Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Tag: packing

Packing for Paradise: What I Packed for the Maldives
I find that packing for an island or beach trip is always so much easier than other trips, don’t you think? The weather is likely to be similar most days, swimsuits and flip flops don’t take up that much space in my luggage, and I love the ease of just throwing on a sun dress for the day or evening.

When I started to think about what I would pack for our trip to the Maldives this past February, I only had one minor concern – the dress code at our resort, Komandoo. I searched a few travel forums for ideas about how to dress in the restaurants, and what would be appropriate around the island. The general consensus was that as long as we didn’t show up for a meal in our swimwear and Chris didn’t wear a tank top, we’d be fine. The official dress code mentioned on Komandoo’s website is “smart casual” in the restaurants and bars.

The weather for our mid-February trip promised to be in the high 80s and fairly dry. Six out of seven days were lovely – lots of sunshine, a puffy cloud here and there, but with lots of wind. One day we had overcast skies and some rain. With the weather and dress code in mind, here’s what I packed for our week in paradise:
- 3 short-sleeve shirts (one I wore on the plane)
- 2 pairs of shorts
- 3 long sleeveless dresses
- 3 cover-ups
- 3 swimsuits
- rash guard
- bras & undies
- 1 tank top (for sleeping)
- yoga pants and hoodie (worn on the plane – 15 hour flights require maximum comfort)
- 2 hats – one wide, floppy hat and one bucket hat
- flip-flops
- sunglasses
I spent most of the day around the island in a swimsuit with a fairly conservative cover-up (length nearly to my knees, and not sheer). I felt comfortable wearing that ensemble to the bars during the day, but we wore nice shorts and short-sleeve shirts to breakfast and lunch in the main restaurant. For evening cocktails and dinner I wore an easy breezy maxi dress with fun accessories, and Chris wore khaki shorts with short-sleeve button-up shirts.

The official footwear dress code on the island is made clear on this signage, and we only needed a pair of flip flops to wear on the wooden jetty when it got too hot for bare feet. I actually didn’t see anyone wearing anything other than flip flops if they were wearing shoes at all, even in the restaurants and bars. You don’t even have to pack shoes if you don’t want to – Komandoo provides flip flops to wear as needed (see blue sandals pictured below).

Perhaps the most important part of my Maldives wardrobe was a big, floppy straw hat to protect my face from the strong sun. I credit this hat to my lack of sunburn on my face at the end of the week! It was so important, in fact, that when the wind whipped it off of my head while walking along the jetty, Chris deftly dove into the water to retrieve it. Isn’t he the sweetest?

Additional packing tips:
- There’s no need to pack a ton of makeup, ladies. The heat, humidity, and water will take it right off! I wore a tinted moisturizer with SPF 30 daily, and added some mascara and lip gloss for dinner.
- Komandoo has dive/snorkel gear available to rent, but we brought our own gear since we planned to be in the water as much as possible.
- I wore the same three dresses on rotation in the restaurant every evening and once for lunch at Hurawalhi’s 5.8 Underwater Restaurant. They were even the exact same style just in different colors and patterns. I was initially a little worried about repeating outfits since we all ate at the same restaurant together each night. But the dining room was pretty dimly lit and no one seemed to mind (what did I even think someone would say to me?), so this is just reassurance that there’s really no need to pack a different outfit for every day if you want to keep your luggage light.
- I’m the Sunscreen Queen so I have to mention again that the sun is strong in the Maldives. I highly recommend a rash guard for snorkeling if you’re on the fair side. The reef is gorgeous, and you won’t realize how fast time passes while you’re blissfully floating along gazing at the fish and coral. Your back will thank you for covering up!
- Speaking of covering up, the Republic of the Maldives is a conservative Muslim country. To be respectful, you’ll want to have something to cover your shoulders and knees when visiting the main island and going through the airport. The dress code is more relaxed at the resorts and bikinis are totally fine on the beach, but I would still recommend leaving your thongs at home. Besides, remember my point about the strong sun? Your buns will want to be covered!
- Lastly, nudity is illegal in the Maldives, even while sunbathing. So while you can keep your luggage light, you don’t want to go too light. 😉 I kid. (But seriously, no nudity.)
I think that’s everything. I hope it helps. Feel free to let me know if you have any specific questions about packing for the Maldives!
May 5, 2017
What I Packed for Ireland and Scotland in Late Summer
Full disclosure: packing for a two-week trip in Ireland and Scotland gave me a fair bit of anxiety. The weather in Ireland and the UK is fairly unpredictable to start with, and on top of that I wasn’t sure if our early September trip would call for summer or fall outfits.

The temperatures for our trip ended up ranging from 55-70 degrees as the high. Most days were sunny or partly cloudy, and even when it started off with a cool morning we rarely needed all of our layers all day. My main goal was to keep our luggage very light since we were moving from eight different accommodations over the course of two weeks, so I booked a couple of places with access to a washer/dryer and planned do laundry a few times.

As far as the level of casual vs. formal, Chris and I expected to have mostly active days (tons of walking/hiking) and we wanted to eat as much pub food as possible, so jeans and casual tops were fine for us pretty much every day. I was able to wear a long-sleeve top with a scarf plus my flats for a few places when I needed to look a wee bit more polished. So here’s what I packed for fifteen days in late August and early September:
- 2 short-sleeve shirts
- 4 long-sleeve shirts
- 1 zip-up hoodie
- 1 tank top (for sleeping)
- 1 pair of lightweight hiking pants
- 1 pair of jeans
- puffer vest
- waterproof jacket
- 2 scarves
- waterproof hiking shoes
- ballet flats
- undies and socks
- baseball-type cap
- sunglasses
In case it helps to have some more details, here are a few of the specific things I packed:

1. Long-sleeve waffle henley from Eddie Bauer (similar); 2. Striped long-sleeve top from Loft; 3. and 4. Long-sleeve cotton crewneck tops from Nordstrom; 5. Warm puffer vest for layering (that I wore on so many days) from J. Crew Factory.

1. Soft and warm wool scarf; 2. Pretty patterned scarf; 3. Hat; 4. My favorite small camera bag to hold my SLR and a point-and-shoot; 5. Super comfortable North Face Ultra Fastpack GTX (similar) waterproof hiking shoes; 6. Tieks foldable leather ballet flats.

1. Comfortable and water-repellent Mountain Hardware Chockstone hiking pants; 2. Jeans; 3. Space Dye Strength Hoodie 2 from Athleta; 4. North Face Carli Jacket for the rain that we didn’t get (yay!).

All of our stuff went into my trusty Eagle Creek packing cubes and we each brought one carry-on suitcase. I ended up wearing everything I brought, and didn’t really feel like anything was missing. Of course, if room wasn’t an issue I would have liked to have more shoes just because, but the lone two (!) pairs I brought worked out well. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about packing for either of these places!

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December 7, 2015
Packing for Iceland in the Summer
A shorter post would be titled, “What I Didn’t Bring to Iceland.”

My dad always told me that when I travel, I should only ever bring what I can carry on my own back. (Note: my dad is awesome and would have carried my extra stuff for me if needed, but I think he was trying to teach me a useful habit.) To this day I still follow that rule, with the caveat that I am pretty darn strong and can carry quite a bit. But oh, how I do wish I were one of the cool kids who carry only the essentials on their backs in a backpack. Our trip to Iceland wasn’t going to be the trip where I tried to pare down though.

Before we left, I found plenty of information on what to pack for Iceland in the winter, but not as much help on what to bring in the summer. I learned that temperatures in August vary anywhere from 55-65 for the high to 45 as the low and that we could expect unpredictable precipitation. Plus, we planned a range of various activities in several regions, so I knew I’d need a little bit of everything.

That said, I think I did a decent job of packing and organizing the massive amount of stuff we brought, especially thanks to Eagle Creek packing cubes. I always use these to keep things neat in my suitcase, but usually I unpack everything upon arrival. This time the cubes made it super easy to stay organized on the road since we were in a different hotel each night and it wouldn’t make sense to completely unpack each time.

The temperature for our trip in the last week of August ranged from 50-55 degrees as the high. Half of the days were cloudy, windy, and/or rainy, and the other days were sunny and lovely. Here’s what I packed for a week-long trip in August to the land of fire and ice:
- 2 short-sleeve shirts (one I wore on the plane)
- 3 long-sleeve shirts
- 3 hoodies (two pullover, one zip-up that I wore on the plane)
- 1 tank top (for sleeping)
- yoga pants (worn on the plane – it was a red-eye flight so comfort won over fashion)
- 2 pairs of hiking pants (one waterproof)
- 1 sweater
- 1 pair of jeans
- warm vest
- waterproof jacket
- waterproof hiking shoes
- casual sneakers
- wool hiking socks
- undies and wool long underwear for layering
- beanie hat (for warmth) and baseball hat (for sun)
- gloves
- swimsuit & flip-flops
- sunglasses
After lugging it all to Iceland (this list doesn’t even include our camera gear and gadgets), at least I ended up wearing all of the clothes I brought except for the sweater and the waterproof pants. I brought the sweater for a nicer option at dinner, but just didn’t end up needing it because most of the places we ate were casual and we were surrounded by other hiking-boot-waterproof-jacket-wearing travelers. I would have worn the waterproof pants on the glacier hike since it was raining so much, but we didn’t end up going on the hike because it was raining so much. There wasn’t a day where we could wear just short-sleeve shirts, but I layered them under hoodies. On the chilliest day we truly did need wool base layers so I was happy to have them. Oh, and I didn’t wear the casual sneakers. I just wore my waterproof hiking shoes the whole time, and they were great.

Missing from my list? An outfit for enjoying the nightlife in Reykjavik. I was certainly curious about the party scene I heard so much about and wished we could have experienced it, but sensibility told me that we wouldn’t join the revelers on our first night (jet lag), and we wouldn’t give it a go our last night either after an exhausting week of exploring. So lame, I know, but I was right. We passed out each night by 11pm, and my understanding is that the partying doesn’t even start until well after Midnight. Next time!

The items I ended up using the most were: 1. my waterproof North Face Resolve jacket that kept me super dry and warm every single day; 2. comfortable and water-repellant Mountain Hardware Chockstone hiking pants; 3. super comfortable North Face Ultra Fast Pack GTX waterproof hiking shoes; and 4. a cute warm vest for layering from Athleta.

I debated whether or not to bring a heavier jacket like my snowboarding coat since it’s waterproof, but in the end I figured that would be a little too warm for summer and I was right – it’s better just to do layers. One additional note about my hiking shoes – they were great for comfort and for waterproof-ness, but for our hike to the volcano I could have used just a tiny bit more ankle support. I also noticed that the sides got a little chewed up on that trail of loose rocks and in the lava fields. So whether or not you want to bring legit hiking boots is obviously up to the level of activity you’re doing and on what terrain. I knew we’d only be doing short hikes and didn’t want to carry a heavy pair of boots, so I figured I could get away with a shoe. No matter what though, go with waterproof.

Chris brought a similar mix: long sleeve shirts, a waterproof outer layer, waterproof hiking shoes, and water-resistant hiking pants. If you plan to do any lengthy outdoor activities or if you want to stand behind waterfalls, I highly recommend (broken record warning!) waterproof everything, not just water resistant.

So in summary, August weather in Iceland really does require some warm layer options and definitely calls for, say it with me now, waterproof clothing! Think like an onion and go with layers that you can peel off as needed, making sure that your outer layers will keep you dry and protected from the wind. We didn’t always need the waterproof layers, but we sure appreciated them when the weather called for it.

Have you traveled to Iceland in the summer? If so, did I miss anything important on the list?
September 22, 2014