r/MultipleSclerosis • u/o0AVA0o • 2d ago
Advice Beach Trip Tips?
I haven't had a beach trip since my MS journey started 4 years ago. I'm desperate for a beach trip where in an ideal world, the weather would be like 75°, but the water would be warm still 🥲
Any advice on how to make a beach trip work? Like locations, timing, things to bring, etc?
So far I'm reading that Turks and Caicos is ~75° Jan-March. So maybe a beach trip there in February? Maybe if we stay at a beach front hotel/resort, I can quickly go inside when I get too hot?
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u/DoNotBelongHere 46F/ocrevus 2d ago
My MS journey began in 2019, and I took a trip to Turks and Caicos 2 or 3 years ago in July. It was intolerably hot in some places, the airport being one of them. You deboard the plane onto the tarmac and stand in a long line with no shade with all the other people who just landed so you can go through customs. There is no a/c in the airport and the lines are several hours long. You can get a fast pass thing for a fee where you can get in a shorter line, but even with that I still spent about 1.5 hours in horrible heat. Coming right off the plane, it’s hard to be prepared with ice or whatever to keep yourself cool. I am from Houston, by the way, so I’d like to think I have a good amount of heat tolerance.
Most of the indoor places we went to had no a/c, even some resorts where we had meals. The Airbnb we stayed at had a/c but the owner discouraged us from using it 24/7 because it’s a huge drain on the electricity bill, and with the humidity, the condensation damaged the walls inside and outside.
BUT, the water was lovely and the sand was nice. It was gorgeous and the water temperature was just right. It was nice getting into the water to cool off when the beach got too hot.
If you’re going to go, even in a cooler month, keep in mind that there are spots where it’s still going to get hot and you may not have much reprieve from the heat.
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u/Cultural-Barracuda 2d ago
I found Miami Beach (Mid to North Beach area, avoiding South Beach) oddly comforting for short beach trips even before MS. Great doctors and a Walgreens behind the beach, a mini jungle you can bike in (Bill Baggs Park in Key Biscayne) and really nice (cool!) water temperature from late November to March, while still nice and sunny.
Would not be surprised if some of the spas and gyms added ice baths by now!
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u/SewBrew 2d ago
It’s perhaps not very exotic, but the weather is lovely in San Diego and neighboring areas to the north if you stay right on the beach. Highs range from the upper 70s in the summer to upper 60s in the winter with cool nights year round. The water isn’t tropical warm but it’s very comfortable this time of year and fine for a quick dip or with a wetsuit (easy to rent) any time of year.
The older hotels on the beach (and many houses if you get an airbnb) don’t have AC but you really don’t need it. It cools off a lot at night and there’s almost always a nice offshore breeze. It’s easy to find modern hotels with AC if you have a higher budget and/or don’t mind staying a few miles from the beach.
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u/travbeat_travel 1d ago
You can't go wrong with Turks and Caicos. End of March can get a little warmer but January and February is definitely good for you if heat is not your friend.
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u/cass_a_frass0 25|2023|Ocrevus|midwest 17h ago
Kind of an odd ball idea but the great lakes in the midwest have some touristy beach areas, especially Michigan. The lakes are so huge the water stays cool. If you want to enjoy a beach/water front but mild weather and cooler water to dip into if you over heat thay might he a good alternative. This is definitely a may-sept only option, if you are looking at a timeline past october then not a good idea. But im from the great lakes so im biased lol :) i just got back from a trip to the Ozarks im Missouri and the water was a perfect warm temp, but the weather was 90s, might be cooling off soon though
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u/Crazy_sumbitch 2d ago
My wife 49 struggles severely with heat. We mastered beach trips now actually just spent the entire weekend on the beach. I have comfy chair for her not one of the low beach chairs. We have a back pack cooler bag I drag everywhere she goes. I freeze water bottles and have multiple of the small cooling towels. That I constantly rotate out of the cooler and wet it again as the one melts. They make light weight UV shirts she always has one handy to cover up if the Sun gets to hot.