What to Pack For Mexico

What to Pack For a Trip to Mexico

March 7, 2011

by Annie Tomlin 11

I'm off to the Yucatán Peninsula for a week of cenote snorkeling, hacienda exploring, and ruin climbing. It's going to be one part jungle exploration, one part seaside lazing. Wherever I go, I try to pack as lightly as possible. That means bringing multitasking products and focusing on function over glamour. (It's the rainforest, not the red carpet.) For this trip, I'm focusing on protecting my skin with a big floppy hat, oversize sunglasses, photostable sunblock, SPF lip balm, and effective natural bug repellent. Triclosan-free hand sanitizer will come in handy when I'm away from water, and just-add-water facial cloths make skin care easy. Finally, three cosmetics: tinted moisturizer, a lip and cheek stain, and an illuminator pen. What else would you recommend?

Source: Flickr User Mark.Pilgrim

Buy Now at drugstore.com

Neutrogena

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock, SPF 45

Sold Out

0 0 0

Buy Now at Forever 21

Forever 21

Poolside Floppy Hat

Sold Out

0 0 0

Buy Now at Lord & Taylor

Clarins

CLARINS Instant Light Brush-On Perfector

$34.00

0 0 0

Buy Now at Ulta

Olay

Olay 2-In-1 Daily Facial Cloths 33 Ct

Sold Out

0 0 0

Buy Now at Nordstrom

Laura Mercier

Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20

$43.00

0 0 0

Buy Now at Forever 21

Forever 21

F7348 Sunglasses

Sold Out

0 0 0

Buy Now at Smallflower

Burt's Bees

Burt's Bees Sun Protecting SPF 8 Lip Balm

$3.99

0 0 0

Buy Now at Beauty.com

TheBalm

TheBalm Stainiac Tinted Gel Blush, Beauty Queen 0.3 oz (8.5 g)

$17.00

0 1 0

Mexico Packing List

11 Comments

Annie Tomlin 2 years 9 weeks

Thanks for all of the comments! Got back last night and have nothing but wonderful things to say about the Yucatán. Prim&Proper and Anon 2, I wound up throwing a mascara in my bag at the last minute, but should have gone with a waterproof version. At one point, I looked like Alice Cooper. Not so cute. You two had the right idea. Lexistar, if you go to the beach, you can get real beach waves -- albeit with a lot more texture and less shine. (Still washing out sand.) Ginger, you're right, parts of Mexico aren't safe right now. We felt 100% safe the entire time, though. Everyone was very friendly, both along the coast and in the interior. Bluesarahlou, how was Playa? We stayed in Sian Ka'an and popped into Puerto Morelos for a few hours, but didn't go to Playa del Carmen. C. Baker: I filled six memory cards!

2 years 10 weeks

Camera, camera, camera!

Jamie Roy 2 years 10 weeks

Have fun! This looks like the perfect packing job!

Jaime Richards 2 years 10 weeks

Can't wait to hear about Annie's trip! A little sunshine is much needed :-)

ItsGlisten17 2 years 10 weeks

When I went to the Caribbean, I also brought along waterproof mascara. I've got to have my flirty lashes!

bluesarahlou 2 years 10 weeks

Annie I just spent 10 days in Playa del Carmen, it was amazing, have a great time! :) If you're looking for a really great tour company, we used YukaTreks. I highly recommend them. If you're going into the cenotes, you're going to need environmentally friendly sunscreen (some places will check what you're using before they let you go in the water), so you might wanna swap that Neutrogena with something different.

Ginger25 2 years 10 weeks

does no one else thing a trip to mexico might be dangerous right now?? perhaps protective of some sort should be added to the list.

bingbingboom 2 years 10 weeks

Bring a raincoat, it rains during spring time.

lexistar2323 2 years 10 weeks

Such a great list! I have frizzy hair and there is no way that I'm taking all of my "tools" with me on a getaway...so the only product missing for me is Fekkai Marine Summer Hair Beach Waves.

2 years 10 weeks

Great list! It's super low maintenance and practical. The only thing I would add would be a waterproof mascara.