Packing for Ecuador

How do you pack for being away from home for 3 months? Well, my first recommendation is do not wait until the night before to pack causing you to stay up until 1AM when you need to wake up at 3AM to catch your bus to the airport. Not that we did that or anything…

In all seriousness, we tried to pack as little stuff as we realistically could. We each took a travel backpack as our carry on and a small duffle bag as our personal item.

This was more luggage than we wanted to take. We were both hoping to get everything in our backpacks, but that just didn’t happen for us. Perhaps the last-minute packing was part of the problem.

Backpacks

My pack is the Tortuga Outbreaker 45L. I put this bag to the test on a long weekend in Colorado, a girl’s trip to Duluth, MN, and our 10-day cross country family road trip to Arizona and Utah. Making sure that it was the right bag before committing to 3 months was important to me. I have loved it so far and been really impressed with the quality and amount that I can fit into it. Keep reading, you’ll see.

Jacob uses the Nomatic 40L Travel Bag. This bag is sleeker and honestly looks better when carrying it, but it is smaller and does not fit as much. He loves all the different compartments to organize things in. It also came with a small day bag that has come in handy multiple times. We even used it as our hiking pack when we were out west.

Jacob and I have both traveled with roller-bag carry-ons and we enjoy using them. However, on international trips when we know we will be moving around a lot, it is nice to have a hands-free option. The frustration that mounted when trying to wheel a suitcase across cobblestone streets in Europe at 4AM convinced us both to try backpacks. I am loving the flexibility. My only complaint is I typically would use a backpack as my personal item. Obviously when this is your primary piece of luggage, the personal item must change. I don’t love traveling with a duffle bag, so if anyone has suggestions on another bag for a personal item, I am all ears! Overall, we are both pleased with our bags and neither of us would swap or change

Clothes

Full disclosure, I did a test pack the day my backpack got delivered to make sure everything would fit that I needed to take. Ecuador has many different climates so I knew I would need to have outfits ranging from days at the beach to days on snow-covered volcanoes. I have found the key to packing light is to bring all (or mostly) neutral colors. For me, that is black, white and gray. Then you can mix and match all your clothes, so you don’t feel like you are repeating the same outfits every single week. A good rule of thumb is if you can only wear it for a single purpose, leave it at home. Here is what I brought in my bag.

6 t-shirts / tank tops	1 black fleece	1 stocking hat
1 long sleeve shirt	1 rain jacket	1 pair gloves
2 pairs leggings	1 baseball hat	1 pair hiking boots
1 pair pants	3 sports bras	1 pair tennis shoes
3 pairs shorts	1 bra	1 pair sandals
7 pairs socks	1 lightweight beach towel	2 pairs pajamas
7 underwear	1 microfiber towel	1 pair sunglasses
2 swim suits	1 black dress	1 small purse

Toiletries

Most toiletries you can buy wherever you are going. My recommendation is only bring consumable toiletries if you are particular about the brand. For example, my face wash, sunscreen, makeup, etc. You will notice that shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are missing from the list below because I planned to buy them in Ecuador. Plus, I ran out of room in my 1 quart liquids bag, a constraint to consider when you are packing in carryon luggage only. I prioritized sunscreen. Ecuador sounds a lot like equator for a reason. It is literally on the equator. I didn’t want to run the risk of running out of sunscreen. An important note for the ladies – I don’t frequently find tampons in other countries. Pads seem to be everywhere. If you are a tampon person, I would bring some to be safe. Better yet, get yourself a menstrual cup and reduce your cost and waste even more. One final note. Toilet paper goes in the trash and is not flushed down the toilet here. Save yourself a potentially embarrassing situation and put the paper in the trash can.

Facewash	Wide tooth comb	Lotion
Bar of soap	4 tubes sunscreen	Chapstick
Toothpaste	Glasses	Makeup
Toothbrush	Contacts	Hair ties
Floss	Deodorant	Kleenex
Razor	Qtips	Menstrual cup
Nail clippers / file	Tweezers	Tampons

Electronics

This is the first time that I have traveled internationally with a laptop. Typically, we are on vacation and leave our computers at home. However, we are working while we are here, so the laptops are a must. We also recently purchased a GoPro and accessories. I hate lugging things around which makes the idea of a large camera miserable to me. I am sure I will bite the bullet someday because I love taking photos and video. There is only so much a cellphone camera and the GoPro can do. A hard drive is a must for me. If I am going through the effort of documenting things, I want to have a backup just in case. Just as important as backing up our memories is protecting our data and personal information. The first time we used a VPN while traveling was in China. I had a Google phone and I literally couldn’t do anything with it if I wasn’t on VPN. Securing your digital data is very underrated. When traveling, you often use public WIFI and it is worth the few dollars a month to make sure everything is secure. You won’t need an outlet adaptor for Ecuador if you are from the US. The outlets here are just like the ones at home in the states. However, our adaptor is one little box with multiple USB ports at the bottom, so it is handy to have on hand.

Laptop and charger	Headphones
Phone and charger	Go Pro and charger
Power strip	Go Pro mounts
Outlet adaptor	Hard drive
Portable power bank	VPN

Coffee Gear

Yep, I gave my coffee addiction its own category. Feel free to skip this section if coffee isn’t your thing. Coffee, the perfect way to start my day. I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to coffee (okay maybe not just when it comes to coffee). I genuinely enjoy making the best cup of coffee I possibly can. My electric burr grinder, Fellow kettle, and locally roasted beans await me when I get back to the US, but I couldn’t bring those items with me. Several weeks before we left, I tested out different ways to get the best possible cup of coffee on the road without needing an entire suitcase for my coffee stuff. I settled on the AeroPress as my brewing method. It makes a great cup of coffee, is a forgiving brewing method, and the filters are incredibly compact. I also bought a small hand grinder and my brother-in-law loaned me his compact scale to bring. I chose to bring a small amount of beans from home to get me started in Ecuador. I know that Ecuador is known for growing some amazing coffee, but I didn’t know how easily I would be able to get good coffee. I certainly didn’t want to be left with no beans after the effort that went into choosing and bringing a brewing method with me. I have been very satisfied with the items I have brought so far. While I miss my electric kettle, it is pretty easy to heat water on the stove in the mornings. Do you travel with a coffee set-up? Drop me a comment if so. I would love to know what you are using!

• AeroPress
• AeroPress filters
• Coffee beans
• Hand grinder
• Scale

Other

What an ambiguous category yet it is just as long as the previous ones. This is the catch all section, but the one that might be most useful to anyone new to international travel especially. Some of these things I don’t pack on domestic trips.

• Water bottle – I use a Nalgene. I prefer glass and stainless steel water bottles at home, but on the road, you really can’t beat the lightweight, durable Nalgene.
• Bug spray
• First aid kit – a few different sizes of band aids, Neosporin, and antiseptic wipes
• Medication
  • Ibuprofen
  • Benadryl
  • Dramamine
  • Charcoal
  • Any other prescriptions or supplements you might have
• Journal – I bring my travel journal on every international trip.
• Planner – I mostly brought this to Ecuador because I use it for work. If I was on vacation, I wouldn’t have brought it.
• Pens / pencils – Always keep a pen or two handy when you fly internationally. You will almost always have to fill out a form or two for immigration when you land at your destination and it is so nice to have your own pen.
• Travel locks – Make sure they are TSA approved if you are flying.
• 2 reusable grocery bags – These have come in handy for so many things but they are particularly useful in countries where markets are very common.
• Platypus bladder 2L – This is my extra water source for long hikes. I like that I can fold it up when I am not using it.
• Masks – Currently masks are required because of Covid-19, but not a bad idea if you pick up a cold on the road.
• Travel clothesline – This is the first trip we have had one and I am obsessed! I don’t know what we did without it. We are right on the beach in Salinas, and it is so convenient to hang our wet beach stuff out on the balcony when we get home.
• Sink stopper – Perfect if you need to do an emergency bit of laundry but don’t have access to a washing machine.

Documents

Possibly the only category that is essential, and I leave it for last. Before we leave for the airport, we always ask each other “passport, wallet, cellphone?”. Because if we have those 3 things, we could figure the rest out if we forgot it. Without our passports and wallets, we would not be getting very far. I bring paper copies of our passports just in case something happens to the original. Depending on your destination, you may need certain vaccines, so that information would be critical to bring.

I also like to bring a paper with our flight details in and out of the country as well as the address of where we are staying. More than once my phone has failed me in a foreign country and my foreign language skills have never been strong enough to explain where we are trying to go. For example, my phone stopped working at the border of France and the UK. The immigration agent was less than friendly with me since I did not have proof to show him that we would in fact be leaving the UK at some point. Eventually, he let us go, but I learned my lesson. I will always have a printed copy with me if I can help it.

Access to money is the final item. We don’t always bring cash. We rarely travel with any cash at all. The first thing we do when we get to another country is find an ATM. The places that you can exchange USD for foreign currency are going to charge you hefty fees. We have had good luck with our ATM strategy. However, you should know how you are getting from the airport to your accommodations and whether you will need local currency before not bringing any cash.

Passports and photocopies	Flight details	Debit card
Vaccination card and photocopies	Insurance cards	Driver’s license
Address of lodging	Credit cards	Cash

That is it! Seems like so much more when it is all written out than it does packed in my backpack and duffel bag. But don’t get me wrong, our bags were just shy of bursting. Anytime we travel for more than 5 days, we plan to do laundry on the road. We have found the occasional laundry day is a nice way to slow down and catch up on life things. Let us know your thoughts here. Did we forget anything? Did we pack way too much? What surprised you on this list? We would love to know!