What to Pack in a Swim Bag: 12 Essentials for Pool Days

A good swim bag holds 12 essentials: swimsuit, swim cap, goggles, flip-flops, a towel, something to wash with, a wet bag, a locker coin, a water bottle, plasters, sunscreen for outdoor pools and a snack. Pack them once, keep the bag by the door, and the 7am lane swim gets a lot easier. Below we go through what some pools actually require, plus a few tricks so your bag doesn't end up smelling like a damp changing room.

If the pool is also giving your hair a hard time, our main guide on whether swimming is bad for your hair explains what helps. This one is the practical side: what goes in the bag.

What should you pack in a swim bag?

These 12 swim bag essentials cover almost every pool day.

1. Swimsuit, a proper one, not shorts.
2. Swim cap and hair tie.
3. Goggles.
4. Flip-flops for the changing room and showers.
5. Towel, your own.
6. Something to wash with for hair, body and face.
7. Wet bag for the wet swimsuit and towel.
8. Locker coin or lock, if your pool's lockers take one.
9. Water bottle, plastic or metal, never glass.
10. Plasters, small waterproof ones.
11. Sunscreen for outdoor pools.
12. A snack, because you'll be starving in the car park.

Most of these need no explanation. A few are tied to real pool rules or health advice, so let's look at those.

Which items do pools actually require?

A real swimsuit, and in some pools a swim cap. These two can get you turned away at the door.

SRO, which runs pools in places like Amersfoort and Zeist, says swimming is only allowed in swimwear. De Zwemkom in Wevelgem, Belgium, is more specific: long swim shorts, boxer shorts and T-shirts aren't allowed, for hygiene reasons. France is stricter still. The municipal pool rules of Tours say people in shorts, Bermudas or boxer-style trunks, even ones sold for swimming, will be refused access. So if you're heading to a French pool with your favourite beach shorts, pack fitted trunks too.

Caps vary more. Tours makes a swim cap compulsory for everyone. Maldegem's Sint-Annazwembad only requires one during school swimming, not public hours. The Arbois pool asks for long and mid-length hair to be tied up after the showers. A cap and a hair tie weigh nothing, so just keep both in the bag. If you colour your hair, see swimming with coloured hair.

Goggles aren't required anywhere we checked, but if your eyes come out red, public health guidance links that to chloramines, which form when chlorine combines with things like sweat, pee and make-up. Which brings us to what you wash with.

What should you wash with after swimming?

Whatever you like, as long as it isn't glass and you use it at the right shower. Maldegem's pool doesn't allow shampoo in glass bottles, Arbois bans glass objects, and SRO doesn't allow glassware in its changing rooms. Den Haag's pools allow shampoo at some showers and not others, with signs showing which. We cover all this in can you use shampoo in a pool shower.

Your kit isn't only for afterwards, either. A one minute shower before swimming removes most of the dirt, sweat and oils that use up the pool chemicals needed to kill germs, and Tours requires a soaped shower before the pools.

Now picture the bag. Shampoo, shower gel, face wash: bottles rattling around next to your goggles, and one loose cap is all it takes to soak your clean towel. That's when a solid bar makes sense: one bar for hair, body and face, nothing to leak, no glass.

Whichever you choose, keep your wash kit in a small pouch at the top of the bag, so you're not digging past a wet towel in a cold changing room. Not sure you need to wash your hair every time? Read do you need to wash your hair after every swim.

Why pack flip-flops, plasters and sunscreen?

Because changing rooms are shared, and outdoor pools come with sun.

• Flip-flops: the standard health advice on preventing athlete's foot is not to walk around barefoot, and to wear flip-flops in places like changing rooms and showers. It also suggests drying between your toes.
• Your own towel: the same advice says not to share towels, socks or shoes.
• Plasters: if you have a verruca, the health advice is to cover it with a plaster when swimming.
• Sunscreen: the standard sun safety advice is at least SPF 30 and 4-star UVA protection, and to reapply straight after being in water, even if it's "water resistant". So pack the bottle, don't just put it on at home.

Swim bag checklist at a glance

Screenshot this, or stick it inside the bag.

Item	Why	Tip
Swimsuit	Required by pools like SRO, Wevelgem and Tours	Fitted trunks for France
Cap and hair tie	Compulsory in Tours	Spare tie on the strap
Goggles	Comfort	Keep them in a case
Flip-flops	Health advice for changing rooms	Slim ones fit a side pocket
Towel	Don't share towels	Quick-dry saves space
Wash kit	Shower rules; no glass	One pouch, top of the bag
Wet bag	Keeps the rest dry	Empty it as soon as you're home
Locker coin	Some lockers need one	Tape a spare inside the bag
Water bottle	Handy after a long session	Never glass
Plasters	Cover verrucas	Waterproof
Sunscreen	Reapply after water	Outdoor pools
Snack	Post-swim hunger	Nothing crumbly

How do you stop your swim bag smelling?

Keep wet and dry apart, and empty the bag the moment you get home. Swimsuit and towel go into the wet bag at the pool, and come out as soon as you walk in the door. Hang them to dry rather than leaving them balled up until tomorrow, and leave the bag itself open overnight.

Your wash kit needs air too. A bar in a closed, wet box goes soft, so a ventilated tin or mesh pouch is a better home (more in how to store a soap bar). Stored well, most people get somewhere between 30 and 60 washes, depending on use and storage.

And if the bag smells fine but your arms smell of the pool at your desk, that's a different story: see why chlorine smell stays on your skin.

What changes for a holiday pool?

Mostly the swimsuit rules and the liquids. In France, remember the strict rules on shorts, compulsory caps in pools like Tours, and the soaped shower before swimming.

Then there's the flight. Every bottle in your swim bag counts as a liquid at airport security, while a solid bar doesn't. Our guide on taking soap on a plane has the details.

As the founder of a brand that sells bars, I'll be honest: your swim bag works perfectly well with bottles. A bar just means one thing instead of three, and nothing leaking onto the clothes you'll wear to dinner.

Whatever you pack, the habit that matters most is the boring one: rinse before, wash after, dry everything at home. If you hit the gym before your swim, our comparison of bar soap or shower gel for the gym can help you merge both kits.

Summary

The 12 swim bag essentials are a swimsuit, swim cap and hair tie, goggles, flip-flops, a towel, a wash kit, a wet bag, a locker coin, a water bottle, plasters, sunscreen and a snack. Some come from pool rules (proper swimwear, caps in pools like Tours, no glass), others from health advice on feet and sun. Pack it once, unpack wet things straight away, and pool days get simpler.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

The facts in this article are based on the sources below, checked in October 2026.

1. Huisregels SRO Sportaccommodaties en zwembaden. SRO, 2024.
2. Huishoudelijk reglement De Zwemkom. Gemeente Wevelgem.
3. Huishoudelijk reglement Sint-Annazwembad. Gemeente Maldegem, 2020.
4. Règlement municipal des piscines. Ville de Tours, 2023.
5. Piscine: règlement intérieur 2025. Ville d'Arbois, 2025.
6. Huisregels in het zwembad. Gemeente Den Haag, 2024 (updated 2026).
7. Healthy Swimming: Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
8. Preventing Eye Irritation from Pool Chemicals. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
9. Athlete's foot. NHS.
10. Warts and verrucas. NHS.
11. Sunscreen and sun safety. NHS.