You’ve done all the hard work and planned your trip. You have everything booked, all of your travel documents are in order, your hotel reservations are made. Now the only thing standing between you and that dream vacation is your glaringly empty suitcase. Now what? While you’re floundering for a place to start packing, you’ve stubbled across this packing list. Let us take some of the stress out of your trip and follow along for our tried and true packing-like-a-pro standard packing list that we use as the base for all of our trips.
The Essentials
Passport – I’m hoping you’ve found this packing checklist prior to the night before you leave because this one is kinda an important one. You’ll need a passport if you’re traveling outside of the country. And lots of countries require you to have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months from the start of your trip. So make sure you’ve checked your expiration date and updated your passport if necessary.
Visa – In addition to a passport, lots of countries require a travel visa for foreign visitors. Most countries have pretty easy travel visa requirements but some require a lot of advance notice. Check what you need to travel to any country here.
Vaccinations – Depending on where you’re traveling to, you may need additional vaccinations or medications. Most of these medications can be obtained at your primary care provider but you’ll want to research ahead of time to ensure you have everything you need.
Cash – It’s always good to travel with some cash. However, depending on where you are going you may need a lot or just a little. Do some research ahead of time to see if your destination primarily uses cash or cards.
Credit/Debit Cards – We try to travel primarily with cards whenever possible. It just means there is less chance of loosing money if we get robbed or loose things. We have a few credit cards with $0 foreign transaction fees, which includes foreign ATM fees, that are great for international travel. Check with your credit cards before traveling to ensure you won’t be racking up unnecessary fees.
Tickets & Itinerary – I’m old school and like to have all of my travel confirmations printed out and put in a nice three ring binder. However, I have been made fun of for this. So if you want to skip the extra room this takes up, just make sure you have all of your confirmation emails and tickets stored in an easily accessible place in your phone. And make sure you can access them all without cell service – just in case.
Clothing
Clothes – The amount of clothing you need to bring depends on the length of your vacation and your access to laundry facilities. We pack for up to a week. If we are staying anywhere for longer than a week, we plan to do laundry at the end of each week. We try to choose fabrics that either look intentionally wrinkly or that avoid wrinkles by design. Here are our packing suggestions:
- 7 pairs underwear (1/day)
- 7 pairs socks (1/day) – unless we’ll be wearing lots of sandals
- 5 shirts (or dresses)
- 4 bottoms (pants, skirts, shorts, etc.)
- 3 PJs
- 2 sweaters/sweatshirts/light jackets
- 2 bras – 1 regular, 1 specialty (strapless/sports/etc.)
- 1 lightweight rain jacket
- 1 hat
Wherever you’re going, make sure to plan your outfits. It will really save you space when you travel. If you plan your outfits, you can also ensure that everything matches by creating a capsule wardrobe for your travels. Lastly, make sure you have some idea of what you’ll be doing so you can pack appropriate clothing for the activities.
Additionally, if you’re planning on doing laundry, make sure to pack single packets of laundry soap.
Shoes – We always bring at least two pairs of comfortable shoes on every vacation. While you may be tempted to save space by skipping on shoes, varying your shoes will reduce the risk of getting blisters. Typically, we always pack a pair of trail runners and then a nicer looking pair of shoes, like boots or sandals.
Glasses – If you need prescription glasses or contacts, make sure to pack them as these are practically impossible to get while traveling.
Sunglasses – These should be on every travel packing list, even non-sunny locations. It will make it easier for you to drive and see the beautiful sights.
Toiletries
Prescription Medications – Make sure to travel with any prescription medications you may need. Even if you don’t take them daily. It’s good practice to travel with them in their original packaging that shows they are prescribed to you by a licensed physician as some countries have strict anti-trafficking laws. Be sure to check these laws before you bring ANY medications into a foreign country.
First Aid Kit – We always pack a small first aid kit specially designed for what we are doing. Here are some things that are often in the kit:
- Ibuprofen
- Moleskin (for blisters)
- Bandaids
- Antibacterial ointment
- Motion sickness medication (or these awesome wristbands)
- Burn ointment
- Hand sanitizer
- Antacids
- Laxatives/antidiarrheal
- Allergy medication
Basics – Make sure you are aware of what your accommodations offer you in the way of basic toiletries. If you’re staying somewhere with shampoo and soap every night, you don’t need to pack any. Most hotel and home booking sites will tell you what toiletries are included in your stay. Here is our base list and you can cross off items that are included:
- Soap
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Lotion
- Toothpaste
- Floss
- Loofa/Washcloth
Basics Plus – These are the toiletries that are rarely included at hotels or home stays so make sure to put them on your packing list. You’ll likely have to pack yourself if you want them:
- Deodorant
- Razors
- Hairbrush/Comb
- Toothbrush
- Menstrual products
Basics Premium – These products are toiletries that you’ll need to pack if you want them. However, think long and hard about if you’ll actually use them. How much time on vacation do you want to spend getting ready for your adventures versus actually living those adventures. We pack light from this list:
- Hair products
- Hair Equipment (straightener, curling iron, dryer)
- Make-up
- Nail clippers/file
Sunscreen – Sunscreen is a must-have for all vacations. If you’re like us you spend lots of time outside exploring which means you’re at risk for sunburn. Sunburn is a stupid way to ruin a vacation. Don’t forget lip balm with sunscreen in it. My lips always get chapped on vacation because I always forget this.
Insect Repellant – Depending on your location, this may or may not be necessary. However, if you do think you’ll need it, buy something with Deet that has a non-pressurized (pump action) canister. This is what we use for travel. You want it to work but you don’t want it to explode on the plane 😉
Toiletries Bag – While this does take up a lot of space in my suitcase, a toiletries kit that can hang is great for traveling as it will keep you organized on your travels. My toiletries bag is made mostly of clear plastic making it perfect for going through security and in case of any leaks.
Electronics
Smartphone with Charger – Remember when your teacher made you learn how to do math because “you wouldn’t always have a calculator handy”. Well now, with our smartphones, we have a calculator, map, camera, translator, radio, and more. Even if you aren’t planning on using the “phone” part of your phone on your travels, make sure to put your smart phone on your packing list. Download offline Google maps for your destination and temporarily delete your work email. Then your normal phone is in vacation mode 🙂 Or you can use an old unlocked phone for international travel, that way you can buy international SIM cards on the go.
Camera – We love taking nice photos with our camera and we always add it to our essential packing list. There are occasions where the weight just doesn’t make sense – like when backpacking. And there are also instances when we need more specialized photography gear, like a GoPro or a drone. Whatever you bring, make sure to pack an extra memory card since they’re lightweight and an extra battery pack if you think you’ll need it.
Power Adapter – Outlets around the world just like to be unique. And it’s rude to us travelers. However, with this nifty universal travel adapter, you only need to pack one small item to convert all of your devices.
Headphones/Earbuds – Honestly, we only use these on flights. So when we shop for noise cancelling earbuds we make sure that they are small and still relatively good at noise cancelling while being inexpensive.
Extras
Umbrella – If we actually think we’ll use an umbrella we bring it. However, we prefer to just use our rain jackets, rather than carrying a heavy umbrella. There are a few destinations that have been an exception to that rule but for the most part we choose to leave the umbrella off our packing list.
Collapsible Water Bottle – These glorified plastic baggies are actually great travel water bottles. They weigh practically nothing when empty so they are easy to just stuff in a pocket when not in use. Also, vendors around the world gouge water prices in all touristy destinations. Don’t waste money on water if you can get it from a tap for free!
How To Pack It All?
Pack Your Carry-On First
Where were packing cubes all my life? Seriously, you can fit so much more in your suitcase with some efficiently packed packing cubes. Plus these lightweight little bags allow you to avoid that massive mess you make when you are looking for “that one thing” in your bag and have to dig through the whole suitcase to find it.
So you roll up all your clothes into tiny tubes then stuff them in the compression packing cubes. Bam! A week’s worth of clothing in half of a carry-on bag. Then fill in with your travel-sized toiletries and electronics.
Pack Your Checked Baggage Next
We rarely travel with a checked bag. Because honestly we rarely need more space than our super space saving techniques for packing our carry-on. However, there are several instances where we check a bag. And all of those instances typically involve some kind of specialized equipment. For example when we fly to a camping trip or when we go scuba diving or snorkeling we check a bag.
In any situation, we always pack our carry-on first. We start with getting our packing cubes loaded up. Next, we put the heaviest items in the carry-on. Carry-ons are generally limited by size and checked baggage is limited by weight. So by putting the heavies items in the carry-on, we can save on weight in the checked bag.
Next, we load up all of the bulky and oversized items into the checked bag, such as fins, sleeping bags, our cooler, etc. Then we fill in with the smaller lightweight items.
Pro Tip: If you’re planning on buying lots of souvenirs, consider adding a luggage scale to your checked bag so you can make sure you don’t go overweight on the return journey.
Pack Your Day Bag
Don’t bring a purse on vacation – it’s attractive to thieves and it’s very inefficient. So instead of putting my purse under the seat, we pack a day bag as our under seat item. We love our Camelbak backpack with a water bladder (just make sure the bladder is empty before going through security). This serves as luggage and it also does double duty while on vacation of being our lightweight day pack with built in water storage.
When we are packing for our flights, we fill this with all of the items we’ll need on the plane, such as headphones and empty water bottles. We also make sure to put any liquids we’re traveling with in this bag so that it is the only bag we have to unpack/repack when we are at the airport.
Now that you’re all packed, sit back and enjoy your pre-vacation excitement. Then, have a blast on vacation! We hope this packing list has helped take some of the stress out of travel. If you have any great suggestions, please leave them in the comments below and we’ll get it added.
