When you’re vacationing in the Maldives, Bahamas, or any other tropical paradise, you’d be crazy not to bring multiple swimsuits so that you can enjoy their pristine waters day after day. At the same time, bringing multiple swimsuits takes up precious luggage space, but you don’t want to bring too few either, so how many swimsuits is enough for a holiday?
This question always comes up when getting ready for a trip, and the first thing you need to consider is the length of your trip. Is it a week? Two weeks? Even longer? Also, do you plan on heading to the beach every single day? Are you expecting to wear a different swimsuit everyday? As you can see, depending on the answers to these questions, that can drastically change the number of swimsuits you should bring.
For a one week vacation, that is short enough that you could pack 4-5 swimsuits and just wear a fresh swimsuit each time you head into the water. Some may think this is excessive, but it’s actually very practical. I would not bring less than 3 swimsuits, because some areas have such high humidity that it can take upwards of two days for a bikini to dry, and you may not even have the proper amenities in a hotel room. Better to bring an extra swimsuit or two than be stuck wearing one that is still damp from a previous day.
In fact, there are many more reasons why bringing multiple swimsuits is a good idea. If you only own a couple of swimsuits and are not convinced as to why you should double that amount, in this article we will go over the top reasons why it’s a good idea to pack multiple swimsuits for a week-long beach vacation.
How many is too many?
On one end, there are those who would argue that owning only a couple of swimsuits is enough, and on the other end there are those who feel one can never own too many swimsuits. Some people love to collect swimsuits and even have their own swimsuit wardrobe. And there are those somewhere in between.
For a week-long beach vacation, though, you don’t need to bring your whole swimsuit wardrobe. After all, you need to be economical with your luggage space, and a 7-day vacation is short enough that you should limit how much to bring.
Depending on how well you planned your vacation, you can figure out exactly how many swimsuits you’ll need. Do you know which days you will be going to the beach? Do you know if you will be going to the beach a second time on the same day but at night? Knowing the answers to these questions can help you figure out the exact number of swimsuits you’ll need.
Plus, if you want the absolute minimum number of swimsuits you should bring for a 7-day trip, we would say 3-4. With this many, you can begin washing and drying the first worn swimsuit and have it completely cleaned and dry in two days’ time when you need to wear it again. You can just keep washing and drying your worn swimsuits and re-wearing them and you keep cycling through the swimsuits like this until your vacation is over. Even if your vacation was two or three weeks long, you may only need 3-4 swimsuits.
In general, the more swimsuits you bring, the less pressure you have with regards to whether your previously worn swimsuits will be dry by the next time you need them. The downside is, having many swimsuits takes up plenty of luggage space and you may even lose some tops and bottoms during the trip.
Why you should pack multiple swimsuits
Unforeseen circumstances
Imagine if you only pack one or two swimsuits. Technically, you could make this work if you are extremely diligent about cleaning and drying your swimsuits, especially if your beach visits are spaced out. But this is annoying to have on your mind when you are vacationing.
Vacations are often hectic and unexpected things can happen. For instance, it’s not unusual for people to lose their swimsuit (balconies are notorious for this). Especially two-piece swimsuits; you could potentially lose the top, bottom, or both.
You could also accidentally forget to pack it in the first place, or your swimsuit can get damaged during transportation. Any number of things can happen.
If you only have one swimsuit and one of these unexpected things happen, you can basically say good-bye to an enjoyable vacation.
Sure, maybe you can buy a new swimsuit, but it’s hard enough buying a swimsuit that fits you when you aren’t traveling, and now you’re in the middle of a vacation wasting time (and money) shopping for an overpriced, ill-fitting swimsuit when you could be soaking up the sun. Not an ideal situation to be in.
For your peace of mind, and to account for the possibility that you could literally lose a swimsuit, you should pack more than you need just in case.
They take a long time to dry in humid environments
Most tropical paradises are quite humid. What would normally take a day to dry in an arid environment might take twice as long in a humid one. The fewer swimsuits you have, the closer you are cutting it in terms of the time it takes for a swimsuit to dry before you need to wear it again.
If you only have two swimsuits, or if you decide to go to the beach a second time that day (for some night activities), then you could easily use up all your dry swimsuits and now you have to wait days for your worn swimsuits to dry.
Bringing multiple swimsuits gives you a few spares in case the drying time takes a lot longer than expected. Whatever you do, do not try to “speed up” the process by using a dryer or hanging your wetsuit in direct sunlight. Both of these will cause irreparable damage to your swimsuit, rendering them unwearable. Better to just let them air dry, however long that takes.
Have a new look everyday
Clothes are a way to express yourself, and your swimsuit is no exception. If you care at all about how you look, especially if you plan to immortalize this trip with hundreds of photos, then you had better up your swimsuit game.
You can bring bikinis, tankinis for soaking up the sun and looking sexy, and one-piece swimsuits for swimming. As we have mentioned repeatedly, bringing multiple swimsuits will protect you from disaster, so you are fully justified in looking darn good while being prepared.
I’m sure you’ve been dreaming about this moment for weeks and months – the moment when you are walking on the sandy beach, listening to the gentle waves while adorned in your gorgeous bikini, walking with your partner and friends You’ll probably be reliving this multiple days in a row, and you may relive it again in photographs years down the line. Don’t settle for anything less than perfect and look your best each time.
Lastly, don’t forget to bring an equal number of cover-ups. This is something you wear over your swimsuit in case you want to go to a store or walk around a bit but don’t want to change out of your swimwear. They are also quite comfortable and airy, and are a much better option than wearing jean shorts over damp swimwear.
