Turkish cotton towels beat microfiber for the beach.

They are more compact than you think, dry fast enough, and feel way better than that plastic-y microfiber stuff.

Microfiber travel towels are the obvious choice because they’re thin and pack small. But once you use them on a beach — wet sand, salt water, sticky sunscreen — they get gross fast. Sand clings to them like static, they don’t dry you as well as real cotton, and they feel like wiping down with a gym shirt.

Turkish cotton (peshtemal) towels are hardly bigger than a microfiber towel when folded, weigh maybe an extra few ounces, and dry in an hour or two in the sun. They actually absorb water, shed sand when you shake them, and don’t smell like wet plastic after one use. Brands like Dock & Bay or even a basic Etsy seller will do the job.

You’re at the beach, not a hostel shower.