We recently took an 18 day trip to Costa Rica. Costa Rica is one of the places we are considering retiring to, so we wanted to go check it out. Also, we got married in December 2019, and planned to honeymoon in Spring of 2020 and THAT didn’t happen… so we considered this our belated honeymoon, lol.
We only brought carry-on luggage! I took my eBags Piazza carry-on suitcase (now discontinued), and my Lug Gondola tote as my personal item bag. The Lug tote has a strap to slip onto my suitcase handles, so it was easy to maneuver around the airport with these.
In my personal item bag, I took:
- an RFID passport wallet that’s long enough to hold our boarding passes
- insulated water bottle
- hand fan, because I’m a woman of a certain age
- sunglasses
- sun hat
- battery pack
- sun sweater
- phone/charger
- Fitbit/charger
- earbuds/charger (these are so comfy, and the battery charge lasts forever!)
- Kindle/charger
- purse/wallet Lug, of course. I’m a LugNut
- planner/journal I wanted to keep up on my daily planner, and my friend Shannon gave me this lovely travel journal
- an extra outfit just in case
In my suitcase, I took:
- hiking sandals these had good reviews, although I think they might be discontinued
- travel towel
- swimsuit x 2 I’d heard it’s best to have two, so one gets a chance to dry out in between swims
- swimsuit cover up This was so beautiful!
- shorts (Costco)
- skort (Costco)
- bra tank tops x 3 I got size S, and they fit fine, but a M might have been easier to get on.
- dress I got this for my fancy days/nights
- dress I really liked this print
- breathable underwear these aren’t fashionable, but in 80% humidity, comfort is more important, lol
- bug repellent I got wipes because they don’t count as liquids in your carry-on
- laundry bag One of my favorite travel items
- light rain jacket (Costco)
- flip flops I bought mine on the Reef website because in reviews, people speculated that the Amazon ones were fakes. But the logo has just changed, lol. The ones I got from Reef were the same as the ones on Amazon!
- nude bra My favorite bra! No wire, the straps adjust in front, and so comfy!
- black bra Same as above. Only issue, they show in low-cut tops/dresses
- binoculars (I have a nice pair of Nikon binoculars, plus a cheaper pair from Amazon (I can’t find the link though))
- ear plugs Just in case
In my quart size liquids bag, I had:
- sunscreen we filled my husband’s quart bag with these
- Neosporin Just in case
- itch cream So glad I took this! I got so many bites!
- day face cream in a small container
- night face cream in a small container
- Boroleum nasal ointment – I can’t live without this stuff
- waterproof mascara
- toothpaste (from dentist office, lol)
- perfume decants I took decants of Alien Goddess, Chloé EDP, and Angel EDT
- shampoo & conditioner – I put my Prose shampoo and conditioner in the silicone travel bottles
I take several meds for my psoriatic arthritis, as well as my thyroid and migraine medications. I usually get the 90 day supply, and those bottles are pretty big. I went to the pharmacy, and asked if they could give me smaller bottles with the necessary information on the label, and they did! I had these, as well as some OTC meds we might need in a cosmetic pouch that I kept in my personal item bag.
We planned on washing clothes halfway through our trip, and that worked out really well. Also, I took a whole cosmetic bag full of makeup, and literally only used waterproof mascara and lipstick, lol. Live and learn. Costa Rica is too hot to wear makeup!
What are your favorite travel tips/items? Tell me in the comments below:
Molly's Mewsings 