My definitive packing guide for a spring trip to Costa Rica

A few weeks ago I was here sweating over what I should pack for Costa Rica. Now that the trip is behind me, I can share my experience of what to bring on the trip in a more helpful way. Anyone clicking on this post was probably questioning the veracity of the headline because it left more questions than answers about what to bring on a trip.

I must first do a little bragging that I mostly hit the nail on the head with what I ended up bringing. I made a few notes to myself about what would have been nice to round it out. Here is my definitive list for a week that included San Jose, light to moderate hiking in the rain forest (sans rain) and a couple days of activities that included horseback riding and zip lining.

Here was our seven day itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in San Jose (we had the afternoon and evening free to explore but most things were closed due to Easter week)

Day 2: Irazu Volcano (near Cartago) and afternoon visit to a hot springs

Day 3: Transfer to Tortuguero (Braulio Carrillo Park and Tortuguero National Park)

Day 4: Tortuguero (jungle walk, tour of small island town)

Day 5: Transfer day – Tortuguero to Arenal area

Day 6: Coffee and sugarcane tour in the morning (kids and I spent the afternoon at the pool while the other adults went into town for shopping and lunch) Horseback riding in the late afternoon

Day 7:  Sky Adventure hiking, hanging bridges, aerial tram and zip lining, transfer back to San Jose for an early morning flight the next day

Clothing

• 1 pair of comfy stretch jeans
• 1 lightweight workout pants
• 3 long sleeve tops
• 4 sleeveless tops
• 3 pair shorts
• 1 pair long shorts
• 1 running shorts
• 2 workout type tops
• 1 pair pj’s
• 1 pair hiking sandals
• 1 pair flip flops
• 1 pair flats
• 2 bathing suits
• 1 pair of underwear for each day we’d be there and a few bras (regular and exercise)
• 1 raincoat
• Sunglasses
• A jungle type hat
• Large plastic zip lock type bags (these came in handy after leaving the jungle area because all the clothes were heavy with humidity)

Clothes items I wish I had:

• Warm sweatshirt or jacket (it gets cool at night in the jungle area)
• Sneakers (for the visit to Irazu volcano and some of the walking we did)
• More underwear (some days in the jungle required multiple showers)
• Dressier clothes (I somehow thought this trip would be one endless workout and dressed more for comfort – the evenings could have been a time to dress up a little more)
• Another pair of long pants for the cooler evenings
• A bathing suit cover up for our day at the hot springs
• A few grocery type bags to transport wet bathing suit (we visited a hot springs one day and I didn’t have anything to separate our wet bathing suits from the rest of the stuff
• An unworn outfit for the plane ride home. We lucked out and there was laundry service at one of the hotels so I had a few things washed for the trip home.

Everything Else

• A high end camera, low end camera and phones for pictures. I was made fun of for bringing a selfie stick but it was very handy. I bought a cheap one and while it did the trick, I would have upgraded this item.
• 2 Go Pros (a first generation and a Hero5 which could be manipulated from the phone)
• Costa Rica travel guide from the library (with map)
• Binoculars
• Snacks for the plane and for our picky eater
• Two backpacks
• Portable chargers and cords for all our devices
• Kindle
• Waterproof cross body bag (I highly recommend this one)
• Water bottle (This is a must have and I only brought one – there are always places to fill your water bottle. I ended up leaving it there.)
• A large, waterproof map of Costa Rica (unnecessary as they provided one to us when we arrived)
• Flashlight and headlight (we used both)
• Sunscreen
• Bug repellent
• First aid kit (I had a comprehensive first aid kit and only used Aleve for soreness after the horseback ride)
• Costa Rican cash (colón) We converted $300 US into colónes and that along with using credit/debit cards was fine. Most of the trip had been pre-paid through our travel agent.
• Travel size toiletries, minimal makeup and Living Proof No Frizz shampoo
• And last and most importantly, my journal, which I brought everywhere and wrote in my spare time. I almost left it behind on the bus on the next to last day but I had a special angel watching over me and it was retrieved!

So there you have it. I definitely overthink these things but in the end it paid off. I was very comfortable with everything I brought even leaving some of those “would-have-been-nice” items at home. The weather ranged from high 60’s to high 80’s and virtually no rain.

Hopefully I didn’t forget anything essential!

MC