Women's Travel Essentials For Your Weekend Trip


We all know that men sometimes struggle to remember everything they need for a last-minute vacation. That’s why we created the essential guide to packing for men.

But, what about a packing list for women?

If you’re off on an exotic escape or all-inclusive resort soon, you’ll likely be wondering what to bring, and what not to bring. Our experts got their heads together to bring you the definitive women’s packing list.

If you're a women who loves to travel, here’s how to pack like a pro.

Let’s Start with The Luggage

Before we even start thinking about a packing list for women, we’ve got to take a look at the luggage.

How much luggage you’re allowed to bring depends on how you’re traveling to your destination. If you’re flying, you’ll encounter some strict luggage restrictions. Make sure you adhere to them, or you could face a hefty fine.

Those traveling by boat or car will be able to bring a lot more gear, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily should. In fact, we always recommend that you bring only the essentials when traveling, without sacrificing comfort of course.

Not only is it hard work lugging around extra bags that you won’t even need, it’ll also make it a chore unpacking and packing up if you’re going to a few different destinations as part of your trip.

It’ll make finding what you’re looking for a bit of a challenge, too.

Picking Out Your Vacation Wardrobe

The perfect packing list for girls centers around a cleverly thought-out capsule wardrobe. Think of this as a condensed version of your total wardrobe.

To decide what should go into your vacation capsule wardrobe, go on over to your real wardrobe and take a good hard look at everything you've got. Pick out five items that you can’t live without.

We bet you’ll find that these are the things you wear over and over again, and that they’re relatively neutral in color. That, in essence, is your capsule wardrobe.

Your capsule wardrobe for a vacation will differ slightly from your home wardrobe of course, but it should contain a few pairs of shorts, several swimsuits, informal clothing for the daytime, more dressy attire for your evenings, accessories and underwear.

The key to making your capsule wardrobe work is choosing things which can be mixed and matched amongst each other, rather than trying to select a full outfit for each day. This massively cuts down on the amount of clothing you’ll need to carry with you.

Dressing to Impress on Vacation

Whether you’re off on a romantic honeymoon, a relaxed beach break or a fun-filled girls’ weekend, we bet you’ll want to dress to impress. And you can - even if you don’t take tons of luggage.

Why not contact your hotel or resort before you travel to find out about the evening dress code of its restaurants, and take the time to look into what you might want to wear for any evenings out in the surrounding towns?

You can then make a great, condensed weekend packing list based on these details, and you won’t waste time or space in your suitcase bringing anything that turns out to be unsuitable.

Little Surprises For A Romantic Packing List

If you’re sitting down to make a weekend trip packing list and you have romance on your mind, you’ll likely want to pack a few little surprises to set the mood when you arrive. It’s a great idea to include a few romantic items like massage oil, rose petals and your favorite music in your luggage.

It’s also worth thinking about what the resort might be able to provide for you, though. For example, if you want a bouquet of flowers or a chilled bottle of champagne on arrival, your host will be able to arrange this for you, so you can surprise your significant other and set the scene for romance right from the get go.

Think About Adventurous Additions

The key to a great women’s weekend packing list is planning ahead. And that also includes any activities you might want to try on your trip. There are some vacation activities which require huge amounts of equipment, but if you ask you’ll probably find that much of this is provided for you.

For example, if you’re going to try scuba diving, you won’t need to bring your own wetsuit or fins, as you can grab everything you need from your chosen dive club. You’ll also be provided with a lifejacket for any water sports you want to try.

However, if you’re thinking of giving hiking or trekking a go, you will need to bring your own protective footwear and suitable clothing for a day outdoors. Make sure you’ve thought about what you might want to try when you arrive at your vacation destination in advance, so you don’t miss out on anything just because you didn’t have the right shoes.

What Are Your Women's Travel Essentials?

So, there you have it, our guide to travel essentials for women.

Remember, you don’t need to pack the kitchen sink for a weekend away in the Caribbean. All you really need to bring is a great capsule wardrobe, your favorite makeup and hair products and a selection of footwear for day, evening and adventures.

Once you’ve got the basics covered, you’ll likely find that your resort provides the rest, even without you having to ask. So, you can focus on something more important: making the most of your tropical escape.

But before you head out, we want to know what we missed. Please use the comments section to list some of your packing essentials.

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Kylie Morrow

About Kylie Morrow

Born on the tropical island that is Saint Lucia affords a never-ending source of inspiration. In the past 13 years, Kylie loved to work with various newspapers, magazines and blogs in the Caribbean.