Carry-On Only: How to Pack for a Week in the Tropics

Checked bags get lost, cost money, and slow you down. A week in the Caribbean or Mexico fits in a carry-on — here’s exactly how.

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The bag

A 35–45 liter bag is the sweet spot: fits overhead bins, forces discipline, still holds a week of warm-weather clothes. Soft-sided beats hard-shell for cramming into tight spaces.

The wardrobe (it all fits)

• 5 tops — lightweight, quick-dry. You don’t need 7; you’ll re-wear.
• 3 bottoms — 2 shorts, 1 lightweight pants for restaurants and the plane.
• 1 swimsuit (2 if you’ll swim daily — one dries while you wear the other).
• 1 light layer — planes and restaurants blast the AC.
• Shoes: 2 pairs max. Sandals plus the sneakers you wear on the plane. That’s it.
• Underwear for 4 days — sink-wash halfway through. It takes five minutes.

The 3-1-1 rule

Toiletries go in a quart bag: 3.4oz containers, 1 quart bag, 1 per passenger. Buy sunscreen at your destination — it’s bulky, and tropical destinations sell the reef-safe kind you’ll want anyway.

What to leave behind

• “Just in case” clothes. You won’t wear them. Every experienced traveler packs them; none wear them.
• Full-size anything. Decant it.
• Hair dryer. Every hotel has one. Every single one.
• Too many electronics. Phone, charger, done — unless you’re working.

The laundry trick

Pack a tiny tube of travel detergent. A five-minute sink wash on day 4 doubles your wardrobe. Quick-dry fabrics are dry by morning in tropical air.

The 5-4-3-2-1 rule for a tropical week

For seven days in Jamaica you need less than you think (see our Jamaica travel tips): 5 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 pairs of shoes (one worn), 2 swimwear, 1 light layer for air-conditioned buses and rainy evenings. Everything should mix and match — if a piece only works with one outfit, it stays home. Laundry exists everywhere: most guesthouses will wash a load for a few dollars, which beats hauling seven days of clothes through two airports.

What not to pack (the stuff everyone brings and never uses)

Leave the “just in case” heels, the full-size toiletries, the travel iron, and the third book. Jamaica is not a fashion show — resort dress codes top out at “no swimwear in the dining room.” If you’re staying somewhere with a pool and a beach, you’ll live in swimwear, a cover-up, and sandals for 80% of the trip. Every extra item is weight you carry through Montego Bay’s arrivals hall in 85-degree heat.

The real cost math: carry-on vs. checked

On most US–Jamaica routes, a checked bag runs $35–$75 each way — that’s $70–$150 round trip just to bring stuff you won’t wear. A carry-on-only trip also means you skip the baggage carousel and walk straight to your transfer, which matters when your driver is on island time and your resort check-in window is tight. The only real trade-off: liquids over 3.4oz. Buy sunscreen in Jamaica (it’s priced for tourists, but one bottle won’t break the budget math) or decant into travel bottles.

Tropical toiletries: bring vs. buy there

Bring: reef-safe sunscreen (expensive and hard to find locally), insect repellent, any prescription meds, aloe gel. Buy there: shampoo, conditioner, soap — every hotel and guesthouse stocks them, and pharmacies in town sell the rest at normal prices. Don’t pack for a pharmacy; pack for a beach.

Why carry-on only wins

No baggage fees, no waiting at the carousel, no lost luggage ruining day one — and on the way home, you walk straight past the baggage claim while everyone else waits. Once you do a full trip carry-on only, you’ll never go back.