what to pack for living in central america for 4 months
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Recently I spent 3 1/2 weeks traveling in Central America with my married man to escape the common cold in Berlin where nosotros alive. We traveled in Belize, Republic of guatemala, Republic of honduras, and El salvador, but the majority of our time was in Guatemala. The trip was from mid January to early Feb.
Update: A year afterwards, we returned, this time to Panama, Costa rica, and Nicaragua for one month. The trip was also mid January to mid February. My packing list for Fundamental America was roughly the aforementioned, merely updates are noted.
Luggage we traveled with
I love to travel low-cal and go carry-on just, so we didn't pack a lot. Between the two of u.s.a. we packed all our stuff into two daypacks, including our new Osprey Momentum 22, plus my REI Trail 40. Nosotros brought along our REI stuff bag and used it often on transport days to make certain our food was easy to reach. We also used two packing cubes for socks and underwear. So remember, everything I've listed in this post plus my husband's vesture, laptop, etc. fit into these 3 pocket-size bags.
Update: I have replace the Vaude daypack (the green one) with an Osprey Escapist 25 daypack, and I love it!
Clothing
This isn't exactly what I brought with me, just it'southward what I should've brought. I idea I was being so minimalist, merely by the cease of the trip I realized I however packed as well much. I had 1 shirt I never wore and two others I only wore once. I almost always wore shirts twice before washing them, then a fiddling goes a long mode.
- 5 brusk sleeve shirts
- 2 long sleeve shirts – I just packed one because I didn't think I'd demand it as well often, but in most places it was cool enough in the early morning and at night that I wanted my long sleeve shirt and my hoodie over my short sleeve shirt. The middle of the 24-hour interval was nicely warm though.
Update: If you're traveling primarily in hotter places, one is sufficient. I did non need 2 for Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. - 1 hoodie or calorie-free jacket – I call back the but identify where I didn't article of clothing my hoodie at all was in Belize. Plus it's always good to be prepared for freezing cold buses.
- 2 pairs of shorts – I had one pair of jean shorts and one pair of gym shorts.
- 1 pair of jeans – The temperatures were warm but nonetheless comfortable enough to wear jeans most days.
Update: I didn't wearable my jeans nearly equally often in Panama, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, simply I was still happy to have them. You'd probably be fine leaving them at habitation. - ane pair of gym pants or leggings – Perfect for long send days and for sleeping.
- one bathing suit – Bring two if you program on doing lots of water activities. Nosotros were only at the embankment for a few days in Belize.
- 4-5 pairs of socks
- ii bras – I'd also recommend packing a sports bra if you program on doing agile things like hiking a volcano.
- Underwear – As many pairs every bit you experience comfy with. I usually aim for seven on the assumption that I'll exercise laundry one time a calendar week. If y'all don't mind washing your underwear in the sink, you can go away with two or three pairs.
I'thousand not a clothes person and I never felt under-dressed in Fundamental America, but if y'all similar to wear dresses, pack something casual.
Shoes
I did a lot of walking in Central America, including light hiking through forests and climbing on ruins at Tikal and Copan. It's definitely important to have comfy shoes. If you're packing a dress or nicer outfit, bring a pair of foldable flats to save on space.
- 1 pair of sneakers or other comfortable walking shoes
- i pair of flip flops – For the embankment and hostel showers.
- Tevas sandals – I brought these instead of my flip flops the second time effectually, and I was happy to accept them for longer walks in seaside locations.
Toiletries and Medical Items
I saw grocery stores and convenience stores that sell all kinds of toiletries in every unmarried place we visited on this trip, so if yous forget something or run out of something, you volition be able to buy things along the mode.
- Shampoo and conditioner – Cheque out the HPL recommended toiletries for carry-on travel.
- Lather or shower gel
- Deodorant
- Solid perfume
- Makeup – I suggest packing a minimal corporeality of makeup.
- Razor
- Lotion
- Moisturizer
- Lip balm
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Contact solution and/or glasses
- Hair brush and hair ties
- Bug repellent – Especially in the warmer areas, it was important to protect against mosquitoes.
- Sunscreen
- Prescriptions
- Tiger Lotion
- Bones first aid items
Electronics
- Laptop – If yous're working from the road, this is a must. If not, think nigh if you really need to bring your laptop; it might not exist worth the actress weight.
- Camera and retentivity cards
- Kindle or other eastward-reader
- Cords, chargers, batteries
- Plug adapter – This depends on where you're coming from. Central American countries use the same plug style equally the Usa and Canada.
Other Items to Pack
- Travel towel or sarong – I always want to pack a normal embankment towel since they're more than absorbent, but really if you're going to the beach, it's probably warm enough and sunny enough that you don't need much to dry off. A travel towel or sarong will do the trick.
- Sunglasses
- Hat – I really detest hats, but there were a few days when I was glad to have information technology to protect my face from the sun.
- Headlamp – The power went out several times in Republic of honduras, and then I actually did use my headlamp.
- Laundry detergent sheets – Perfect for washing underwear, or anything else, in the sink.
- Passport – Make sure information technology'southward valid for at least six months past the end of your trip, and brand certain yous have enough of bare pages for all those edge crossings.
- Travel insurance – Always worth protecting yourself with travel insurance.
- ATM and credit cards
- Small amount of cash – El salvador and Panama even use the US dollar as their currency.
- Tissues – I've never regretted having a few packets of tissues with me.
Tips for traveling in Central America
Republic of guatemala is packed with things to practise and see. Lake Atitlan has several towns all around the lake, each with its ain feel to information technology. Antigua is a pretty city to explore and has several tour options for day trips, including hiking a volcano to learning about coffee farming. Tikal is a fascinating set up of ruins, near of which are yet buried under the jungle, and it's definitely worth getting a guided tour. And these are just the top sights – there are tons of other places worth seeing throughout the country.
Transportation in Key America tin can be a little tricky to figure out earlier you lot get there. We found information on some routes, but non all, before we started our trip. Information technology's worth doing a petty research so you know the distances and how far y'all tin go in one twenty-four hours, but y'all tin can effigy things out on the route and book almost any route the twenty-four hours before or even the day you want to go out.
In Panama, I highly recommend doing a Panama Canal tour. However, the half day one is sufficient. We did the total twenty-four hours, and I kind of lost interest towards the end. Plus the full 24-hour interval tours but run once or twice a month, just the half day ones are more than frequent.
If you're on a budget, Panama and Nicaragua can be cheaper than Costa rica, and they offer a lot of the same activities. I went ziplining in Bocas del Toro, Panama and San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, and both were cheaper than what I saw in Costa Rica. We did a coffee tour and a cloud forest span tour in Boquete, Panama, both of which were cheaper than what we saw in Costa rica. Withal, the La Fortuna/Arenal area of Republic of costa rica tin't be beat for a little splurge on the thermal pools.
>>Traveling to Republic of costa rica? Bank check out our travel guide for Costa rica and the female packing list for Costa Rica.
The food was decent but not super heady in nigh places. In that location'southward a lot of eggs for breakfast and corn tortillas at any meal. I personally tin't eat a lot of eggs or corn without getting sick, but I was able to piece of work around this past ordering fruit for breakfast, sometimes with salary and hashbrowns, and I started looking for places that made smoothies. I also stuck to rice dishes and avoided the corn tortillas for nigh of the trip. Gluten and dairy were fairly piece of cake to avert also. And so if you have dietary restrictions, you can arrive piece of work here.
Certain regions of Fundamental America has a reputation for being dangerous, just nosotros didn't have any problems while nosotros were at that place. Like anywhere, you lot take to be smart about things. Don't wear flashy jewelry, go along your money in a safety place, keep your valuables with you on buses when your luggage gets stored below, and exist aware of your environment. Merely again, I never once felt dangerous, and the people we met were warm and friendly.
>> Read about traveling lone in Guatemala for more solo travel tips on the region.
Have you been to Key America? What would you pack?
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