Packing a bikini should feel like a treat, not a compromise. Most of us have done it the other way, grabbing whatever is at the back of the drawer and then spending two weeks wishing we hadn’t. A bikini you actually love changes the entire mood of a holiday. Not in a vague way. In the specific way that means you want to get up and get in the water rather than hiding under a sarong until lunch.

What we have pulled together here are the ones that earn their place in the case. The styles that fit properly and hold everything where it should be. The prints and colours that look as good on a sun lounger as they do in photos. The cuts that flatter without being boring about it.

We care about quality of fabric, the kind that keeps its shape after salt water and sun cream rather than going limp on day three. We care about versatility too, tops that work with high waisted shorts for a walk to a beach bar.

These are the bikinis worth the suitcase space, and worth the trip.