So you’ve decided to visit Belize? And why wouldn’t you want to go? With warm temperatures year round and English and Spanish being the most common languages, Belize is an easy choice for many. But in a country advertising both “Go Slow” and adventurous activities, what do you bring. Keep reading and we’ll go through the things that we were happiest bringing and the things we wish we would have left at home to help you create the perfect Belize packing list.
Belize Currency
The most important thing to pack for Belize is US dollars. Everywhere in Belize will accept US or Belizean dollars. You may pay in one currency and get change in a different currency or a mixture of the two. $1 USD is equal to $2 BZD – this can make receiving change a bit confusing. However, not everywhere accepts credit cards. So while you can buy almost anything you forget to pack, you will need to pack cash to buy it.
Clothing To Pack For Belize
While we could make an actual list of all the clothes you should pack (2 pairs of shorts, 3 tank tops, etc.) we think that you can figure that out on your own. You know what you like and you know what you’ll actually wear.
However, we will say that the relaxed culture in Belize means you’ll be able to take a relaxed wardrobe. We packed one “nice” outfit for dinners out. This was completely unnecessary. Casual clothing is worn by pretty much everyone everywhere.
The temperature in Belize is pretty consistent year round. With temperatures generally hovering around 80º F, pack for this weather. Belize has two seasons: wet and dry. Temperatures will remain consistent throughout these seasons. Adjust your clothing for your Belize packing list accordingly. However, make sure you do pack at least one pair of pants in case it gets cooler, we packed athletic pants and used them when hiking in the forest to keep the bugs and plants off our our legs.
If you visit in the wet season, you’ll still be warm but you’ll want to definitely make sure to pack a rain jacket. Honestly, you should probably pack a rain jacket regardless of when you visit as pop up showers are common throughout the year.
While you may be tempted to pack only sandals for the tropical weather in Belize, you’ll still want to pack at least one pair of shoes that are good for walking. I packed my sneakers and Scott packed his amazing sneaker/water shoes. He is obsessed with these lately and he wears them for lots of hiking.
You may have ideas of packing light and washing clothes somewhere in the middle of your trip. However, finding a place with a washing machine is rare as water is precious in Belize. And finding a place with a dryer is impossible. So pack enough for your whole trip or plan on washing clothes in the sink if you don’t want to pay a premium for accommodations with a washing machine.
Speaking of packing light, skip the jewelry. You won’t actually put it on (so stop telling yourself you will), and if you do and then get it wet, it may tarnish in the salt water.
Toiletries To Pack For Belize
Belize is a tropical country, and as such, they grow some large and pesky bugs there. The mosquitos in the jungle areas can be brutal but the flies on the beach can be worse. So bringing a bug repellant that works on both of these is always a good idea. As much as I’d love to recommend a natural bug spray, I’ve never found one that works in areas with a large variety of bugs. So we are fans of deet, lots of deet.
It’s likely that you’re visiting Belize to soak up some sun. But don’t forget to pack your sun protection. Hats and sun guards are always a great idea if you think you’ll wear them. But everyone will want to pack sunscreen. Make sure your sunscreen is reef safe, especially if you’ll be wearing it while swimming. Also, pack a full size sunscreen, not a travel size. The two of us went through one full bottle in the week we were in Belize! and sunscreen at the Belizean shops was definitely priced for tourists (and by that I mean expensive).
If you do burn easily, make sure to pack some aloe for afterwards. We got burnt on day one! But thankfully we weren’t uncomfortable for the rest of our trip due to our consistent hydration and after burn care.
Most over the counter medications are also available in Belize. However, motion sickness medication is one of those things that I always travel with, especially in a country like Belize where you’re likely to spend some time on a boat. Also, don’t forget to pack your prescription medications – I always forget my migraine medicine which really puts a downer on vacation.
Don’t bother packing hair products. You’ll be in and out of the water (or humidity) so often that that hard work will just be a waste of time. Instead go natural and spend that extra time you’re saving on the beach. Everyone has a much more natural look in Belize.
Pack all your other toiletry products that you may need – you know what they are. However, keep in mind that you’ll likely be sweating a lot. So consider leaving behind your makeup if you don’t think it will stay in place or packing lightweight products so that you are not extra drippy when you sweat.
Extras On Your Belize Packing List
Because the tap water in Belize isn’t safe to drink, most accommodations provide large water cooler style jugs of water for drinking. If you bring a large enough hydration pack, you can fill up for the day using these. However, if you are planning on using water bottles (like these sweet collapsible ones that we love from traveling), make sure to pack enough so you can fill up with all the water you need for the day. If you’d prefer to drink from the taps, consider bringing a water bottle with a water filtration system built in. Whatever option you choose, you do NEED some kind of water carrier added to your Belize packing list as buying bottled water is only an option in grocery type stores – not at every tourist attraction.
While you may be tempted to throw in an umbrella, no one in Belize seems to use them when it rains. They just wear a coat and get wet. So if you don’t care about looking like a tourist, use an umbrella but we found just getting rained on was a nice refreshing break.
Don’t worry about packing a power adaptor. Belizean outlets are the same as US outlets.
If you are a fan of birding, Belize is great! So make sure to pack your binoculars if you are interested in spotting some birds, like the toucan.
I always forget to pack my sunglasses and have sunglasses from almost everywhere we’ve been. But I did remember to pack them for this trip! Winning.
What To Pack For the Water In Belize
You’ll likely be spending some time by the beach or in the ocean. And if you’re like us, you’ll be spending lots of time by the water. So we like to pack two or more swimsuits so that we can always put on a dry one. Also, if you’re planning on snorkeling or scuba diving, make sure you wear a well-fitted swimsuit that will not fall off when moving (lots of straps and high necks ladies).
Don’t forget your quick dry towels. We love these for traveling as they dry fast and are smaller to pack than regular beach towels.
Additionally, you may want to pack a dry bag for Belize. This will keep out water and sand as you spend time at the beach or on a boat.
If you have your own snorkel gear and you’re staying near the ocean, pack it. You can rent it there but we love our own properly fitted gear and it’s nice to just be able to grab and go whenever you feel like it.
Photography Gear For You Belize Packing List
First, don’t pack a drone. You cannot fly them in Belize without a special permit or you’ll get in big trouble.
A majority of our photos were taken on our phones in Belize. It just became too inconvenient to carry around a full camera kit most days. We only took our cameras on the tours we went on (and we couldn’t take our cameras on the ATM cave tour).
For your camera kit, make sure to pack your regular lens. That should be good enough for 90% of the shots you’ll take. We also brought our wide angle lens for shooting some Mayan ruins but we could have gotten along without it. However, we wish would would have brought a good zoom lens for nature spotting. Belize has some of the best bird watching and you can get some good shots or rare birdies if you bring a good spotting lens.
Additionally, you’ll want to pack a waterproof camera setup. Or a diving setup if you plan on scuba diving in Belize. If you’re snorkeling, you could just get a good waterproof case for your phone and take snorkeling photos. However, if you’re diving, we like to take our GoPro with the diving case. Whatever you take in the water, make sure it has either a wrist strap or a floatation strap so you don’t drop it to the bottom of the ocean.
What To Put It All In?
If you don’t have packing cubes, we definitely recommend them. When packing for our Belize itinerary, we organized our packing cubes based on where we were. So we packed more athletic clothes in our “inland” packing cubes and we packed beach clothing in our “beach” packing cubes.
Then you can stuff all of those packing cubes in either a suitcase. If you’re getting around on public transit, we recommend a backpack. Public transit that we saw had very limited storage space and there is no way we would have been able to get our suitcases on those buses. So consider taking good backpacking gear to transport your belongings if you are going to be moving around a lot and don’t have your own vehicle.
And you gotta bring a toiletries bag to keep that liquid separate from the rest of your belongings. We had a bug spray spill that could have ruined a lot of clothing if it wasn’t for our toiletries bag. I love a toiletries bag that hangs and folds up when packed.
Lastly, make sure to bring a day pack with you. If you’re traveling with backpacking gear, you can get a backpack with detachable day pack. If you’re bringing a suitcase, we love to bring our backpack style hydration bladders. We brought one liter packs to Belize which was a great plan since you shouldn’t drink the tap water in Belize. The packs allowed us to fill up on water at our accommodations and then drink water all day. We also like these larger size packs so that we can put all of our camera gear into them as well.
Don’t take a purse, switch to a wallet for this trip. We got around on bikes a lot in Belize and it was way more convenient to not get a purse all caught up in a bike.
We hope this Belize packing list has helped you to prepare for your upcoming Belize vacation. Belize is such a fun country for an adventurous vacation. We had such a great time spending a week in Belize and we hope you do to. Please leave any questions or comments in the section below and we’d be happy to help.
