'BIP' Contestants Need To Bring These Things

Summer is finally here again, and you know what that means: It's almost time for Bachelor in Paradise Season 3. Once JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette wraps up, BIP takes over, giving us several blissful weeks of our favorite former Bachelor and Bachelorette stars trying to fall in love on a really pretty beach. And if you've read any interviews (or tell all books) from contestants, you already know going on a show like that takes a considerable amount of prep work — and shopping. But packing for Bachelor in Paradise is probably much different. It's not just gowns, suits, and your entire makeup collection for BIP. For BIP, you have to get creative.

Because not only are you spending most of your time outside in what appears to be sweltering heat, but the biggest form of entertainment (besides causing drama, of course) is the ocean. And from the way the show looks, I'm assuming there's limited access to electricity, and mirrors for doing makeup are probably in short supply.

If ABC ever comes knocking on your door, you'll be totally prepared. Here's what to pack if you're going on Bachelor in Paradise, minus your favorite pair of pool floaties.

1. A Billion Swimsuits

You're swimming a lot, and you're on national television. It's probably a good idea to have a few so you can switch things up every day. Swimsuits are practically the official uniform of BIP. Plus cute cover ups can't hurt either.

2. A Sense Of Humor

A lot of crazy things go down in paradise — like, way more than your average Bachelor or Bachelorette season — and some of them are so ridiculous that it's important to laugh at them. Otherwise, all that heat, drama, and alcohol is just going to turn into tears, and what fun is that?

3. An Animal-To-Human Dictionary

Every season, at least one cast member ends up having a deep relationship with an animal. If it's not Clare Crawley venting to the raccoon, it's Ashley Salter bonding with the birds. If you want to make your own friend out of the island's creatures, you're going to need to know how to communicate with them.

4. All Your Emotional Baggage

Because for some reason, paradise appears to be the place to sort all that out as you try to fall in love with sweaty strangers.

5. Gifts For Jorge The Bartender

This breakout star of BIP will become your best friend, so treat him well from the start.

6. Plenty Of Advil

Because if you do become good friends with Jorge, you're going to have a hangover or two.

7. A Hammock Or Something

Paradise doesn't strike me as somewhere that offers a lot of privacy to its inhabitants, so you're probably going to want your privacy at some point, too.

8. And Probably Also A Boat

So you can float away from your problems and the emotional trauma that awaits you in paradise when you decide you're done. Or so you can put that season's villain in it and send him far, far away. If the cast could have done that with Joe Bailey last season, it would have made excellent television.

But even if you have all of these things with you, nothing can adequately prepare you for what paradise can bring. I'm so excited for the premiere later this summer. Fingers crossed for lots of juicy drama — and maybe even a love story or two. Anything can happen when you separate former Bach stars from their real lives and technology!

Image: ABC, Giphy (8)