A guide for how to pack one small carry-on bag ready for spending one week travelling Baja Mexico, including a downloadable JPEG list.
The trip:
A backpacker's first tip to saving money when travelling on a tight budget is to pack carry-on luggage only. Personally I carry 1 checked bag and 1 carry-on (because I'm still not great at packing light), but for shorter trips I always take just one small rucksack that fits within the airline's carry-on requirements.
Be careful: Some airlines will try and catch you out. Most airlines these days allow a small personal item (such a handbag or bum bag) AND a carry-on (a bag/suitcase/backpack option often with size and weight restrictions). BUT, some airlines can charge extra for the carry-on option so always make sure you know what's included with your ticket - you don't want extra fees surprising you later!!
My trip to Baja Mexico was a 6 night stay in Los Cabos, the most Southern Point in the state of Baja California Sur (South). The area of Los Cabos is made up of 2 cities, San Jose Del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, both are joined by an area known as 'the tourist corridor'.
Both cities offer very different atmospheres with San Jose Del Cabo being the quieter of the two. It's decorated with cobblestone streets, colourful flags and is bursting with artwork, we also found more local eateries and experiences. Cabo San Lucas is definitely the most tourist-heavy out of the two and features more nightlife, restaurants and marine sightseeing opportunities. For our trip we chose to book 3 nights in each city so that we had time to explore a little bit of what each had to offer.
I personally preferred San Jose Del Cabo as it offered a more laid back surfing vibe with local eateries and a lot less tourists. However, I did enjoy Cabo San Lucas and it does also have its benefits, it was a lot more friendly to the English speaking tourists, the hostel was fantastic and the area boasts plenty of snorkelling and whale watching opportunities (tip - if you speak Spanish you can bargain the prices with locals a little - we noticed that we paid significantly less for a boat trip than a family going out on the same trip at the same time because we were able to haggle with the guide).
Packing for this trip:
Packing for this trip was actually fairly simple, the weather for the week was going to be fairly consistent (averaged 22c in the daytime) and we had a carry-on bag option each. I know that when I travel to a new place I walk A LOT but knew that this trip would have a good balance of exploring, swimming and enjoying the beaches. We travelled at the end of February so the weather was great in the daytime but there were a few evenings where more layers were needed. We had baggage size restrictions for our flights but no weight restrictions but for a week travelling we were well within any limits (carry-on bags can sometimes have limits of 7kg/10kg, always check your airline requirements).
Packing list:
Clothing:
Dress x2 - I didn’t end up wearing either of these because I got sunburnt on the first two days and needed to wear the shirts that I had packed that offered more cover).
Shorts x2 - 1 x denim, 1 x sporty/fast-drying for beach days (pictured above).
Trousers x1 - Warmer item of clothing for cooler evening temperature and the plane journey.
T-shirts x3
Tank/vest top x2
Underwear x6
Bikini x1
Towel x1
Jumper/sweater x1 - for the cooler evening temperatures and the plane journeys.
Shoes:
Sandals x1 - my trusted sandals fold up flat and take up no space in my bag and I wore these the most.
Flip-flops x1 - hostel essentials.
Trainers x1 - Only really for the flights and evenings when it was cooler temperatures.
Toiletries:
Shampoo*
Deodorant*
Face wash*
Moisturiser*
Mini hairbrush
Makeup - concealer + mascara
1 extra pair of earrings
Toothpaste* + toothbrush
*(All carry-on size requirement friendly)
Other:
Book x1
Boo - my travel companion teddy bear.
Camera - I use my phone most of the time but bought a disposable single-use camera for this trip.
Bluetooth headphones - only used these on the 2 hour flight.
Battery pack
Lock - for hostel lockers.
Country plug converter block and charging cables
Handbag (for day use)
Passport
Downloadable JPEG:
(Right click and hit 'save as').
Note: I did not pack suncream for this trip, I didn't have one that fit carry-on liquid requirements and was naive enough to believe I'd be okay. I ended up having to buy one in Mexico of which they were all very expensive - I recommend packing some. Same goes for Aloe Vera/aftersun - very expensive in Mexico.
* Please always be aware to travel with reef safe suncream that protects nature and our surroundings. There's so many nasty chemicals in our day to day toiletries so be sure to look out for suncream that is marked reef safe.
Items that I didn't need/didn't end up using:
Bluetooth headphones - I only used these on the flights, of which these were only 2 hours long each way. Realistically I could have left them behind and saved room in my bag because they are bulky in their case. BUT, I was sat behind a crying child on the plane home and so the soundproof feature was extra useful.
Book - I packed a book for lounging on the beach, chilling in the hostel, waiting in the airport etc. but in reality when I'm exploring somewhere new I don't like having my head in a book, I like to be engaging with new people and surroundings. For those moments of quiet I rarely found myself picking up my book and so I didn't need to pack this.
Handbag - I should have taken my little bumbag in all honesty, then it would have been safer (not that we ever had an issue with safety) and more practical (I chose aesthetics over practicality, a poor backpackers choice).
Dresses - would like to have worn the two dresses that I packed but I was to sunburnt to wear them unfortunately.
It's all these little changes in your packing habits that will benefit the way you travel and your travel experience. The biggest part of travelling, or at least backpacking, is the...travelling, the literal journey from point A to point B, and if your luggage is poorly packed or over packed it just doesn't make the experience as enjoyable. I regularly see people struggling to lift heavy bags on and off transport and it is just a burden that isn't neccersary, i've been there.
Overall, for this trip, I was happy with everything that I packed. I was able to keep it light and condensed but also able to pack everything I'd like for a week away.
