What to pack for a Sayulita backpacking trip

The best packing list for Sayulita is a short one. It is hot, it is casual, you will wear the same three things, and almost anything you forget can be bought within a five-minute walk — usually for less than it costs at home.

Here is what is actually worth carrying.

The things that matter

Reef-safe sunscreen, and more than you think. You will be in the water for hours at a time and the sun here is not the sun you are used to. Buy it before you come if you can: sunscreen in a beach town is priced like a beach town. Reef-safe genuinely matters — this coast has the Marietas islands offshore and everything you swim in goes somewhere.

A rash guard or a long-sleeve surf top. The single most useful item on this list. It solves sunburn on your back and shoulders, which is the injury that actually ends people’s trips, and it means you do not have to reapply sunscreen every ninety minutes.

A padlock. Every bed in our dorms has a personal locker under it and none of them come with a lock. You can buy one at reception, but bringing one is easier.

A quick-dry towel. Beach, shower, sitting on. A normal towel never dries here in the humidity and starts to smell by day three. We rent towels if you would rather not carry one.

Flip-flops and one pair of proper shoes. The flip-flops are for everything. The proper shoes are for the jungle path to La Lancha, the walk to Playa de los Muertos, and the cobbled streets at night.

A reusable water bottle. Do not drink the tap water; do not buy a plastic bottle every day either. There is filtered water at the hostel and everywhere else you will stay. Over two weeks this is both a meaningful amount of money and a meaningful amount of plastic.

Cash, in pesos. Cards work in restaurants and rarely anywhere else. Get pesos rather than paying in dollars — the exchange rate offered to you on the street is never the good one. Cash machines exist in town and do run dry on busy weekends.

Mosquito repellent. Essential in the rainy season, June to October, and useful the rest of the year around dusk.

The things worth bringing if you have them

A dry bag. Small one. For the phone and the passport on boat days and on the walk to the beach in a rainstorm.

A head torch. Useful more often than it sounds — the streets are not all lit, and finding your bunk at 2am without waking eight people is a skill.

Earplugs and an eye mask. We are a party hostel. Wednesday is bonfire night. These are three dollars and they will improve your trip more than anything else on this list.

Your own board, if you are serious. Most people should not. Boards rent from $6 a day here, the airline fee is more than a week of renting, and a foam board is the right board for anybody’s first fortnight anyway.

What not to bother with

A big wardrobe. Shorts, T-shirts, swimwear, one thing you can wear to dinner. That is the whole town’s dress code, including at dinner.

A wetsuit. The water is warm all year. A rash guard is the only thing you need against the elements, and that is against the sun.

A hairdryer. Look outside.

Hiking boots. Unless you are going somewhere else afterwards. The walks here are short and sandy.

Beach towel plus bath towel plus a third towel. One quick-dry towel.

The four things people always forget

1. A padlock. Every week. There is a small pile of them behind reception for this reason.
2. Enough sunscreen for more than three days.
3. A copy of the passport, photographed on the phone and emailed to yourself. Ten seconds now, a much better day later.
4. Travel insurance that actually covers surfing. A great many policies quietly do not. Read that clause before you need it.

If you are staying a month or more

If you are coming to volunteer, or you have simply worked out that nobody who comes here for a week leaves on time:

• Bring something warm for the one cool evening in January that catches everybody out.
• Bring a plug adaptor for Mexican sockets if you are not coming from North America — Type A and B, 127V.
• Do not bring a month of toiletries. There is a shop.
• Do bring one thing from home worth sharing at Sunday dinner. It is a small thing and it works every time.

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Volunteers get free use of the boards, so if you are staying a while, leave yours at home and use ours.