Bathing Suits ~ Swimsuits to Pack for a Trip
Swim Suits, One Piece or Two piece, How Many, Sarongs
Bathing Suits are one of the most overlooked parts of a travel wardrobe, yet one of the most critical. Even if you are on a business trip, take one along.
Swim suits should be Carryon luggage (1) and Checked Bags (2+) 
Why? Forgive me, airlines and baggage handlers everywhere, but sometimes our checked luggage does not arrive with us at our destination. Sometimes it's our fault, sometimes yours, sometimes fate. (One trip, my bag showed up on the evening of Day 4 of a 5-day trip. At least I had my suit for the hot tub, though not much else for any other activities.)
Bathing suits are small, light and take up little room. Tuck a swimsuit in a re-sealable baggie and pack it in your carryon. The baggie is good for packing your suit if it's still wet when it's time to go.
Think for a moment about when you last bought a swimsuit. Are you ready?
- You had to be in the mood to try on a gazillion suits once you finally sorted through dozens of 'possibles', all of them falling off hangers or with tags intertwined so you couldn't get it off the rack. I'm tired just thinking about it :-)
- Then you had to be in the right frame of mind in the first place -- prepared to have your self-esteem take a hit under terrible lighting with your underwear showing under the bathing suit as well as the usual fit issues.
- Never mind that sizing and fit vary wildly among swimsuit designers! Keep trying on swimsuits in various sizes, and hope they have the right one. You can spend an hour and still not be totally happy with your purchase.
And yes, this happened to me in Gualajara Mexico. My bathing suit was somewhere in Mexico City in my 'lost' luggage and I had to go out and buy a new suit. I gave up, defeated, and waited a few days for my bags to show up.
Buying a Bathing Suit When on a Trip.
Now imagine you are on holiday, at a nice resort or at a hotel that has a pool or hot tub (Jacuzzi). Or your business contacts have invited you to a barbecue around their swimming pool. If you've packed your swimsuit in your carryon luggage, you can choose to swim, soak or not. But if you don't have a bathing suit with you, you can't. Oh sure, you can rush out and go through the entire 'Buy a Bathing Suit' exercise in a strange city. In unfamiliar stores. Think of how much time this will take out of your holiday. Simply not worth it, IMHO.
Bathing Suits at the Spa
I love to try out spas when I travel, so when in Sri Lanka, a few appointments at an ayurvedic spa was a must-do. What I didn't know was that ayurvedic massages call for copious amounts of almond oil. Lovely to feel on your skin, lovely to smell, but still very oily. And the shower was back in my room.
On the second spa visit, I wore my bathing suit and used a towel from the hotel room as a coverup. It was so much easier to rinse out a well-oiled bathing suit in the shower than to launder my clothes.
TIP Rinse out bathing suits and dry each day; You can use a bit of shampoo -- it's great for removing body oils, sunscreen and stuff -- or carry a small package of powdered detergent.
One Piece Suit or Two Piece Suit
Depending on personal taste and style, you can pack either all one piece or two piece swimsuits (bikini or tankini), or some of each. But consider where you will be wearing it, and how easy it is to 'use the facilities' when you need to. For a day trip to Dominican Republic waterfalls, if we wanted, we could take a dip in the waterfalls pools. But wear your bathing suit, we were told, as there are no change rooms at the Falls. Fine. But at several points during an all-day bus tour, you'll need to use the restroom at some point. In these cases, a two piece suit makes it much easier.
How many swimsuits to pack for a Trip:
If you are on business, or non- resort sun destination, one suit will likely be enough. If you are staying at a resort where you may be in and out of the water several times a day, and at different times (morning dip, afternoon swim, evening cool-off), then pack two or three bathing suits. It's nice to get into a dry, clean swimsuit, and not nice to sit around in a damp one for hours. I also dedicate one not-so-special swimsuit to the Chlorine-Pool-Hot-Tub category. Why ruin a good suit? I keep my favorite suit for ocean and lake swimming.
Lightweight Rayon Sarongs (Pareos) Coverup and More! 
I can't praise sarongs (also called pareos) highly enough as a travel wardrobe powerhouse!
Sarongs, like those shown in the picture, hanging on a line in Costa Rica, are lightweight, roll up into a small sausage or can be folded into a small square and tucked into carryon or checked luggage.
Some sarongs are large, and can be worn as a long skirt or robe. Smaller ones are great for coverups or shawls. The full size sarongs seem to be the most versatile.
Most sarongs are made from rayon, and are fast-drying, depending on the weight of the fabric. They last for a long time and make a great souvenir. I've never paid more than $10 US for a local market shop sarong.
Here's what a sarong will add to your travel wardrobe:
A sarong can be worn as a robe and bathing suit cover up and sleepwear. Take it to the beach and use as a blanket or towel. Heading to dinner on a chilly summer night? Wear a sarong as a shawl or a long skirt or, if it fits, wear as a sundress! Taking a swim in a hotel's indoor pool? Put on your swimsuit, wrap the sarong around your waist, and you're good to go in the elevator. And of course, a friend can hold up a sarong as a privacy curtain should you need to change or use a semi-public restroom. (Thinking squat toilets, etc. here.)
IMHO Sarongs suit full-figured women best, and alas, I am not one. A full-length sarong worn as a sundress (wrapped and tied around my neck) makes me look like a colorful sausage: no curves at all. But I use it a lot as a wrap skirt, cover-up and shawl, as well as a robe.
Sarongs are usually inexpensive, made of light, fast-drying rayon, and readily available in resort areas and hot climates.
Pants * Skirts * Shirts, Tops * Shoes, Sandals, Socks * Underwear * Sleepwear * Rainwear Ponchos
More Travel Wardrobe tips
Holidays to Dominican Republic short list suggested clothes etc for most tropical resorts
China Travel clothing -- China travel suggested wardrobe
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