What to pack for small islands and boat trips

What the people who run these places ask visitors to bring, and why, in their words. Item types, not products: no brand is named, and nothing here has been tested by us.

For long flights, days at sea and seasickness, the CDC’s Yellow Book has chapters written for health professionals. Talk to your doctor before a trip like this.

Places this kit covers (91)

What the places ask

Food and water for the day, and a day spare

There is no water and there are no services on Anacapa Island, the Park Service says. At Dry Tortugas it recommends two gallons of water a person a day for campers and asks them to bring an extra day’s supply of food and water in case the ferry is cancelled; there is no wifi or cell service.

Asked for by: National Park Service, Dry Tortugas: Camping (last updated 17 July 2026).

Borrow, rent or ask first: Ask the boat what it sells on board. A snack bar on the crossing is not a shop on the island.

Read 20 October 2026. From our entry on Anacapa Island, which names its source.

Clean bags, boots and pockets

For Ulva Island, off Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation asks visitors to check bags and footwear thoroughly for soil, seeds and vegetation and to report any sign of rodents. Japan’s Ministry of the Environment asks everyone arriving in the Ogasawara Islands to check shoes, clothes and bags for seeds and insects and to wash their shoe soles.

Asked for by: Department of Conservation (New Zealand), media release of 2 April 2026.

Borrow, rent or ask first: Nothing to buy. Five minutes with a brush on the boot soles and the seams before you sail.

Read 20 October 2026. From our entry on Ogasawara Islands, which names its source.

A way to pay that the island accepts

Dry Tortugas National Park does not accept cash, the Park Service says. Small islands differ, and the entry for each one says what it knows.

Asked for by: National Park Service, Dry Tortugas: Basic Information (last updated 19 August 2026).

Borrow, rent or ask first: Ask the ferry or your lodging how payment works on the island before you go.

Read 20 October 2026.

Sun and insect cover where there is little shade

For Dry Tortugas the Park Service asks campers to pack a lightweight long-sleeved shirt and trousers for sun and bug protection, and a wide-brimmed hat. Its Ten Essentials put sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat under sun protection.

Asked for by: National Park Service, Dry Tortugas: Camping; National Park Service, the Ten Essentials (last updated 28 May 2026).

Borrow, rent or ask first: The long sleeves you already own will do.

Read 20 October 2026.

A spare day at each end

For Isle Royale, reached only by ferry, seaplane or private boat, the Park Service says weather influences travelling to and from the island. Dry Tortugas plans for cancelled ferries (item 1).

Asked for by: National Park Service, Isle Royale: Basic Information (last updated 14 August 2024).

Borrow, rent or ask first: Ask whether your booking can move a day without a fee before you pay.

Read 20 October 2026.

Being a good visitor here

At Dry Tortugas, food is kept in hard-sided containers, against rats and crabs, as the Park Service asks campers (Dry Tortugas: Camping).
On Ulva Island, any sign of a rodent is reported to the Department of Conservation’s Rakiura office.
In the Ogasawara Islands, scrub your boot soles again before each forest walk, as the signs there ask. From our entry on Ogasawara Islands, which names its source.

Sources are named in each item, with the date we read them; a few come from our own place entries, which carry their sources. Rules and seasons change; the place’s own entry and the authority’s page have the latest.