Anyone else out there find packing for a trip to a developing nation—like for a mission trip—a sigh-inducing task? Totally worth it, but it sure does take a lot of time and brainpower.
Soooo many decisions to make, right? What do you bring, what do you not bring, what can’t you live without, and what do you need an extra of?
…Could I really need gloves and sandals on the same trip?
The more you do it, the easier it gets, but, not gonna lie, it’s still a major endeavor. And, as a woman traveler, there are some additional things we have to take into consideration to be safe and culturally appropriate.
In our office, we’ve done a lot of travel… which means we’ve learned some things along the way—ahem, sometimes the hard way. (Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the details on why I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat French onion soup again.)
Anyway. We’d like your trip to go as smoothly as possible, and a lot of that has to do with being well-prepared and packing the right things. So I asked some of the women on our staff if they had travel tips or any “I-never-leave-home-without-these” items they would like to share with you.
And then I combined it all into a thorough packing list for you, complete with a range of useful tips from saving money to safety. There’s lots more on the list, but that’s a quick idea of the types of things you’ll find on it:
- how to get the best exchange rate for your money
- why you might want to bring probiotics, Clorox wipes and Crocs
- why not to wear shorts in developing nations
- why you might want to bring dish soap
- downloading books from your library to your device (for free!)
- which setting to put your phone on to avoid hefty international charges
I mean, really, what other list has 372 “essential” items on it? Just kidding. I promise there are under 150 items on there. It is thorough, but useful. Click here to download it.
So, happy packing. I hope you have a wonderful life-changing adventure that impacts and blesses you and everyone you reach out to.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask! If you think I’m missing something on the list, let me know! Send me an email at Sarah.Marchmont@brighthope.org or send us a message on Facebook.
