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I'm curious if other folks have certain things they pack that make their trip easier. Items one might not normally think to bring.
I have one, I always buy a couple travel size baby powders, and stick them in the beach bag. Easiest way to get sand off the body, it also helps when your sweaty and smelly, lol.
Anyone else have some ideas for me? Must haves I've never considered? Please share!
I pack a couple of packages of travel size handi wipes. I have one for the plane and the other for Negril.
Large ziploc bags...they come in handy!
Yes to ziplock bags! I also pack a bunch! SLP- I have a pack of baby wipes packed, they do come in handy!
We always bring a couple of cheap floats to use and leave for someone else.
I always bring my good LED flashlight, nice to have for night time beach walks.
Wife buys the space bags that you can just roll up to get the air out, good for packing the big thick beach towels she has to have.
I have allot of things...Chrystal light w/electrolytes. Bounty paper towels. (They cost too much there. For many uses...) Ceramic paring knife for fruit. (Won't react and cause the fruit to go bad quickly.) Rechargeable batteries. (You can leave these with friends. They will need them due to power outages.) Thermal water bottle carrier. Cheap travel door alarms. (Never had a problem with break-ins, but doesn't hurt to have just in case.) And of course... Beer bottle cozy.
I have allot of other items I take to different vacation locations, and some I left out.
Fabric sheets for dresser drawers & a small bottle of Febreeze :)
I bring those sample size Woolite packs (one pack = 2 uses) and wash my bathing suits. Hang to dry and good to go!
I took the citronella tea candles burned one in the bath as a night light and lit one on the bedside table in the evening to fill the room with it. Came home, no mossies.
Ditto the little led flashlight. Mine had a wrist cord and I let it dangle with the light on as I walked the cliff road at night to let the drivers see me better.
Well you know some of the flights these daze can be long and with a layover or two you might want to bring something to drink,ie small airplane bottles of your fav. booze to add to that cola or H2O your going to buy and drink while waiting for your next flight.Every adult passenger is allowed 3 oz of distilled spirit`s per person,keep them in a 1 qt zip lock bag in your carryon bag and when you find yourself parched and want something more than just water or cola you can add one of your three bottles,making yourself a drink that does not cost 8$, works for us,just a thought!
Bless,
semi(and crew) :):)
We bring stuff that we use/give away there - Off candles, maid goodies, sometimes coordinate with someone to give stuff to schools, then we use the empty space in our suitcase to bring back coffee, rum, other Jamaica items.
BikerMike - I didn't now you were limited to 1 of the little bottles, I thought you could take what fits in your baggie. We both took a couple last time - is it a TSA rule?
Leave everything we need at the yard. Just carry a small bag on the plane.
Rolling instead of folding :)
Only pack half of what you think you will need.
Regards,
Bob
We throw a couple of blue or black ball point pens in our carryon for the immigration/customs paperwork. The flights never seem to have enough to go around.
Speaking of the paperwork, I print a copy of the form ahead of time and fill out the information that I don't have memorized (flight info, passport number, etc.). Then, when it's time to fill out the real form, I have the data in one place and I don't have to dig around for the answers in a cramped airline seat. Here's a link to the form.
http://www.jamaica-info.de/images/immigration.pdf
Half the clothes and twice the money you think you need ............ works everytime
med length extension cord....a few turns of duct tape around a pencil (full roll too big)
Great ideas! But I giggle at all the suggestions to bring half what you think you need. I understand the logic but the girl part of me as a hard time telling my cute clothes and shoes they must stay home. Don't my clothes need a vacay too? lol
BikerMike..like that idea. I ususally bring an empty water bottle and fill it up at the fountain after security.
I know duct tape fixes everything, but what would I need it for in JA? The ext cord is a spectacular suggestion!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rambo
I'm not a huge clothes & shoes girl, but I still think this is a great quote :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Jbizek
Exactly!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Oil
I've started packing this weekend...not actually folding anything, more like throwing it in the suitcase.
coffee grinder
Lots of good suggestions, here are mine
1. Hotel sewing kit
2. Emergency phone list
3. Liquid band aid
4 ambasol (for tooth discomfort) nothing will screw up a vaca like a tooth problem
Combined these items will take up les space than a pair of sun glasses
Duct Tape???
we have patched shoes, window screens, taped some cash behind a toilet tank ( we heard a rumor).......
repaired a lens cover, repaired a ripped cover up.......must be more, just cant think of them all.....in 20 yrs didnt bring much back lol
That's awesome Rambo! Thanks for the tips!
Ditto on duct taped shoes Rambo, tape a 20 j piece on top of fan blade to balance & stop squeak (after tightening all blade screws), combination caution taped & duct taped a bumper on a jeep one time to get from Lucy Town on into Negril when the road was torn to heck,,,,,, like you Rambo I know I use it every trip
I agree with your extension cord thought, we have a few of the long corded multi plug surge protectors we leave in our igloos to get current to dressers and night stands for camera batteries, i-pods, etc, the surge protector to protect against Jamaican current, also gets current into bathroom for girls.
Stuff that has little weight and takes little room: wire ties black 14 inchers, those camper clothes lines that fit in an about the size of the old 35MM film cannister, a coil of rope in outside pocket of checked luggage for drive across, last layer in luggage is bubble pack for zip locked rum cream on way home, tooth picks, bunjee cords.
Stuff I would not do without (I carry in small 6 pak cooler in check luggage): 2 non-camper multi tools for mechanical repairs, 1 stainless fillet knife (think fruit prep),precision screw driver set for electronic repairs, various size eye glass screws, key floaties for keys, cheap wallet for walking around cash & 1 credit card (everything else goes in room safe), old bank bags to organize safe and make it easier for thiefs to carry plunder if they ever hit our room safe l.o.l., small swiss knife with good tweezers, 1 medical scalpel, sharpie (don't ask me why but someone uses it every trip)
Med Kit even if I don't need it: z pak, nitro, epi pen, hmmmmm can not remember name but some pills that Doc says kill bacteria
as someone mentioned above we always have candles burning on the patio
Now why in the heck do we have 5 igloos full of stuff down there if we are carrying this much,,,,
Excellent tip on the 6 pak cooler as a carry on!!!! Thanks a heap for that one! I was wondering what I could get my husband to "carry on" that didn't look like a pocket book!!!! Thanks a ton!!!!
Ok... just re-read :) The cooler will be his extra bag to carry on the plane! I won't put anything in it we can't take on a plane.
hangers . . .
I know I sound like Paris Hilton, but my normal attire consists of yoga pants, t shirts and flip flops. But I do enjoy getting to play dress up when the situation calls for it. Now if you'll excuse me I have to break it to a few sundresses they didn't make the cut, it's not them, it's me. I hope they understand.Quote:
Originally Posted by garysteph1018
:) haha j...
I actually have a couple on order that I pray make it to the house before we leave! Otherwise, I'm kinda screwed on clothes!
I hope they arrive!!
i bring candles, a dish towel, zip-lock bags, night-light for the bathroom, a small squirt bottle filled with liquid soap for small laundry needs.
Well we are those crazy people you see in the airport with max baggage as we bring everything. we have 2 checked back each and a carry on each. the checks bags are at max weight.
What do we bring, don't laugh too hard!!
We love Tensing Pen but the mattress could be better so one checked bad has a mattress topper and a spare fan. our room does not have AC, it does have a celling fan and one stand fan but is always nice to have a extra fan for the room and porch, really helps. At the end of the trip we leave the fan with someone we have befriended on our trip like Juliette from Shark's
One checked bag has things to give away, coloring books, crayons, 25 to 50 pair of reading glasses from the dollar store, toys, gifts and so on. Ue use a cheep bag for these items and don't bring the bag home.
One checked bag has all the toys, snorkels, mask, fins, floats fishing tackle, 10lbs of dog milk bones dog biscuits for the dogs at TP and all the dogs along the road.
the last checked bag has the clothes that don't fit in the carry bags. much of the room in the carry bags is for camera equipment, laptop, medicines and anything we feel like we cant live without in case the checked bags are late or lost completely.
Many of my favorites have already been mentioned, but I have a couple of others.
Camping clothesline and clothespins. Don't always need the line, but the clothespins come in super handy. They keep the towels on the railings on a windy day, but beyond that I use them to clip things on to my beach chair (towels, hats, cover-ups, etc) and I can close and store the leftover half bag of cookies or chips.
Cheap plastic cutting board. Great to cut up fruit, makes a good plate for the small kinds of thing you might think to eat in the room (cake, sandwiches, etc). My DH likes to eat on the bed (which he wouldn't dare at home) and the board makes a good crumb catcher. I normally also bring a set of cutlery for each person. I also like to have a stack of solo cups for drinks, and if needed, half filled with sand they make a decent ashtray. Smoke 'em if you like, but please keep the butts of the beach.
we usually buy (cheap market) or buy from bartender, those bamboo ash trays...use 'em on the patio,inside the apt...then wipe out with damp cloth, put in plastic bag, put in carry on,,,nice conversation piece at next Fire Drill
Ok I think this one is really good! My husband and I bring those 3M hooks. You know the ones that you can put on walls and doors and remove without damaging the surface you put it on! We use them every time we go!
just sit and think of how you would handle if.....happened?
now not so much going to a All In, but at many of the "rustic mom n pops" that are indeed a trip, within the trip, to stay at..we started on the cliffs...and still are in love with the West End
be a scout"Be Prepared" :)
That is much more my style of packing! We will be bringing two full sized cases and 2 large carry on's. Besides electronics I don't bring anything I can't leave behind. I like to leave the maids, beauty supplies and things they might not normally spend money on. I bought a huge bag of candy for the kids and to add with the tips.Quote:
Originally Posted by Living_the_Dream
I'd love to bring some things like crayons and color books or bubbles for the kids, but I worry I might offend people. Can I get some thoughts and experiences about that?
Jbizek I've brought bubbles, crayons, coloring books, balloons( helium) they are stronger, punching balls among other things.Not had any complaints, the kids love them.