Packing List?
 

Anyone know where I can get a good packing list? Or maybe you have a couple of itmes that you can can recommend as "must haves" that I might forget. Thanks for your help! My trip is less than a month away and I am getting VERY nervous, as my husband is horrible with helping plan trips. usually I have to do all the research and work.

Mosey10, Where are you going? What will you be doing - beach, hiking, cruising? Give us a bit more information and we'll be happy to help.

We are going to Arenal and then Peace Lodge. It's a 6 day trip the first week of May. We plan on canopy tour, white water rafting, the hot springs, cofee tour, hanging bridges, and nature watching at La Paz Waterfalls. We don't plan EXTENSIVE hiking, but I'm sure we'll have some hiking for the tours we take. I did a search and found some good lists, but will welcome any other recommendations you may have. Thanks so much! :)

Besides the suggestions you'll receive here, if you 'google' the words Packing Lists there are a bunches of websites on the subject. god bless the internet!

Oops, sorry I didn't read your second post carefully. Sounds like you already tried this.

This thread has the best suggestions in a nutshell:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34554587

http://www.onebag.com/
I thought this was helpful.

For Arenal especially, bring rain gear. We just got back this weekend and it rained every day were there. It was actually quite chilly in the evenings, too. We did fine with our quick dry pants and windbreakers.

This is what I send my guests:

Costa Rica Check List:

Alarm Clock (some hotels have them, never hurts to have 2)

Camera - extra film needed (San Jose is the only place that might have a specific item you need, best to bring extra with you.) This is sometimes a forgotten item…. Batteries for special cameras, too!

Binoculars, if you have them

One or two small flashlights w/extra batteries. Those little long ones are great.

Deep Woods Off or product with Deet

Sun screen with a high number *We are 9 degrees from the Equator
Small children often get serious burns here…. Please protect always.

Lowlands and beaches: Bathing Suit, Closed-Toed shoes, Sandals, Shorts, Long cotton pants, Windbreaker or sweater, Poncho (just in case) or folding umbrella or both,
Socks. Perhaps a sun visor or hat.
Mountains: Jacket, sweater, extra socks, warmer pants.

Copy of each of your passports. Keep them on you instead of the original ones. However, if needing banking services, your original Passport is all they will accept. Keep your Passports in a safe place.
Leave a copy at home with family in case of loss.

Copy the emergency phone list for friends and family giving the names of the hotels where you will be staying and the dates. Please keep one with your passport while you are here.
And give one to family or friends back home in case of emergency. Put emergency number in Passport and on copies.

Inside money belt, not a bad idea.

And, a big smile, for the camera!

Learn the song "Singing in the Rain" for the rainforest! And practice "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" for the rivers!

(Try to remember not to sing while you are hunting for animals!)


Soon, you will be in the tropics of Costa Rica!

HOP

I don't recall seeing whether or not you'll have a car, but I'm pretty sure the driver of the car has to have his/her original passport with him/her while driving. Otherwise, we all just had copies of our passports. If you are driving, I recommend bringing a tire gauge. When we picked up our rental, I checked the tires and they were only at 15 psi, so we ended up filling them with air right away.
We always bring a bunch of ziplocs and duct tape.
Shoes seem to be an issue for people trying to pack light. We brought Keens (similar to tevas, but with toes), flip flops, and tennis shoes. We didn't really ever use the shoes. I wish I had brought a nicer pair of sandals instead to wear to dinner.
We also made a conversion chart of colones to dollars to refer to when one too many Imperials made it difficult to do quick math!

Haha - HOP - Love that list! I totally second everything on it. Here is my own list... fyi... Have fun!

Malia

WHAT TO BRING: Hiking boots & slippers. Swim suit & towel. I loved having my camelback. Definitely binoculars! Note that there are American electric outlets in most hotels, so if you brought an iPod, you could charge it. Flashlight is helpful. We especially loved our headlamp. I brought Advil & pepto but never used it. We brought rain jackets but never used them (still think it’s a good idea to have them in Monteverde though). DEFINITELY bring an alarm clock as none of our hotels had one and our cell phone clocks (obviously, duh!) didn't work there.

I agree with with dcmalia.We used our little headlight a few times(lights went out,walking the roads in Monteverde and reading in the dark).Also a travel clock or watch because many hotels do not have them.