The Best Pool Toys for Kids and Adults This Summer

This post is sponsored by Walmart.

A round up of the best pool toys for kids, toddlers, and adults to enjoy at the beach or at pool parties for the most fun summer ever!

It’s hard work “crash dummy testing” pool toys… but we took one for the team, you guys.

mother and daughter playing with swimming pool toys in a backyard

The Best Pool Toys for Kids and Adults This Summer

I read a ton of top rated reviews for pool floats and pool toys this week, ordered the most recommended ones from Walmart, threw them in our backyard swimming pool, and our family decided which ones were a total hit and which ones sunk (literally and figuratively).

It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. 😉

So I rounded up all of our top favorite pool toys and floats from Walmart’s Backyard Fun section, so that you can be prepared for your next beach trip or pool party.

Some are small enough for tossing into a suitcase without any packing bulk
Some provide hours of entertainment for kids while encouraging exercise and development in hand-eye coordination
Some have an added wow-factor that’s great for group gatherings and backyard parties

There are so many great budget friendly ones in the bunch.

collage of the best pool toys for kids and adults — Light Up Beach Balls | Pool Pong Float Game | Shark Hunt Game | Pool Volleyball / Basketball Hoops Set | Flip Flying Dive Stix | Swim Thru Rings | 2-In-1 Vest (pink / green) | Pool Football | Melon Ball Game | Inflatable Tic Tac Toe | 14 Piece Dive Set | Sling Shot Pool Balls

The Best Toys for a Night Pool Party

light up beach ball glowing green at night

Color Changing Light Up Beach Ball

These light up inflatable balls are the COOLEST for a night swim pool party! (Good thing we just installed tons of backyard lighting so that we can swim at night.)

I didn’t have high hopes for this one, to be quite honest. I figured these beach balls would light up for a few hours and then be dead.

But they’ve been going strong for a week despite us playing with them every day, and so far, they still light up as bright as Day 1.

You can choose a continuous color or press the setting to make it change colors. It’s perfect as an inflatable volleyball for a night game or just to decorate the water for a poolside evening cookout.

couple playing a beer pong game on a light up pool float

light up beer pong pool float glowing in the dark in water

Light Up Pool Pong Game

The classic pong game (beer optional) on a float! And the best part, it lights up and changes colors!

We had to add our own plastic cups, but it does come with 3 ping pong balls.

The Best Pool Toys for Kids

Swim Through Rings

Olivia, our 9 year-old, is our little fish who loves a great underwater challenge, so these swim through rings were right up her alley. She and her friends have fun making obstacles courses with these swim through rings.

You can inflate them to all the way so they float at the water’s surface, or you can make it extra challenging by only inflating them slightly so swimmers have to race through the rings at the bottom of the pool.

mother and daughter playing with slingshot dive toys beside a backyard swimming pool

Flip Flying Dive Stix

Without a doubt, these Flip Flying Dive Stix are the coolest diving toys ever! You can throw them like a slingshot, bright colors make them easier to spot underwater, and the little scuba divers’ squishy texture is so satisfying for some reason.

Have a diving game or a competition to see who can shoot them the farthest. They can reach up to 30 feet, though we still need practice apparently because we haven’t shot them that far… yet.

The Best Toddler Pool Toys

toddler girl playing with a shark pool toy game in the water

Shark Hunt Pool Game

This cute Melissa and Doug Shark Hunt game is a fun pool toy for toddlers and preschoolers.

The two sharks come with three floating fish each, and your toddler can race to scoop them up in the sharks’ mouths. It’s a good activity for developing hand-eye coordination.

toddler swim vest on the ground on the side of a swimming pool

toddler girl jumping into a backyard swimming pool with a vest

Swim School 2-In-1 Vest

We have gone through many swimming vests over the years, and this 2-in-1 vest tops them all. (Here’s a blue/green shark version too.)

The arm bands zip off so as your child becomes more confident in the water, you can remove the middle and let him or her wear just the arm bands to help graduate to unassisted swimming.

The Best Pool Floats for Adults and Kids

deflated pool float packed into a suitcase with clothes

man floating on a hammock pool float in a swimming pool in front of a cabana

4-In-1 Hammock Pool Float

When Robert and I went to Jamaica for our 10 year wedding anniversary, this hammock float was THE MOST recommended to me by seasoned travelers. It deflates to a size smaller than a T-shirt making it the best to tuck in a suitcase for a beach destination.

Robert claims it as the most comfortable too because you can lie in it like a hammock or sit in it like a chair.

wine bottle shaped pool float in the water

woman lying on a wine bottle shaped pool flat in the water in front of a cabana

Rose Novelty Float

I got this Rose wine bottle float partly as a joke AKA “mom’s pool float… nobody touch”, but now the kids fight me for it because it’s actually really comfortable and so cute. It has a spot for a drink holder too.

little girl playing on a flamingo pool float tube in the water in front of a cabana

Flamingo Party Tube Float

The classic flamingo float! But the reason this one is awesome… it inflates in literally 15 seconds. Our kids have fiercely used and abused this tube all week, and it’s still leak-free.

Recommended Swimsuits for the Family from Walmart

I tried out a few really cute figure flattering “mom bod” swimsuits from Walmart that pass the coverage and support test. Robert picked favorite swim trunks for himself too.

And since our girls are always going through their swimwear at lightening speed, I snagged a few adorable pieces for them.

So I rounded up a bunch of swimsuit favorites from Walmart for the whole family crew…