packing for the beach

Traveling is sometimes stressful, and I always worry that I'll forget something that I really need while I'm away. I also am very big on packing only the necessities and saving space in our bags. In fact, we would have had two carry-ons and no checked baggage if we didn't have to bring so many liquids on board (sunscreen). If you want a fast easy way to make sure you are packed for your next beach vacation,  here's an easy checklist that we made and used when packing for our trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. 

I'll type up the list and include it at the bottom of this post for easier reference, but this is all we brought for our six night stay and we were fine. I would add an umbrella or two and a selfie stick to this list - we were one of the few people who didn't have a selfie stick, they turned out taking great vacation photos for people and you don't have to feel like a dork because no one knows you.

One of the most important keys is making sure you have a sunscreen, swimsuit, underwear, and one outfit in your carry-on baggage. Our travel agent told us about a couple who went on vacation and didn't get their checked baggage until three days after they arrived, but because they had a swimsuit and one outfit their trip wasn't completely ruined.

It's also recommended to leave a photocopy of your passport with a family member or friend in case yours gets stolen. I've also read online you can upload it to a secure document sharing website like Google docs. 

To save space, I just put a few of the meds in the red pill container. Overall this was our med kit:

• Ibuprofen
• Neosporin (I had just got stung by a bee or something and didn't want an infection)
• Waterproof bandages (also to block out nasty ocean and pool stuff from entering my sting)
• Anti-Diarrheal Medicine
• Benadryl (in case we had trouble sleeping)
• Earplugs
• Tums (We used these the most)

Carry On Bags

• Passport
• Tip $$$
• Travel Information from Agent
• Ipads + chargers
• Iphones + chargers
• Camera + charger
• One dress
• One outfit for Jake
• Swimsuits
• Travel sunscreen
• Meds
• Books
• Pens (for filling out immigration forms)
• Sunglasses (bring two pair, I lost a pair!)

Checked Bag

Toiletries

• Curling Iron
• Brush
• Toothbrushes + paste + floss
• Travel Hairspray
• Al's travel shamp + conditioner
• Makeup bag 
• Face moisturizer and cleanser
• Aloe Vera
• Sunscreen
• Contact solution
• Deodorant
• Razor 

Clothing

• 5 dresses
• 5 dinner outfits for Jake
• 2 workout outfits + socks + tennis shoes (rainy days we went to gym until it stopped)
• Flip flops
• Jake brown shoes
• Swimsuits 
• Jake tanks and Al swimsuit coverups

Other Supplies

• Beach bag
• Sun hat and ball cap
• Tumblers (we didn't bring these, but many recommend)
• Umbrellas

Check out this cool 5-4-3-2-1 packing strategy here .