INTERNATIONAL
TRAVEL PACKING CHECKLIST (FOR THE TROPICS)
International Travel Packing Checklist
International TravelChecklist
Why wearing white cloths is best? Mosquitos ( and
Tse Tse Flies in Africa ) avoid white cloths while
being
attracted to dark garments. Moreover, white reflects
heat best. So, camouflage clothing is NOT the best!
Light fast drying camping trousers (not jeans) with
zip-off sleeves;
I never found them in white though.
Light windbreaker (jacket) as it can be surprisingly
cold at night in the tropics or on the water when it is cloudy and
during rain showers;
Shorts. But be very careful. When you are on the
water or the beach you may easily get a very bad sun
burn. Start out with one hour per day and increase
your wearing shorts by an hour per day;
A few long-sleeved outdoors shirts, preferably one
per day (similar blouses for women are available). Dress shirts for men as worn under a jacket are also suitable, as
they are much thinner than T-shirts and when wet,
they dry much quicker. So in spite of seeming to be
overdressed, you will feel much better in an
outdoors or dress shirt. If not with you,
long-sleeved T shirts. Long sleeves are essential
against sun burn;
White
shirts are the best against mosquitoes and for
reflecting heat.
A light sweater for in the mountains and rainy days;
A warmer sweater if you plan to spend more time in
the mountains;
Women: whichever skirts or dresses you pack; not too
many if you want to pack light. Fast drying thin
materials are best. Like for shorts: be careful with sun exposure as
you are on the equator. (In many countries long
dresses are required either in public or in
religious buildings. Not so in Latin America). Be
aware that the sun may penetrate through thin
materials and still cause sun burn;
Wide brimmed hat that cover the ears as they are
extremely susceptible to getting sun-burned. So,
baseball caps are not suitable unless your hair
always covers you ears;
Comfortable gym shoes or water shoes (check out
Salomon Amphibia shoes) that may get wet and sandals
for the beach. Please don't start out exposing your bare feet
to the sun as they can get terrible sun burns.
Solid walking shoes or boots
for hiking on nature trails with good profiles for
slippery conditions;
At least 1 pair of clean socks for each day for a
week. It is
very easy to get fungi or athlete's foot in the
humid tropics, so change socks at least once a day;
Underwear: In general, when on a tropical trip, you
may need to wash your own underwear some time. So
take along small briefs of little volume as they dry
fastest. Boxers take a lot of volume each.
Sun cream;
Sun glasses;
Bathing suit;
LED flashlight and batteries. They are very low
energy and their batteries last many times longer;
Sufficient cash for any emergencies and some money
in small denominations for expenditures along the
way;
Passport (Obligatory for park entries and hotels);
Medium sized suitcase or backpack (space in the
vans and canoes may be limited);
Some large plastic bags for keeping your clothes
dry;
Personal toiletries;
Insect repellent with DEED (non-spray may be more
environmentally friendly);
First aid kit. Never leave home without it. Buy a
good one for the tropics; If you have one, check it before your trip.
Replace old stuff;
Personal medicines;
Neck or waist pouch for your documents and money.
First of all it should not be pretty as to not draw
attention from pickpockets. The uglier the better,
but it should be solid.
Make sure to have one with a really strong carrying
wide nylon strep. Always carry a neck pouch half in front of
you where you can see it;
You wear glasses or contact lenses??? ALWAYS travel
with an extra pair of glasses or lenses, just in case you lose
one. Can you imagine yourself spending the rest of
your trip not being able to see well?????
Disastrous! Also bring 2 separate small bottles of
lens liquid;
Power surge protector. Particularly in developing
countries but also in North America, power
fluctuations and lightning can ruin your equipment.
It is wise to bring along a compact power search
protector. They are also a great way of keeping your
small items together. Too often, have I left small
battery chargers for a phone or a camera in the
hotel's power outlet. If you keep everything
together, chances are much better you take them
along when checking out.
PLEASE
NOTE: most search protectors are only 110 Volts and
they will blow the hotel's fuse, burn themselves or
burn your equipment in 220 Volts, which is in most
places in the world, except North and a number of
countries in Latin America. Always check the
country's voltage before plugging in your chargers
or your equipment;
Camera with extra charger and extra batteries. Often
people make videos, which empties their batteries
more quickly than they can charge. An extra charger
and one or two extra batteries will keep you a happy
shooter.
A large memory
capacity for your camera, so that you can store
plenty of pictures and videos, before putting them
on a laptop.
Dear visitor, our website gives you info about
our
National Parks Tours,
our
Galapagos programs, the
Cuyabeno Loop,
as well as our
Cuyabeno and Cofan Lodges in the Amazon.
For those who want to combine the
Exuberant Nature of Ecuador with the Famous culture of Peru, we even have a
7
days Highlights of Peru extension! Our website
gives you the best information on the internet, because we are the only tour
operator run by professional biologists. Take a look:
OUR PARKS AND TRIBES ECO TOURS
(Scroll down for the full description of the current page)
STANDARD COFAN LODGE TOUR
Start your Cuyabeno journey on
Ecuador's most scenic wide Amazon tributary, the Aguarico River. Spend 3 nights in the Cofan Lodge,
exploring the lower Cuyabeno and Zábalo Rivers.
The Cuyabeno Loop explores
the breathtaking scenery of lower Cuyabeno and Zábalo
Rivers and the Cuyabeno Lake. Watch the amazing birds and
wildlife. Pass 2 nights with the amazing Cofan Indians in
the Cofan Lodge and enjoy 2 nights of comfort in the famous
Cuyabeno Lodge.
The Lagarto Cocha Expedition on hidden
creeks and lakes is the best Amazon journey in Ecuador!
Discover Indian tribes in Ecuador, Monkeys, Sloths,
Dolphins. No other Amazon rainforest in any of the
Amazon-Andean countries can match the wildlife viewing
of Cuyabeno and it is far better than Yasuní!
The Cuyabeno Lake Program
explores all the wild places surrounding the Cuyabeno Lake.
Bonsai-shaped Macrolobia trees with the whispering of the
mysterious prehistoric Hoatzin birds and the noisy Blue and
Yellow Macaws. Our Cuyabeno Lodge is on the best location,
because we were the first and chose the best location on a
seasonal island in the Cuyabeno Lake itself.
Our Northern Andes Tour lets you get a
taste of some of the best Andean National Parks,
visiting the highest groves in the world: the Polylepis
trees, the highest mountain in the world calculated from
the center of the Earth, the Chimborazo with Vecuñas and
Lamas, the highest active volcano in the world, the
Cotopaxi.
Our National Parks Tours take you on a fantastic
journey along the best possible sample of Andean and coastal
parks. They have been designed to complement
Galapagos and/or Amazon cruises. They can start from different places, particularly Quito,
Guayaquil and Cuenca. While the full program lasts 9 days, it is possible to
make a limited selection of parks, like the 6 days' "Andes
and Coast" module.
We have a fabulous selection of Galapagos
programs, including cruises, island hopping, scuba
diving or relaxing on one of the many different hotels
varying from modest inns to deluxe resorts.
A fabulous program for visiting the most
famous cultural highlights Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu and the
Sacred Valley. At the same time it serves as the Lima hub
for the Peru National Parks Tour. This module is an
extension to our National Parks Tour Ecuador and/or Galapagos National Park
and/or Amazon Cruises.
This
page shows a printable packing composed by our team members who
have traveled to more than 80 countries in the world on
business travel, expeditions or for regular
pleasure. An even more extensive list can be downloaded
here:
packing
checklists for different internatioal travel.
Optional additional items for your
International Travel
Checklist:
Zip lock bags to keep small items dry. Particularly
important if you bring a camera. As soon as it
starts raining, you do wise to immediately put your
camera in a zip lock bag and put it under your
raincoat or rain poncho. If you wait, the atmosphere
gets wet. As your body always evaporates, it starts
condensing under the poncho that starts cooling in
the rain and the atmosphere under your rain clothes
becomes extremely humid. When putting your camera
away under such circumstances, moisture is very
likely to condense on your lenses, even though they
are in a closed zip lock bag. Make sure that as soon
as you reach a building, you take out the camera out
of the bag to let it dry.
Binoculars (Indispensable in the rainforest - it's
worth spending a bit of extra money to get a good
water proof pair: 8 x 32 or 40 are excellent for
poor light conditions under the forest canopy).
However, if you forgot to bring your binoculars, we
rent them out at $15 for the duration of your visit;
A GPS. Nowadays GPS are very affordable and it is
fun to look for the equator! You don't need one to
find your way, because you will always have one of
our guides with you;
A water proof digital camera is ideal for the wet
tropics! But of course a regular camera will do, as
long as you put it in a ziplock bag as soon as it
starts raining. Don't forget to take it back out as
soon as you are back at the lodge or in the bus as
it may fog up and your lens may become damaged;
Extra pair of loose-fitting, fast drying pants (no
jeans, they never seem to dry up after a rain
shower);
Birds of Ecuador by Ridgely;
Neotropical Rainforest Mammals by Emmens and Feer is
complete and small enough to bring along.
This
international packing list
is not exhaustive and travelers be advised to
consult other sources as well.
Packing your suitcase efficiently
Most space in your suitcase is taken up by your
clothes. So the challenge is to compact your clothes
as much as possible. The best way is to roll them
up. This will compact their volume up to 50%, while
it actually reduces crinkling.
Small items can be rolled up by lining them up in half overlaps
(left row). You can roll them into larger clothes, particularly
pants, or stuff them into shoes. First fold larger
clothes into neat straight lines, before rolling them up.
Even better, put the rolls into a ziplock bag, sit on them
and close the bag will even compress a bit further.
All clothes on the left in a medium seized carry-on.
Note the shaver and collapsible hairbrush in a ziplock bag
so shaving remains and hair don't litter bag content. One
shoe with underwear + socks and other cloths from left rolled
up, left 8cm still available.
For documents, use a bag with a strong carrying strap
and large enough to fit a book for in the plane.
This
page shows an International Travel
checklist for the tropics composed by our team members who
have traveled to more than 80 countries in the world on
business travel, expeditions or for regular
pleasure. An even more extensive list can be downloaded
here:
printable
packing
lists for different trips.
PARKS & TRIBES Travel Agency
Street: Las Casas,
Side street: Jose Coudrin, 2 blocks above the Occidental Highway
Cantón Quito, Prov. Pichincha, Parroquia
Belisario Quevedo