The perfect holiday would be the ones that are planned in advance. I mean, I do believe in the spontaneity thing, where you just go with the flow, but without proper planning of what to do, where to eat and especially what to wear, we’ll end up wasting a lot of time and energy lugging around a 10kg bag of clothes.

I’m sure a lot of you would bring everything to a holiday vacation because ” I can’t decide on what to wear”. I am guilty of that too. I usually pack everything, multiples of the same thing because I want choices. For the most bit, at the end of the trip, I’d end up bringing too many clothes and not wearing almost 50% of the clothes because I would shop for more clothes during the trip anyway and most importantly, I didn’t need that many clothes.

What’s important is, planning what to wear! It is a tough decision to make. I mean, if we were given a chance, we’ll probably pack our whole wardrobe over to a 3 days 2 nights stay, but let’s be practical here and look at what are the essentials to pack.

This time around we shall look at what essential things to bring to a beach holiday.

What to wear: Beach Vacation – by lyyyl on Polyvore.com

Comfy clothes

Beach vacay’s all about being laid back and having fun. Bring really thin, cool, cotton clothes which can be matched with your beachwear. Loads of Sarongs/pareos would be good as they are lightweight and can be turned into a few styles. I would go for things in a neutral colour so that you can easily mix and match it when you are wearing them. One rule of thumb is to pack all your clothes and take away 50% of it. Don’t forget to bring a sweater or jacket for night because it tends to get colder at night in the beach.

Swimsuits

Probably the most important thing when it comes to a beach holiday. Lounging under the sun, tanning ourselves and taking a dip into the cool crisp beach water, we must look good at ALL times. You might not know who’s looking:) It is better to pack 2 swimsuits on your vacation. This is so that you can wash and dry one, while you use the other. Bring a variety of swimsuit, maybe a one piece swimsuit and a bikini.

swimsuit – by lyyyl on Polyvore.com

Cover ups

Cover ups are any sarong/pareo, tube dress, sundress or any big, over sized t shirts that can be worn on top of your swim suits. Let’s face it, we all want to be in our swimsuits at all time in the beach Sarongs are well, big cloths that can be tied up into various styles to cover up. Sun dresses are common. Try to wear thin, cotton dresses in light color so that you don’t collect much heat from the sun rays. You might grab a bit in between sun bathing and snorkeling. Throw on your preferred cover up and head on to the nearest seafood restaurant.

sundresses – by lyyyl on Polyvore.com

Pareos & Kaftans – by lyyyl on Polyvore.com

Beach Towels

After soaking up water in the salty beach, you might need a towel to wipe dry. If you stayed in a hotel, you might get fresh new towels daily. But if you don’t, try to get the big thick towel. This is so that you can dry properly.  You might need to being another one to be laid on the ground to sit on. Or bring a mat instead.

Flip flops

Flipflops/thongs/sandals are beach essentials. Walking on the hot sandy beach sometimes can burn your feet. Preferably bring the ones which are lightweight, made out of rubber or plastic. Make sure that they are waterproof though.

Flip Flops – by lyyyl on Polyvore.com

Beach Hats/Sunnies

The sun gets too hot sometimes at the beach. Sunnies/sunglasses/shades are important to protect our eye from the UV rays of the sun. Get those big sunnies. You might want to catch a breather under the trees on a hammock while reading a book. Put on a wide-brim straw hat to shield yourselves from the sun.

hats and sunnies – by lyyyl on Polyvore.com

Sunscreens, repellents, creams

The sun on the beach can be really harsh on the skin. Bring enough waterproof sunscreen to reapply every few hours. Even if it is waterproof, sunscreen must be reapplied every now and then to protect the skin from getting sun burnt. Bring along lip balm with sun screen also to prevent lips from chapping. Laying down on the beach to suntan might attract bug bites. Bring insect repellent because insects are abundant at night.

Over sized Beach Bag

All your essential needs must be placed somewhere. Get a big enough bag to fit everything into it because you wouldn’t want to bring so many bags along on your trip to the beach.

beach bags – by lyyyl on Polyvore.com

Feature image credit: swimsuit – by lyyyl on Polyvore.com

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