Is there anything better than a beach vacation when you really, really need it (even when you don’t!)? Packing for a beach vacation can be stressful though. You want to look good in all the photos that will be taken of you, but it’s important to balance that with casual chic. Going out for dinner at home is probably too “done” looking for dinner at a restaurant on the beach.

I’m in Aruba right now (wahoo!!), and since people always ask me for packing tips, I thought I’d show you what I packed.

That is all I brought for a week. It would have fit in a carry on if I didn’t have to pack my husbands fins, his snorkel gear, his rafts and his other beach toys in my suitcase.

To make it easier for you to see what I wear where, I’ve broken it down for you into different vacation activities.

pool/beachwear

I have two maxi dresses and a long shirt that I wear as cover ups. Two swimsuits are all you need for a week away. I also brought my trusty black Old Navy flip-flops and a pair of flip-flops with stones that I can wear out at night as well.

dinner out

I love clothes that do double duty! I’ll wear the two maxi dresses with my silver wedge sandals or embellished flip-flops and some chunky jewelry at night. I also brought a black and white striped maxi skirt that I’ll wear with either the white T-shirt or the black sequin tank top. I brought my favorite (and only) white skinny jeans to wear with the black sequined tank top, the white t-shirt (love white on white at the beach) or the Missoni-like striped green tank top with the teal tank under it. That gives me 7 outfits with no repeats. I also brought the blue cotton cable sweater (seen in the top pic) in case it rains one night and we eat inside a restaurant with A/C

exploring the town

Aruba has some great duty-free shopping. When I was here three years ago, I got a Baccarat crystal choker for a lot less than it would have cost in the states and my titanium sports watch. So, we’ll definitely check out the shops in town and go to an authentic Aruban restaurant for lunch. We’ll only go into town one day because I want a lot of time to lie on a pool/beach chair drinking pina coladas, so I just need my white denim shorts, a pair of flip-flops and a couple of T-shirt options. By the way, the T-shirt on the right says The Midnight Brass, not The Midnight Bras!

I brought my trusty LL Bean Boat and Tote bag as my carry on, and I’ve been using it as my beach/pool bag. It’s so durable and holds alllllll the stuff I could possibly need.

You can bring a reasonable amount of clothes and still have lots of options to wear on a beach vacation if each item you bring goes with at least two other items or can do double duty. Having versatile clothes can make packing for a beach vacation much easier! Whew, I’m thirsty after all this typing. Time for another pina colada. Cheers!

xoxo

Illysia