Getting ready for a sunny summer? Semi-arid, with gentle maritime winds, Oceanside’s temperatures hover between 65-75 degrees in the hottest months of the year — combined with consistent sunshine and with low rainfall, planning a vacation here leaves you with peace of mind when it comes to weather.
Any season at The Seabird Resort is a great time to visit, but if you’re coming to Oceanside in peak summer, or even the first weeks of the spring and fall shoulder seasons, considering the sun is essential for making the most of your vacation. While those breezes and frequent dips in the ocean can keep you cool, protecting your skin and your eyes, as well as staying hydrated, is important.
Fortunately, The Seabird Resort makes keeping cool easy with plenty of guest perks (hello, complimentary beach loungers!) and these five simple tips for staying cool on the beach. (Use them while discovering Oceanside’s best family-friendly beaches.)
1. Seek Out the Shade
Oceanside’s three-mile-long stretch of golden sands means there’s plenty of space to spread out and stake your spot for the day. To stay cool and protect your skin from the sun, beach umbrellas are definitely in order.
Don’t worry about hauling your own. For guests at The Seabird, beach chairs and umbrellas are not only complimentary — our beach crew will set up your chaise and sunshade too right across from the resort. You can reserve them between 10 a.m. to and 4 p.m., seven days a week.
2. Protect Your Skin and the Ocean Ecosystem
Sunscreen is an essential that every dermatologist recommends daily, not only to keep skin youthful but, more importantly, to protect against the risk of skin cancer. However, for beach days, when sun exposure is at its most intense, it’s critical to wear a strong SPF of 30 or higher and reapplied every hour, or after any swim.
While it’s important to protect your skin, we also have to keep in mind protecting underwater life as well. California is home to one of the most striking, diverse, and intricate coastlines in the world. From sea lions to sharks, from humpback whales to dolphins, the Pacific has incredible wildlife in a complex world beneath the waves. When traveling to any beach, a reef-safe sunblock is the best choice. There are several brands on the market (see one of our favorites below) that eliminate chemicals that cause reef bleaching and can damage underwater creatures’ reproductive cycles.
What’s good for you can also be great for the planet.
3. Stay Hydrated
There are plenty of songs about cocktails in the sun, but to fully enjoy being outside, you’ll want to stay hydrated with more than just pina coladas. It’s not only important to pack hydration for a beach day, it’s also important to pack the right hydration. An adult human should consume around 10 cups of water per day. Add in a sunny, action-packed beach day, and you’ll want to make sure you get that and then some. Remember, you have to replenish what you sweat out, whether that’s through inactive tanning or playing volleyball.
Naturally, good ‘ol water is the number one option for hydration, but it might surprise you to know that room temperature or lightly cold is better for the body, especially in the heat. Ice water can actually shock your digestive tract and can also induce headaches.
The Seabird Resort team is happy to provide you with cool water in insulated water bottles to carry down to the sand. Sports drinks are another great option for beach days, especially if calories are being burned. Make sure to check the labels for unnecessary sugars and additives. Not all electrolyte drinks are created equal.
It’s also smart to know the signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion, including dizziness, rapid heartbeat, flushed, red skin, confusion, and muscle cramps, to make sure you can get help and get somewhere cooler when you — or your kids — need to.
4. Know When It’s Time to Go
It’s easy to let the hours slip by when you’re splashing and having fun, but scheduling breaks out of the ocean or the pool is key, especially for little ones who are content to stay in the water all day. When you’re in the water, you are still getting refracted rays from the sun, and while your body might be physically cooler, the dangers of too much sun exposure are still there.
There are tons of shady places in Oceanside to make a fun break, from snagging an ice cream cone on Main Street to popping back up to Shelter Club for a club sandwich or an iced coffee. Pre-plan these into your schedule for the day to make sure you have breaks locked in.
5. Pack Those Little Extras
While not entirely necessary, certain gadgets that help you stay cool can make your beach time even better. For example, pack a refreshing, hydrating face mist or a spritzer bottle filled with cold water, or find a specially-made chilling towel that stays cold when wet to help keep your cool as temperatures rise.
Bonus: Stop by the Brand-New Beach Rambler
This year, Oceanside Beach has a brand new store — right off the sand and in the coolest vehicle imaginable with The Seabird Resort’s decked-out Beach Rambler.
Back in the 1940s, the George T. Hall Company made a recreational trailer called The Rambler. Years ago, the only one left in existence was found wasting away in a backyard. Fortunately, the trailer still had good bones and this gleaming metal stunner now knows new life as a beach outfitter.
Designer Jeremy Hutch was behind the painstaking retro restoration, adding exterior wood panels made from thermalized oak, zebrano, ipe, and Brazilian teak woods to give the trailer a visual nod to the old Woody station wagons featured in so many surf movies from the 1950s. Carefully chosen lighting adds a touch of Art Deco, while the Rambler’s logo signage letters are laser cut, inlaid, and sealed in resin.
Parked right at the edge of The Seabird Resort, this baby now stocks an array of useful, beach-friendly items to make your Oceanside stay even easier –– from fresh young coconuts and light bites to UV-protective sunglasses, towels, hats, and even pet water bottles, meaning you won’t even need to go back up to the room if you forget something. (It even stocks beach games like cornhole, smash ball, and spike ball.
Plus, you’ll find go-to beach brands, including YETI coolers and tumblers, Coola Mineral Sunscreen, and Señor Lopez brand beach blankets crafted from recycled fabrics. Maybe you packed a bikini but didn’t think about the intensity of the California sun? You’ll see a lot of locals sporting rash guards. These water shirts keep your skin protected, eliminating the annoyance of reapplying sunblock to your arms, chest, and shoulders. if you don’t own one, not to worry; the Rambler has all sizes by Oakley, a surfers’ favorite.
Staying cool means you’ll be able to stay out longer and make the most of a beach day in Oceanside.
READY TO PLAN YOUR BEACH VACAY?
