Everything You Need to Pack for Your Sandals Trip

Are you heading to a Sandals Resort soon? Or are you thinking about booking a trip but not ready to pull the trigger? Wondering what you should pack for an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean? I’ve had the privilege of visiting a few Sandals Resort locations, including Negril (in Jamaica), Grenada, and Antigua, so I’ve been able to assess what is necessary to bring and what really isn’t. So let’s get into it!

First, sunscreen! Sunscreen is so important to bring with you unless you like paying $20+ for a bottle at the giftshop. If you don’t bring it, you’ll definitely need to buy it, it’s the Caribbean and it’s HOT! I won’t go on a rant about the importance of sunscreen, just make sure you pack it and make sure you have enough. I usually pack 2 bottles of SPF 50 sunscreen lotion (not the spray), a scalp sunscreen, and facial sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 50.

Similar to sunscreen, and something I will NEVER forget again: bugspray. When I went to Grenada on my honeymoon/1 year anniversary, the bugs were bad. The night we had a candlelit dinner on the beach to celebrate our anniversary, my legs were getting torn up by the bugs. I was too busy scratching to eat my meal, eventually we had to get some bug spray. After that, I’ll never forget it again, although, I didn’t even need it the last time. One bottle and maybe anti-itch cream for bites should be all you need.

Pool floats aren’t as important as sunscreen but since the Pandemic hit, Sandals hasn’t really had their pool floats out anymore. I see more and more couples bringing their own now and our last trip started a fun new tradition. We made friends with a couple who had brought their own and ended up passing them on to us when they left. They told us they usually order a couple of cheap floats and leave them at the resort for someone else when they checkout. So when we were finished with the floats they gave us on that trip, we passed them on to someone else. Now we plan to bring our own, so we have them the whole time, and continue the tradition of passing them along.

Another good thing to pack, but not a biggie if you don’t: an insulated cup and reusable straws. Insulated cups are great because they keep your frozen drink frozen for a lot longer. I’ve gone with and without and I prefer to have it specifically because my drink of choice is a blended strawberry mojito, and I don’t like when it’s all melted. The straws are also more of a preference thing. Sandals has paper straws so if you’re not a fan of those but you like drinking out of a straw (and with the frozen drinks you kind of need to) bring your own reusable ones. The smoothie size is probably your best option with the frozen beverages.

This one may seem a little obvious but I’m going to state it anyway: Swimsuits/swimwear. Being at Sandals is kind of like being on Love Island. You’re in swimsuits all day and dresses at night. If you’re going for 7 days, bring 7 swimsuit. Do you NEED that many? No. But if you have them, bring them, it’s so much easier to grab a fresh swimsuit everyday, than trying to find a worn one that’s not wet. I also like to have cute cover ups for when we’re wandering around or going to a restaurant for lunch. The restaurants have dress codes but you really only need to worry about dinner time. My favorite places to buy swimsuits are: Aerie, Old Navy, Target, Cupshe, and Amazon.

The restaurant dress codes lead perfectly into the next thing you should bring with you and that’s resort wear. Don’t be scared by the term “dress code,” it’s usually something you don’t need to worry about except for 1 or 2 specific restaurants that require “resort evening attire”. You can easily find out if the Sandals resort you’re going to has one of those restaurants by looking at the dining options online. Click on each restaurant to learn about the cuisine, dress code, and what meals are served. “Resort Evening Attire” specifically means no shorts, you will need long pants for this one. I’m talking to you boys! Ladies have it a little easier, I wear dresses every night with sandals (see what I did there ;)). I also recommend packing an all white outfit for white night, they have it once a week but you won’t know what day it is until you’re there. Check the calendar of events when you’re there and they should have the white party listed.

The great thing about Sandals Resorts is it doesn’t matter if you’re a beach person or a pool person, they have both! And you can pool hop to different pools depending on your mood. I highly suggest bringing a beach bag where you can store your sunscreen, insulated cup, your room key and your butler phone, if you have a butler suite. Since I have 3 different tubes of sunscreen I cart around, and my husband also has his own, it’s so much easier to throw it all in a bag. We don’t carry any valuables with us at Sandals so we’re never worried about leaving it sitting by our chairs while we go grab lunch or take a walk around. Pool and beach towels are located onsite so you don’t need to worry about packing or lugging those around.

Pool/beach entertainment is not a must but I do love reading a good book by the water. I usually bring 2 books with me, just in case, but I don’t usually read as much as I plan to. There is far too much fun happening all around. But sometimes, maybe in the morning before I feel like indulging in the alcohol, I’ll get in a good hour of blissful reading by the pool. It’s nice to have it when I need to recharge my social battery. I also like to bring along my waterproof playing cards and Uno because you can do that with a group or alone. Honestly waterproof cards are amazing, whoever invented them deserves a gold star. Sandals is never boring so don’t worry about a book or cards or any other sort of entertainment if you forgot it or don’t care to have it.

Don’t forget your passport. I feel like this is very self explanatory so I’ll just leave it there.

Bonus Tip: While you’re at Sandals, if you decide you love it, you need to try another one, book it on property! You get a significant discount when booking a Sandals vacation while on resort. The first time my husband and I went, we booked 2 vacations for the following 2 years.

Sandals is an amazing destination for couples looking to have a relaxing adults-only vacation. It’s the kind of place where you make great friends without even trying. I can’t tell you how many cool couples and people we’ve met from all over and stayed in touch with. It’s one of the joys of the trip! You can go alone and you’ll come out with new friends. And it starts right away, as soon as you’re on the shuttle taking you to the resort, you’ve got your first group of friends, so just sit back and enjoy yourself.

Have you been to a Sandals Resort? Would you add anything to this list? Have I convinced you to book a trip? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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