As I prepared for my first trip to Africa with Blood:Water, I was a little nervous about packing everything I needed. Actually, I was more nervous about having everything I needed for 10 days and fitting it into carry-on luggage (ladies are you with me).

I tried diligently to see if there was any way we could check our luggage, but when traveling in Africa, especially as much as we did this past trip (13 flights total), it’s better to know you won’t lose your luggage. It’s certainly not going to catch up with so few days in one place.

Thankfully, Jena has a great blog post for how to pack for Africa, and I followed it to a T.

Here’s a few things that Jena didn’t write about that I found helpful:

– Bring a sleep mask. It sounds weird, but it saved me multiple times on flights and in areas that we had to sleep with a window open.

– Equip your phone with a white noise app. As I wrote in my last post, I had a neighboring donkey on the first night. Here’s the one I used. Some people suggest ear plugs, but that just never really works for me. I need something to cover up the noise.

– Makeup. I personally packed very little, but I did pack two things: foundation & mascara. I wore it on just a few occasions, but I was glad I packed it. However, if you’re fine going makeup free, it’s a pretty freeing experience to spend days without your cell phone, no make up and your hair up. I could get used to it!

Join us on a Vision Trip and put Jena’s list to work! There’s no better way to learn about what’s happening in Africa than experiencing it yourself!