Packing for a Trip Around the World
What to pack for a trip around the world?
How to Pack for a World Trip?
An Essentials Packing List for Long-Term Travel
Perhaps a few readers are out there making their own plans for travel and thinking - what should I pack?
For months leading up to a major trip, every decision is weighed and measured. Will these shoes work for where we are going? Can I use them for more than just hiking? Will they be too warm? They feel heavy, what do you think? Are they comfortable?
If buying, how much are they again? Does that sound expensive? Can we find a better deal? This process is repeated for almost every item. From camera and lens configurations to hats, socks, and so on.
Packed up for another travel day in Albania. Counterclockwise lower right, Osprey Ozone Roller Suitcase, Travelon Tour Travel Tote, Osprey Porter 30, Osprey 24, and Osprey Daylite Plus
As much as possible, we try to use items we already own but shopping is often inevitable before a long journey. We review what worked and what did not on previous trips and adjust and fine-tune all the time.
Packing for Summer and Winter
Packing for our trip around the world has been challenging for a couple of reasons. One: we have tried to limit ourselves to carry-on only. Two: each bag must also weigh less than 10 kg / 22 lb. Depending on the airline, we may have to check one bag but in most cases, we can bring both items onboard.
Three: we will travel to both warm and cold climates. Shades, sunscreen, sandals, and swimsuits for the warmer climates and rain pants, long underwear, hats, and gloves for winter conditions. Emphasis has been placed on quality and comfort.
Keep scrolling. We have a short video and a quick travel update below.
Di is taking in the view of the beautiful Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. Hiking to the top of the Fortress.
Backpacks/Bags
Osprey Ozone roller suitcase
Osprey Porter 30 backpack
Osprey Ozone 24 light backpack
Osprey Daylite Plus daypack
Travelon Anti-Theft Heritage Travel Tote
Morten’s Travel Wardrobe
McKinley Aquamax Elite green windbreaker/rain jacket
Icebreaker Merino wool green zip jacket
Kuhl long pants
Mec light long pants
North Face rain pants
Craft men’s long underwear
Icebreaker long sleeve 150 weight
Icebreaker long sleeve 260 weight
5 T-shirts
Ripzone swim shorts
Windriver ¾ short
Wool scarf (bought in Edinburgh)
Turtle fur hat
Icebreaker neck warmer
Nike cap (bought in Dubai)
Grip grab light gloves
North Face heavier gloves (lost one glove in Belfast)
5 pairs of underwear
4 high cut socks
1 thick wool sock/slippers
2 short socks
Solomon Gore-Tex running/walking shoes
Ecco slip-on shoes
Birkenstock sandals
The swim suits and sunscreen came out at Wild Beach in Cyprus
Diana’s Travel Wardrobe
North Face orange windbreaker/rain jacket
Føtex special rain pants
Fleece-lined grey pants
Black wide-legged pants
Black leggings
Uniglo black sweater dress
Columbia light black travel dress
Blue shorts
Grey skirt
2 short sleeve T-shirts
2 undershirts
Long sleeve T-shirt, black
Icebreaker ¾ zip
White lace top
2 piece bathing suit
Wool hat
Knit gloves
Sunhat
7 pairs of underwear
2 pairs of tights, grey and black
Leggings, burgundy
2 long socks
2 short socks
1 thick wool sock/slippers
Blundstones boots
Saucony trail runners/walking shoes
Teva sandals – modified
The Osprey Daylite Plus has worked well as a daypack. Here it is seen on a hike to the Berat Castle in Albania.
The Travel Wardrobe
Diana passport
Morten passport
Morten PR card
Diana wallet
Morten wallet
2 water bottles
Net shopping bag (bought in Toulouse)
Earplugs
2 x headphones/earbuds
Bag – glasses cleaner
Cooling wrap
Sleep mask
Face mask
Knitting
MacGyver bag – sewing kit, clips, etc.
Clothing line
Knee brace
Travel blanket
BOGI Microfiber travel sports towel
Umbrella
200 business cards
Hearing aid batteries
Bose SoundLink Revolve Bluetooth speaker
Gaffer tape
Luggage scale
12 Starbucks True North via blond instant coffee
6 earl grey tea bags
Driving through stunning landscapes in the mountains of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Medicine Bag
Portable USB air humidifier
Pain medications
Vitamins, Di
Vitamins, Morten
Q-tips
Dental flossers
Toothpaste
Tooth tabs
Tums
Eno
Sinus medication
Cold medication
Shaving blades
Shaving cream
Shaver
Hand sanitizer
U-dream – lite and full night
Lip chap
Sunscreen
Lush shampoo
Lush conditioner
Tissues
First aid kit
Deodorants
Face cream
Oil of Oregano – Joy of the Mountain
Coffee break in Bratislava, Slovakia. I have been very pleased with my camera selection for this trip. If you would like to read more about cameras and lenses for travel head over to our Camera and Lens Reviews.
Camera Gear
Manfrotto Mini Tripod
Hoya 62 mm Pro ND8 filter
Hoya 62 mm Pro ND 1000 filter
Hoya 62 mm Fusion CIR-PL polarizer filter
52-62mm filter step-up ring
58-62mm filter step-up ring
Filter carrying case
Yimidear Shockproof Padded Foldable Partition Camera Insert Bag, using this with the Osprey Ozone 24
2 Fujifilm lens pouches
Body cap
Rear lens caps
2 NW-126s Fujifilm batteries
2 NW-126 Fujifilm batteries
SanDisk 32GB Extreme PRO UHS-II SDXC Memory Card
SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO UHS-II SDXC Memory Card
Lexar 32GB Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card
Lexar 32GB Professional 633x UHS-I SDXC Memory Card
Lexar SD card reader
Kingston Mobile Lite G4 card reader
Newmowa Dual USB Charger for Fujifilm NP-W126 NP-W126S
We made it all the way to Budapest before putting our rain pants to good use.
Computers / Mobile Devices
15” MacBook Pro (2012) with charger
12” MacBook (2016) with charger
iPhone 6s Plus (glass broken after dropping it a couple of times. Had it fixed in Paphos, Cyprus)
iPad Mini
iPod Touch
2 x 2 TB Western Digital portable backup drives
Mac mouse
Mouse pad
4 USB cords of various lengths - all eventually failed and were replaced in Belgrade
Anker PowerCore 5000 Portable charger
Insignia car USB adapter
Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
BAGSMART Large Travel Case Cable Organizer
2 x Travel Adapter, Universal Power Adapter Worldwide Wall AC Power Plug with Dual USB Charging Ports
BAGSMART Large Travel Case Cable Organizer
Miscellaneous
2 pairs of reading glass readers - one pair left in Bar - replaced with 4€ readers from Flying Tiger, Bratislava
Cord shoulder exercises
2 pens
Blog master list
Blog ideas notebook
Journal and expense tracking notebook
Lonely Planet Eastern Europe
Update After Two Months of Travel
All in all, we are pleased with the amount of luggage we have brought on this trip. We are a little over two months in, the halfway point and we have used almost every item in our bags.
Di feels she could have packed lighter and will be leaving a few things in Copenhagen. We lucked out with fine weather in Ireland and Northern Ireland and did not get to use our rain pants until we did a rainy/misty walking tour of Budapest in early December.
Yimidear Shockproof Padded Foldable Partition Camera Insert Bag
Using this with the Osprey Ozone 24
The sunscreen came out, especially in Malta and Cyprus but also in Sofia, and Lake Ohrid. We had lovely weather with temperatures in the low twenties.
Similar to a Vancouver summer but when we stopped for ice cream on our way home from the beach in Cyprus, the shopkeeper let us know “we don’t have ice cream, it’s winter” :)
One question we have been asked is, why not take one larger bag instead of multiple smaller bags? We find that multiple bags gives us more freedom once we arrive at a destination. Sometimes we both take a day pack, sometimes we do a day trip with only a camera over the shoulder and Di’s purse with a water bottle on the side.
Heading out for a day trip in Copenhagen, Denmark. So far the winter days in Denmark have been mild but damp. My brother has a couple of down jackets which we have borrowed while here.
We brought four inexpensive USB/lightning cords and they all gave out within a few days. We picked up a couple of new cords in Belgrade. In regards to our Bose SoundLink Revolve Bluetooth speaker, we debated back and forth. Should we bring it or not? It weighs a hefty 0.7 kg which is considerable in our packing scheme.
At home we listen to our playlists or the radio all the time and while on the road this has given us a sense of calm and stability in the midst of the travel chaos. We have used it almost daily.
My reading glasses broke in Malta. We found a new pair, which I then went on to forget in Bar, Montenegro. Not in a bar but in the town of Bar. The endless story of lost, broken, or misplaced reading glasses. My sunglasses just broke in my jacket pocket, probably from carrying my pack in the front. Gaffers tape to the rescue.
We will try to shave some weight off our packs before we leave Denmark on January 9th. The idea is to pack away some of our warmer clothes as we will hit summer in the southern hemisphere for the remaining portion of our trip.
A fun story from one of the first days after departure. Di has an automatic toothbrush, which automatically turns off after two minutes. Walking around Mik and Courtney’s apartment thinking, it is taking forever for the toothbrush to shut off, not realizing she has left the auto-toothbrush and other comforts at home :)
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