If you’ve traveled previously, you’ll find that packing for other islands is easier than packing for the Galápagos Islands. Here are some great and helpful tips from Alton and Louise Biggs’s Hints & Tips For Traveling the World in Relative Luxury. Make sure to check everything twice before your trip!
- Photocopies of all documentation/ tickets/passport (first 2 pages in color).
- Money, credit cards. Wear a neck wallet or money belt.
- Plastic bags to separate dirty clothes.
- Always carry spare toilet paper in your purse or pocket.
- Take enough underwear for the length of the trip plus two days.
- Toothbrush and toothpaste.
- Pack flip-flops for showering and/or in case shoes are damaged.
- Bring a small backpack or fanny pack for sightseeing.
- Plan on inclement weather.
- Write your guide’s name and cell phone number, as well as your hotel name and address.
- Always have 100% Aloe Vera gel. It is amazingly effective at healing sunburn overnight with no peeling, closing deep cuts overnight with no scarring, ridding you of rashes, and killing athlete’s foot.
- Bring at least one hat!
- Apply sunscreen early, liberally, and often. Use a high SPF block—the sun is strong and when you’re on an outing, shade is scarce along the paths.
- Bring several small lip balms.
- We recommend consulting your doctor or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for motion sickness or any other health issues.
- Buy lots of memory cards for your camera.
- Since flashes are not allowed on the islands, make sure you know how to turn off the flash on your camera.
- Bring small dollar bills as well as $20s. Ecuador’s currency is the U.S. dollar.
