Be on Your Best Behavior at the Beach

As the temperature climbs the crowds at beaches and pools can become overwhelming. And with so many people in one place trying to beat the heat there are some rules of etiquette people adhere to in order to make the experience enjoyable for everyone. However, TripAdvisor’s annual beach and pool etiquette survey revealed that there are many offenders.

New Yorkers are the most poorly behaved at beaches and pools, according to the survey. The site’s annual beach and pool etiquette survey also listed New Jersey and Florida beachgoers as the second and third worst, respectively.

A majority of respondents, 74%, t

hink that people often violate some form of beach or pool etiquette, while roughly a quarter have asked a stranger to stop behaving rudely at the beach or pool.

The most annoying beach- and poolside behavior was blasting loud music. And at the pool the second most annoying breach of etiquette was beach chair hogging with 18%. Chair hogs in general were looked down upon. According to the survey, 85% of respondents “consider it unacceptable to reserve chairs by getting up early and leaving one’s possessions on them.”

Intruding upon personal space is a big faux pas, and the survey shows that people change their zone of comfort depending on how crowded the beach is. On a crowded day, almost three-quarters of the respondents say that three to six feet is close enough. On a less crowded day, almost half of respondents want at least 11 feet of space — with 30% desiring a whopping 20 feet.

Regardless of how much space a person wants, more than half — 57% — would want a stranger to let them know if they look to be getting sunburned. But don’t ask a stranger to put the lotion on for you. Almost 80% think that is an unacceptable request and 13% have been asked to do so.

The beautiful weather won’t last forever, and some people’s beach vacation is all too short, so beach and pool etiquette seems to be pretty important to most people.