Alright ladies and gents, we all know one of the best (and sometimes worst) part of traveling is packing. If you’re like Tey, you’ve probably already created a mental portfolio for your outfits on the trip, you’ve likely created a bullet list of all the things you need/want to bring and you’re ready to master the art of packing the max amount of essentials into the smallest bag possible. Packing is typically one of the final steps in preparing for your trip and perhaps even one of the most exciting steps. This is when you realize, “it’s FINALLY here – this is the final countdown *cue music*” and you are more than ready for your adventure.

Bora Bora was definitely an interesting trip for us to pack for. The fact that it was an international trip, a tropical trip, and our honeymoon made things a little more interesting in the world of packing. But throughout, we discovered some ESSENTIAL items that must make your list.

Here’s a list of 6 things you’d want to take special note of while packing if/when visiting Bora Bora or any location similar.

1. Island Clothing

Swimsuits. Lots and lots of swimsuits. Pretty self-explanatory, but sometimes, you just gotta stress the obvious points. Since you’ll be surrounded by water 24/7, it actually makes it harder for you to find a dry swimsuit come the end of your trip due to the fact that your swimsuits likely won’t dry... even if you lay them out overnight. The humidity is at an all-time high majority of the year so you’ll want to try to outsmart the system if you hate putting on wet swimsuits. If you don’t mind, then by all means, pack 1 or 2.  

Pack lightweight, breathable clothes that fit loosely. With the heat and humidity, you’ll be sweating up a storm. Ladies… pack those cover ups like there’s no tomorrow. Chances are you’ll be eating, sleeping, truly living in your swimsuit the entire time so it’s nice to have something you can pop on/off as needed. Men, bro-tanks are where it’s at. If you plan on doing a nice dinner while there, ladies, dresses are always a go and shorts are fine too. Guys, this is the one time you can pull off casual slacks and v-neck at a 5 star dinner so take full advantage!

2. Universal Travel Adapter

 Bora Bora uses 220 Volts – 60 Hz. In layman’s terms, you’ll need the same type of connector found in Continental Europe. Our best recommendation on this is to purchase a universal travel adapter. That way you don’t have to play the guessing game on whether or not you brought the right adapter along with you. Our personal favorite? This 4-in-1 Universal Travel Adapter

3. Travel Card

We’re new to the world of Travel Credit Cards so we’re still trying to find one that works best for us but rumor on the Travel Streets is that Chase offers “the best travel card”. We shall neither confirm nor deny this rumor as we didn't opt for this one for Bora Bora but truly, which ever card you have in your wallet will work. I believe we actually swiped our card once, maybe twice, the whole time we were there (majority of everything was simply charged to the room or pre-purchased) but it was nice to have as a “just in case”. Cards are also made out of plastic so if you accidentally drop some water on it… you won’t have to worry about laying it out to dry/having it tear on you. Just be sure to lightly rinse it off with fresh water if in case you do drop it in the pool or it gets salt water on it.

4. Bluetooth Speaker

 In the situation that you stay at a Resort without an iPod dock, it’s always nice to have the option to jam out whenever you feel like it. Whether it's while you’re getting ready or laying out on your deck soaking in all the rays and amazing views, it's just nice to have the option. So bring a Bluetooth speaker, hook up to your resorts wi-fi and play some tunes. We personally have a Bose wireless speaker that may be too bulky for most, but we made it work. There’s also some great travel Bluetooth speakers that you can find out there. Make Google your best friend and do some searching. Travel + Leisure recently featured the Buckshot Pro 3-in-1 speaker  and we’re thinking it may just be our next travel purchase.

5. Waterproof Phone/Camera

We’re a "Samsung-for-life" family so our phones came waterproof; however, we know that some of you iPhoners don’t have that option. So be sure to grab a case to waterproof your phone such as Lifeproof.

In terms of a waterproof camera, we brought our GoPro along for this trip and ended up swimming with it all day long to get great footage of life under the sea. ALSO! Fun tip, we bought a couple GoPro Floaty Backdoor pieces and slapped one on our GoPro and also put the floaty on the backs of our plastic phone cases to make our phones float too! Life. Saver.

6. First-Aid

We threw together our own kit that included allergy pills, nausea and diarrhea remedies (you never know!), anti-itch cream, Band-Aids, pain killers, and some supplements. Didn’t use any of these, thank GOD, but you always want to be prepared.