Headed to Guatemala and Belize on a 10 day backpacking trip tomorrow night! You might remember when I booked the trip back in October - wow, how time flies!
I spent most of my day off on Monday getting prepped for the trip - running errands, packing, and all that good stuff. Packing for a trip of this kind can be quite the challenge when you’re bringing it all on your back!
Here’s my packing list below as well as a few travel prep tips:
Backpack
1 yoga towel (extra absorbent)
1 small beach towel
1 hostel sheet
1 pair of jeans (wear on plane)
3 pair of jean shorts
1 onesie
4 tank tops, 3 t-shirts
2 short printed sun dresses
1 bathing suit covers
1 maxi dress
2 cardigans
1 knit pull over (wear on plane)
1 zip up north face fleece
1 pair yoga pants
1 pair of leggings
2 pair pjs
3 bathing suits (only need 2, but I bought a new one I have to bring!)
1 American Apparel skirt
1 pair of Toms (wear on plane)
1 pair Nike sneakers
2 pair of sandals (rainbows/ Jesus slippers)
1 pair of cheap sunglasses
1 travel size hair dryer; 1 travel size straighter
toiletries/underwear/bras
camera
1 purse aka adjustable strap satchel
6 mini cliff bars
And… believe it or not all of that fit in my backpack!
Just a few travel prep tips:
1. Yoga towels - are great for this kind of trip because they are compact and extra absorbent as well as quick to dry.
2. Hostel sheets - are a must. They are sold in most athletic stores in the travel section and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Great to have in case you end up in a not so ideal sleeping situation - at least you have a clean sheet with you.
3. Check the weather - make sure you check to see what the weather conditions are for the week or so that you’ll be in each country. Weather can vary from day to night and certain months of the year can be dry, wet, buggy, etc. so it’s important to know what you’re up against and how to pack accordingly.
4. Airport attire - this might be obvious, but it’s always a good idea to plan ahead and wear on the plane whatever you’re heaviest pieces are so they aren’t taking up room in your bag.
5. Make copies of your passport - god forbid it was stolen or lost, it’s smart to have copies with you in a different bag or with someone your traveling with (and with someone back at home) in case you need them.
6. Gel Mani - If you’re anything like me and get your nails manicured regularly, before a long trip I recommend getting a gel manicure. It’s a little extra $, but is said to last up to two weeks without chipping (I’ll let you know how it goes!)
8. Call your bank - very smart to call up your bank and credit card companies and let them know you will be traveling internationally and the time period you are away. This way they can put a note on your account and your account won’t get shut down due to suspected fraud (like my did when I was in Spain a few years ago, no bueno!).
7. Last, but certainly not least, I always like to leave a little extra room in my suitcase or bag for the things I might accumulate along the way. Sounds silly, but you’ll be so happy you did.
![Dear Diary,
I’ve been back from what was such an incredible vacation for about a week now. It’s crazy how thrown back into reality we become. I was certainly floating on my vacation cloud all of last week (ask my co-workers!) - which is one reason why I haven’t posted much since before my trip. It was such an amazing escape from reality and SO needed and I’ve been slowly but surely readjusting back to “the real world”. As I am sure you noticed I was able to use instagram a few times - we were able to connect to WiFi at our hostels and a lot of restaurants BUT I honestly didn’t check my email once - only allowed myself to text my mom and Jeremy to let them know I was safe and sound and post a couple vaca pix!
The trip felt much longer than 10 days which was amazing. We moved around a lot and accomplished a ton - we hiked The Pacaya Volcano and The Tikal Mayan Ruins in Guatemala, and went on the most incredible ATM Mayan Cave tour in Belize - and then spent the last 4 days beaching, boating, and snorkeling on the islands off the coast of Belize (Caye Caulker to be exact). My backpack totally held up and my packing skills were almost perfect. Note to self: Use a backpack on long trips - so much easier to get around.
The picture above was taken in a park in Antigua, Guatemala that reminded me so much of Washington square park in NYC. A nice man with a Polaroid camera charged us $2 for the photo and we went for it! [Left to right: me, Sarah, and Danielle]
Sarah and Danielle are friends from high-school who I met when I moved out to SF. I was so psyched they asked me to join them on this trip since it’s pretty rare to find people who you can happily spend every waking minute with for 10 days straight.
We had a ball - meet some great people, saw amazing sights, and went amazing places. Such a good reminder to myself to make sure I take the vacation time I deserve each year. There is so much out there and it is so healthy to be removed from our reality to gain a perspective on our lives and the world around us we could not gain otherwise.
I feel refreshed and ready to plan my next trip! :)
I’ll be posting a bunch of pictures so stay tuned for some fun photos from our journey.
xx
JF](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0uxankkic1qb2deco1_1280.jpg)
