Packing Tips
Here are general guidelines for packing for a Caravan-Serai Tour. First and foremost be comfortable! Pack clothes that can be worn in layers and colors that allow you to mix and match. Note that in many holy sites shorts and sleeveless outfits are not permitted. Consider the following ideas when you pack:
- Your favorite pair of comfortable walking shoes: many of our tours include exploring ruins, walking on unpaved or uneven streets, and sand
- Warm sweater: in the winter months, it can get chilly, especially at night
- Casual pants or jeans: light weight cotton pants are preferable to jeans, especially in the warm season. Jeans are bulky, hot, and don’t hand wash and dry well. In many countries, capris for women are acceptable, and longer shorts for men, however check on specific destinations
- Cotton shirts: breathable, quick-drying shirts are the best
- Wind breaker or rain coat, rain hat and small umbrella: in the winter months it can rain, especially in coastal areas
- Compact umbrella – can be used when it’s raining or when it is hot and sunny for shade
- Swim suit
- Adapter plugs – the electric current in the Middle East is 220 volts however please note that most small electronics such as your camera or tablet do not need a current converter when you need to recharge them, just adapter plugs. To find out if you also need a converter, look at the extremely tiny printing on the charger to see if it says 100-240 V. If it does, then you do not need a converter, just an adapter to plug it in
- Travel Alarm
- Emergency Sewing Kit and First Aid Kit with Imodium, Pepto Bismol, Tylenol or Advil, mineral ice
- Travel packs of towelettes and tissues
- Powdered laundry soap or travel size packets of laundry soap
- Camera, extra battery/charging cord and memory cards, journal
- Wash Cloth
- Scarf – for entering into a Mosque
- Your own medications with copies of your doctor’s prescriptions
- Photocopy of your passport – kept separate from your actual passport
- Small flashlight
- Hat or something to protect from the sun
- Sunscreen
- If you wear contact lens – bring solution with you
- Extra pair of eye glasses and/or spare contacts if you wear them, and sun glasses
- Feminine hygiene supplies
- Swiss army knife (do not put in carry on, but into the checked luggage)
- Zip lock bags
- Small fold-up suitcase for those extra items that you purchase