Winter is finally setting in, but if you are fortunate enough, you may have a warm weather escape on your horizon! It turns out that I am the aforementioned lucky duck who writes this post from the middle of the Indian Ocean on a set of exquisite islands off the coast of India, just west of Sri Lanka.

Getting here was a bit of a journey (four different airplanes and five time zones later!) – suffice it to say, there were all together too many changeovers, and I arrived in paradise without my luggage. So, I made a list of the essentials and went shopping. It turns out, you only need a handful of items to live quite well on an island. Here is my list:

1. Edeline Organic Cotton Stripe Dress by Jackpot.

2. Olga Olsson Rose Rio Bikini – luxury swimwear with environmental consideration.

3. Melissa Cute flip flops by Melissa’s Plastic Dreams.

4. Juicy Couture’s Choose Green Jasmine Sunglasses – created from 55 percent bio-based renewable plant materials.

5. Kid Safe Screen in SPF 25 from Marie Veronique Organics.

So, while I hope you do not encounter the missing luggage dilemma I did, I do hope this gives you guidance for a lighter more free-spirited tropical holiday. Because the truth is, less really is more.

The post Beach Retreat: 5 Essential Items for a Tropical Getaway appeared first on EcoSalon.