Taking everything you need to the beach in one trip is incredibly difficult. The best way to overcome this obstacle is by purchasing an outdoor beach trolley.
Of course, you could attempt the tried and tested method of sticking as many objects under your arm as you can carry and then loading up your wife or partner in the same way. Obviously you then turn your children into camels and get them to take anything light they can carry! However, from experience, this tends to lead to stress, discomfort and a bad start to your day at the beach.
To help avoid family disputes and physical trauma, take a look at our list of the best beach trolleys, so that you can enjoy your family trip to the beach in comfort and style.
Quick Verdict
This beach trolley is capable of carrying up to 60kg of equipment and folds away so neatly that it takes up very little boot space.
The thick tread wheels provide excellent traction over any surface, especially sand. It steers really well thanks to the 360 degree front wheel design.
This beach trolley offers great value and performance.
What is a Beach Trolley?
A beach trolley/beach cart is a convenient way to get equipment from one place to another. The first thing to address is the fact that beach trolleys are not exclusive to the beach. If you’re going to a festival, camping or just out for a picnic they are excellent for helping you to move things around.
Beach trolleys are specifically designed to work well on the sand, especially ones that have thicker wheels as it provides extra traction when pulling across the sand. I first realised how important having a foldable beach trolley was when I tried to take my toddler to the beach in their pushchair. I loaded the pushchair with as much as it could carry and it wasn’t until I tried to pull it across the beach that I realised what a mistake I had made.
A narrow wheel does not travel well across the sand and you end up dragging it along without the wheels turning; which on a hot day becomes fatiguing and very un-enjoyable.
Beach trolleys are lightweight and foldable which is also great as it allows you to store them within your car if they are not in use. When you are on a family holiday there is no doubt that you have lots of suitcases, making space within the boot minimal.
A good beach trolley will fold-up to a small size and give you the extra room needed to take those other beach essentials.
Our Top Beach Trolley Picks:
Quechua – All Terrain Transport Cart
- Capacity: 122 litres total volume
- Size: 90cm x 48cm x 59cm
This is a great all round beach trolley and it will serve you well for more than just going to the beach. The first thing I admire about this transport trolley is that there is plenty of volume so you can store loads of equipment inside it. As I have mentioned within this article, we as a family end up taking masses of equipment to the beach and we manage to fit everything in apart from my surfboard….which for obvious reasons is too long.
One thing I really appreciate about this trolley is how easy it is to use. It is very quick to assemble, I think my personal best was 2 minutes and as you can probably see within the photos, it’s a practical folding system so it can be packed away nicely when you’re not using it. I have limited room in my garage and this can be stored effortlessly.
There is quality fabric used within this trolley, so you can be reassured that you will get plenty of use out of the cart and it will survive the regular wear and tear of a beach trip. Another benefit of this trolley is the ease of steering. I found it very easy to steer, so you can consider it user-friendly. The wheels are hollow which helps with travel across the sand – which is one of the main reasons why it’s my favourite beach trolley to use.
Trail Outdoors – Folding Beach Trolley
This is one of my favourite beach trolley’s due to ease of use, price and design.
Firstly it’s a beast on the sand. As a family we use the trolley mainly at the beach. It might have done the odd picnic here and there but it’s main use is to help us lug half the house to the beach. For the reason, this beach trolley is great as the deep tread wheels make it easy to pull across the sand. The 360 degree front wheel design make steering a piece of cake.
As foldable beach trolley’s go, this one performs to a very high standard. It folds into a thin upright position so that you can easily fit it into your car. The movable tyres help this to happen and we have found it an easy task to complete. When you need it, it collapses out, then you push the tyres into an outwards position. When you are done, it comes with a compact travel cover to make it even easier to store away.
The strong steel frame is covered in a hard wearing UV material. It’s not a fragile piece of kit, so you can feel reassured it’s not going to break once it’s loaded up and being pulled across a car park. The load capacity is up to 60kg, so you can easily get the Yeti Cool Box in with a few cold beers and prosecco’s.
There are other nice features, such a side netted pockets, so you can keep valuable secure, whilst also not collecting sand. The handle is ergonomically designed, so it’s not tough on the hands, should you need to pull it a long way.
Overall, this is a great beach trolley for any family to invest in.
Feahrzeug – Folding Beach Trolley
- Capacity: 90kg
- Size: L91cm x W47cm x H33cm
This is a all-terrain foldable beach trolley is ideal for helping you transport all your gear around whether that is going to a festival or camping. It has a robust design and feels very sturdy. The weather resistant steel will help ensure that this folding trolley stays with your family for more than just one summer.
The wheels are hard-wearing, so it is a good trolley if you are looking to move around over rough terrain. One feature which I like is the easy grip handle as it gives you a good purchase when pulling it behind you.
The fabric is hard-wearing polyester so it will take the bumps and impacts as you load up your favourite camping gear or all your beach essentials. It even includes a couple of extra mesh bottle pockets. With a maximum load of 90 kg you can be sure to pack in plenty of stuff without needing to worry about overfilling it.
Sekey – Outdoor Transport Trailer
- Capacity: 120kg
- Size: L98cm x W59cm x H56cm
This is a top notch beach trolley and I think it tops the scales in terms of transport load as it has a capacity to carry 120kg of cargo. To me that means lots of beers and prosecco stored away in my Yeti cool box as well as all the other beach gear that I intend on taking for a long day at the beach.
This beach cart features a different style of steering structure which you don’t see one all trolleys as the two wheels at the front are connected to the handle – this does help to solve the annoying issue of wheels colliding against each other.
Speaking of the wheels, this trolley has an extra wide wheel which creates traction and grip for all activities, so this will perform well at the beach as well as a campsite or the fishing pond. Attached to the wheels there is a mechanical brake system. This is user-friendly and really helps with loading should you on a slope with a steep incline.
Not all the trolleys come with a brake system so this might be a feature that you are specifically looking for to help have a trolley with the highest specs.
The handle on this trolley is adjustable, which is pretty handy as it means you can encourage your children to take control and have a go pulling it along the beach. They can’t use the excuse that it’s too big as you can adjust it to fit multiple heights. This cart folds away easily and can be packed and unpacked without any hassle. One final feature to mention is that it comes in 5 different colours which I think adds a nice touch as you can have it personalised to your own colour designs – a very good all round trolley!
Outsunny – Outdoor Pull Along Beach Trolley (Anti-Slip Wheel)
- Capacity: 70kg
- Size: L109cm x W55cm x H59cm
This is a great trolley with a unique wheel style that helps with steering, which when it comes to beach trolleys, is probably one of the bugbears you may experience.
Pulling a beach trolley is definitely better than carrying everything under your arm. However, the one thing you may experience some annoyance with, will be the steering of different buggies. This trolley features two multi-ground wheels that rotate 360° which help prevent the trailer getting stuck when you are manoeuvring it around. The wide all terrain wheels also help when pulling across sand and gravel which makes for a smooth journey to the beach.
This trolley has a maximum load weight of 70 kg so you can store plenty of equipment within it and you don’t need to worry about it breaking. It has a strong metal frame and durable fabric that can take plenty of knocks in your day-to-day use. It collapses easily and can be folded down for convenient storage.
This beach trolley reminds me of my child’s travel cot, due to too it’s removable protective padding and central lifting system for packing away. Once folded away it has a convenient bag that can zip over the trolley to ensure it’s stored neatly away for the next time you use it.
Portal – Folding Transport Trolley
- Capacity: 100kg
- Size: L89cm x W48cm x H30cm
This beach trolley from Portal allows you to enjoy the great outdoors. This foldable beach trolley is another great product to add to their list of outdoor gadgets. It has a robust tubular steel structure that has a load capacity of up to 100 kg, so you don’t need to worry about how much stuff you are packing for the day.
It has large wheels that are easy to handle on different terrains, they’re not as thick as some of the other beach carts on this list, however they do provide good traction across multiple surfaces. Like all of these transport trolleys, it folds down into a compact size so can be stored away easily. It also has a detachable textile material which makes it easy to clean should you get it dirty at a festival or fishing trip.
This is high quality trolley that will allow you to take everything you need in one go.
Gorilla Carts – Oversized Beach Wagon
- Size: 105D x 108W x 57H cm
This is the Big Daddy of beach trolleys. If you’ve got a big family or maybe you want to take another family’s gear, as well as your own, this is the bad boy for you!
Firstly this trolley is very spacious – it has more than double the volume when compared to some of the other trolleys within this list. Despite its size, it can be collapsed down easily and fits within your car without dominating the boot. The handle is a nice feature as it has a heavy-duty handle and provides easy steering.
As you would expect with something this size, it comes with a brake pedal which is ideal when you have parked on a hill and don’t want to watch all of the belongings roll off a cliff.
This trolley features an all terrain wheel, so you can guarantee that you get peak performance over sand and gravel as well as a solid surface such as grass or roadside. A perfect choice for anyone who wants to take half the house with them to the beach!
Nasscarts – Beach and Camping Trolley
- Capacity: 80kg
- Size: 89cm (L) x 49cm (W) x354cm (H)
A sturdy vessel that can hold up to 80kg of kit and has the 360 degree swivel tyres that make for easy steering. The tyres are the oversized version that I prefer as they are well suited to the soft sand at the beach. The polyester fabric is thick and durable so it keeps all your gear securely in one place – it also washes well should you have any unwanted spillages. It’s lightweight and compact so perfect for any of your transport needs.
The steering on this trolley was user friendly. We found that it steers well even when fully loaded, so you won’t have to worry about it toppling over if the driver isn’t paying attention to what they should be doing.
The fact that it can be collapsed down into a small bag is another reason to consider this beach trolley. It isn’t going to take up lots of room in your garage or shed when not in use. It will also store neatly away in your car boot if you need to drive a long distance.
Why should I buy a Beach Trolley?
The first thing I consider when making a purchase like this is “will it improve my life?” For me personally this is undoubtedly yes – buying a beach trolley will improve my time and enjoyment when heading to the beach.
This may seem like a bold statement but let me demonstrate how useful the trolley is. A family trip to the beach for me involves carrying a surfboard, three bodyboards, four wetsuits (Wet on the return leg), a windbreak, a packed lunch, sun cream, footballs, towels, beach tents a cool-box, beach chairs….to name but a few of the large objects that I have previously had to lug from the car or campsite all the way to the beach. It is no wonder that the first hour of the beach day involves me meditating, having screamed at the whole family and regretting leaving the house. Well, the beach transport trolley ended all our problems in one fair swoop! Instead of fearing a trip to the beach, I can relax in the knowledge that my trusty friend the beach cart will help take the load.
Another reason to consider getting yourself a beach cart is the cost. You’re not looking at a purchase that will cripple you financially and I feel the usage you will gain from owning one will undoubtedly give you your money back in the course of a couple of summers. This will become one of those pieces of equipment that you can’t live without so it is worth stumping up that initial investment and then reaping the rewards of an easier life. Whenever friends have seen how useful ours are they instantly go and get one themselves.
What should I look for in a Beach Trolley?
One thing to consider when choosing your beach trolley or cart is the type of use you aim to get out of it and the type of terrain you plan on taking it on. Some carts are designed more specifically for land-based use rather than sand. The benefits of these are that they will have narrower wheels that are much easier to pull when on the road and other firm surfaces as there will be less friction and resistance when pulling it.
If you are looking for a trolley that will be used for picnics and family days out more so than regular trips to the beach, don’t be too concerned about the type of wheel as a narrow wheel will be absolutely fine and you can still use these at the beach.
Those wishing for a trolley that is more designed for beach use will benefit from looking at a wheel that has more traction. When you look at the image online, the wheel will be a lot thicker and they are designed to deal with soft sand so that when you are pulling it behind you it spreads the weight across the wheel making it a lot more efficient when being pulled.
For me personally, I was always going to get maximum use from a trolley that was more tailored for the beach, so I knew that I wanted a wider wheel and I can say that it was beneficial and I am glad I decided to go down this route.