit back and relax. Maybe read a book, put my toes in the water and listen to the waves. That peace and quiet can quickly get ruined by others that don’t realize what they are doing is ruining someone else’s day. Okay … sometimes they realize it! Lol!

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Give Me My Space

One thing good that came out of the past few years is the 6 feet rule. Granted not many people follow the rule but I enjoy the concept of it! During our move, we rented a condo on the beach, and I was sitting down on the beach, it wasn’t crowded, and another lady came out to the beach and set her chair up right in front of me. There were plenty of spaces all around, but she chooses right in front of me. I lost my peaceful view of the ocean. Why? People are sometimes in their own world and do not pay attention to their surroundings. We need to do better.

The general rule for setting up your beach space is to leave a minimum of 15 feet between you and the other person or family. Also please try your best not to set up your things right in front of another person unless it is a very crowded beach, and you have no other choice. It’s just not nice.

Please Don’t Feed The Seagulls

Seagulls are the rodents of the beach. I totally understand that people who do not live near the beach may not know this. They are kind of cute, I enjoy watching them. But if you have never been under siege from an army of them because a family decided it would be fun to feed them then …

If they have any hint that food is around, they are relentless and they multiply quickly. Trust me, please do not feed them no matter how cute you think they are.

Sandy Towels

I get it, our towels get sandy, and your instinct is to shake it out. On a windy day do that and the sand from your towel will go flying everywhere and cover your new friends that you sat in front of with sand. That is not fun. If it’s not a windy day, it is probably okay to shake your towel out if you don’t have anyone sitting close to you but if it is windy, I recommend that you walk away from people and shake it out.

Also, if you have children and it is a windy day, please do not let them throw sand up in the air. Sand travels far and your new friends will not be your friends anymore.

Spray Sunscreen

Spray sunscreen is a great invention. I love it! It’s one of my favorite things to use, especially on my hair part when I can’t wear a hat. I did another blog post about missed sunscreen spots that you can read here. But not everyone likes spray sunscreen as we do so on a windy day when you are spraying yourself down if you aren’t paying attention to which way the wind is blowing you might cover your neighbor in sunscreen. So just step away from everyone to apply your sunscreen or apply it prior to coming to the beach.

Pool Floats

This is a serious one and please listen to this one. I know I sound like a party pooper, but pool floats do not belong in the ocean, they aren’t designed to be used there. Why? Because they can be easily taken out by the tide while you are floating on them. Or on a windy day, the larger ones will be like a sail and before you know it you will be swept out to sea. This is a real problem and more people than you think have had to be saved by the Coast Guard when they are swept miles out before they know it. Please be careful and keep the floats at the pool.

Dig a hole Fill a Hole

Do I need to say anymore?! Building sandcastles is fun and so is digging holes in the sand. But please fill back in the hole that you dig. You might think you need to fill in the holes, so no one falls in them when they go walking on the beach at night. That is a great reason, but another great reason is for the turtles! You could unknowingly be harming baby sea turtles that just hatched as they are trying to make their way to the ocean. They fall into the hole that you dug and cannot get back out. So please fill your hole before you leave for the day! The turtles thank you!

Stay Off the Dunes

The dunes are so pretty and are a great backdrop for photos. Noticed how I said backdrop? Most sand dunes are protected areas, and you are not allowed on them. They are protected for several reasons. One being they protect coastal areas from flooding and structural damage. The other being they are ecological habitats, and they want to protect that. So, try to keep the kids off them and just keep them in the background of your photos!

Please Don’t Be a Litterbug

The general rule of thumb is if you brought it take it back with you! Most public beaches have trash cans at the access points to the beaches. It is always a good idea to bring along a small garbage bag of your own so you can put your trash in there throughout the day.

If you live near a beach most areas often have beach clean-up days if you are interested in helping to keep the beaches clean!

Turn Down the Music

Everyone has different tastes in music. What I like you might not like and while you are at the beach you might not want to listen to my music ALL day. My point is, to be considerate of the people around you if you bring a speaker to play music. Have it loud enough so you can enjoy it but not too loud that everyone around you must enjoy it also. This could be a strategy if someone sets up their umbrella right in front of you and blocks your view of the ocean! Just joking …. kind of!

The moral of the story; be aware of your surroundings. It’s not all about you. If you take others into consideration everyone should have a great day at the beach!

I hope you all have a great summer! Please share some of your pet peeves in the comments that you have noticed while you are at the beach.