What is on our around-the-world packing list?

One of my favorite posts to read from other around-the-world travel blogs is a breakdown of a packing list. Before we took off on our own adventure I poured over these posts, figuring out what to bring, how much to bring, and how to pack it. I also think there is a fun “voyeuristic” aspect of seeing what’s inside other peoples’ suitcases – kind of like why it’s so fun to look into a window of a ground floor apartment or watch The Real World (RIP). There’s an innate human desire to compare and understand your habits to/vs others.

As such, I thought only fair if we share the packing list for our adventure as well! It was actually kind of a fun exercise to pause and take pictures of things, and useful too, to step back and reflect on what we are bringing. I also waited to write this post until after we had finished the first phase of our travels, since we were lucky enough to have a little break and tweak things where needed. So, let’s begin!

What travel “gear” is on our packing list?

Now, I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m going to start with the fact that we are not going the “I’m a backpacker and I will take two pairs of underwear and wash one while I’m wearing one” route. We did want to stick with carry-on only as it makes transfers and standby flights way easier. If we were purchasing all our travel gear from scratch perhaps these would be slightly different, but we are also going with the “use what we have instead of buying new things” philosophy the best we can.

What you see above is what we have taken with us (and yes it fits everything on our packing list!), minus a small purse I carry that has our passports, etc. In total it is:

• Jyoti – Rolling suitcase (have had for years, all-wheel rollers, woot woot)
• Jyoti – Red/white ESPN backpack (freebie, a chest strap and waist strap were are critical)
• Damian – Osprey front-zip backpack (borrowed from a friend, maybe a 45L?)
• Damian – NBA staff backpack (also a freebie; I hate that is says NBA Staff on it and we tried to cover that with masking tape but that lasted all about 7 hours. Oh well.)
• Jyoti – small purse with key documents (not pictured)

What clothes are on our packing list?

This is the hardest part (at least for me). I like comfy clothes and I like to have my choice of what comfy clothes to wear depending on what mood I am in. But, I also don’t like carrying a super heavy bag around, so we had to rationalize. Here’s a summary of where we ended up.

Clothes packing list: Underwear and socks

We have totally subscribed to travel cube mania. It took us a little while to get used to it, mostly because we were using cubes that were too big and all of similar sizes. Once we varied it up we started loving it, especially because it’s so easy to unpack and stay organized. I also left the undies / bras / socks in the cubes for the picture because figured everyone doesn’t need to see our nitty gritty.

• Damian (left side of picture above)
  • 9 pairs of underwear (Damian originally had brought fewer of these but found them to be a limiting factor and causing laundry needing to be done, so he added a few more on our break – especially since they are small and lightweight!)
  • 8 pairs of socks (all workout and low cut; also added a few more during the break)
  • 1 multiclava (multi-functional use for sun protection and sweat absorption)
• Jyoti (right side of picture above)
  • 9 pairs of underwear
  • 4 bras (2 regular, 2 sports)
  • 5 pairs of socks (3 workout and low cut, 2 “regular” for when I’m cold)
  • 2 “scarves” (not used as clothes but to wrap my legs tightly for comfort when I’m having a little bit of Restless Leg Syndrome)
  • 1 multiclava (ibid to Damian)

Clothes packing list: Shorts and Pants

Let’s start with Jyoti’s shorts / pants (top to bottom, starting on the left side, then the right):

• 1 pair of jeans (I really didn’t want to bring these because they are bulky to pack, but I need a pair of heavy pants for mosquito-y evenings and also, figured I should have some non-yoga-pant pants to wear out to dinners, etc. in Europe)
• 1 pair of loose, linen-denim shorts (for regular days or the beach)
• 1 pair of denim shorts
• 2 pairs of loose cotton workout shorts (for hikes or the beach)
• 2 pairs of Lululemon yoga pants (the only ones that don’t slide off my butt!)

And now for Damian’s, here’s what he’s got for this part of the packing list (from left to right):

• 2 pairs of workout shorts (for hikes or runs or swimming)
• 2 pairs of shorts (1 cotton and 1 linen)
• 1 pair of Bonobos pants (packed begrudgingly by Damian, but I think he’ll need them in Europe)
• 1 pair of hiking pants (the kind that zip off into shorts)

Clothes packing list: Tops

This was the area of the packing list that required the most thinking for me. I wanted items that were versatile in nature, but also with some fun “pop” items so I didn’t get bored. The biggest adjustment I made when we hopped back to New York was switching out to shirts made of thinner material, so they packed tighter. Seemed like a little thing but when I packed with that feature in mind it really reduced the bulk in my suitcase!

Let’s start with Jyoti’s stuff again, here’s what I’ve got (top to bottom, starting on the left side, then the right):

• More “evening-time” tops:
  • Dark grey t-shirt with elbow-length sleeves (Gap and old)
  • “eqALLy HUMAN” t-shirt mostly for sleeping and lounging (from here, my style no longer sold)
  • Black silk-y camisole (here)
  • White linen short-sleeve shirt with silk-y back (Club Monaco sample sale)
  • Long sleeve black silk-y top with tie back (Marshalls)
  • Edit (forgot before): A thin open sweater/sweatshirt in grey for when I need to stay warm (Marshalls, not pictured but I’m wearing it in the last picture in this post)
• More “daytime” tops (also used as swimsuit cover-ups with shorts):
  • White scoop neck t-shirt (LOFT and old)
  • Nike teal workout shirt (Nike store and old)
  • Athleta light-pink crop tee top with a string back (here)
  • 1 grey and 1 white crop tank top from H&M ($5 each!, here)
  • Athleta red crop tee-top with a strong back, same style as light-pink above (here)

And now onto Damian’s tops / shirts (top to bottom, starting on the left side, then to the right):

• 4 grey/blue-ish t-shirts (1 of these can be used for swimming)
• 1 bright blue workout shurt (can also be used for swimming)
• 2 “nicer” t-shirts
• 2 long-sleeve linen tops (for sun and bug protection that is lightweight)
• 1 long-sleeve black shirt (for nighttime)
• 1 fun white t-shirt with surfers on it (not pictured, he wore it)

Clothes packing list: Dresses

This is obviously just me. My decided factor here was that I wanted dresses I could wear a regular bra with. I also am more of a shorts person than a dress person so this area is light.

• 1 Gap linen beachy cover-up dress with 3/4 sleeves, also used as bathing suit cover up (here)
• 1 midi length cotton dress (with pockets!) that I bought in Greece (this dress is quite flowy and thus bulky but it’s one of my favorite items, and it brings me comfort and joy, so it was coming with)
• 1 scarf to keep warm as needed (wasn’t sure where else to put this; in the first phase of the trip I was traveling with a Turkish towel and a large wrap from Mexico and they were too bulky, so I removed both and replaced with this scarf)
• Edit (forgot before): Damian also has 1 scarf, aka canga in Portuguese, with a Brasil flag on it

Clothes packing list: Shoes

Starting with Jyoti’s shoes (top to bottom, starting on the left side, then the right):

• Nike sneakers
• Rainbow flip flops (these are my most used item; on the first phase of the trip I only had this one pair of flip flops but my feet were getting irritated by having the same pressure points all day so I added the next pair during our NYC stop)
• Leather sandals by Target’s Universal Thread brand (can we pause to talk about how obsessed I am with this line? I could literally redo half my closet with the Universal Thread line and be happy). And fine, I love my new sandals so much that I had to take a separate picture of them below – so artsy, I know. (here)
• Tan flats by Gilt’s in-house line (I haven’t used these yet but again am anticipating needing them in Europe when we will need to dial up the fancy factor at least a little bit)

And Damian’s shoes (yeah, I know them being in bags really helps the visualization):

• Nike flip flops
• Tom’s lace up shoes (also begrudgingly packed due to my insistence, but I really think we’ll be happy in Europe that he has them)
• Nike sneakers

Clothes packing list: Bathing Suits

We both tried to stay super light on these, but for different reasons. I love my bathing suits and a “normal” trip packing list has many more, but wanted to leave space for some more fun suits to buy along the way! Damian also likes uses his workout shorts as bathing suits, depending on what the day holds, and so he didn’t want to overpack these.

Damian’s bathing suits (left side of picture):

• 1 H&M bathing suit (not sure why the picture isn’t showing it, but it’s more of a neon pinkish-orange in person)
• 1 light pink Gap bathing suit

Jyoti’s bathing suits (right side of picture):

• 1 Madewell black one-piece suit (used more often for adventure swimming activities)
• 2 bikinis, both from Bloomingdale’s (I kept 2 black bottoms so it could be more mix and match depending on if things are dirty)

What toiletries and medicines are on our packing list?

I have to give a shout out to my girl Hiral for having the perfect size packing cube to keep all my toiletries and meds in one place for this trip. I use the below packing cube and then have a set of pouches, etc. in there to keep the different types of items organized within it. But man, why do toiletries take up so much space? It’s the worst.

Toiletries kit

I also pared this part of the packing list down quite a bit after the first phase of the trip, especially keeping in mind that consumables are generally purchasable (unless they are prescription). Damian has his own toiletries bag but I’ve already bugged him enough to take pictures of stuff, and he has a lot of duplicates (what can I say, we are both independent folks) so I haven’t shown his stuff here.

Here’s what toiletries I have as of now in my NBA (freebie!) dopp kit:

• 1 Lush shampoo bar (the hype is real and the hype is true. These are amazing)
• 3 travel soaps (in case the places we stay don’t have them)
• 3-month supply toothpaste (we’ve build up a lot of mini-tubes from travel amenity kits over the years and so are using those)
• 1 toothbrush
• 1 small comb (I’m lucky my hair is easy and this is all it needs, so no brush for me)
• 3-month supply Q-tips (I know it’s bad for me, but I don’t care – cleaning out my ears after the shower is one of life’s biggest pleasures)
• 1 razor and 4 blades
• A bunch of bobby pins and hair ties
• 1 lipstick and 1 mascara (rarely used but good to have for a pick-me-up)
• 1 necklace, 2 pairs of earrings, 1 bracelet (ibid) + the wedding band and one other ring I wear on a daily basis
• 1 emergency sewing kit
• A bunch of DEET bug repellent towelettes
• 1 workout headband
• ~11 (at least) chapsticks, spread out in every possible pocket and nook in cranny of all my luggage

Additional toiletries and get-well kit items

And then here are other toiletries and “in case of emergency” items I have on my packing list – I keep them spread out in other pouches and my TSA-approved quart-sized bag of liquids (yes, labeled with masking tape because I have the memory of a gnat):

• Daily use:
  • Dramamine
  • Anti-motion sickness wrist bands
  • Zyrtec and Zyrtec-D
  • Face moisturizer with SPF
  • Travel bottle with Pantene conditioner (I tried the solid conditioner from Lush but it just wasn’t working for my thick hair; I’ll probably try another solid conditioner in the future)
  • Baby oil (aside from Q-tips my favorite daily ritual post-shower – if you put it all over your body before you towel off, let it soak in for a minute and then towel off, you get the most moisturized skin; something my momma taught us as early as I can remember!)
  • Small bottle of Moroccan oil (used as leave-in conditioner)
  • 3-month supply of daily contacts (will be replenished when my sister meets up with us)
  • Small bottle of contact solution (my eyes tend to get dry)
  • 2 pairs of prescription glasses
  • 2 pairs of sunglasses (1 prescription and 1 non-  to wear with contacts)
  • 3-month supply of Zyrtec D and Zyrtec
  • 1 stick of deodorant
  • 1 stick of body glide
  • 2 knee braces (I have the knees of a seventy-year-old woman and use these constantly)
  • A million Halls cough drops (this cough is still here and still the worst; even though it’s over-the-counter and easy to find I always make sure to have excess on me)
  • My and Damian’s Invisalign trays (kind of annoying to carry, but gotta work those teeth)
  • 2 nail polish bottles and 1 top coat bottle (I find painting my nails to be very soothing), plus 8 nail polish remover pads
  • Eyemask and earplugs (not pictured; used mostly on flights but also super handy for when our accommodations require them)
• Our “first-aid kit”
  • Advil
  • Bandaids and Neosporin
  • Nyquil and Dayquil (for all the tablets like these I usually just take one “sleeve,” so maybe 6-8 pills and then just write dosage and expiration date on the back to help cut down on the bulk)
  • Thermometer (I’m looking at this now and don’t know why we have it; I don’t even know if it works; I would probably get rid of this next time)
  • Imodium
  • Rehydration tablets
  • Z-pack
  • Cystex (rarely need this, but any woman knows being caught in the middle of the night without these when you need them is the worst)
  • Zantac and Tums (two other things you do not want to be without when the need hits)
  • Ankle brace
  • After-bite for bug bites
  • Steroid creams for my bug bites
  • Epi-Pen (Damian is allergic to bees; he carries one on him and I have an extra)
  • Compression socks (for long plane journeys)

What electronics and stationary are on our packing list?

And finally, the last section, the electronics and stationary that are on our packing list. Again, I’m just sharing what I brought, plus the joint chargers, etc. that we have, but you can imagine Damian’s stuff mirroring this quite well.

The “main” electronics

Let’s start with the big kahunas, I brought:

• Macbook Pro (these blog posts don’t just write themselves!)
• iPad (I didn’t bring this on the first phase of our trip and it was a big miss, never again)
• Kindle (obsessed with this and the New York Public Library, so much free good-ness)
• iPhone (my sister has the other half of this pineapple case, miss that girl!)
• Apple Watch (I don’t wear this all the time, especially in places that feel less safe)
• GoPro Hero, GoPro extension pole and GoPro charging/memory cards (accessories not pictured)
• A wireless mouse (not pictured)

Electronics chargers, adapters, etc.

I’m lucky that Damian carries this in his backpack, because while it is a critical part of our packing list, these items are not light.

 

Here’s we have:

• What we call “Octupus” and the best charging device for international travel (the black cube with LOOP on it in the top left corner). Damian got it for me for our dating anniversary and it basically has every type of plug output (each can be individually slid out) and then multiple USB inputs and a US plug input (3-pronged!). Damian is in charge of the electronics charging on our trips and this little guy makes it easy to follow ABC (always be charging!).
• 2 iPhone cables and plugs (one cable is a 10-footer, which is super clutch when looking at stuff in bed)
• 1 Apple Watch charger
• 1 external battery pack and plug (for our phones)
• 1 AT&T Wireless hotspot (we rely solely on WiFi and so keep this in case of emergency)
• 1 cable and plug that charges Damian’s Blackberry, our Kindles and the AT&T hotspot
• 1 iPhone dashboard air vent mount (for directions, we love to do road trips!)
• 1 charger for Damian’s electric razor (as he says, the most single-function item we carry!)
• 1 wireless mouse (not pictured)
• 1 MacBook charger (not pictured)

Stationary and such

I am a tactile person that likes writing by hand and doing activities that do not involve a computer. As such, I do add a little weight by carrying some non-digital stationary, etc. items.

• My bullet journal (planner, journal, diary, atlas, etc. all in one)
• Pen roll with pens for bullet journal
• Guidebooks (we love Lonely Planet and are currently traveling with books for Brazil, Italy and Florence & Tuscany)
• Crossword puzzles (from a one-a-day calendar I got as a gift a few years ago; not too bulky and easy to get rid of once complete)
• A few printed logic puzzles (we love these but haven’t used them yet; I wonder if we ever will given all the mental stimulation we have from reading, writing, etc.)
• Roll-up backgammon (a great gift from my sis; this is a great way for us to get away from our digital devices and spend some fun time together)
• Deck of cards (also haven’t used yet, but is small enough that it’s worth it to carry)

The essential docs

Finally, I didn’t take a picture of these, but we obviously need to have some documentation and stuff on our packing list. Here’s what we carry with us:

• Our passports
• Visas, as needed
• U.S. Driver’s Licenses
• International Driver’s License (only got it for Damian, will get it for me as needed, but since I don’t know how to drive stick I’m mostly useless outside the U.S.)
• 2 credit cards each
• 1 debit card each
• Some cash
• Healthcare cards
• Our vaccination logs (for ourselves) and Yellow Fever vaccination cards (for when we need it to get into places)
• Emergency contacts and phone numbers

Um, so what did you say you packed for your around-the-world adventure?

So yeah, wow, typing it out makes it feel like a lot. But when it’s on our backs and in our hands, and when we can still travel without checking anything in, it doesn’t feel too bad. I think it’s all about organization and picking items that can pack up skinny and small. And I do still have room left in my suitcase for souvenirs, woot woot!

I’ll be honest, there are things I wish we could cut down on (and I’m sure there is still stuff we have on us that I missed writing in this list!). But as of now, early in our long-term travel packing journey, we feel pretty good (ok?) about where we are. It’ll be interesting to see how our needs change going forward and if there’s more stuff we ask for and/or get rid of as we meet up with travel companions along the way. But still, yay for long-term travel packing lists (this ended up being a weirdly fun post to write)!

ps – it’ll also be fun to see how many of these items folks can ID in future posts 🙂