International Travel Packing Checklist – Essential Things to Pack

So you are ready for a long trip abroad but are unsure what essential things to pack for international travel? We’re here to help with a packing checklist and own experiences travelling internationally.

Packing for an international long trip is a completely different exercise than packing for a week on the beach. Every decision can have a big impact on size, weight, outfit options and packing flexibility. Whether it’s 2 weeks in Europe holiday, or a 2 year around the world journey, nailing the essential gear at the start of a trip can make a big difference to your comfort levels.

Packing tips for travellers

Packing for destination unknown.

When we decided to pack up our lives in Australia and head abroad for the long term we had no timeline, no set plans, and no idea what was in store for us. After several months in a range of climates, we can now look back on what we packed initially and say what a massive success it was. We have of course added a few items and sent a few home, but for the most part, we are both really happy with what we packed and the amount of stuff we are now lugging around on our backs.

It’s in the bag!

We always recommend a good hiking pack over a suitcase if you are away for a long trip. There will always be times you have to carry your bags upstairs; Old cities like Paris are notorious for steep winding staircases and no lifts! Personally, we love the freedom of movement you get with hiking packs, as there have been a few times we’ve run to catch trains that would’ve been impossible with a wheelie suitcase! A good hiking pack is worth the time and investment to go into a professional store and get sized up properly. You don’t want to finish your trip with chronic back issues.

Hot Tip: Put some bright duct tape or similar on your bags. It not only makes them look kinda shabby and less likely to be a target for crime, but it means they are much easier to spot coming off an airport carousel or from under a bus.

Less is best – leave yourself some room

No matter how you travel internationally, with a hiking pack or suitcase, if you’re going for an extended period of time the less you have the better. Now that doesn’t mean spending a year in a single shirt, but you need to figure out the minimum amount you are happy to get away with before needing a laundry day.

One of the best tips we received was to leave leftover space in your bag when you leave. At least enough to fit another pair of shoes and a jumper into. Not only will you need room for all your souvenirs, but inevitably you will want to expand your wardrobe as you discover what you do and don’t prefer wearing as you travel. Leave yourself some wiggle room!

Layer your clothes for flexibility

You have probably heard this one before, but layering your clothes really is the best tactic. This is even truer if you are not entirely sure of the climates you will be heading into in future. A couple of tops and a light jumper can do the same job in winter as one bulky jumper with a lot more versatility.

Picking clothes that layer well not only leads to more outfit options but will usually mean you are packing lighter and smaller items leaving more room for shoes!

Keeping everything organised with packing cubes

We’ll be honest, when we started planning what to pack and looking for advice online, we both thought packing cubes were a bit of a gimmick. Travelling around South East Asia in 2012 we didn’t need them, why would we need them now?

Oh, how wrong we were. These little babies are just amazing. Not only do they keep all your socks, jocks and frocks separated and arranged neatly, they also keep everything tight and compressed saving a ton of space. Go and buy a bunch of these right now. Large double sided ones for clothes work well, and smaller ones are great for keeping dirties or personals separate and to fill the smaller gaps in your bag. Experiment with how many you need and how they fit best in your bag.

International Travel Packing List

Now onto the actual packing list. Here is a full breakdown of what we both packed including all the essentials. Your mileage may vary with some of this stuff, but we hope this will give you a good idea of what worked for us, and why.

We will cover all the tech and photography gear we took in a separate post so stay tuned.

Anna

Tim

What we wish we didn’t pack for our trip

• Too many books!
  Travel diary, plus another heavy writing book, plus a book to read etc etc. We ended up giving away a book, borrowing then donating etc. We still go into every bookstore and library we come across because we love them, but for now and this time in our lives it’s e-books all the way!
• Excess clothing.
  Despite our best efforts we still arrived with too much clothing. Anna had too many dresses, Tim a few too many socks and shirts. We ended up sending a parcel of excess clothes home which was absolutely necessary once we bought hiking boots and new winter coats.
• Android Tablet.
  This never got used once. Both of us have big enough phones to read from, and we always use a laptop for movies so it was just one device going to waste.
• Travel pillows.
  Just suck it up and use a jacket or jumper. Even with memory foam ones that can scrunch down they still just take up too much space for how often you need them. Don’t waste your time with inflatable either as they are horrible and will not lead to any sleep.
• Instax printer.
  We love this little guy to print photos from, but it just never got used in the moment. We would love to have just a regular old Instax Camera instead for those cheeky candid moments.

Unexpected travel packing essentials

• Roll up reusable shopping bag.
  We use this every single week for shopping, going to the beach, taking clothes to the laundry. Super light and strong they fold down to nothing.
• Foldable water bottle.
  Great for flights and getting through security. The flexibility means you can refill it under any tap – even horrible train station ones.
• Mini portable speaker.
  Cheap, small, great sound, long-lasting battery that is USB rechargeable and connects via Bluetooth. This little guy is often one of the first things we bust out when we arrive at new accommodation.
• Cable organiser aka Tech bag.
  This is actually a photography insert with dividers that we repurposed. Keeps all our cables, dongles, chargers etc nice and neat and separated.
• Single USB charging station and battery packs.
  Check out our upcoming tech post for more detail.
• Ziplock bags.
  You never know what you will need them for, but you will need them. We have used it as water protection, sandwich bags, rubbish bags, Tupperware substitute and laundry powder pack.
• Insulated shopping bag.
  This one is for those long-term travellers who like to cook for themselves like us. An insulated shopping bag paired with a frozen 2L bottle of water = cold food for a day. Great for summer day trips to the beach, or simply moving your “travel pantry” between two destinations.
• Microfibre towel.
  We ummed and aaarghed about this one when we packed, but are now super thankful we put them in. So many wild swims and rainstorms where these guys and kept us dry.

Our top 4 travel packing tips

1. Pack for a week.

We can’t remember who told us this one but packing for a week really helped us narrow down our clothes. That means a week’s worth of undies, socks, and shirts. The rest of the layers came naturally to us once we nailed this.

2. Invest in good shoes.

You will be spending literally your whole time overseas exploring, hiking and walking everywhere. Do not skimp on your shoes. We bought a high-quality pair of hiking boots the same morning we did a 6-hour hike up a couple of Scottish mountains and they didn’t need any wearing in and kept our feet super comfy and unharmed. I’m not so sure the same could be said for the discount pair. Try and keep it to 2-3 pairs max if you can because shoes also take up the most space in your bag.

3. Packing cubes, packing cubes, packing cubes.

Okay so we have already covered this, so why are you waiting? Go out and get yourself some packing cubes!

4. Be prepared to stress less

We are big fans of not stressing about this stuff too much. I mean at the end of the day no matter where you are travelling to, you should always be able to pick up a jumper or new jeans if needed. However, we also love to be prepared, and not having to shop on arrival at a new destination means more time for exploring and no unexpected costs.