What to Pack for Turks and Caicos in 2024 for Men & Women

What to Pack for Turks & Caicos

Turks and Caicos was an overall interesting destination to pack for. Not because the dress code is too crazy or anything –  it was just a place where I really didn’t want to have to buy anything I had forgotten to pack.

Everything is imported here and prices are about 3 times what we would pay at home in the US (and prices are still all in USD, so we didn’t have any conversion rates going in our favor).

Plus, this is the first vacation of my life I actually packed food in my luggage! I’ll explain more about that at the end of the post…

Luggage

If you’re heading to a resort to lounge in the sun for a week – you could easily pack everything you need in a carry-on. We are fans of Eddie Bauer duffles, as we can use these bags on the small regional jets we have to fly, and we don’t have to gate-check them, as long as the top is still squishy.

However, because I was staying on Salt Cay for a week and then moving over to Grand Turk and then Provo to lounge on the beach. I took my American Tourister suitcase to check. (These are such great budget-friendly hard-shell suitcases.

I’ve used their checked bags for almost all of my travels around the world.) I checked a bag because we were also packing food, which was a new addition to my packing routine!

I also swear by Carry Courage’s sustainable luggage tags!

Packing Cubes

After this trip, I 100% swear by using packing cubes. (I don’t know why I resisted for so long!) Here’s why… on our boat ride from Grand Turk to Salt Cay we had 2 humpback whales following alongside our boat. Our captain killed the engine and asked if we wanted to snorkel with them right then and there. OF COURSE, we wanted to!

Thanks to my packing cubes, it took me 2 minutes flat to quickly pull out the cube that had my swimsuits in it and change. I ended up seeing both whales, crystal clear, under the water! It was unreal!

I swear by packing cubes now! I was so much more organized and packed so much more efficiently for this trip to Turks and Caicos.

Carry-on Essentials for Turks and Caicos

• Antibacterial wipes – While our plane was quite clean, the table we sat at in the airport was FILTHY, as were the bathrooms. (SO glad we had wipes.)
• Travel-size hand sanitizer
• Small snacks – not all airlines are doing food and beverage services. Having a granola bar or a little bag of chips/crackers is a good idea.
• Headphones
• Battery pack – especially if you’re planning to watch any shows on your phone!
• Kindle or book/magazine

Pro tip: all of the things listed here are also good things to throw in your beach bag! 

Turks and Caicos Packing Essentials for Women + What to Wear

1.) Dresses

Personally, I’m a big fan of dresses. I only wore lightweight dresses on this trip because they take up less room in my luggage and are SO comfy to wear in the warm weather. (Shorts are always riding up in places I’d rather they didn’t!)

Really, you would only need to pack a few casual and comfortable sundresses for a week-long trip to Turks and Caicos. I like to dress up a bit, though, so I also packed a couple of “dressy” dresses. Below, are a few dresses I swear by for traveling (and wore on this trip).

Versatile Dresses – Can Go From Day to Night

• Lilly Pulitzer – these are the perfect dresses for a Caribbean vacation. I am obsessed with the colors and how comfortable these dresses are in warm weather. I also think they look so much better in person than they do on the website – their website photos do not do them justice!
• ScotteVest Dorothy Dress (use code HCWT for 15% off your order) – this is my favorite warm-weather flying dress as it has so many pockets. I can also wear it at night when paired with a belt and some jewelry. It also doubles as a beach coverup because it’s so lightweight and dries so quickly. (I wore this several times and washed it in the sink!) Size down if you buy this, though – mine is a bit big on me.

“Dressy” Dresses

• Diane Von Furstenberg Silk Wrap Dress – my “dressy” dinner dress that was super duper comfy. (Find heavily discounted Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dresses, here.)

3.) Swimsuits + Cover-ups!

If you only pack one thing for this trip, make sure it’s a cute bathing suit and a coverup! These are the most important clothing items you can bring to Turks and Caicos. That said, I packed WAY too many swimsuits.

You really only need to bring 2 (maybe 3) – just enough so one can be drying while you’re wearing one. If they start to get a little gross, wash them in the sink with these laundry soap sink packets. (I swear by these laundry soaps! They work great for handwashing delicate items too.)

• 2-3 Swimsuits – Bikinis take up less room in your luggage than a 1 piece, and can double as undergarments if needed.
• 1-2 swimwear coverups – I packed this one and this one, plus had my Scottevest dress. (I was there for 16 days, though.)

Note: I know some people recommend bringing a beach towel. I would only do this if you are staying in a villa that, for some weird reason, doesn’t have towels. All hotels (and almost all villas should) have towels for you to use. They will likely just be the plain white ones, but it beats packing a big beach towel!

If you REALLY want to bring your own beach towel, then I recommend bringing a linen beach towel. These will be easier to pack and take up far less space in your bag.

Turks and Caicos Packing Essentials for Men + What to Wear

1.) Button-downs + T-shirts 

For during the day, my husband liked wearing short-sleeved button-down shirts. (Pictured above.)

• 2 short-sleeved button-down shirts for during the day
• 1 long-sleeved button-down shirt (this is his personal preference to wear for dinner at night)
• 1-2 soft breathable travel T-shirts/polos for day or night (we’re both a big fan of Aviator’s travel shirts)
• 1 long-sleeved “fishing” shirt (for fishing days and also at night to cover up sunburn)

2.) Shorts + Pants

• 1 pair of cargo shorts
• 1 pair of chino shorts
• 1 pair of Chino pants from Eddie Bauer for dinner (Some of the restaurants at our all-inclusive resort had a dress code and required men wear long pants).

Read next: The Best Travel Pants for Men

3.) Swim Trunks

During the day, he was usually wearing his swim trunks with one of the button-downs mentioned above. He packed 3 swim trunks for this 16-day trip but says if we would have only been here a week he would have only used 1, maybe 2 because they dried so fast.

• 2-3 swim trunks – he likes these ones from Patagonia.

4.) Shoes

• 1 pair of flip flops – he likes this pair
• 1 pair of sandals – these were typically worn at night for dinner
• 1 pair of boat shoes – he wore these for our dinners that had a dress code
• 1 pair of sneakers – these were for the plane and because I made him bring them in case we decided to do any excursions that required closed-toe shoes. (He thinks he packed at least one pair too many.)
• Water socks – he didn’t bring these, but a lot of the locals recommend them.

• Reef-safe sunscreen – please protect the delicate coral reefs in Turks and Caicos and pack reef-safe sunscreen that will provide sun protection but also keep protect the reefs. (I LOVE Maelove sunscreen. It is the one sunscreen that if I forget to reapply, I won’t get a nasty burn – perfect for vacation.)
• Chapstick with SPF in it – Don’t forget to protect your lips!
• Aloe Gel – trust me, you’re going to need it.
• Bug Spray – there are plenty of mosquitoes and other bugs that attack at night.
• Anti-itch stick – I had welts from the bug bites I was getting! An anti-itch stick is a lifesaver. (Aloe helps a bit if you forget, though.)
• Waterproof phone case – These days, most phones can handle dust and water, but believe me, salt water and sand will damage them. You will be spending a lot of time at the beach, so invest in a waterproof phone case. They are inexpensive, will protect your phone from harm, and should be included on everyone’s Turks and Caicos packing list.
• Travel-sized shaving cream + razor
• Deodorant 
• Toothpaste + toothbrush
• Travel kit for face wash, moisturizer, foundation, etc.
• Waterproof mascara and eyeliner (for me – this waterproof mascara is freaking amazing)
• Bandaids + Neosporin
• Medicines, such as Advil, Pepto, Immodium, Tylenol PM, Benadryl, etc.
• Perfume – Pro tip: bring a new sample-sized perfume/cologne along for this trip that you don’t normally wear! That way when you smell it afterward, it will remind you of the fun you had!
• 2-in-1 straightener/curling iron – great space saver when traveling!

Note: the voltage and outlets are the same as they are in the US. If you are traveling from the US you can use your own straightener/hairdryer and whatnot here!

Snorkeling Equipment

Now, you can easily rent this once you get to Turks and Caicos. However, this is one of the things my husband and I regretted not packing. A lot of people had their own snorkel masks and fins. It’s much more sanitary, and it’s cost-effective if you plan to snorkel on more than one vacation in your life!

The snorkel masks I saw a lot of people using were the ones pictured above. Everyone seemed to love them!

• Here’s a great snorkel mask.
• Check out these snorkel fins.

Food I Packed for Salt Cay

So, food in Turks and Caicos is quite expensive (I have a whole post on how expensive Turks and Caicos is). If you are planning to cook for yourself or aren’t staying at a resort – try to pack some stuff in your bag! (Only bring packaged food… NOT meat, veggies, fruits, bread, etc.) We had a week staying in a vacation rental in Salt Cay and this is what I packed in my checked bag:

• Granola bars
• Coffee
• Packaged sauces I like (like this one for enchiladas)
• Popcorn
• Oatmeal packets
• Noodles
• A few spices I planned to cook with
• Dried fruit
• Ziploc bags

Basically, bring any breakfast food, snack food, etc. that you like. This was the first vacation I had ever used my suitcase space to bring food with me!

Using a VPN When Traveling to Turks and Caicos

VPN is short for “virtual private network.” A VPN (like IPVanish) sets up a private connection between your device and whatever network you are connected to – so, no one can see your browsing data. It is important to use a VPN anytime you are connected to public Wifi (such as at a restaurant, resort, hotel, cafe, airport, etc.).

This is because when you connect to a public network no matter where you are, you run the risk of a hacker grabbing your unencrypted data. Trust me, speaking from experience here…this can put a real damper on your trip if your banking, phone or email get hacked while you’re traveling!

VPNs can also help you save on domestic flights, help you watch Netflix shows not available in the US and more! You can read more about using a VPN in my post “Why I Use a VPN When Traveling and at Home (And You Should Too).”

• Download IPVanish VPN now.