¡Bienvenidos a Mexico! …or insert any other tropical destination! Cancún, Cabo San Lucas, Costa Rica, Aruba, Saint Lucia, Jamaica…the list goes on! You’ve made the decision to vacation at an all-inclusive resort, and now you’re sitting down to organize your packing list. Let me help!
Taylor and I first stayed at an all-inclusive resort for our honeymoon to Costa Rica in 2017. Boy, was that a smart decision! After a year of wedding planning and decision making, what a refreshing experience it was to relax for a week at an all-inclusive resort. The only decisions we had to make were ‘tequila or rum’ or ‘Asian cuisine or Italian cuisine’ or ‘pool or beach’. ahhhh now that is the life.
While the decisions you’ll make at an all inclusive resort are no brainers, the prep work to pack all the necessary essentials can be a bit daunting. You want to pack light, and smart. Since our 2017 trip to Costa Rica, we’ve since traveled to Cancún, Cabo San Lucas, and just last week, Puerto Vallarta! Each trip we learn more about what we want, what we need, what we should have left at home, what is worth it to buy there, etc.
I’ve put together all our mental notes into this blog post + a conclusive list of packing essentials. Let’s dive in.
The All-Inclusive Eleven: 11 Packing Essentials
ONE: Carry On Luggage
Unless you’re headed to your destination for longer than a week or two, you really can pack for an all-inclusive resort with just carry-on luggage. Save you and your travel buddy around $200 in luggage charges (roughly $50 per bag each way!) And save yourself the stress of potentially losing your luggage during international connecting flights, what a nightmare. I also love this weekender bag for shorter trips. Here’s one tip to consider: since you can’t pack large aerosols as a carry-on, let your sunscreen be the ONLY item you purchase from the resort shop, you’ll use up just about the whole bottle while you’re there in the sun, AND the cost of 1 bottle of sunscreen at the resort is less than half the cost of one checked bag! A sunscreen stick like this is another great alternative, and carry-on friendly.
TWO: Dress in Layers on the Flight
Let me describe two insanely uncomfortable feelings for ya: 1) you’re flying to a warm, tropical destination, so you’re rocking cut off denim shorts and a sleeveless tank and flip flops for your flight, now you’re freezing cold in the blasting AC of the plane. 2) you wear leggings and a sweater to be warm on the flight, then arrive to the 116357% humidity of your destination and instantly become drenched in sweat. Neither option sounds ideal, amiright? Here’s the solution: layers! I love to travel in a cropped jumpsuit, with a cotton tee underneath, then I’ll bring a denim jacket in case I get cold (which ALWAYS happens). The cropped length and short sleeve tee is warm enough for the flight, but light enough that I’m not instantly dying of heatstroke when I get off the plane.
THREE: Leather Case for your Passport
I’ll be honest…this item is party functional, but partly just because it looks pretty. Traveling internationally is just so exciting, and having a cute, leather cover for your passport only adds to the fun. I recently received a gold leather cover from J.Crew as a gift, but I looove this brown leather one from Amazon. Having a cover on your passport not only protects the condition of your very important document, but it also slightly adds to the size of your passport, making it easier to keep track of in your travel tote. Additionally, its a quick way for you to identify your passport from your travel buddy’s passport.
FOUR: Bikinis, bikinis, bikinis…and more bikinis
Easily my favorite part of packing for ANY vacation, but an all-inclusive resort type of vacation – you know you’re living in bikinis for the larger part of every day you spend there, making bikinis the highlight of the packing list! I’ve rounded up SO many affordable and flattering options from Amazon in this link here, happy shopping! I love to be a little more adventurous in what suits I’ll wear at a resort, versus a beach day at home in San Diego. Think leopard print, snakeskin, bright colors, cheeky bottoms.
FIVE: Coverups & Loungewear
Remember this is a vacation…you’re going to relax and LOUNGE. You’ll roll out of bed and straight to the brunch buffet, you’ll leave the pool for lunch at the outdoor grill, you’ll stay in one night and order room service in bed. All options considered, its important to pack a few coverups and a couple loungewear sets. I wore this oversized cotton shirtdress as a coverup everyday in Puerto Vallarta, and this matching loungewear set was great for both casual meals and airport travel!
SIX: Sundresses for Nightlife
One point to note when packing for an all-inclusive resort, is that most dinner restaurants have a dress code – this means a skirt or dress for women, and pants and a collared shirt for men. This doesn’t mean formal evening wear, but think a modest midi sundress! I love this tiered animal print cami dress.
SEVEN: Tumbler Cups
We love the oceanfront landscape, the bountiful buffets, and the relaxing resort-life of an all-inclusive vacation, but we all know the reveal reason an all-inclusive resort is so appealing – THE DRINKS! All-inclusive means your alcohol is included, and often times, top shelf. For Tay and I, that’s the selling point. Bring your own tumbler! The bartender will appreciate one less glass to wash, you can fill up your tumbler with a larger volume than the typical serving size (which means less trips to the bar for you!), and you can pick a fun design tumbler that you won’t mind holding on to for most of your vacation (just think about all the pictures you’re taking holding on to your drink!) I’d advise against bringing your higher quality YETI tumblers, just in case you lose it while traveling, or it gets stolen (it happens!). Instead, purchase a set of 4 clear acrylic tumblers with straws like these – there’s enough for your whole group, and they’re inexpensive!
EIGHT: Woven Handbag
This item you’ll use every day on your all-inclusive resort vacay, and every summer outing after! Packing a small handbag for your trip is perfect to hold your everyday items while out on the resort: your room key, towel card, chapstick, sunnies, and phone. Another tip: lock your wallet, wedding ring, and passport in the safe in your room! No need to have those items out in the open, or on you during the day.
NINE: Medications
Not advising to bring an entire CVS pharmacy, but consider packing a few doses of some medications you may need while traveling: an antacid like chewable Tums (you’ll need em after all the tacos and margs), an antidiarrheal like Immodium (travelers diarrhea is no joke), hydration packets like LiquidIV (so you don’t shrivel up like a raisin in the sun), Tylenol or Ibuprofen for generalized pain, and insect repellant wipes (adios mosquitos).
TEN: Dry Shampoo
If you know me, you know I only wash my hair once a week – and that dry-shampoo will forever be my best friend. But that fact aside, you’re hair will be in a bun and a sunhat all day every day, and for fancier nights out, the air will be so humid anyway, you’ll want to rock an ‘updo. Spend more time in the pool and on the beach, less time washing/styling your hair! Dry Shampoo is the solution. On our most recent trip, I packed a 1.6-oz bottle of Clean Freak dry shampoo – just a few bucks at Walmart, and carry-on friendly!
ELEVEN: What you DON’T need
Last point of advice! A quick list of items you absolutely do not need to pack for your all-inclusive vacay.
- towels
- beach chairs
- snacks
- alcohol
- sunscreen (buy it at the resort, cheaper than checking a bag)
- shampoo/conditioner
Check out this list below to see in summary!
All Inclusive Resort Packing Essentials
I hope this post helped relieve some stress and uncertainty in preparing for your all-inclusive resort vacation! I’d love to hear your tips and tricks after your trip! Share in the comments or on Insta, let’s connect!
