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Headed to the beach? Leave that heavy oversized towel at home! They’re huge, thick, and take up way too much valuable space in your bag. Don’t overpack for a beach vacation. We’ve got the best beach towels for travel and they’ll hardly take up any space. Take a look!
Best Beach Towels for Travel
Table Of Contents
Travel Towels
Everyone should own a travel towel. They’re super small and ultra-functional. If you have to pack a towel, this is by far the lightest option.
There are various styles but the ones that make the best beach towels are thin microfiber fabrics like Sea to Summit DryLite Towel that are similar to cleaning shammies.
Travel Towels are one of my must haves, read this post to find out why they should be on your packing list too!
Cacala Cotton Pestemal Turkish Bath Towel
Turkish Towels
A popular and fashionable alternative to travel styles are Turkish towels. They’re not as small as the travel-size towels but they are compact and ultra-chic. I love the colors offered and you can use them for the spas, poolside, or for beach vacations.
Because of their popularity, prices can vary for Turkish towels but I bought mine at a reasonable rate on Amazon. These are definitely some of the best beach towels to use in place of oversized standard types.
Turkish Towels are one so versatile for travel, these are TFG’s readers most recommended picks!
Straw Mat
Many times popular beach vacation destinations sell straw or plastic mats in local shops. Around $5, they’re light and easy to carry around plus the sand comes right off so you don’t have to worry about getting it all over your hotel room. You can leave them behind or donate them to another traveler when you leave back home or onto your next destination.
Packing cubes provide the perfect solution to protect your clothing from dirty towels.
Scarf
A superb beach towel alternative for travelers on long trips or those with mixed itineraries is to use a scarf. I’m not talking about an expensive silk or wool scarf but a synthetic or cotton one will do just fine if all you plan to do is sunbathe.
We know scarves have endless uses and they’ll forever be one of the most important travel essentials for female travelers making them one of the best beach towels for their versatility. Choose the right fabric and you can use it to lay on the sand without it getting destroyed!
Hibiscus Flower Swimsuit Sarong
Sarong
Female travelers love their sarongs and you can read about their endless uses in this post. One of the more popular options is to use them on the beach. They’re light, colorful, and versatile. What more could you want?
Pick one up as a souvenir or get one in advance with a versatile design so it can blend in with the rest of your travel wardrobe.
You’ll want to look your best when you travel! Read my travel tips to Pack Light Stylishly!
Mandala Round Beach Throw
I’m currently loving a Mandala round beach throw as a bohemian chic alternative to a sarong. This would work better for a vacation than long trip but it can also double up as a blanket on the beach or plane. This is one of the cutest and best beach towels of the season!
California Souvenir Dish Towel
Souvenir Towels
If all else fails and you absolutely must have your beach towel, why not buy one at your destination? It will make a fun souvenir and you can enjoy the best of both worlds. Who doesn’t love an excuse to shop!
Luxury Hotel & Spa Bath Towel Turkish Cotton
Hotel Towels
First thing’s first: find out if your hotel offers beach towels. If they do, leave yours at home and take advantage of this amenity. While you’re at it, also find out if they offer blow dryers, irons, and toiletries so you can leave those things at home too!
Remember, the key to being a smart traveler is to being well-informed.
Best Beach Towel Product Comparison Chart
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Compass Rose Travel Packing Cubes
How to Pack Beach Towels
The best beach towels are ones that fold flat to pack in your carry-on. You can learn to pack carry-on only using packing cubes.
Learn our hacks with packing cubes in the video above!
I put together a five-part YouTube series showing you the different methods to use packing cubes. If you use this specific packing strategy, they also can compress your belongings. This is the secret to traveling carry-on only!
What do you think are the best beach towels for travel? Tell us in the comments!
For more beach travel essentials, please read:
- Best Womens Sandals for Travel
- 8 Ways to Use a Beach Sarong Wrap: Multipurpose Travel Accessory
- My Long Term Travel Packing List: Beaches and Diving
- Packing for Europe in Summer: Beach Vacation Essentials
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Kreamark branded Turkish towel is great, recommending.
Hi Ali, thank you for sharing your recommendation for a beach towel!! 🙂
Turkish towels are as absorbant as regular towels and dry quickly. They hold up to a lot of use and can be used as a wrap, blanket or table cover. I always travel with a couple. They are easy to wash. My other favorite is sarongs. Some have held up for decades. Costco’s in Hawaii have ones so nice they work as scarves all year for less than $10.
Hi Clariza, thank you so much for sharing your great review of the Turkish towels with us!! 🙂
Absolutely loved turkish towels! Bought 3 sets of five from the beach style and used for my sister’s bach party giveaways in Mexico Was able to travel with them easy in my carry on. Great quality and cute colors! Quick response from seller to make sure I could receive them before we left.
Thanks for the tip!
I love my turkish towel! I find it is half the size of a normal beach towel so its quite manageable for me to take it with me- especially on smaller trips where I’m only packing for one climate.
Otherwise I have a microfiber travel towel that folds up to virtually nothing. I stick it in my underwear packing cube its that small!
Turkish towels are super cute!
I love this list. I judt bookmarked the mandala round throw on amazon last week!
I tend to go for those really large types of beach blankets that can double as a blanket for sleeping in the car or something. Road trip necessities. lol.
I listed a really awesome beach blanket / towel on my post. It makes my inner-yogi smile. lol
The Mandala round throw is soooooo pretty 🙂 I want one!