What to bring

What to bring

Welcome aboard!

Visitors to Vagabund needn’t bring much.  Be sure to pack airy and light. Typical temperatures vary between 24‑34°C.

We don't really have room to store hard suitcases, so please use soft-sided (collapsible) containers that we can store away. Keep a duffle bag as a hand carry-on with 2 day’s clothes, as the airlines are less likely to lose or delay it.

Traveling to South America: Yellow fever injection for Brazil a month before your visit.

Basic checklist for a 7-10 day visit:

Light shirts and/or T-shirts - 4 or 5.

Underwear - 4 sets (you can wash them as you shower).

Pajamas - as you like.  

Nice shorts, with pockets for wallet, etc. - 2 pair.

Running type shorts - light & comfortable - 1 pair.

Slops and/or Croc type sandals (synthetic) - 1 pair (see below).

Light evening attire for going out to dinner (usually informal)

Polarized Sunglasses with straps.

Sun hat that can take wind (sailing and dinghy) -

Sun block - waterproof SPF 45 or better.

Camera - Digital is best (bring your download cable and battery charger!)

Swim suits - 2-3 as you prefer.

Sun dresses / skirts - only if desired (see below).

Windbreaker that can stand warm rain.

Toiletries - whatever you need, including medications, reading glasses, etc

Towels: 3, one for bath and two for swimming

Snorkeling and scuba gear – We have 4 sets on board.

Passports and Injection card

Dollars and Visa or Master card Credit/debit card that works in an ATM.

Waterproof bag: One small to use for cell phones and cameras when on dingy.

Grocery bags like Woolworths or Pick’Pay: The bags you buy at the paying points of Woolworths that you get in all the different colours (not plastic bags). They are very useful for to use as a beach bag, when we go out and buy groceries (to use to carry the groceries in). 2 per person.

General info:

Laundry: Laundry is a hassle, taking about 1 hour (and 80    liter of valuable water) for a small 3 kg load.  But we usually have enough fresh water on board for small quantities of hand washing.  If you can, please bring clothes that you can hand wash easily, and that dry quickly.  We can supply linen but bring three towels. The towels must be thin so it can dry fast. Best is to buy the cheapest towels because they are thinner.

Medicine (except for prescription medications - in original bottle)

Shoes:  To protect our varnished floor and to keep the boat clean, we do not wear shoes on board. Make sure that what you bring can take getting wet.  Please don't bring leather or fully enclosed shoes.

Skirts & Dresses:  Some areas are fairly conservative, especially the Muslim and ex-British countries.  When we go to town in such places, Magda will usually wear a sun-dress.

Money:  We get our money down here by using the ATMs and our credit/debit cards.  We do not recommend travelers cheques of any sort as they are usually difficult to convert to local currency.  The ink is also water soluble, a little known fact.  U.S. cash dollars are much better, and work in most places.

While we're on the subject of money, many friends ask us how much money they need to bring.  We're not running a charter business, so we appreciate contributions.  We've found that it costs us about $25-30 per person per day to live on board.  That figure includes all food and consumables, but no shore excursions like drinks ashore, meals out, or rental cars. 

Snorkeling gear:  We spend a lot of time in the water - it's one of our favorite activities.  We have 4 sets of snorkeling gear on board, but if you have a set (or even pieces) that you like, bring them along. 

Food: Depending on where we are, the grocery stores vary widely in selections. Vegetarian is no problem.  Gluten-free is difficult please advise if you have any dietary needs.

What not to bring:

We generate most of our electricity from solar panels. 

Generator: We can generate 220vAC if we have to, but it's expensive and not on all the time. There is a hairdryer for use, but only with the genset running.

Computers: This environment is not especially friendly to computers and you're welcome to use one of ours.

If you want to download your digital camera, it's probably easier to just put the pictures on our computer and we'll make you a CD or DVD when you leave.  

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