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The ultimate Costa Rica packing list: what to pack to stay healthy, happy, and bug-bite free in Costa Rica.

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After 4 journeys to Costa Rica, I’ve discovered two issues: one, my hair NEVER appears good within the jungle; and two, there are a couple of important items of journey gear that may make it easier to totally embrace the idea of “Pura Vida” … and stop you from spending your complete journey scratching bug bites whereas parked below your resort room’s A/C.

Our Costa Rica packing record will cowl the specifics of what to convey and why, however we’re not going to let you know, like, precisely how pairs of underwear to pack – we belief you’ll be able to determine that out by yourself. (Rule of thumb: one per day of your journey.)

As a substitute, we’re specializing in the precise stuff you’ll have to make your journey to Costa Rica as fantastic and memorable as attainable, so that you don’t look again and cringe since you obtained a horrible ear an infection and spent the remainder of your trip depressing. (Why sure: that’s how I spent the second half of my third journey to Costa Rica.)

On this important Costa Rica packing record, we’re together with the whole lot it’s essential to convey to remain cool, snug, bug-bite-free and blissfully un-sunburnt. Let’s go!

Want some assist packing to your subsequent journey? We’ve created 5 FREE Printable Packing Lists with the whole lot it’s essential to plan your subsequent journey. We’ll additionally ship our favourite journey suggestions straight to your inbox! Simply enroll beneath.

Psst: In search of extra journey suggestions? Take a look at a few of our different useful posts!

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Costa Rica At-a-Look 🐒

Right here’s a bite-sized snapshot of the whole lot it’s essential to know to plan your journey!

  • When to Go: The best time is June & July, aka “inexperienced season,” when costs are low and the rain takes a break.
  • The place to Keep: Hostel Plinio close to Manuel Antonio NP is an incredible, budget-friendly hostel. Aguila de Osa Rainforest Lodge close to Corcovado NP is an unimaginable, sustainble eco-lodge within the rainforest overlooking the ocean – mainly, paradise!
  • How one can Get Round: Public transportation is superb in Costa Rica. Buses will get you all over the place it’s essential to go!
  • High 3 Highlights: Ziplining & hanging bridges by means of the cloud forest cover in Monteverde, snorkelling in Corcovado Nationwide Park, white water rafting in La Fortuna.
  • Earlier than You Go: Book travel insurance!

What to Pack for Costa Rica

Suitcase packed with beach essentials next to a snoozing dog.
Backpack or suitcase? Jeremy prefers his Away suitcase, however Lia swears by her Pacsafe carry-on backpack! (Our canine, in the meantime, hates all baggage as a result of it’s an indication that we’re about to go away for a visit – until we begin packing her stuff too, after which she will get all excited.)

What to Pack Stuff In

Certain, you will get away with a suitcase filled with bunched-up garments, however you’ll be a lot happier with well-organized baggage – particularly in case you’re touring for an extended time period or visiting a number of locations!

Unpacking and re-packing each few days is such a chore, and staying organized will make it a LOT much less depressing.

Right here’s what to pack your stuff in so that you keep organized and may simply transfer from place to put.

  • Carry-On Baggage: For many journeys, you’ll need to pack carry-on solely to save cash and trouble. You don’t need to be lugging an enormous suitcase down a dust street from the bus station and up 3 flights of stairs! For suitcases, we’re enormous followers of Away carry-on luggage (we additionally love this inexpensive Away dupe). If you happen to want a sturdy backpack, Lia swears by this PacSafe backpack. It’s snug, roomy, and theft deterrent – it’s Lia’s go-to backpack for carry-on journey.
  • Packing CubesWe LOVE packing cubes. Nothing makes unpacking your stuff and placing it away once more simpler than packing cubes. To not point out it retains you organized – and sane. Even in case you aren’t a packing dice convert, we advocate rolling your clothes moderately than folding it, which saves house and likewise helps stop wrinkles. Win-win!  
  • Laundry Bag, Toiletry Bag, & Shoe Bag: Whenever you’re touring, something inside your baggage is gonna get throughout the whole lot else. So we hold them separate utilizing totally different baggage (plus packing cubes for our clothes). Our laundry goes in a laundry bag so it doesn’t get moldy or scent up our clear garments. The sneakers we aren’t sporting match into just a little shoe bag so we don’t get no matter we’re strolling by means of throughout our stuff (gross). And this hanging toiletry bag retains our belongings shielded from leaks, spills, or moisture. FWIW, we’ve tried utilizing plastic baggage – however they tear actually simply and are lots tougher to exchange whereas touring than you’d suppose! Plus, re-usable baggage are additionally extra earth pleasant.
  • Day Bag: We sometimes every carry a day bag on journeys. This cute backpack is ideal for some snacks, a few jackets, a travel umbrella, cameras, telephones, and no matter we’d like for the day. It additionally doubles as our lockable carry-on valuables bag whereas on transit, which is vital for security (by no means let your passport, digicam, or laptop computer out of your sight on journey days)! For extra energetic days, we pack up a Camelbak Hydration Pack that matches 70oz of water along with all our gear. It’s good for hikes or exploring on scorching days while you’ll want to remain further hydrated!
Lia Walking on Beach in Corcovado National Park Costa Rica carrying a pair of shoes
Rocking these pants and carrying my Allbird Tree Skippers. Why am I not sporting sandals on the seashore, you ask? As a result of we rode horses to get to this seashore and I used to be advised to put on close-toed sneakers! Would I like to recommend sporting cropped pants on a 4-hour horseback trip? No. Don’t try this. (The sneakers had been nice, although.)

What to Put on in Costa Rica

Once we pack for Costa Rica, we’re often aiming for consolation above cuteness – however I do wish to sneak in a little bit of each every time I can!

OK hear, I’m simply gonna be actual with you: my main aim for my clothes in Costa Rica is to maintain me from drowning in sweat (or at the least, assist me cool off rapidly if/when I’m inevitably sweaty). Second precedence, scent (no thanks). Third precedence, really wanting cute.

One other main problem is to pack for quite a lot of actions and temperatures. On most up-to-date journey, we wanted to pack clothes for rain, the cool mountain air of Monteverde, the new tropical rainforests of Manuel Antonio and Corcovado, climbing, and snorkeling/diving/swimming.

Some days, we dressed for a hike or horseback trip, turned into beachwear midway by means of, dried off, after which put our previous clothes on. So all of our clothes wanted to be very quick-dry and packable too (as a result of nothing makes a hike or horseback trip extra depressing than an enormous, heavy backpack).

However it may be performed! We’ve obtained a couple of essential options which are as much as the challenges of Costa Rica, and sure, a few of them are even cute.

Right here’s the perfect clothes to pack to your journey (for women and men, and everybody in between)!

  • Wool Clothes: Sure, significantly. Merino wool is a miracle journey cloth. It retains you cool when it’s scorching AND retains you heat when it’s chilly. When it will get moist, you’ll keep snug whereas your clothes dries. It naturally resists the expansion of fungus and micro organism, so it by no means stinks – a must have for journey! It’s even flame retardant. What extra might you ask for? At present’s efficiency wool isn’t just like the itchy wool of the previous – it’s skinny, stretchy, and tremendous gentle to the contact, like cotton. We extremely advocate wool clothes for journey. Right here’s what we introduced:
  • Hemp Clothes: Very like merino wool, hemp is a unbelievable journey textile. It’s additionally temperature regulating, that means it’s cool to the contact and retains you cool when it’s scorching (but additionally insulates you when it’s chilly out). It’s additionally naturally anti-bacterial, so that you gained’t get that pungent “I’ve been sweating on this for every week straight” scent. And as an enormous bonus, hemp is extra sustainable than most different textiles, requiring little water and virtually no pesticides to thrive and develop. Hemp is even in a position to clear up polluted soil, making it a software for really combating in opposition to local weather change. Hell yeah! As a result of it’s not a brilliant fashionable textile (but), it’s just a little laborious to search out. One in every of our favourite eco-friendly clothes manufacturers, prAna, makes a fantastic hemp line – browse women’s and men’s. (Lia loves this comfy t-shirt!)
  • Fast Drying Shorts (His & Hers): We’re obsessive about the Zion line from prAna, which is what our favoite climbing pants are produced from. These shorts are produced from the identical stretchy, high-tech, quick-drying cloth! Jeremy’s shorts double as each the shorts he wears day by day and a swimsuit. They’re a 2-for-1 (which implies much less house in your carry-on) they usually look nice, too! They dry rapidly, making them good for hopping out and in of waterfalls, rivers, and the ocean after which resuming your regular journey actions.
  • Mountain climbing & Journey Journey Pants (His & Hers): You’re going to want a pair of pants that serve a number of functions and are up for journey wherever: seashore, jungle, river, mountains, and metropolis. Fortunately, these superior prAna climbing pants had been designed with journey and climbing in thoughts and had been as much as each problem we threw at them. They’re additionally quick-dry, so I even wore them whereas white-water rafting and waterfall rappelling in San Gil.
  • Breezy, comfy everyday pants: Permit me to introduce you to the proper scorching climate journey pants! I found these wonderful pants at Outdated Navy whereas purchasing for my journey, and it was love at first try-on. They’re SUPER light-weight and take up little or no suitcase house when rolled up. They’re snug and stretchy, quick-drying, and simply the correct size. And so they’re cute as hell! I purchased a bunch of differet colours as a result of generally stuff goes out of inventory and by no means comes again, and I want these pants. (I additionally love these pants, produced from the identical cloth however with vertical zippers, which can also be tremendous journey pleasant. And so they are available a wider vary of sizes as much as 4X.)

Notice: We didn’t record out the whole lot right here, so ensure you pack loads of fundamentals! Typically, for decent climate I actually love cotton/cotton blends and linen, along with hemp and merino.

Lia and Jeremy on the beach at Manuel Antonio National Park in Quepos, Costa Rica.
Let’s faux we’re fashions and name that sweat a pleasant “glow” from the hike to get to this seashore at Manuel Antonio Nationwide Park. Jeremy is sporting his Teva Sandals and quick-dry shorts, and Lia is sporting her favourite hot-weather travel pants and Teva sandals.

The Greatest Footwear to Pack for Costa Rica

From climbing within the cloud forests of Monteverde to canyoning and white-water-rafting in La Fortuna to exploring town streets of San Jose, we had all kinds of actions deliberate for our journey to Costa Rica.

Fortunately, we introduced alongside 3 good pairs of sneakers that had been up for the whole lot!

We now have robust opinions on journey sneakers – we have now full posts about our favourite women’s travel shoes & men’s travel shoes.

Listed here are the three important sneakers we advocate bringing with you in your journey:

  • Mountain climbing Footwear: If you happen to’ll be going climbing like we did, we advocate a pair of light-weight path runners (His & Hers). They’re light-weight, breathe properly, and have insane grip. They had been made for operating on mud, grime, and gravel, so their high quality is unimaginable. Additionally due to that, they’re good climbing sneakers. So no, you don’t have to stuff your heavy climbing boots in your baggage!
  • Teva Sandals (his & hers): When it’s scorching, we just about put on these sneakers every time we’re not climbing. Not solely are the snug and rugged sufficient to stroll for miles snug (sure, you’ll be able to even hike in them!) however additionally they double as water shoes. They are saying strapped tightly to your toes within the water and are good for journey sports activities like canyoning or rafting. Plus, they’re light-weight, sturdy, and cute!
  • AllBirds Slip-On Footwear (His & hers): For days while you don’t need to put on your climbing sneakers or your sandals, these are the proper on a regular basis journey shoe. They’re light-weight and breathable, good for decent climate – and the only is produced from merino, which implies it takes lots for them to get smelly and also you don’t have to put on them with socks! These are the sneakers we sometimes put on on metropolis days and journey days.

With these three sneakers stuffed into your suitcase (don’t fear, they’ll match) you’ll be greater than lined for all of your adventures!

What to Pack for Rain in Costa Rica

We booked our most up-to-date journey to Costa Rica in July, which falls squarely in the midst of Costa Rica’s wet season. However don’t fear: all meaning is that it’s just about assured to rain as soon as per day, particularly within the jungle or the rainforest.

If you happen to’re ready, rain on a visit isn’t any large deal (and truthfully, we love an excellent excuse to take a seat indoors and do nothing however calm down and hearken to the rain).

If you happen to’re not ready, it may be tremendous irritating, inflicting you to cancel enjoyable actions and even smelling up your bag with moist clothes. Yikes!

Listed here are the three necessities you’ll need to convey to organize for rain:

  • Extremely-Mild Rain Jackets (His & Hers): Our favourite rain jackets are a few of the greatest jackets for journey. They’re ultralight and pack down into nothing so that they’re simple to hold round in our day baggage every day simply in case, they usually’re extremely water repellant.
  • Travel Umbrella: This teeny travel umbrella is extremely light-weight, teeny tiny, and even has a helpful carrying case in case it’s essential to fold it up and shove it again in your bag. Regardless of its small dimension, it does its job effectively, and it dries rapidly when it’s performed! That stated, it’s not like .. essentially the most STURDY umbrella – tremendous excessive winds will certainly flip it inside out. However we adore it as a result of it’s so small and light-weight that we simply depart it completely in our day bag and overlook it’s there till we’d like it, and we’re all the time glad to search out it once more!
  • Waterproof SocksIf you happen to’ll be climbing in rain or mud, you’ll need to pack a pair of those so that you’re not squelching round all day lengthy. We don’t carry cumbersome climbing boots with us, so these are welcome addition to our path runners.

Simply hold these 3 rain necessities in your day bag every day, and also you’ll by no means be caught unprepared in a rainstorm!

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