Travel Tip #28: Pack a Swimsuit

Travel Tip #28: Pack a Swimsuit

I enjoy swimming. Not the lap swimming you see at the Y or the kind that requires deep concentration. I enjoy being in the water, splashing around throwing a ball and attempting to do a headstand. So it is not really swimming, but that is what I call it. When we I was a kid, my family spent just about every summer weekend either camping or visiting my grandparents. In both cases, there was a lake and all I did with my brother and sister was play in the water. From morning to sunset, we were in the water, only taking breaks for lunch and the bathroom, A rainy day only deterred our adult supervision. Cold? I have been in the water during on spring days with ice still floating in the middle of the lake.

If you enjoy swimming or sunbathing (with SPF 70 slathered over every inch of exposed skin, of course), then be sure to pack a swimsuit for your trip. You never know when you are going to need one. If you are heading to a destination with a beach, then a swimsuit is probably the only thing you are packing, but if you are not, it still might be a good idea to throw it in your luggage (since it is not the 1920s, your suit is probably is not that big and will not take up that much space). 

On a trip to Switzerland, we found ourselves in Zurich on a wonderfully sunny and warm day in May. With our swimsuits, we went to the Zurich Zee and went swimming in the clear, cool water. I am pretty sure most of the city’s residents were either swimming or sunbathing in the nearby park that day. Just that morning, we were in the Alps walking through calf-deep snow. When packing, I never thought I would need a swimsuit, but there we were.

Even if there is no chance of nice weather, an indoor pool is always an option. If you travel without hotel reservations or change hotels mid-trip, you may find yourself at with pool access you did not expect or plan for.

Know Before You Go

Bring your swimsuit.

Bottom Line

Better to pack it and not use it then to leave it home and wish you had it.