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12 Best Baby Beach Tents for 2023

Whether your family is visiting the ocean or a nearby lake, there’s one thing for sure – babies love the beach! Visiting the beach with a baby is an ideal family activity, either at home or on a family vacation. Before you head to the beach with your baby, pack along all your baby beach gear, including one of these amazing baby beach tents and you’ll be able to relax knowing your baby’s sensitive skin is safe from the powerful sun.

For a successful family outing to the beach, be sure to bring all the baby beach essentials. With the sun’s harmful rays, educate yourself on how to keep your baby safe from the sun, and then be sure to provide some sun protection for your baby’s skin.

Keeping your baby’s skin healthy will make for a much more enjoyable family trip to the beach. While it might seem extreme to pack a baby tent for the beach, you’ll be glad you have the easy UV protection (UPF 50+) when you spend hours on the beach.

Mother and baby in baby beach tent on the beach

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10 Things to Look for in a Baby Beach Tent

When looking for the best baby beach tent, here are the top 10 things you need to consider:

1. UV Protection

Whether you are planning an all-inclusive vacation with a baby or a week at the lake, a beach tent is an invaluable baby and toddler beach essential to protect your baby from the sun’s harmful rays. The baby or toddler beach tent you purchase should have UV protection of at least UPF 50+ to keep your baby’s skin safe. Effective sun protection is one of the most important features of a baby beach tent.

What is UPF? According to SkinCancer.org, “UPF measures the amount of UV radiation that can penetrate fabric and reach your skin. UPF measures both UVB and UVA rays, while SPF measures only UVB.”

The California Beach Co Pop N’ Go is one of the best baby beach tents

2. Stakes

It can get windy on the beach. If you use your beach shade for baby primarily near the ocean, you’ll want to make sure it comes with fillable sand bags and stakes. If your baby beach tent doesn’t have stakes then it should have some sand pockets to help keep it down on a windy day.

beach with all baby beach essentials

3. Ventilation

While providing sun protection is very important, you also want your baby to be comfortable and not overheat while on the beach. Many of the baby beach tent options have 360 degree ventilation or at a minimum a back window you can open to let the air flow and circulate. A portable fan will help keep your baby cool too.

4. Compact for Travel

If you plan to fly with your toddler beach tent, you’ll want it to fit in a suitcase. If your family primarily drives to the beach, then size is less of a factor for your beach tent.

5. Ease of Set-up

There are so many pop-up tents for the beach that make setting up a shade tent for babies a breeze! The frustration comes when it’s time for folding the baby beach tent. Many of them use a twist & fold method to get them back in a circular form to fit in the carrying bag. It’s best to watch a video and practice folding your baby tent at home before your trip to the beach with a baby.

best baby beach tents for your family

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6. Price

The price of tents for babies at the beach is always a factor and how much you spend will depend on how much use you plan to get out of it. Consider how often you’ll use your baby beach tent, or buy one that isn’t just for the beach.

7. Size

Do you need a baby sun tent for multiple children or just your baby. Will you want enough room for 2 adults in the beach tent as well? Thinking about this will help you decide what size tent will work best for your family.

You will find UPF 50+ sun protection on most of the best baby beach tents

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8. Multi-Purpose

Beach tents for babies don’t have to be just for the beach. You can get even more use out of it by using your baby beach tent as a place for your baby to play while in the yard or camping with a baby. Travel tents like the KidCo PeaPod and Joovy Gloo can be used as both beach shade for baby and later as a toddler travel bed.

9. Full Sun Coverage

Too much sun exposure is harmful to your baby’s sensitive skin. The best beach tents for your baby will provide full coverage to provide the best sun protection for your baby’s sensitive skin.

10. Age of your Baby

The age of your baby will also be a big factor. An infant beach tent can be small enough to give your baby a place to sleep with proper UPF 50+ UV protection from the sun. For older babies and toddlers, you’ll want a larger space where your toddler can sit and play.

best baby beach tents offer sun protection of UPF 50+

Best Baby Beach Tents

Don’t Forget These Baby Beach Accessories

Now that you’ve found the best baby beach tent for your family, here are a few other items to add to your baby packing list for the beach:

Beach vacation with baby

See our top 5 picks in our Baby Beach Tents Story!

Other Baby Beach Essentials

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The Best Baby Beach Tents

This post was written & edited by:

Celine is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's been helping new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade.

Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.