I’m back from my beautiful vacation to Veradero, Cuba.

It was amazing!

Mostly…

I suck at packing, I bring the wrong things and the wrong amounts so just in case you are like me and aren’t a packing for vacation genius, here’s a list that may help you out.

Packing List

• Band Aids (especially if you are wearing sandals for the first time, ouch!)
• Mini first aid kit (peroxide, polysporin, ibuprofen, pepto bismol, again band aids)
• Your own insulated tumbler for drinks (way better than the little plastic cups you get your drinks in)
• Multiple bathing suits (at least 3!)
• Your own beach towel (alternate between days in the case of not being able to exchange them)
• Sun dresses (it’s likely way more hot and humid than you think)
• Lots of  Sunscreen
• Plastic Bag (Likely your check out time will be early on your last day and you won’t want to put any wet bathing suits etc. in with your luggage.
• Back Pack (consider this instead of a big beach bag & is very useful for excursions and shopping)
• Spray conditioner (after salt water and/or chlorine your combing will become much easier)
• Snacks (if you need to munch in between meals)

If I had made this list prior to my trip I would have been better off, except it was going on the trip that taught me what to put on the list.

My main suggestion if your destination is somewhere like Cuba is to bring the mini first aid kit. Once I arrived home and was able to doctor my feet up (blisters) they began to heal right away however, during my trip my feet ached because of the blisters and I’m sure were mildly infected.

What to bring the Maids

Often we like to bring gifts and things for the maids/staff and the people of the country we are visiting.

Visiting Cuba we knew that bringing gifts would be really appreciated being that we have many amenities that they don’t.

We brought various items for the maids and loaded up on candy and toys for kids. Everything is appreciated but there are things that are more beneficial to the residents of poorer countries than others.

Here’s my tips on what to bring.

• shampoo & conditioners (are expensive locally and are greatly appreciated)
• razors, tampons, any toiletries (are hard to come by and is extremely useful for them)
• ibuprofen (again, hard to come by)
• Shoes you no longer wear, especially runners (they don’t have the options we do for shoe selection and comfy runners are a superb gift especially for the housekeeping staff. Any and all sizes for kids as well)
• Light clothing you no longer wear (just keep in mind the weather and give appropriate types of clothing)

We left a combination of gifts and pesos for the housekeeping staff daily and gave out the toys to some kids we saw while visiting the town of Veradero.

While in town we were approached by women asking for shampoos or anything of the sort but we didn’t have any. Next time I will know that those things are more essential to bring.

One of the maids asked me if she could buy my shoes, I was wearing pink skechers and it ripped my heart out that I turned her down. If I had another pair of shoes I would have certainly given them to her. I then realized that bringing shoes I no longer wear would have been a really great idea.

I could go on forever about how much we have that we take for granted but that’s not my point right now, my point is that there are many things we could bring as gifts and these are some of the most sought after.

Hopefully this helps you when you’re packing for your next vacation.