Month: March 2025

Packing List: 3 Months in Central America (2025)

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I can’t believe it’s already 2025!! I am off to Central America for 3 months. I plan to explore all 7 countries in the region (Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belie & Guatemala).

Of course I am using my 35L Tortuga Setout backpack 🙂 They don’t sell the exact backpack I have anymore, but here is their latest & greatest! Can’t recommend their bags more. I have used a Tortuga backpack on each of my longterm trips!

Overall tips:

  • Use packing cubes! I love that my Tortuga packing cubes perfectly fit the dimensions of my bag, but Amazon should have plenty of options!
  • Think through how the clothes will feel in heat. Linen & lightweight materials will be best. 
  • Make sure that every top works with every bottom and works with every shoes. Use a capsule wardrobe as inspiration.
  • Less is more! Even though I have done this full time for over 36 consecutive months (holy moly), I still inevitably pack 1-2 items that I never end up reaching for. Think through if you actually will where it or if it’s just an aspirational item.

PACKING LIST FOR CENTRAL AMERICA:

CLOTHES

  • 2 pairs of Lululemon Fast & Free Crop’s – I’m trying to make it easy to workout while on the road this time around.
  • 1 pair of Lululemon Align pants – can be used for working out/walking around town or I can dress it up.
  • 1 Romper
  • 2 Jumpsuits (Madewell) – I’m obsessed with this jumpsuit – it’s great for hot weather but still provides mosquito coverage. I love it so much that I had a copy made while I was in Hoi An, Vietnam. I picked a fun orange print & added cap sleeves.
  • 1 Cute shirt (I’m only taking one as I think I’ll be in my rompers and jumpsuits most days)
  • 3 sports bras
  • 4 athletic shirts (for running + sleeping in). Three are from Lululemon.
  • Booty shorts (to sleep in)
  • 5 pairs of underwear
  • 6 pairs of socks
  • 1 black bralette
  • Running shoes
  • Waterproof sandals- I just bought Teva dupes (will act as my water shoe as well as my cute shoes- I never said the backpacker lifestyle was glamorous haha)
  • Light Patagonia puffer – good for chilly planes/busses & for when I visit countries that are a little cooler, even in the summer. It also smushes down fairly small so it’s a great backpacker jacket. I’ve also used it as a pillow in a pinch.
  • 1 Swimsuit (feel free to bring 2-3 if that’s your thing)
  • Sunglasses (Warby Parker)
  • Rain coat (Patagonia; you can pack it up into it’s pocket so I can easily attach it to the outside of my bag via a carabiner)
  • Tortuga Daypack (they don’t sell the one I have anymore sadly). This acts as my personal item for flights and I can use it for adventures during the day. 
  • Sling crossbody bag (I put it into my daypack on travel days). I use this out and about on a daily basis.

ELECTRONICS

  • Computer + Charger
  • iPad
  • iPhone + Charger (I get a 6 ft cord so I can always reach the plug from my hostel dorm bed!)
  • AirPod Pro’s
  • Fujifilm x100vi – YOU GUYS I BOUGHT A CAMERA!!! I’m so excited to try it out this trip!!
  • Headphones (Bose; noise-cancelling for travel days)
  • Plug adapter (I use this one)
  • Portable charger (like this one)
  • AirTag (This is a no brainer these days; provides peace of mind incase I am forced to check my bag or when it’s below me in a bus. Always nice to confirm it’s still with me!)
  • Extra sim cards for my new camera
  • Extra battery for my new camera

TOILETRIES (I USE A BUNCH OF LITTLE TOILETRY BAGS TO KEEP THESE ALL ORGANIZED)

  • Toothbrush
  • Toothpaste
  • Flosser
  • Any medication you take
  • Retainer
  • Deodorant
  • Tiny roller perfume
  • Makeup
  • Makeup Remover (I’ve become obsessed with cleansing balm for this because it isn’t a liquid, & it’s highly effective at getting makeup off at the end of the day! 
  • Razor
  • Conditioner + Shampoo (Get containers to put your products into & refill on the road!!)
  • Face wash
  • Moisturizer
  • Brush
  • Pocket Hand Sanitizer– I keep one in my backpack and one in my sling/purse. Great in general, but also for when inevitably there is no soap at a random bus stop bathroom 🙂
  • Sunscreen (I love Sun Bum or Goop)
  • Tiger balm (I picked this up in Southeast Asia and it’s now a staple in my bag. Great for mosquito bites and just feeling a little sick. It’s kinda like Vick’s vapor rub).
  • Chapstick (Don’t forget to get one with SPF)
  • Ibuprofen
  • Hair ties and bobby pins
  • Moleskin
  • Bandaids
  • Electrolytes (these are a must for traveling, but especially in hotter climates)
  • A few protein bars for emergency snacks! You never know when you’ll be stuck on a bus in the middle of nowhere & get hungry.
  • Cough drops
  • Topical steroid cream for bed bug bites or regular bug bites to help with itchiness

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Passport – no explanation necessary 🙂
  • ID (I bring my driver’s license)
  • Travel Credit Card- I bring 2-3 cards with me in case I lose one it gets stolen or it gets hacked. Important to get ones with no foreign transaction fee; I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve (hello lounge access!) + Capital One Venture Card.
  • Debit Card (Charles Schwab has the best one because it reimburses ATM fees from any ATM in the world 🙂)
  • US Dollars – I always bring 1-2 Hundred dollar bills as an emergency source of cash (luckily most places in the world would take USD if it was truly an emergency & you needed some cash to get you out of a situation), however, in the case of Central America, I’ve taken more! USD are used in some countries here (like El Salvador), but also some businesses will give you a better rate when paying in USD. Take some smaller bills as they are helpful for border exit/entrance fees.
  • Record of your plans (I make folders within my email inbox to keep track of everything or you could print out a copy of your itinerary)
  • Extra Passport photos
  • Thumb drive with all documentation if desired
  • Quick dry towel – From REI
  • Sarong for a beach cover up or for lying on.
  • Water Bottle – Camelbak
  • Ear Plugs
  • Eye Mask (you can either go the classic eye mask route or get one like this that almost acts like your eye mask + ear plug since you can play white noise through the built in bluetooth speaker- pretty cool!)
  • Lock (for staying in hostels or locking my bag.) Get the combo lock so you don’t have to worry about tiny keys. I take three to be able to lock two different compartments in my bag AND so I can keep my computer/passport/iPad compartment still locked when I use the other one to lock a locker within a hostel (+ one for backup!).
  • 3 carabiners – I just attach them to my backpack and over the course of the trip they will hold everything from my water bottle, shoes, rain jacket and more. You will not regret having a few on hand.
  • Pack of playing cards (My sister got my a custom deck with some of my favorite photos from my travels – such a thoughtful gift)
  • Monopoly Deal – a fabulous compact game for the backpacking trail!
  • Face mask (I’ve used this while feeling sick as well as on a dusty motorcycle ride)
  • 2 pens for writing postcards
  • Ziplock bags of various sizes. I inevitably need to put dirty shoes, wet bathing suit, leftover pizza, or dirty socks somewhere and I am always incredibly relieved to have some ziplocks at the ready. Plus they take up no space/weight so there’s no downside to bringing them.

Here is what I packed in each packing cube:

Bathing suit, two sports bra, one bralette, Nike booty shorts and socks + underwear

One long-sleeve shirt, four workout shirts, one cute shirt

Three jumpsuits, two ropers, two Lululemon pants

All packed up and ready to go!!

Vanuatu

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After a family wedding in Australia, Ellie (my sister) & I were trying to figure out where we should go to tack onto the trip since we already were so far from home (California). We looked up where in the South Pacific Sydney flies direct to and we discovered Vanuatu. Admittedly I don’t either of us had heard of it, but it’s always fun to go to very unknown, off the beaten path places. Also we love checking off new countries together!

PRO TIPS:

  • Google where it is on the globe!
  • Get some cash from an ATM at the airport or in town. Most places charge a fee for using a credit card so it’s best to have cash.
  • We got our visas on arrival.
  • Decide if you want to go to multiple islands or just the main one of Efate. We had hoped to visit Santo and/or Tanna (hence why we booked 10 days), but the internal airlines had imploded the year prior and their website didn’t allow for booking. As such we decided to just stay on the main island for some R&R. When we arrived we were told we could book flights right at the airport, but we didn’t know this ahead of time and were stressed about booking accommodation without knowing the reliability of the flights.
  • After the earthquake in Dec ’24, a lot of the downtown of the capital city of Port Villa was still closed off. Many of the buildings collapsed and will take months if not years to rebuild it. It didn’t really affect our stay in Vanuatu as we mostly spent our time at our hotels.
  • Before booking your stay, I would recommend poking around on Reddit for an up to date status of the island as things continue to be evolving and if we had understood all the dynamics, we likely would’ve booked a shorter stay.
  • If you aren’t going to multiple islands, I would say that 5-6 days is plenty for Efate. We didn’t find there to be too much to do so this would be sufficient time for relaxing as well as doing some snorkeling or visiting the Blue Lagoon.

ISLAND: EFATE

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

My sister, Ellie, & I split our time between two hotels. One was more budget friendly and one was our splurge.

Hotel #1 was Banana Bay Beach Club. This was our budget friendly option as it was a small hotel in a remote part of the island (only $65 per night). It was a trek to get out there and there wasn’t much to do outside of visiting the blue lagoon, but we didn’t mind. The hotel is built around this lovely private lagoon that acts as a swimming hole. We loved it! We basically spent all day going in and out of the ocean for dips to cool off. There was also a spot you could jump into the lagoon from above. There were very few other guests so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. The Aussie couple who run it were very quirky but also laid back. There is a small restaurant onsite where we ate each dinner as there are no other restaurants in the area. The room was nice, but basic. There was a mosquito net which helped with the bugs. No AC, but the fan worked decently well. We felt very safe and the staff were kind.

Hotel #2 was Mangoes Resort. This was our “splurge” at $150 per night. Our room had a private pool & full kitchen/living room. There was also a gym + 5 pools around the property, including a stunning infinity pool at the sister property next door, which you have access to. It was also closer to town & the airport.

WHERE TO EAT:

We actually made most of our meals for ourselves! Between oatmeal at the first hotel for breakfast & buying groceries for our meals at the second (yay for the kitchen in our unit) we only ate 2 meals outside of our hotels.

We had dinner at the Beach Bay before the famous Fire Show on Fridays. The pizza is fantastic!

Our last evening we walked to the Port Vila Burger and had a delicious burger.

Homemade pasta!
Port Villa Burger

WHAT TO DO:

We chose the workout, eat, read, swim, repeat vacation, but there are some things to do on the island.

The two activities we did:

  • Visit the beautiful blue lagoon. Pro tip: go to the second entrance as it’s cheaper & it was the best of the three options. Bring sunscreen, swimsuit, & water with you. There aren’t any food options so feel free to bring snacks with you. We stayed for 3 hours and since we went early, we had it to ourselves for about half of that.

  • See the Fire Show at Beach Bay on a Friday night. It’s a fantastic performance with fire, acrobatics, & music. The show is free but have your accommodation make you a reservation for a table for dinner beforehand. Bring cash for a tip for the performers!

We also had some fabulous $30 massages! We ended up getting them 3 days in a row haha.

Other options for what to do:

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

We liked Vanuatu but I wouldn’t say we fell in love with it if I am being honest. Unless you are someone living in Australia (where Vanuatu is a fairly easy holiday destination), I wouldn’t say you need to go out of your way to get here for a visit. You are better off heading to Indonesia, The Philippines, Fiji or French Polynesia. The infrastructure is sorely lacking & the interactions we had with the hotel staff were quite odd & sometimes difficult. Ellie & I always have a blast together so we still enjoyed our time here, but it had less to do with Vanuatu itself. I am very glad I came here with Ellie as this would not have been a fun place to be solo. We barely met anyone while here. It was a bit of a ghost town. I can confidently say (for many reasons) that I don’t think I’ll ever be back here in my lifetime.

BUDGET FOR 10 DAYS IN VANUATU:

Honestly I was expecting to spend more money here as it’s a tiny island that has to import most goods. I thought it would be closer to Fiji prices than Bali prices. All in all, it was fairly economical. Although it certainly helped that we didn’t do much while here. Reading your book & swimming is free!

  • Accommodation: $570 ($57 per night) – My half of the hotel rooms
  • Food: $108
  • Groceries: $37
  • Activities: $8
  • Local Transportation: $80
  • Miscellaneous: $174 (massages + postcards + gifts)

Total: $977 (Daily average: $97.7)

Transportation to next destination: $350 for roundtrip flights from Sydney, Australia