Since we like to travel only with carry-ons, no checked bags, we’ve really perfected our list of what to pack for all inclusive vacations. After several trips, we’ve narrowed it down to what we actually need vs what just takes up precious space in the suitcase. When you travel carry-on only, you need to maximize all the space you have! The ultimate goal is to strike a balance between not overpacking and not forgetting something you really need, which could lead to inconvenience or added costs.
Some of these may seem like a no-brainer, but others may be things you haven’t thought of! Feel free to add your go-to item in the comments if we’ve missed it!
This post contains affiliate links where we earn compensation when you click and purchase through the links at absolutely no extra cost to you. Feel free to read our disclaimer policy! Thank you for supporting our blog!
Now here is The Landlocked Travelers top 20 all inclusive packing list:
- Passport. Now, this obviously isn’t just for all inclusive vacations, but it’s basically the most important thing you can bring. Let’s face it – you aren’t getting on a plane without it, so it bears mentioning here. I like to keep our passports, Nexus cards, a little cash, and a credit card in a travel case like this. It has plenty of room, and everything is protected and easily accessible when we’re in a hurry or stressed in airports.
- Booking documents. As a travel advisor, I make sure my clients know to bring their printed documents with them. Often, the resort will ask to see them, as well as the transfer company when you land in destination. It’s much easier to have the printed documents handy, just in case you don’t have wi-fi and can’t pull them up on your phone. Save yourself the hassle and bring the paper copies!
- Sunscreen. This one is HUGE for me as I have a very fair complexion and burn easily. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is get a bad sunburn on the first day of your vacation, and then waste the following several days feeling miserable. And it’s much cheaper to bring your own, as the last resort we were at was selling theirs at $40+ in the gift shop!! I prefer the mineral sunscreens, as the chemicals in regular sunscreens give me an itchy, bumpy rash! I usually stick with ThinkSport or Alba Botanica, as I’ve been using these two brands for years and I know they don’t irritate my skin. I also like sunscreen sticks because they don’t count as a liquid or gel when flying carry-on only! I’ve tried the All Good Sun Butter Stick and the Sun Bum Baby Bum Spf 50 Sunscreen Face Stick and I liked them both. Just be aware that they are thicker than the creams and harder to rub into your skin so that you don’t have that white cast.
- Sunglasses. Ever since The Great Rogue Wave Incident of 2019, I make sure I bring at least 2 pairs of sunglasses on beach vacations. In 2019 I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with a friend, and I was absolutely in love with these heart shaped sunglasses I had at the time. They weren’t expensive, I had gotten them at a vintage shop in Saskatoon. But they had sentimental value. Anyway, I was frolicking in the waves, and had turned to face the beach. Little did I know, a rogue wave was gearing up to smack me right in the back of the head, and steal the glasses right off my face. Needless to say, I never saw them again. 😦 Now I always bring my Polarized RayBans for regular wear, and a pair or two that I don’t care about for going into the ocean with. There are tons of cute inexpensive pairs here!
- Yeti or other insulated mug, preferably with a straw. We absolutely love our Yetis. On our last trip, we each brought our YETI Rambler 30 oz Travel Mug and our YETI Rambler Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Slim Colster for drinking alcoholic seltzers (see them in action in this pic, eating snacks and drinking seltzers on our balcony). Mine are Bimini Pink (Jerry bought me these two pieces, plus the 14 oz mug and the regular can size Colster last year for my birthday), and Jerry’s are Navy. They really keep your drinks cold while sitting in the sun! Plus most of the resort bartenders will make your drink right in your mug, which means you’ll have a bigger drink and you’ll have to go to the bar less often. Which leads me to my next item…
- Reusable straws. Many resorts are eliminating single use plastics, which means you’ll have to drink your slushy strawberry daiquiri without a straw. Don’t make the same mistake we did on our last trip, and forget to bring straws! I even have some at home and never thought to bring them. I recommend these stainless steel straws with silicone tips or these silicone ones. Ooh, these even come with a little carrying case and clip so you don’t lose them!
- Towel Clips. Sometimes it can be windy and your towel just won’t stay put on your lounger. These towel clips are tough and have a very strong grip. We have the pineapples and the flamingoes!
- Bathing suits. I know this seems like common sense, but what I really mean is that you should bring several. If you’re like us, you spend almost all day in your bathing suit. For a seven day vacation, I normally bring 4 or 5 suits. I’m plus sized, and I’ve had good luck ordering online from CUPSHE. I have this black one and this one in a blue floral print, and they are my favorites! Of course, Amazon has a huge selection of men’s swim trunks as well.
- Sun hat. I don’t really like wearing hats because I don’t think I look good in them, which means I normally get a sunburn where my hair parts on the first day, and then reluctantly wear a hat the rest of the time! Ha ha, I obviously know better but sure can be stubborn at times! As you can see in the picture above, my preference is to wear my pineapple ball cap, which I bought on a cruise ship for $10! But sometimes I wear a big floppy sun hat like this one (mine says Beach Mode), and it provides even more shade and coverage if you feel like hiding from the sun for a while. These fold flat so they barely take up any room in your suitcase, and bounce back to shape when you unpack them.
- Comfortable shoes. Ok, I admit (and Jerry will definitely attest to this) that I haven’t always made the best choices when packing shoes for vacation. I tended to go for fashion, rather than comfort…which resulted in me complaining of blisters at the end of the day. One day we were watching our favorite vloggers ParoDeeJay, and Dee was wearing little white sneakers with a dress. I thought it looked super cute and asked myself, “Why don’t I do that??” Thus began the search for casual sneakers that would actually be comfortable. I came across Vionic, and did I hit the jackpot with this brand!!! They are so comfortable and have great arch support. I can walk around in them all day long and my feet don’t get sore. AND they are machine washable! Just take out the insoles and throw ’em in the washer! I now have 2 pairs of the Pismo Sneaker, in grey and cream (I want to order the black next), and I recently got the Casandra Thong Sandal in yellow. Sometimes you just need black flats, and for that I have these Skechers ballet flats. Can’t go wrong with Skechers, they are comfortable as well! I just know that for a lot of walking, the Vionics win out over the Skechers for me.
- Books or Kindle. At home I mostly listen to audiobooks, so I can do other things while I listen, but on vacation is where the real books or Kindle make an appearance! My Kindle is super old, though… I bought it in Minot, ND at a pawn shop for $20 ten years ago, and it came loaded with about 40 books! But I think it’s time for an upgrade. I was thinking either the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (32 GB) or the Kobo Libra 2. Which one do you recommend? Let me know in the comments!!
- Cash for tipping. Even though all-inclusive resorts state that gratuities are included, we like to tip for good service. For every trip, we always bring an extra couple hundred dollars in tips for the week. The staff work so hard to give us a relaxing and wonderful vacation, the least we can do is give them a few extra dollars in appreciation of all they do for us. When going to Mexico, I usually order pesos from my bank to bring down. Otherwise, I get USD in small bills.
- Noise cancelling headphones. Until I bought my first pair of noise cancelling headphones, I had no idea how noisy airplanes were. What a difference they make! I find they really help me to be able to fall asleep for a quick catnap during a flight. My first pair were these Sony Over-Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones. They are super inexpensive and work great for the price! Jerry recently gave me Apple Airpods for my birthday, and they are wonderful. No cords to get in the way, they don’t take up any room, and they are much more comfortable than the old style earbuds used to be. I highly recommend these if you use an iPhone and they fit your budget!
- Beach bag. It’s handy to have a separate bag to take all of the things you need down to the pool or beach. A bag that’s big enough to hold your towels, a couple of bottles of water, a hat, cover up, water shoes, and sunscreen works great! And if it’s got a cute design, even better! I got this beautiful pineapple bag at the cruise port in Belize, but this one is almost identical and around the same price I paid. 🙂
- Phone/device chargers. The more electronics you want bring with you, the more chargers you need to remember to pack. In our case, we can’t even share phone chargers, as Jerry has a Samsung phone and I have an iPhone. Yes, the gift shop at the resort will most likely sell basic chargers, but they might be pretty expensive, and they may not carry more specialized chargers for something like an Apple Watch, etc. It’s a good idea to get an extra charger for each of your devices and keep them all together with your travel stuff, so when you go to pack, they’re already there! If you need to order extras for your travel supply stash (or maybe I’m the only one who has a travel supply stash?? 😀 ), you can find them here.
- Ziplock bags. These are great to have, and you never know when you might need one for leaky toilettries, packing wet items, keeping small things organized, bringing a small amount of disinfecting wipes or makeup remover wipes, etc. Keep in mind that the ziplock bag you use for liquids and gels in your carry-on bag must be no larger than 1 L / 1 Qt size.
- Bandages. Maybe your shoes that have always been comfortable all of a sudden give you blisters because your feet swelled in the heat. Maybe you cut your toe on a rock in the ocean – this actually happened to Jerry on our last trip. Bandages, along with antibacterial ointment, can be useful for small injuries that may not be life threating but can be super annoying and put a damper on your vacay.
- Conditioner. Many resorts supply shampoo, conditioner, soap, and sometimes lotion and body wash. You may still want to bring your own hair conditioner, though. Especially if you have long hair, the sun, sea water and pool water can really dry it out. Bringing a rich conditioner with you will help maintain your healthy locks. I’ve really been wanting to try a conditioner bar like this one, but I haven’t yet. Have you? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!
- Evening wear. Jerry and I like to dress up in the evenings. I wear a dress every night, and he likes to wear a nice shirt and either dress shorts, dress pants, or nice jeans. Be sure to check your resort’s guidelines – some require men to wear long pants and closed toe shoes to the a la carte restaurants, but others do not. Either way, if you aren’t keen on dressing up, the buffet never has a dress code (besides the no wet bathing suits rule).
- Patience. The most important thing you can pack is your patience. Travel isn’t what it used to be; there may be delays, cancellations, or other hiccups. It can be super frustrating at the time, but it’s important to remember that you’re on vacation! Life is good!
Ok, one more. The Honorable Mention goes to: Water shoes. You may or may not need these. Be sure to research the beach/swimming area at the resort you’re going to. Reading forums and reviews can help to get information not listed on the resort’s official website. Joining Facebook groups can be a source of up to date information as well. Water shoes come in different styles and are relatively inexpensive. I got mine at WalMart but there are lots here as well.
I hope you find this list valuable when you need to pack for your next all-inclusive vacation! If I missed anything, let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading and SEA you soon!
Shelly
The Landlocked Travelers 
If you are going anywhere where there is coral, reef-safe mineral sunscreens are a must – chemical sunscreens kill coral. Coral reefs have enough other issues these days without the people who come to see them inadvertently adding to their demise. So it’s good that you prefer the mineral type, but it doesn’t hurt to add a mention of the coral because so many people don’t know that so the more people spread the word about using reef-safe sunscreen the better. For a little space-saving hint instead of buying a new kindle, get the kindle app on your phone. You’d bring the phone anyway and then you can have all the books you want without taking up any space at all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very good point about the reef safe sunscreen! And I do have the kindle app, but completely forgot about that! Ha ha. Thank you for your comment! 😊👍
LikeLiked by 1 person