We love going to the beach! But we hate getting sunburned, wind chapped, and having sand in every crevice of our athletic bodies (okay, slightly overweight athletic bodies).
So, what do we do to help keep these temples comfortable at the beach? We take a Costco beach tent to help beat back the elements while enjoying our time on the sand.
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The right shelter will protect you from the sun with a solid ultraviolet protection factor while also blocking the wind.
We’ve researched the top options and recommend our top tents in six different categories to make sure you get the right shelter for your needs whenever you head to the beach or wherever else your outdoor activities take you.
Our Favorite Picks
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#1 Best Overall Tent - Pacific Breeze Easy Setup
#2 Best Tarp Tent - Neso
#3 Best Canopy Tent - Quik Shade
#4 Best XL Tent - Pacific Breeze Easy Setup XL
The Top 6
#1 Best Overall Tent - Pacific Breeze Easy Setup
The Pacific Breeze Easy Setup lives up to its name. Pop it into its hub and it is good to go.
The half dome style provides superior wind, sun, and rain protection to keep you comfortable in any conditions, and the exterior frame for makes for excellent stability even in windy conditions.
We love the built-in tarp floor as well to keep the sand at bay and your seat dry in rainy conditions.
This tent is so versatile and easy to set up that it will do whatever you need in any conditions while still being small enough to keep in your car at all times.
If you want great protection and easy set-up, this is the tent for you.
If all you need is sun protection over a pretty big area, then this is the ideal option for you.
The set up isn’t too hard if you can balance out the guide ropes and the posts.
Its ultracompact size means you can carry it with you anywhere, even if you have to hike into the beach.
The quality materials and reinforced corners are a definite advantage and should make the Neso tarp tent last a long time.
The set-up tips (especially in wind) from the company are very useful too.
The Quik Shade is a very sturdy, full roof canopy that will give you the most coverage from sun and rain while providing the most space for all your friends and family.
While most canopy tents are big and bulky, this canopy frame collapses down small enough to carry in the included backpack carrier instead of having to roll it along the ground.
The included single wall will also help keep the wind off you for a more comfortable day at the beach.
The large size, easy set up, and compact set up combine to make this our favorite canopy tent.
If our top overall pick just isn’t enough space for you, this is the answer.
At about twenty percent bigger overall, this tent has a wider opening and a deeper dome to allow for keeping more people or stuff out of the elements.
However, even with the larger size, it still earns the name of Easy Setup by keeping the same hub and exterior frame for simple pull up and tear down.
The great protection, easy setup, and bigger size make this a fantastic choice for a family that wants to stay comfortable at the beach and beyond.
The Coleman Beach Shade provides a lot of the benefits of our top picks, but at a lower price point.
It still has excellent sun, rain, and wind coverage in the half dome style, but it is a true pop up and doesn’t have the hub for setup and collapsing so you’ll need to learn how to fold it properly for storage.
If you know the right places to fold it’s easy, otherwise you might end up in a viral video.
But, if you want great protection in all the elements and bang for your buck, then go with the Coleman Beach Shade.
#6 Best Baby Tent - R Horse
As you can tell by the name, this tent is just for the little ones.
We like that it has a little pod area that you can dig out some sand and make a little crevice for your baby, or fill that with a little water to make a little bath and cool them down (but make sure to keep an eye on them at all times!) We also appreciate the very useful instructions on set up and tear down that helps alleviate any concerns on how to fold this bad boy up.
If all you need is something small and easy for just your baby, this is the right choice for you!
Which Style Cart Should I Get? Tent vs Tarp vs Canopy
Which style you get depends largely on what you want most out of your beach shelter. Canopies are great for keeping you and lots of your friends or gear out of the sun and out of the rain. Plus, you can usually stand upright underneath them. They provide the most coverage but are the hardest to move and require more than one person to set up.
Tarp options are great for blocking the sun while only taking up a small amount of space in your car or garage but are the hardest to set up and are vulnerable to windy conditions.
Tents are the easiest to set up and provide the most wind and rain coverage but generally have a smaller footprint so fewer people or things can fit in them depending on the size you buy.
For most situations we recommend the easy set up tent because it is easy to set up and gives the most coverage while providing enough space for a family to have fun at the beach.
FAQ
How do you set up a beach tent/tarp/canopy?
Just like camping tents, there are lots of ways to set up a beach tent/tarp/canopy based on the specific make. The most popular tend to be the easiest to set up. The three types are very different and require different types of set-up. The integrated beach tents are great because all you need is to pull the hub pieces up together and you can be set up in less than a minute. The canopies are great but require more help to set up. A couple of people to pull out the corners of the frame and lift the sides make this much easier to set up. You also have to place the canopy cover on the frame, which you don’t need to do for the beach tent. Finally, the tarp requires places stakes and guide wires to hold it in place. The stakes need to be placed correctly to balance the shade where you want it.
What is the easiest tent to put up?
The beach tents are the easiest for a single person to set up. Pull it out of the bag, lay it out, and pull the hub together. That’s it. Tear down is just as easy, pull the hub apart, fold the arms together and put it in the bag. It will take less than two minutes. The canopy will take slightly longer to set up and require more help, probably ten minutes worth of work. The fly can be very simple to set up, but requires a little skill to get the balance just right.
What conditions can a beach tent withstand (wind, rain etc)?
Beach tents are used at more than the beach, otherwise you’d probably only break them out on sunny days. Tarps are not great in anything but sunshine and light rain. They are especially tricky to keep up in a stiff breeze. Canopies can withstand more wind, and are best when you need to keep out a heavy rain because of the roof like coverage. Tents can also keep out the rain well if you sit further back in the tent, which can limit space. The tent is also the best at blocking wind if you set it up with the dome/back upwind. Some canopies have a single wall that blocks some wind, but the three open sides make the effect minimal. The greater weight and the ability to stake to the ground will keep tents and canopies in place in moderate winds as well.
How much does a beach tent protect me from the sun (UV)?
Even when there is cloud cover, you still need protection against the harmful UV rays from the sun. Most people know SPF from sunscreen means Sun Protection Factor. However, with shades and clothing the standard measure is UPF, or Ultraviolet Protection factor. The scale is roughly the same, with a score of 50+ meaning you are well protected. All of our top picks score at least that high, which means that they allow less than 2% of UV transmission through the shade, and that means you should be well covered and protected in any of our top picks.
What to know before buying?
Is a warranty important?
As with anything, a good brand name and a warranty will help you feel good about your purchase because if anything goes wrong you are covered. However, even with the best companies something can go wrong, and a warranty is only useful when something goes wrong. We recommend looking for a warranty whenever you can to make sure your investment is protected, but not at the expense of getting the product that is right for you.
How to fold a pop-up beach tent?
Each type of Pop-up Beach tent has its little quirks when trying to fold it up. The best way to learn how your tent folds up is to practice in an open space (like a driveway) before you take it to the beach. The true pop-up types require a little effort, as they need you to fold them just right, see here for instructions. Canopies are easier to slide the frame together and just folding the cover like a sheet, which just requires a friend. The fly/tarp cover are just like folding a blanket, so super easy to fold. Our top pick is also our favorite for folding up because it just requires you to detach the hub and it basically collapses itself without folding. Any others you can think of
Final Verdict - Which Beach Tent Should I Buy?
We know there are lots of options out there for beach shelters, but we have used the Pacific Breeze Easy Setup in conditions from rainy track meets to sunny days at the beach and it has never let us down. It has kept the wind, sun, and rain out at all times while allowing plenty of sightlines to whatever we need to see. The sturdy materials and strong exterior frame provide unsurpassed stability in even the strong wind and rain. The exceedingly versatile protection, along with the easy transport and super simple setup and tear down make this our number one recommendation.
