Packing list for island hopping and snorkeling
What to bring for boat days from Cebu, Phuket, Zanzibar, Bali and Cancún: a mask that fits your face, a dry bag for the bow spray, reef shoes for urchins and rubble, mineral sunscreen where the rules demand it, small cash for islands without an ATM, and a way to dry gear that never dries.
On a phone with Waystop installed, the button adds the list to your trip as a bag you can tick off. Otherwise copy it and paste it into Waystop’s Chat with “add this to my packing list”.
Checked October 10, 2026.
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0 of 18 packed
On the boat
0/5In the water
0/5Money and documents
0/4Health and drying
0/4What the weather is like
Cebu's dry season is December to May with 82 to 90°F (28 to 32°C) days and a sea of 82 to 86°F (28 to 30°C); June to November is wet with typhoon risk. Phuket is dry and calm from November to April and the southwest monsoon from May to October brings waves and red flags; the air is 82 to 90°F (28 to 32°C) and the water 84 to 86°F (29 to 30°C) all year. Zanzibar's long rains run late March to May, with April around 380 mm, the short rains fall in November, and June to October is dry at 82 to 86°F (28 to 30°C) with the sea at 77 to 81°F (25 to 27°C); December to March is hottest at 90 to 91°F (32 to 33°C). Bali is dry from April to October and Cancún from December to April at 86 to 90°F (30 to 32°C), with Cancún's hurricane season June to November and the peak in September.
- Chemical sunscreen with oxybenzoneThai park rangers and Xcaret will ask you to swap it; one tube of mineral sunscreen from home goes further than you think under a rash vest
- FinsEvery boat operator supplies or rents them, and they take a third of a suitcase
- Jewelry and a watch you care aboutSalt, sand and small boats lose it. Leave it in the hotel safe or at home.
- Flip-flopsThe surf takes a pair a week; any market sells them for about 100 baht or 150 pesos
- A sarong or kikoyTowel, boat shade and a cover-up for villages and Stone Town; Zanzibar's kikoys are the best of them
- A local SIM with dataGlobe or Smart, AIS, Zantel, Telkomsel and Telcel at the airport; boat bookings on small islands happen over WhatsApp
Worth knowing
- Put boat days early in the trip. A typhoon in the Visayas or a red flag in the Andaman cancels the day, and an early slot leaves time to rebook. When the forecast turns, ask Waystop's Chat for a rain plan: a second version of the day.
- Rinse everything in fresh water each evening and hang it in the breeze, not the air-conditioned room. On the last day damp gear goes in the mesh bag, never in the dry bag with the passport.
- Take out cash on the mainland the night before, in small notes. A 1,000 peso or 1,000 baht note is hard to change on the sand, and most islands run on cash all day.
Trips to pack this for
Never leave the charger in the hotel again.
Waystop keeps a list for each bag and each person. On the morning you change hotels it walks you through a quick pack-up check, and Chat can suggest items to add when you ask what to bring.