6 Must Haves for Your Adventure Vacation

To truly enjoy an adventure vacation, you need the inside scoop–maybe even two scoops–on what to bring. I’m not talking raisins here, I’m talking the kind of information that nourishes the soul without promoting tooth decay.

Forget shoes and sunscreen and high-tech fabrics (yawn) and feast on this list of arcane beta normally guarded by seasoned veterans:

1. Wide Brimmed Hat – The wider the better. Think sombrero. Or giant foam cowboy hat. If you’re feeling particularly avant garde, go for the umbrella hat. Hungry? Don the nacho hat. No matter your choice, you’re going to want your own personal eclipse.

2. Sarong – It’s a skirt, a shawl, a hat, a tablecloth, a light blanket, a kite, a sail. Simplest piece of clothing you can own. Best of all, it’s not nearly as scratchy as a kilt.

3. Disguise – Possibly the coolest thing about adventure vacations. Face paint or masks or full-on costumery, you know, Zorro or a gypsy or a giant sock monkey, adds that extra-special something to your getaway. It’s like Halloween without the aching teeth.

4. Bromides – We’re not talking upset stomachs here. We mean the anecdotes, the stories, those jokes that keep you riveted by the fire, that take a moment to sink in before you spew your beverage of choice through your nose. If you’re still not sure, check with your guide.

5. Chin Strap – Knew a guy who lost his chin on a trip. True story. His jaw dropped one time too many at the endless amazing scenery and finally fell off in the river. The weird part? His nickname. You guessed it. Jaws.

6. Wistful, Far-Off Gaze – When the shutter is clicking, make sure you have applied a liberal dose of this on your face. Bonus points for tanned and weathered crows feet at the corners of your eyes. When you roll out your three-hour slide show for the family holiday, your audience will be so riveted by envy they won’t notice Uncle Leon snoring in the Lay-Z-Boy.

Your confidence just went up a few notches, didn’t it?

When you’re sashaying along the shore in your sarong, feeling the cool breeze and looking out majestically over the landscape in that way that you do, you can take comfort in knowing that you can handle anything this trip to the privy has to throw at you.

And there’s always the Gandalf hat, just in case.