Beach vacation packing list for men: one week in carry-on
A week at the beach in the free bag under the seat: the list to tick off, the kilos and litres of British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2, and two swim shorts that go with every shirt.
In this article
Carry-on, one man, seven nights
A beach vacation packing list for one week, built for the free bag under the seat: two swim shorts, three shirts, a linen shirt, four days of underwear, flip-flops and one bag of 100 millilitre bottles. You wear your heaviest clothes on board. It fits in 24 litres; in an 18-litre personal item you wear the linen shirt too.
The personal item that British Airways and Jet2 let you take on board measures 40 by 30 by 15 centimetres: 18 litres. The free bag on Ryanair has the same footprint and is 5 centimetres taller, 24 litres. In inches that is roughly 16 by 12 by 6 for the first and 8 deep for the second. Those 5 centimetres are one layer of clothes, and this list is built around it.
It is written for one man and one week by the sea. If you leave with only that bag, you walk past the baggage belt after landing and reach the coast sooner, as long as every layer holds. First how the bag fills, then what stays at home, what the airlines weigh and which two swim shorts travel with you.
Does a week fit in the bag under the seat?
Yes, if you pack in layers of 5 centimetres and wear the heavy part. In the 24 litres of Ryanair all four layers fit; in the 18 litres of British Airways and Jet2 the top one drops out.
- Layer 1, at the bottomFlip-flops along the edge, and between them underwear and socks for four days, rolled.
- Layer 2Three shirts in quiet colours, folded flat: a navy polo, a navy T-shirt and a white T-shirt.
- Layer 3A linen shirt for the evening and two swim shorts that both go with those shirts.
- Layer 4, on topOne clear, resealable bag of about a litre with bottles of 100 millilitres at most (sunscreen, mosquito spray, toothpaste, deodorant), your toothbrush, medication and a strip of plasters, a foldable beach bag, a waterproof phone pouch and a plastic bag for a wet swim short.
With the personal item alone, the bag is as wide and as deep but 5 centimetres lower. What lay in layer 4 has to go somewhere else. Wear the linen shirt over your T-shirt on board; in the space it frees in layer 3 go the bag of bottles, your toothbrush and your medication. Fold the beach bag and the phone pouch flat into a jacket pocket. If it is still tight, pack for three days and wash twice. British Airways also lets you take a cabin bag of 56 by 45 by 25 centimetres, so on that airline this list is generous; the 18 litres matter on the day you fly back with a carrier that gives you the small bag only.
On your body, not in the bag
- Your long trousers or chinos.
- Your sneakers, the heaviest pair of shoes that comes along.
- A jumper or a long-sleeved shirt for the cabin.
- Your jacket, if it is cold at departure.
- Cap and sunglasses.
- Passport or ID card, boarding pass, bank card and the policy number of your travel insurance, in your pockets.
- Charger and power bank in your jacket pocket, and a travel adapter if you leave the UK or Europe.
What should you leave at home?
Jeans, which are heavy and slow to dry, the second pair of shoes and everything your destination already has. Ask beforehand whether there are beach towels and a hairdryer.
Four days of clothes is enough with one wash halfway, in the sink or at a launderette. The bottle of sunscreen of 100 millilitres is for the first days; a big bottle and after-sun you buy on the coast. If you are heading for a beach club with a door policy, first read how that works at the best beach clubs of Ibiza, and how a linen shirt for men goes with swim shorts: then you know whether that shirt has to come along.
How many kilos and litres does each airline allow?
Between 10 and 23 kilos, but every airline weighs something different. British Airways allows 23 kilos per bag, easyJet 15 kilos for its free bag, Ryanair 10 kilos per bag and Jet2 10 kilos for the cabin bag.
The table below lines up the same sizes, with when the larger bag is in your ticket.
| Airline | Free bag | Cabin bag | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Airways | 40 x 30 x 15 cm, 18 litres | 56 x 45 x 25 cm, 63 litres; included | 23 kg, per bag |
| easyJet | 45 x 36 x 20 cm, 32 litres | 56 x 45 x 25 cm, 63 litres; extra, or with easyJet Plus | 15 kg, the free bag only |
| Ryanair | 40 x 30 x 20 cm, 24 litres | 55 x 40 x 20 cm, 44 litres; extra, with Priority | 10 kg, per bag |
| Jet2 | 40 x 30 x 15 cm, 18 litres | 56 x 45 x 25 cm, 63 litres; included in Economy Basic | 10 kg, the cabin bag |
Weigh at home, to the lowest limit
Pack to the lowest limit of your outbound and return flights. Fly British Airways out and Ryanair back and that is 10 kilos, and the return weighs more because of what you bought on the way. Stand on the scales, first without and then with your bag, subtract, and stay a kilo under that limit.
Which swim shorts should you take on a beach vacation?
Take two that both go with the same navy polo. Then every shirt from layer 2 belongs with one short as well as the other, and you do not pack an outfit per short.
On the main photo, on the coast of Portugal, the model wears the navy polo with the Sanwin Tampa Dots Red, a red swim short with small dots. On the photo below he wears a navy T-shirt with the Sanwin Venice Cocktail Yellow, a pale yellow swim short with a print of cocktail glasses. A second short with a busy print in another colour needs shirts of its own, and this bag has no room for them.
| Top | Tampa Dots Red | Venice Cocktail Yellow |
|---|---|---|
| Navy polo | Works, on the main photo | Works |
| Navy T-shirt | Works | Works, on the Venice photo |
| White T-shirt | Works | Works |
| Linen shirt | Works, also in the evening in a restaurant by the sea | Works |
The Tampa Dots Red and the Venice Cocktail Yellow are both made of quick dry peach polyester, which is dry again soon after a swim. Hang the short of the last day up the evening before you fly and it goes into the bag dry; if you swim on departure day, the plastic bag from layer 4 is there for it. Both swim shorts go in the machine at 30 degrees on the hand wash programme, so they join the wash halfway.
The Tampa Dots Red is as much at home in a bar or restaurant by the sea as on the beach, so the shorts for the evening stay at home. Your room key goes in the zip back pocket of the Tampa Dots Red; the Venice Cocktail Yellow has an inside pocket for some change. The Tampa is sized by waist in inches, 30 to 40; the Venice runs from S to XXL.
More colours with zip and buckles hang with the Tampa swim shorts, prints with a cord with the Venice swim shorts. Which waist you are, and why the shorts run small, is in the swim trunks size chart. Why polyester dries faster than cotton is in quick dry swim trunks.
Questions about your beach vacation packing list
Can you take sunscreen in hand luggage?
Yes, in a bottle of 100 millilitres at most, together with your other bottles in one clear resealable bag. At US airports that is the 3-1-1 rule: the TSA allows containers of 3.4 ounces (100 millilitres) or less in a quart-size bag. Many airports elsewhere use the same limit, and some with newer scanners have relaxed it, so read the page of your departure airport. Bigger bottles you buy on the coast.
Can a wet swim short go in your hand luggage?
Yes, in a plastic bag, apart from your clothes. Press the water out in a towel first, because water weighs too. Better still: hang it up the evening before you fly. The quick dry peach polyester of the Tampa Dots Red and the Venice Cocktail Yellow helps with that. At home you wash it at 30 degrees on the hand wash programme, not in the dryer.
How many swim shorts do you take for a week?
Two, which both go with your shirts. A third short takes the place of the linen shirt in layer 3, and on an evening out you miss that sooner.
I fly on Saturday: will my swim shorts arrive in time?
If you order from Sanwin Beachwear on a working day before 2 pm Amsterdam time, your order leaves the same day. Delivery takes 3 to 7 working days in Europe and 6 to 14 working days in the USA and Canada. For a Saturday flight inside Europe, order on the Wednesday of the week before at the latest; for the USA or Canada, order three weeks ahead. Two shorts ship for free within Europe. A different size will not arrive in time if you order late, and the shorts run small: in doubt, take the larger one. Want room to exchange? Order a week earlier: exchanging is possible within 100 days, as long as the short has not been in the water and the labels are still attached.
Also read
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For anyone shopping in December for a man who travels: seven gifts he wears on the road next year, from his head to his hips, with why each one works on a trip and which swim short size to choose.
Tipping in France: what the French actually leave
Service is always in the menu price by law. What the French add on top, from the coffee on the terrace to lunch at a plage privée, moment by moment.
Swim trunks with liner: what water does to a short, and what the pool asks
A cross-section of three shorts while the water rises. And why a New York pool requires the lining while a French pool bans the short.
