Packing for a Caribbean villa stay is lighter than you think: swimwear, sandals, and one nice outfit for dinner cover a week in Anguilla. The things people actually forget: reef-safe sunscreen, a dry bag for boat days, small cash for beach bars, and any specialty items you cannot buy quickly on a small island. The villa already has yoga mats, floaties, games, beach gear, and a fully equipped kitchen.
What is already at the villa
Start by subtracting. The villa has a full kitchen, laundry, beach gear and a margarita machine, so you can cut a surprising amount from the bag.
Laundry is the big one. If you have a washing machine for the week, you do not need seven days of clothes. Four days is plenty for most people, and it is the difference between a checked bag and hand luggage for a couple.
You do not need beach towels, snorkel gear or a cooler. You do not need basic kitchen equipment. Do not buy a travel blender.
What to actually bring
Reef safe sunscreen, and more than you think. It is available on the island but you will pay a lot for it, and the sun here is stronger than the temperature suggests. This is the number one thing guests wish they had packed more of.
Any prescription medication, in its original packaging, with enough spare for a few extra days. Anguilla is small and a pharmacy may not stock what you take.
A pair of shoes you can walk two miles of sand in, and a second pair for dinner. That is all the footwear anyone needs here.
Insect repellent for the evenings. Not a crisis, but you will want it around dusk.
An adapter if you are coming from outside North America. Anguilla runs on 110 volt outlets of the US type.
Things people forget
A hat with a brim. Sunglasses you do not mind losing in the water. A dry bag if you are the sort of person who takes a phone to the beach, which is everyone.
If you are travelling with children, bring their own snorkel mask. We keep gear at the house but sizing for small faces is hit and miss, and a mask that leaks ruins the first swim.
What to leave at home
Formal clothes. There is nowhere on this island that requires a jacket, and the nicest restaurants here read as smart casual at most.
Hairdryers, beach chairs, and most of the small appliances people pack out of habit. Also the second suitcase. You will not wear half of what is in it.
One thing worth doing before you fly
Tell us your arrival time. If you are landing late, the difference between arriving to a stocked kitchen and arriving to an empty one is the difference between a good first night and a bad one. We can point you at the practical stop on the way in, and the arrival guide covers the routes onto the island.
Anything you are not sure about, ask. We answer every message ourselves.
