It happens every day. Someone arrives at a vacation destination, ready to relax or ready for an adventure only to discover that something was left behind. If you’re lucky, it will only require a trip to the hotel gift shop, but all too often, it will cost money and time that you didn’t need to spend.  The vacation packing checklists that will be provided on this website may not have everything you’ll need for your travels, but they will give you an excellent start and probably remind you of a few things you might have missed.  When our readers make suggestions for things we’ve forgotten, we’ll update the list.We’ll make our travel checklists available in several formats, so that you can download them and make them your own.Happy Packing!

Living close to the beach is a real treat.  We happen to live 20 minutes from one of the best beaches in the world and yet we forget to take advantage of it.  People travel from from all over the world and pay a pretty penny to stay on or near the beach that is only 10 miles away from wear I live and work.So this summer with our travel schedule a little lighter than usual, we’ve decided to make use of this nearby paradise and take one day mini vacations throughout the summer.  Just like packing for any other trip, we’ll need to come up with a  checklist for what to take to the beach and as soon as we’ve got it and tested it, we’ll post our beach packing checklist right here.   If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share.We’d also love to hear about any mini vacations you’ve found to take right in your own back yard.

Staying healthy on vacation series: Tips for traveling on the road – Examiner.comMay 27, 2009Not only can you keep yourself from gaining vacation weight, you’ll will likely feel more energetic if you add healthy snack choices to your vacation packing checklist.Organize your *camping* trip ahead of timeMay 27, 2009In this economy, more families will be spending less and choosing to try a camping trip this summer. Many campgrounds are already reporting an increase in reservations.

photo credit: dionhinchcliffeIf you’ve ever been on a camping vacation, you already know how many little details you need to remember when you are packing for the trip. I can’t think of any vacation packing checklist that is longer than my camping supplies list. Depending on how far your campsite is from civilization, you can find yourself in a real bind if you’ve forgotten any gear. At a campground, the camp store may have the supplies you need, but you will pay extra for the convenience.We’ve been brainstorming to try to create comprehensive camping checklist and have already come up with 192 items that might be used on a camping trip. We’re quite sure that we have not remembered everything that you will need for your camping vacation, but hope that this list will give you a good start. You can download our camping checklist as an Excel file, a Word document, or just a plain text file.

photo credit: jordan.conwayExperienced hikers all know about the Ten Essentials… it’s a list of the bare minimum gear for hiking that you must have, whether a day trip or a longer trek.According to “Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills”1, the ten essentials are:1. Navigation2. Sun protection3. Insulation (extra clothing)4. Illumination5. First-aid supplies6. Fire7. Repair kit and tools8. Nutrition (extra food)9. Hydration (extra water)10. Emergency shelterIf your vacation this summer is going to include camping and hiking, you may want to print and even laminate this checklist and put it in your backpack.  There are many great resources with detailed information about this list and many other recommendations for safe hiking.  Be sure to do some homework before you hit the road.1 The Mountaineers (2003).