**This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience**
Hey, y'all! Before I left for Alaska I tried and tried to find a packing list that was perfect for an Alaskan summer. To be honest, I didn't really find anything that suited what I was looking for. So, I formulated a plan. I packed everything in the same color family so I could swap around the articles of clothing to create different outfits. I also packed items that could be layered.
4 pairs of pants- jeans, khakis, blue dress pants, yoga pants (not pictured since I wore them on the flight)
1 sweater
1 hoodie (not pictured since I wore it on the flight)
2 collared shirts
2 long sleeve shirts
2 cardigans
1 short sleeve shirt (not pictured since I wore it on the flight)
2 vests
2 black dresses
2 tank tops
1 sleeveless shirt
3 scarves
1 hat
1 pair of PJ's
socks
undies
2 bras (1 sport, 1 regular)
1 jacket
1 poncho
4 shoes- duck boots, heels, sneakers, sandals
I neatly packed it all into a 24.2 X 16 X 9 inches suitcase and went on my merry way. So... how'd it all work out for me?
Day One- Travel Day
Outfit: Yoga pants, t-shirt, hoodie, sneakers
Activity: Traveling from Jacksonville to Seattle via Dallas
Day Two- Washington
Outfit: Yoga pants, blue shirt, jacket, hat and sneakers.
Activity: Hiking Mt. Rainier
Little did I know, this hat would be my best friend!
After our hike, we showered and headed downtown.
Outfit: khakis, striped shirt, sandals
Day Three- Washington
Outfit: Jeans, polka dot tank, teal cardigan, duck boots
Activities: Snoqualmie Falls & Downtown Seattle
Day Four- Seattle- Cruise Day!
Outfit: Jeans, white collared shirt, argyle sweater, duck boots
Activities: Setting sail from Seattle
Note: Since I am a platinum cruiser with Carnival, I get 3 bags of laundry on a 7 day cruise. We sent out a load of mine and Ashley's clothes on the first night of the cruise. I wasn't ready, but Ashley was. She's a wuss.
Day Five- Sea Day
Outfit: khakis, jean shirt, cream vest, duck boots
Activities: Whale Watching!
Note: No photos from this day. I was a bum :)
Day Six- Alaska
Outfit: Jeans, t-shirt & hoodie, sneakers
Activities: Sailing through Endicott Arm Fjord
Day Seven- Skagway, Yukon Territory, British Columbia
Outfit: Khakis, striped shirt, duck boots
Activities: driving through Alaska, Yukon Territory and British Columbia
Day Eight- Juneau
Outfit: Khakis, jean shirt, cream vest, duck boots
Activities: driving through Juneau & The Mendenhall Glacier
Day Nine- Ketchikan
Outfit: jeans, blue shirt, grey vest, duck boots
Activities: Boat ride and hiking
Day Ten- Victoria, British Columbia
Outfit: khakis, polka dot tank, light blue cardigan, sandals
Activities: Boat ride and hiking
Day Eleven- Washington
Outfit: jeans, new shirt I bought in Alaska, sneakers
Activities: Downtown Seattle
Day Twelve- Travel Day
Outfit: Yoga pants, t-shirt, hoodie, sneakers
Activity: Traveling from Seattle to Jacksonville via Philadelphia
What I Did Right
I'm glad that I packed all of the different shoes. The sandals were great for the warmer afternoons in Seattle (and dinner on the ship), the sneakers were great for traveling and the duck boots were excellent for the Alaskan terrain. The heels, and black dresses, were a must for the cruise dinners.
The layers worked out perfectly! The day we were in Skagway, BC & YT I went from being suited up in a coat, cardigan and tank to just stripping down to my tank top. I'm classy like that.
Packing a coat and winter hat was a great choice! I wore my coat every single day. It gets freezing when you're out on the decks whale watching! Most of the time you couldn't even tell what I was wearing underneath. I probably could have gotten away with wearing the same thing the whole trip.
What I Would Change
You might thing I'm crazy for saying this, but I actually think I over packed. I didn't use any of scarves that I packed and I didn't wear the grey tank top at all. I could have easily swapped that out for another short sleeve shirt and gotten more use out of it.
