We’re putting together the last of our stuff for our Mexican Summer Adventure to the Yucatan and Quintana Roo Region and wanted to share the list with you. Our plan for the 14 nights covers a lot of different areas and activities and we have only hired a small car for the road trip so packing light and covering everything is essential. So here goes -> Our Mexican Road Trip Packing List for families.
Mexican Road Trip Packing List
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For the trip, we are taking 2 adult backpacks for in the hold and then each of us will have a carryon and I have a personal bag only.
I have a Women’s 60+10l Berghaus backpack and Jez has an 80L Eurohike one.
Car SeatS and Mexico
We’re also taking our own booster car seats. As far as we can tell Mexico doesn’t have specific car seat laws for over 5s however, in our own car both of the kids use car seats and we would feel much more comfortable.
It’s something that we’ve done since the kids were little. We used the car rental agency seats twice and decided after that it was a bad choice and have since packed our own we researched the best travel car seat options using the guide over on The Family Voyage for our aged kids and bought ones that we use specifically for the kids when we travel.
These will be bagged up and put in the hold when we arrive at the airport.
ClotheS
As we are packing light we are expecting to wash the clothes along the way as I would normally when travelling. This will likely be in the sink at the hotels so I have bought a simple travel washing line that we can hang up in the bathroom to dry the things is there is no other way to dry.
All 4 of us have similar packing apart from both T and I are taking 1 summer dress with us and the boys a smarter pair of trousers/shorts and a smart shirt. This is because some of the hotels and haciendas we are staying in have restaurants and they look smarter than our normal gear.
So apart from underwear here’s our list!
- Light Weight Hiking Trousers – the kids have Craghoppers Kiwi II trousers with NosiDefence
- Zip Off Trousers
- 3 pair of shorts
- 5 T-shirts
- 2 rash guards for sun protection
- 2 swimsuits
- 1 lightweight long-sleeved top
- Sweater for evenings and on the flight
- Hat
Shoes
We’re each taking 3 pairs of shoes with us.
We’ve got lightweight walking boots. We’re visiting the jungle and ruins on the trip and although I am sure we could go with trainers or walking shoes again from experience it’s better to have the ankle support.
Then we’ve got water sandals with closed toes so we won’t stub our toes.
The kids have then decided to pack their croc/flip flops, Jez a pair of trainers for driving and me my Merrel Sandals as they look a little smarter than my water sandals.
Wash Gear and Sun Protection
Earlier this week I wrote a post about our search for reef-safe sun protection in the UK so obviously, we are taking that but we are also putting in some normal sun protection for the days that we are just normally travelling. It’s all SPF 50 and none clear in fact, most of it is kids sun protection as it provides the best coverage.
Then our wash gear is pretty simple. I don’t wear make-up every day and from experience (yes I did try it when living in Costa Rica) I never wear make-up in the tropics.
So we are taking
- Shampoo bar – We have 2 different sorts because of the family hair (these are also great as they double as clothes washing soap as well!) ours are from Lush
- Conditioner bar – again this is from Lush T and I will be using this
- Soap – instead of shower gel we take a bar of moisturising soap with us this means no plastic here either
- Toothbrushes and toothpaste
- After sun – we use an Aloe Gel as we’ve found this the best if we do get burnt
- Cleansing bar – this is from Lush and plastic-free
- Moisturiser
We’re also taking towels – it’s something I’ve learnt from travelling is that a towel will double as a blanket as well as a towel and you never know when it will come in handy. Most of the time these will live in the hire car as they will be particularly useful if it starts to rain whilst we are out and about to dry off.
Insect Repellent
We’ve gone for more Eco-Friendly Insect Repellent so as well as the NosiDefence trousers and longer sleeved tops we’ve got 2 DEET free repellents with us.
One is Avon Skin So Soft which I’ve used before in the jungle with success and the other a new to us that we will report back on when we return.
First Aid Kit
Due to my allergies and experiences, I have had travelling I always take a fairly well-stocked first aid kit.
I’ll write a post about it in more detail but a few of the things that we consider essentials are below
- Wound cleaner
- Antiseptic wipes
- Diaheria medication and rehydration sachets
- Fever reduction medication
- Anti-histamines including liquid and creams
The first aid is all in a washbag it keeps it safe and at home, we keep it in the same place as well.
Snorkel Gear
We have some beach days at the end of the trip as well as opportunities to swim in Cenotes throughout the trip and after buying our snorkel gear last year we will be taking that with us.
Each of us has:
- Snorkel mask
- Snorkle
- Fins
Cameras
Since I was 16 I have been documenting my travels with photography and more recently taking over my dad’s job of video as well so we will be taking cameras with us.
We’ve got a selection plus the phone cameras that we will carry with us
I’m bringing my Canon EOS 750 DSLR with 2 different lenses a Tamron 70 – 300mm lens and the standard 18 – 55mm lens.
The kids and I will be using our Olympus Tough which will take video as well as stills and can go underwater.
Jez is taking over the majority of the video as we now have a GoPro – so do watch out for some videos coming up.
Extras
We’re taking a couple of other things as well.
Books – kids reading and for us. I have a Kindle which will go in my personal bag but I always travel with a real book as well.
Torches – all the family have torches.
Activity kits for the kids and some small board games.
When I write it all down it seems a huge amount… but it’s all going into 2 backpacks and 4 daypacks for the plane. Plus it’s about the same that we normally take. So there you go our packing list for our Mexican Road Trip this Summer!
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