Help with packing for all inclusive beach resort holiday

[MacDot]

We usually do self catering and hire a car to do lots of exploring but for various reasons we are going all inclusive this year and plan to mainly stay on the resort and use the pool/ beach there.

I’m guessing I won’t need much in the way of day wear? Mainly swimsuits and cover ups. What do people wear for breakfast/lunch? Is a cover up enough or will I need to dress properly? We’re planning two trips; one to the markets so I’ll need proper clothes for that, and one boat trip including a stop off for lunch on an island, will I need clothes for the lunch?

I wear shorts and t shirt over a swim suit.l or bikini. Other people wear cover ups.

Cover ups are fine for breakfast and lunch if you're heading straight to and from the pool or beach.
A couple of pairs of shorts and tops for excursions and light clothes for wearing to dinner.
You'll spend most of the time in swimwear, and really just need "clothes" for the evenings.

In the past I’ve taken some loose dresses for breakfast and lunch or cover up for lunch. Some places want you dressed though. Some have rules and dress codes. From my experiences there’s at least one lunch venue that allows swimwear with a cover up. Some will allow takeaways- pizza slice etc.

for the market either shorts and t shirt or dress?

boat trip I don’t know but I’d expect and plan for clothes.

Our previous all inclusives I took
swimsuits and cover ups
sun dresses
some nice evening outfits
A shirt - useful for my pool but also for going into Church’s and to protect sunburn!
Cover up for breakfast was usually fine. I personally took 1-2 sundresses that could go over the top of my swim suit. Or a wrap skirt/sarong.
Your own inflatable float for the pool is nice - the ones with the nets you sit in because they require less inflating and take up less space.
I take a small insulated cup and tip my drinks with ice into it to keep them cooler for longer - one of those insulated coffee cups with a lid.
A waterproof cover for my kindle.
Towel Clips for the pool chairs.
If you look on the resort website usually they have dress codes for the restaurants. But breakfast and lunch are usually much more informal.

For the AI holidays I do. I wear shorts and top for breakfast, then change to swim wear and cover up to head to pool.
lots of AI have a separate snack bar if you don’t want to go for a formal lunch. Lunch time as dd will want a change we do get out of swim wear and wear shorts and top again for lunch and have an afternoon siesta before heading to the beach for the later afternoon soon. Then to change into something nicer for dinner.

for the short amount of time I’m in shorts and top for eating, I don’t feel the need for lots of them.

I personally wouldn’t go into restaurant with swim wear and cover up but lots do!

I have a tonne of mountain warehouse summer dresses. I usually wear the previous nights dress around the pool the next day.

I usually take a couple of pairs of sandals, but only wear one. Chuck in a couple of shorts/skirt T-shirt combos and swimwear and I’m done.

Not forgetting the chub rub shorts for the evening, and to keen the bigger fitting clothes for week 2

I have a range of ‘breakfast dresses’
that are a bit more covered up than cover ups. Lots of people seem to wear gym gear too.

It may depend on the dress code of your hotel and where in the world you are. The last time we were away, beach cover ups and gym gear were not allowed in the restaurants.

Thanks everyone, there’s a dress code for dinner in the buffet and the à la carte restaurants but it doesn’t mention breakfast/lunch. I’ll take a couple of outfits for those just in case, my cover ups are quite sheer.

In my expierence, Breakfast/lunch if in the main buffet restaurants you'll probably need to have clothes on - shorts and T-shirt or a sun dress is fine. But if it's more of a snack bar by the pool idea then anything goes.

It depends how you want to feel as well. Depending on the cover up, you may also stick to the chairs! I’d often put some longer shorts on just to feel more comfortable.

some days I didn’t really care but other days I want to look less on show if that makes sense. I had one drapey cover up that was thinner but often preferred my non see through with shorts. Some people had it all hanging out so guess it’s what you’re comfy for.

I think men need to have top halves covered (and bottoms obvs!) but not bare chests. Somehow this didn’t apply to women which I find strange. They didn’t have their boobs out but some it was very close!

have a great time!!

edited som typos

Thank you. Sticking to the chairs is a good point! Then there’s the day where the outfit you thought looked good in the mirror at home makes you look like a blob…
I will pack options!

Whether cover ups are suitable depend on the length and style/type of material.

Something that is very short and flimsy wouldn't be, but people often wear 'beach dresses' that are absolutely fine for breakfast in the hotel, lunches out, or wandering around markets etc.

Think about how quickly something might dry. If you're putting it on over wet swimwear, most things will dry fairly quickly, especially if hot and sunny, but some heavier materials might take a while to dry and show a tell tale bikini outline making it obvious you've just come from the beach/pool. But if you have a light towel, you can dry off a lot of that and then wait to put your dress back on until your swimwear isn't dripping wet.

I generally just wear swimwear with a cover up in the daytime on holiday - we don't go AI but will spend a lot of time at the beach mixed up with going for walks/lunch/drinks in bars and I never feel exposed/under dressed. I generally wear something like this