With spring break and summer quickly approaching, I’m looking forward to lots of travel experiences and hopefully heading out to warmer destinations starting in a couple weeks when we are going to Hawaii! With warm weather travel comes a specific type of packing. I always bring certain items like sunscreen, hats, sandals, and dresses that can be worn more than one way, but I also make sure I bring things to keep my health in check, too. Below check out the 10 things you definitely need to bring on your next warm weather vacation.

1) A Versatile Maxi Dress

• This is my number one style item I always bring to a tropical vacation. The beauty of a maxi is it can be worn so many ways and minimizes having to bring a bunch of separates since it’s an entire outfit in itself. For day you can throw a maxi dress over your bathing suit to go to the pool or lunch, and by night it can be paired with heeled sandals for a night on the town or dancing.

2) Sunscreen

• This might seem obvious, but you have to protect your skin when you’re going to be in the sun a bunch! I religiously put sunscreen on my face under my makeup and obviously all over when I’m going to be at the beach or pool in a kini. Make sure you’re using a clean and broad spectrum sunscreen that’s also reef safe. I’m listing a few of my favorites below which are all reef safe and clean formulas!

3) A Foldable Hat

• Structured hats are annoying AF to pack and require their own luggage. The more I travel the more I hate bringing 100 bags with me and they’re expensive to check, too, so to bring a hat box just isn’t usually on my agenda. A foldable sun hat can go into your carry on and you only need one for your trip. A must have if you’re gonna be in the sun and they look chic too!

4) Comfortable Sandals

• Key word COMFORTABLE. I’ve made the mistake so many times of bringing sandals that aren’t great for walking in and they end up just taking up extra room in my luggage and not getting worn. All you need is a couple pairs of comfortable sandals for a trip to a warm weather destination and you’re good to go!

5) Sunglasses

• Again, this is obvious, right? I like to bring a pair that’s versatile and classic for traveling that will go with almost everything. A big black or tortoise option accessories basically everything, and will protect my eyes from the sun but also won’t look ridiculous if I wear them on a hike. A few of my favorite go-to pairs are in the gallery below.

6) Natural Anti-Bacterial Wipes/ Hand Sanitizer

• For the love of everything good please bring these with you and wipe down your plane, train, and uber seats. If everyone was doing this I bet so many less people would wind up with the flu and Coronavirus this season (ewwwww). I also wipe down the trays at the airport, they’re loaded with germs and bacteria! You can also get a good hand sanitizer and use a paper towel with it to wipe down things when you’re traveling. I prefer wipes because they travel well and I don’t have to worry about the fluid count with a carry-on bag.

7) Multi Vitamins + Immune Support

• Don’t forget that when you’re traveling you’re exposed to a lot of germs and that can compromise your immune system. Other than Emergen-C and some Wellness formula in case I start to feel like I’m coming down with something, I make sure I also bring my daily multi-vitamin to keep my system defenses strong from getting sick. My favorite daily vitamin for women is Ritual. I love it because I don’t have to take a million vitamins every day, just one, so it’s easy to pack and it also doesn’t taste gross (it actually tastes like mint) or make me nauseous.

8) A Belt Bag

• There’s nothing worse than having your hands tied up when you’re traveling and trying to explore. I love a belt bag that is fairly casual and durable that can be worn on hikes but also looks cute with a dress during the day at the beach. Make sure you get one that can fit your phone, chapstick, wallet, and sunglasses.

9) A Refillable Water Bottle

• A lot of hotels now are adapting a more sustainable approach and providing filtered water but not bottled. Same with some airports and restaurants. I always bring my Swell with me which keeps fluids cold (or hot) so I stay hydrated without wasting plastic or having to buy water. Sustainable and saves you money, a win-win!

10) CBD

• CBD personally helps me sleep and also stay relaxed when I’m on a plane or at the airport which can sometimes be stressful with TSA and all the strangers and everything ya know (lol). I literally won’t travel without mine. I prefer capsules or tinctures, but there’s also some great vape pens out there if you prefer. My two favorite tinctures are Lab to Beauty (lemon), and Winged CBD which is formulated specifically for women. I also really both of those brands gummies as well. I would also recommend Sagely Naturals. I like their calm and centered supplement and lotion which is infused with things like lavender in addition to the CBD. I like CBD because it makes me feel relaxed and chilled out before a flight but not high or groggy which is exactly what I need when I’m flying.

Do you have any warm weather or Spring Break travel planned soon? If so, I hope this list helps you with packing! For sure let me know if you try any of these tips out!

I’m reallyyyy looking forward to going back to Hawaii! It’s been so long since I’ve been on a proper tropical vacation. Make sure you follow along on Instagram, we’ll be posting tons of photos from our trip and can’t wait to share with you.

xx Genevieve

If you haven't heard of the Palace of Versailles, it's an incredible Palace (now museum) that was built by Louis XIV, the king of France from 1643 - 1715. If you're thinking about visiting The Palace of Versailles, you 100% should. Just an hour train ride from Paris, it's one of the most beautiful examples of architecture from the 1600's, and it's definitely a great way to spend a day.  Recently we visited and while it was such a cool experience, there's a few things I'll definitely keep in mind for when I go back next, which I definitely will! Read below for 5 tips to know when going to visit the Palace of Versailles.

1) Make sure you visit the gardens.

We got to the Palace of Versailles not realizing the sheer vastness of the property and quite how expansive the gardens alone are. One could spend at least 3 hours alone just wandering around the fountains and different gardens, so make sure you check out this portion of the property. You can also rent boats at the lake towards the bottom of the property which is super cool and I definitely want to do next time! 

2) Give yourself plenty of time.

Again, this place is MASSIVE, in a way that is totally incomprehensible to myself... I mean HOW was it built in 1650??! SO insane. Anyways, we spent about 4 hours there and it definitely wasn't enough time to see it all. You could spend that long just walking in the gardens area, so make sure if you go you have at least a half day to spend and try to see Marie Antoinette's quarters, which are separate from the rest of main house.

3) Don't go on a weekend.

So, we went on a Sunday which we didn't know is the busiest day for the Palace. It was a really big bummer that every time we wanted to take a photo there were people walking in to them. It took us way more time than it would have just waiting for people to get out of our pictures, and since it's so pretty you'll definitely want to document the whole thing. Trust me, avoid the weekend and try to go on a weekday if you can. Early morning or later in the afternoon is also less busy than the middle of the day usually. 

4) Make sure you get there at least an hour before close (and get an audio guide!)

Another bummer was that we did the gardens first, not know that they close the audio guide rentals an hour before they close the actual Palace down. Meaning you can go walk through the Palace but they won't give you the guides unless you're there at least an hour and half before closing. Had we known, we definitely would have done the museum part first and NOT the gardens, which are self guided unless you pay for a tour guide.  We walked through not realizing, and once we saw people with audio guides went up to the front and tried to get the. Once we ran back to the front, even though the Palace wasn't closing for another hour, they wouldn't give us audio guides, which was a really big let down. I was trying to translate some of the French on the signage in the rooms for my boyfriend, Brian, but it felt like we missed a ton of the history and meaning of what we were looking at because we didn't have the audio guide. So make sure when you go you grab one of those, especially if you're English speaking.

5) There's food there, and wine!

We weren't sure if we could get  lunch or wine at the palace, so we stopped in town at a place that really wasn't very good before we went. When we arrived I found out there is literally a Ladureé inside where you can have champagne and macaroons, not to mention other restaurants that actually looked SO good. Next time, I'll skip the mediocre sandwich in Versailles to eat at the actual Palace.

Definitely a lot of mirror selfies available while you're there ;)

6) It's best in the Spring. 

It's beautiful no matter what, but I definitely would love to go back in the Spring when all of the gardens are blooming, and the sun is out. I'm sure the boats on the lake would be so fun to do on a nice day with a bottle of rosé.  They do have flowers everywhere regardless, but if you can make it in the Spring I think it'd be the prettiest for sure! 

If you haven't been to The Palace of Versailles, you really should go next time you're in France. To say it's breathtaking is an understatement. You really can't even begin to understand how gorgeous everything is until you get there and see the sheer scale and opulence and attention to art and detail. It's one of the most stunning places I've ever been and I can't wait to go back. Feel free to reach out if you're going soon, I'd love to share some more pointers!

xx, Genevieve