Beach Vacation Meal Planning for Multi-Family Travel

Vacationing is fun; however, beach vacation meal planning for several families can be overwhelming and exhausting. Nothing can be worse than spending a ton of money on groceries that take up too much space in your car and showing up to the beach house with other families that bought the same items as you.

Do you really need three different bottles of ketchup for a one week stay? Perhaps with toddlers, but really not.

This shopping list will simplify the packing process and make your trip preparation less stressful. I’ve also included a blank meal planning list for you to create your own list.

Beach Vacation Meal Planning for Multi-Family Travel

When we traveled to a beach house in Florida with two other families that also have toddlers meal planning was crucial. Talk about a house full of hungry people!

One of my friends who is more organized than myself started the master list which includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and other misc. items. We factored in that we would most likely go out to eat a few times depending on our kids’ moods and our wallets.  We decided to divide items equally between our families via email since we all live in different cities.

Please note that we did not go for all healthy options because we were on vacation and diets went out of the window!

Double click on image to download printables

Easy meals for a week at the beach 

With this beach vacation meal plan you can make these simple meals:

• Tacos or Taco Salad
• Hamburgers
• Breakfast
• Pigs in a Blanket
• Steak with Baked Potatoes and Veggies
• Sandwiches
• Hot Dogs
• Brats
• Snacks

We went for simple recipes as it can be challenging to cook extensive recipes with four young children in the beach house.

As organized as we were, we did find out after a week-long vacation with hungry husbands and children that we could’ve brought more of these items below. Thankfully there were a few stores that we could shop at to stock up on supplies.

Bring more of these Beach vacation items

• Paper Plates & Paper towels
• Sunblock (seriously – you can never have enough)
• Ice (our fridge ice maker was not working and it helps to have at the beach for your cooler).
• Grilling utensils
• Charcoal (if your beach house does not have a gas grill). Call ahead to find out.
• Hand sanitizer and wipes 
• Soap if you don’t like the generic soap that hosts usually provide. 
• Bug spray in case the mosquitos are out. 
• Trash bags in case your host doesn’t provide enough. 
• Toilet paper

How to organize your beach trip supplies

• Clear storage bins – I love clear so I am able to see what I need quickly. Grab and go 
• Beach coolers – I love ice chests with wheels so you can bring them down to the beach. Also, a few smaller portable ice chests for snacks are a plus to have. Here are my favorites:
  • Igloo Flip and Tow Cooler with wheels
  • Igloo Cool Fusion with wheels and pockets
  • YETI Hooper Flip Portable Cooler – If you have some money to splurge you can’t go wrong with the Yeti. Always keeps everything ice cold. 

Have you traveled with multiple families before?

Do you struggle to meal plan? Let me know your go-to meals for multi-family travel that please everyone!

Pin Beach Vacation Meal Planning Printable for Later Reference