What to Pack for a Beach Vacation: the Curvy Girl’s Beach Vacation Packing List

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Some people are born to be on the beach. All year long, they dream about dipping their toes in bright blue water and frolicking on soft white sand, and they return from their beach vacation with sun-kissed skin, positively glowing with beachy bliss.

I envy those people.

While they’re happily soaking up the sun, I’m busy being burned to a crisp, accidentally inhaling mouthfuls of sand, swallowing salt water, freaking out because I saw one single jellyfish, yanking tangles out of my hair, and trying to get sand un-stuck from places that sand should never, ever be.

I am truly the least graceful person who has ever been on a beach. And it doesn’t help that shopping for swimsuits as a size 16, almost 6-foot tall Amazonian woman is an exercise in torture and frustration (what is this, a bikini bottom for ANTS?!). Honestly, somehow I find it easier to pack for a trip to the literal Arctic Tundra than a day at the beach.

So when Cacique Intimates asked me to create a beach vacation packing list, I took a deep breath, reached within myself, and… booked a trip to Hawaii. You know. For research. Look, even non Beach People love Hawaii, OK? Shave ice is universal.

So, dear reader, you can rest assured that every single item on my beach vacation packing list has been thoroughly vetted to the HIGHEST possible standards. I have absolutely no patience for anything that causes chafing, leaves a weird greasy residue and acts as a sand magnet, doesn’t start drying the minute I stop swimming, or leaves me feeling hot, sweaty, and uncomfortable. None. Niet. CANCELLED.

So whether you have a love-hate relationship with the beach like I do (because I really I love it when I’m not on the struggle bus!) or you’re a card-carrying Beach Person, trust that my tips for what to pack for the beach are FULLY tried & tested.

OK, let’s dive in. Get it? Like into the ocean! I know, I know, you’re like “Lia, water you doing? Your jokes SINK!” Ok, sorry, I’m done. … FOR NOW.

Psst: Planning a trip to somewhere hot, tropical, and sunny? We’ve got a few more posts that might be helpful:

• 42 Essentials to Pack for Hot Climates
• The Ultimate Guide to Travel Makeup & Beauty
• 29 Things Nobody Tells You About Travelling While Fat

To All My Curvy Girls, Fat Chicks, and Plus Size Babes

I wanted to start out my beach vacation packing list with a heart to heart to all my curvy girls, fat chicks, and plus sized babes (or however else you prefer to classify yourself or identify).

No matter what size you are, wearing a swimsuit feels incredibly vulnerable. It doesn’t matter how confident you are wearing your cutest clothes: taking all that off and letting the world see your beautiful body is scary as sh*t. And I say this as an incredibly confident, self-loving, card-carrying body positive bada$$.

Which means that going to the beach as a fat chick can feel extra nerve-wracking. Even if you love your body, chances are that someone else on the beach believes the bullsh*t that there’s something wrong with fatness (spoilers: there is not). This tends to result in awkward micro-aggressions, such as but not limited to: stares, cat-calls, small children pointing at you, and that well-intentioned skinny girl who smiles in pity and says you’re “brave” for slapping some elastic on your body and daring to step outside. Thanks, b**tch!

Let me tell you something: f**k those people. Except for the kids, because like, kids just stare at anything that’s even slightly outside the norm, so they get a pass and honestly it’s probably good they see how fabulous you look so they can reframe their perceptions about size & shape before they grow up.

The only thing about your body that matters is how you feel about it. Whether or not it’s healthy or tan or soft or jiggly or able or strong or any of the myriad other things bodies can be, is totally irrelevant. It does not matter. All bodies are good bodies. And all you have to do to have a bikini body is to put a bikini, like, somewhere on your body.

So throw your sassiest f**k-you lipstick in your beach bag, grab a towel, and take your beautiful, incredible self to the beach like the fabulous mermaid you are!

Psst: want more unapologetic body positivity? I’ve got a whole bunch of practical tips & sass in this post: 29 Things Nobody Tells You About Traveling While Fat.

What to Take to the Beach

The Swimsuit

There’s no denying it: your swimsuit is very likely the #1 most important thing on your beach trip packing list. So like, no pressure.

Here’s a slightly embarassing fun fact about me: I did not own a matching swimsuit until last year. Yes, y’all: I spent 28 years on this earth cobbling together whatever mis-matched swim separates happened to fit on my body. 99% of my various random swim things were black, so I could at least pretend they came together.

But honestly, it’s not my fault. I mean, yes, it took me 28 years to find a swimsuit that was actually decent. But also, like, WHY IS FINDING DECENT SWIMWEAR SO F***KING HARD?!

I see smaller women out shopping for a brand new suit each year with with a drawer full of swimwear and I’m just like, how? And why!? Swimsuit shopping is TORTURE.

Er, well, correction: swimsuit shopping is torture… unless you’re shopping for swimsuits that actually fit.

Yes, y’all: I have found the holy grail of swimwear shopping. Cacique Intimates sells swimwear in sizes 0-28. Let me repeat that: SIZE ZERO through SIZE TWENTY EIGHT. Like, you would be CHALLENGED to not find a swimsuit that fits you at Cacique.

Also, because Cacique is a lingerie company at heart (pro tip: their underwear is amazing too), their swim tops are supportive AF. Their site lets you shop for underwire and no-wire swimsuits, plus every style of swimsuit you can think of, from sexy string bikinis to no-BS activewear.

Also? As a fat chick, browsing the selection on Cacique’s website just makes me feel f**king awesome. Their models actually LOOK LIKE ME. And my friends. And everyone else, too, because they actually have models of all shapes and sizes and colors. Like, what?! That blows my mind. It shouldn’t, because it’s 2019 and inclusivity should be the norm, but we’re apparently still not there yet, so in the meantime I’ll just be scrolling through the Cacique site channeling my inner Jonathan Van Ness like YASS HONEY! YASS!

• Budget-Friendly Tip: From now through July 14, 2019, Cacique Intimates is having their semi-annual sale! Select bras are Buy 1, Get 1 Free and all other bras are Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off. So hustle over to the site to shop before the sale is over!

Sun Protection

Other than your swimsuit, sun protection is the other most important thing you’ll be bringing to the beach. Whether you’re translucent like me or good and melanated, a day at the beach can cause all kinds of skin damage!

That said: I hate sunscreen. HATE it. I hate the feeling of sunscreen on my skin. I hate that weird coconutty smell. I hate applying it, and then re-applying it. I hate that when you use spray-on sunscreen, 99% of it ends up in the air and your mouth and only 1% of it ends up in a tiny puddle on your skin. I hate that most sunscreen melts off your skin when you jump into the ocean, leaving damaging residue that kills coral and harms marine life. I hate that I can’t recycle most bottles and cans of sunscreen. I just hate it!

I do, however, recognize its importance. So I always bring 2 kinds of sunscreen with me on a trip:

• Reef-Safe Sunscreen: Going into the ocean? You need to wear reef-safe sunscreen. Unless you hate coral, fish, and also all of human life. Reef-safe sunscreen is designed to biodegrade and not harm ocean life. Regular sunscreen bleaches coral and ensures humanity’s swift death from climate change. So please, for the love of society’s inevitable collapse, wear reef-safe sunscreen if you’re going into the ocean! As a fun bonus incentive, it’s actually required by law in Hawaii.
• Mineral Sunscreen: The least harmful type of sunscreen, according to science. Mineral sunscreens use two natural minerals—zinc oxide and titanium dioxide—as active ingredients. They basically simply sit on top of your skin and protect it by physically reflecting away UV rays, like tiny little mirrors. Meanwhile, regular chemical sunscreen soaks into your skin and ends up in your bloodstream (and breast milk, according to this study) which kinda squicks me out. Mineral sunscreens do not soak into your skin (according to this study). So even though mineral sunscreens feel a bit heavier than chemical sunscreens, I prefer to use them anyway.

Travel Tip: In case you DO get sunburnt, a bottle of aloe vera will help. But an even better sunburn treatment? Apple cider vinegar! It smells terrible but it works miracles to take the sting out of a bad burn and speed up the healing process. Plus, it doesn’t feel sticky and gross on your skin. I bring a little spray bottle full of ACV on every beach trip.

But wait! There’s actually a better option than greasy, environmentally-questionable sunscreen: swim clothes!

Yep, that’s right: it’s now cool to wear a t-shirt in the water. Take that, everyone who made fun of me when I was 12 and insecure. But seriously, even a regular t-shirt can effectively protect your skin from sun damage and significantly limit the amount of sunscreen you need to apply. On days when I’m going snorkeling and will be in the water for long stretches of time, I cover up as much as I can.

• Rash Guard: I highly recommend considering a rash guard, which is specially designed for swimming in saltwater. There are even swim leggings made from swimwear material, which is perfect because my butt is always the first thing to burn when I’m snorkeling.

The more your body is covered up – at any point – the better you’ll be protected from the sun, and the more environmentally friendly your beach vacation will be!

Speaking of stuff you can cover your skin with, that leads me to my next topic…

Beachwear

Beachwear is my favorite part of going to the beach. I live in freezing cold Northern California, where a day at the beach means bundling up in 18 layers of your warmest clothing, so I LOVE being able to finally wear the only pair of shorts I own!

I’m not going to get super specific here like “you need this exact dress” because I trust that you know what you like. That said, I do happen to have a degree in fashion design, so I know a thing or two about clothing or whatever. So I’m going to give you a few guidelines that will help you make smart choices. Here’s what to look for in beach-friendly clothing:

Hot-Weather Friendly Fabrics

Not all textiles are created equally when it comes to hot weather! Certain fabrics will let your skin breathe even if you’re sweating, or help you regulate your body temperature so you stay cooler naturally. Look for light-colored clothing made from cotton, linen, rayon or viscose, or hemp. Natural fibers are naturally better at temperature regulation!

That said, if you’re going hiking or doing other athletic things, look for moisture-wicking athletic wear with a polyester or nylon blend – they’ll hold up better for athletic activities.

Travel-Friendly Fabrics

From wrinkles to wear & tear, certain fabrics just won’t hold up on a trip as well as you’d like. For example, linen – my FAVORITE hot-weather textile – wrinkles if you so much as look at it and tears easily. And yet I find myself buying a new pair of linen pants each summer anyway…

Cotton and viscose/rayon will also wrinkle easily. You can avoid most of the wrinkles by rolling your clothing instead of folding it, but a few wrinkles are inevitable. Not sure if a fabric will wrinkle easily? Crease it with your fingers – if the crease stays, you’re gonna get wrinkles.

To avoid wrinkles, look for wrinkle-friendly weaving techniques, such as seersucker. Basically, if the clothing is designed to look textured, wrinkles won’t show up as easily. Another tip is to look for fabric blends: a polyester/cotton blend is less likely to wrinkle than 100% cotton, for example; a blend with stretchy spandex or lycra is even less prone to wrinkles!

Other than wrinkles, my biggest irritation when it comes to travel clothing is how often I need to wash it. Yep, y’all: I don’t like to wash my clothing while I travel if I can help it. If I’m traveling for less than a week, I REALLY don’t want to have to haul my whole travel laundry kit with me and spend an hour of my time washing stuff in the sink. No thank you!

So I look for clothing that’s naturally anti-microbial – meaning it doesn’t smell. It’s the difference between smelling my own BO at the end of a long day (lookin’ at you, polyester) and smelling my yummy honey-scented natural deodorant for a week straight! It also means that your clothing won’t smell like mildew if you throw your damp swimsuit into your bag.

My favorite naturally anti-microbial textiles are: hemp, which feels & functions almost exactly like linen and is super environmentally friendly; and merino wool, which is stretchy and soft and not at all hot (it’s actually naturally temperature regulating, even when wet).

The Essentials

Now that I’ve put my fashion design degree to work, I do have a few recommendations on the style side of things. Here are my favorite must-have beachwear items:

• Adorable Swimsuit Cover-Up: I live in swimsuit cover-ups on beach vacations. I know they’re supposed to go over your swimsuit or whatever, but you’ll catch me wearing them everywhere, swimsuit or nah. On our trip to Hawaii, I brought this freakin’ adorable robe and wore it literally every single day.
• The Dress: You know what I mean when I say The Dress, right? The Dress is the one in your closet that makes you feel adorable, comfortable, airy, and free. It’s the dress you can throw on with a pair of sandals and have a complete outfit ready to go. It’s the dress you’re gonna want to wear every single day on your beach vacation. If you don’t have The Dress yet, get shopping! My favorite dresses, as a curvy girl, are A-line cuts with full skirts that hit me just above the knee. Bonus points for sweetheart necklines, travel-friendly fabric, and pockets!
• Bike Shorts with Pockets: Girl, I’m a size 16. You think I can just throw on a dress and go?! HA. No. #chubrublife Underneath my dresses, I wear a pair of comfy, stretchy bike shorts with pockets. They’re as close to leggings as you’re going to want to get on the beach. If you don’t like bike shorts, at least pack a stick of body glide to help with that vacation-ruining inner thigh chafe.
• Wear-Anywhere Sandals: By now you can tell that I am lazy and I like my clothing to be multifunctional, and I feel the same way about my shoes. I need a pair of sandals that’s down for a day at the beach, a long hike, scrambling on sharp lava rock, AND a romantic evening out. Luckily, my favorite pair has been up to every challenge I’ve thrown at them for the past 10 years (er, to clarify: I’m on pair #4 of the same style, but still).
• Adorable Sunglasses: Not technically clothing, but just as important! You’re gonna be wearing these in every photo, so the cuter, the better. I wore this adorable pair of rose gold heart-shaped sunglasses in Hawaii and literally saw everything through rose-colored glasses. They are SO cute!

Beach Supplies

You won’t find me dragging a family-sized umbrella to the beach, but there are a few beach vacation must-haves that always make their way into my carry-on sized suitcase!

• Travel Towel: There is absolutely no guarantee that the towels at your hotel are going to fit around your waist. Frankly, they rarely fit around my left thigh. So just to be safe, I always bring my own travel-friendly, lightweight, quick-drying travel towel!
• Snorkel Stuff: I have yet to be provided with a pair of snorkel goggles that don’t suck on a snorkeling tour, and I take a LOT of snorkeling tours. These days, I bring my own snorkel mask and a little bottle of anti-fog spray. I’m not extra enough to have my own fins (yet).
• Travel Clothesline: Newsflash: your hotel’s moist, dark bathroom is the absolute WORST place to hang your clothing up to dry. Instead, hang this tiny travel clothesline up somewhere that gets plenty of airflow and sun – like on a curtain rod in front of the window! Your wet swimsuit and travel towel will be dry in no time.
• Insulated Water Bottle: Reusable water bottles are not only the environmentally friendly choice but they have a major advantage over cheap, clear plastic water bottles: they actually keep your water COLD, even sitting in the hot sand on a sunny day. Look for something insulated with steel or vacuum sealed to keep your water ice cold, and drink up all day long: swimming in the ocean can really dehydrate you!
• Beach Tote: I’m a backpack girl, but that doesn’t cut it on the beach. A good beach tote will do more than just hold all of your stuff: it will also repel sand, zip closed so you can lock it while you swim, and even keep your lunch cold in a detachable cooler. Yes, for real.
• Beach-Friendly Camera: Fact: sand and cameras do not go well together. But also, you look cute AF in your swimsuit and the world deserves to see you in all of your adorableness on the ‘gram. So grab a beach-friendly camera that can handle sand and water! This point and shoot camera can go underwater down to 100 feet and takes great pics on land, too. If you’ll be taking video, especially underwater, you can’t get any better than a GoPro!
• Sand Repelling Beach Mat: This would be my biggest and most luxury item, but I just hate sand SO MUCH and this one is made with magical sand-repelling qualities. If sand doesn’t make you want to go live in an igloo forever, you can always just use your towel as a mat instead!

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Beach Beauty Must-Haves

I struggle to look attractive in the heat. I’m far more likely to look like a sweaty, sunburnt mess with a head full of tangles than a carefree Beach Babe. That said, I have a few tricks up my sleeve when I need to pull myself together after a long day at the beach for like, a luau or whatever.

• Tinted Moisturizer: This is 99% on the makeup I wear on a beach vacation, honestly. It’s sunscreen and foundation in one and I cannot be bothered with anything more complicated than that. On a night out I also throw on a little cream blush (you know, for the 5 minutes before I’m sunburnt). Seriously, tinted moisturizer + blush + waterproof mascara is my beach vacation look in a nutshell.
• Bold Lipstick: My favorite shortcut for looking put together is to throw on some bright, bold lipstick! It instantly tricks everyone into thinking you’re a makeup goddess, even when the rest of your face is a dry, flaky mess and you have a snorkel mask imprint burnt onto your forehead (see photos above). In the winter, I’m all about a bright red lip, but on the beach I tend to go for a ridiculous bright pink instead, like this. I also prefer to wear longlasting lip stains or liquid lipsticks because I’m too lazy to reapply.
• Moisturizer: My skin feels SO dry after a day in the sun, so I take special care to moisturize like crazy on beach vacations. I like to use really lightweight moisturizers in hot weather, like pure, lightweight argan oil which soaks right into my skin without that greasy oily feeling and doesn’t break me out.
• Curly Hair Supplies: I’ve recently embraced my hair’s natural texture and gone all-in on the Curly Girl Method, so my usual low-maintenance “f**k it, I’ll brush it when I get home” hair has transformed into bouncy, shiny curls. Like, who am I, seriously? Here’s what I bring with me when I travel: all this product, a travel blowdryer, a travel diffuser, and a microfiber hair towel. YES I know it’s super extra. But my curls look flawless and this is the first time in my life I’ve ever had good hair, so don’t @ me!

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Are you ready to throw on your swimsuit and hit the beach yet?? What’s the #1 must-have essential on YOUR beach vacation packing list? Drop us a comment below!

Psst: Planning a trip to somewhere hot, tropical, and sunny? We’ve got a few more posts that might be helpful:

• 42 Essentials to Pack for Hot Climates
• The Ultimate Guide to Travel Makeup & Beauty
• 29 Things Nobody Tells You About Travelling While Fat

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Disclaimer: This post was created in partnership with Cacique Intimates. All bad jokes, sass, unapologetic self love, and opinions are 100% my own and absolutely not their fault.