This is the first trip that I can safely say that I nailed it on the packing front. I used all but ONE THING in my suitcase. I packed 3 dresses and only wore 2 (one was the swimsuit cover up below.) Now that I’m clearly an expert, I’m sharing the must haves. (There are affiliate links in this post if you decide to click around.)

1. Comfortable swimsuit. The one shown above is now sold out, but here’s the other one I was looking at. I might still go back and buy them. I am a big fan of the one piece because I’m fairly conservative when it comes to skin shown, plus I’m so pale and burn in seconds. Plus, when I’m playing in the ocean, the last thing I want to worry about is my top coming off. You’re welcome fellow beach mates.

2. Cheap sunglasses. I break every nice pair of sunglasses that I buy, so cheap wins now. Faded Days is a website with so many awesome colors and styles and they are affordable. We also bought a few of these ones because they are polarized and have a few different sizes. I don’t think you can ever have enough neon wayfarers… so, jump on board.

3. A Polaroid Camera. I have this one which I love and we sent everyone home with lots of souvenirs photos. I recently got to play around with this one and I love it too – you can do a photo strip (4 photos at one time) or regular, plus it has 3 different color settings and the photos print out on stickers.

4. A good beach hat. Something like this super floppy one or more of a fedora style. A hat is a must for me to help me block the sun.

5. Insect Repellant. I don’t know if you’ve read about the Zika virus, but Costa Rica is on the list. The Pacific coast is more of a desert environment, so I don’t think we saw more than 2-3 mosquitos the whole time, but it’s better safe than sorry. Plus, I didn’t see bug spray in any of the little stores we stopped into.

6. Flip flops. I feel like this is a given.

7. A beach bag. You have to carry all essentials to the beach – including drinks, magazines, snacks and sunscreen. This is also your excuse to have a brightly colored bag. I didn’t buy a new one, but I have kept this colorful one on my wishlist… I might need to own it for summer time. Or if you like the one above, you can find it here.

8. Good books. I didn’t read quite as much as I thought I would, but I finished two books while there (including the plane rides.)

9. A comfortable beach dress/cover-up. I cannot say enough good things about this one. I wore it almost every day – don’t worry, we had laundry where we stayed. It was loose, comfortable and perfect for beach to restaurant.

10. Floaties. No, this is not a necessity, but it definitely made our trip more entertaining. I’m obsessed with my new flamingo friend. I found out that Target sells these now too and they have food objects, other animals, so many options. You can see more pictures of them in action in my first recap.


11. A giant beach towel. I like having bright colored ones that are easy to spot. Here is a flamingo towel if that’s your thing (it’s definitely my thing.) I love the ban.do towels and accessories too.

12. SUNSCREEN. This is the most important thing for everyone. Sun Bum and Bare Republic are my favorite brands, but just buy some and use it.

All this talk of beach things make me want to fly far away right now. Summer is approaching and I can’t wait!!! Tell me – what am I missing for a beach trip?