The Ultimate Packing Guide for a Trip Around the World

We’ve been slow traveling the world for almost two years. We live in each destination for a month or two and then it’s on to the next. During our travels, we’ve taken on the blazing hot summer in Athens. We’ve made it through a very rainy winter in Istanbul.  We’ve had nice dinners out; gone hiking; had days at the beach; we even hit the gym. 

Through it all we’ve managed to have the right stuff in our luggage. We’ve come up with a packing list of everything we need for all these different experiences and activities and weather conditions. And we’re going to share it in detail today. But be warned: we’re not packing light. 

We want to feel comfortable while we’re traveling. We want to be prepared for any kind of weather. We want to feel like we’re at home even though we live in Airbnbs. We have a lifestyle that includes hiking and working out and doing a lot of cooking. All these activities require things that we need to somehow fit in our luggage. But the reality of travel is that you can only bring along so much. Most airlines need you to keep under 23 kg, which is 50 lbs. 

That might sound like a lot but when you don’t have a home anywhere else in the world and you’re traveling with all your possessions, it can feel pretty limited. We really need to make sure that we make the most of those 50 lbs. And, if we go over, we’ll be facing hefty extra charges every time we take a flight. 

Managing how much we’re carrying has been an ongoing battle.

When we first headed out on our journey, our luggage was 32” and we made the mistake of filling it right up with all kinds of ridiculous items. It was so heavy that I couldn’t lift it myself, which made for some truly difficult travel days. Fortunately both suitcases eventually broke and we were forced to start fresh with much smaller luggage. This was a great opportunity to rethink every single thing that we’re bringing along. 

Clothes 

Our biggest challenge with staying below that 23 kg / 50 lbs max is our clothing. Clothes make up the majority of what’s in our luggage and it’s the usual category where a person can go really wrong with overpacking. Of course, it all starts out innocently enough. We hope to be spending a lot of time in warm climates so the base for our wardrobe is really lightweight clothing: t-shirts, shorts, lightweight pants, bathing suits, a sun shirt and ample socks and undies.

But that’s just the beginning. We can’t be in Thailand all the time. For us, we know we’ll also be spending time in cooler weather. We each need a pair of jeans and sweatpants; we also need long-sleeved t-shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts. I have a jean jacket and we both have lightweight scarves. For all of these items, we both like to stick with a blue, grey and purple colour palette to make for easier mixing and matching. 

We try to avoid the coldest winter but we still need to be ready if the temperature drops.

As we’ve discovered, the autumn in places like Ukraine can get pretty chilly. If the weather gets really cold, we’ve got down jackets, gloves, thick socks, a fleece top and long underwear. 

But that’s not all. We also work out everyday and need clothes for that as well. We’ve got a couple of leggings and sports bras, a few t-shirts and I’ve got a yoga jacket. And if you’ve been following our blog or videos, you’ll know we love hiking and of course we need clothes for that as well. We have hiking pants, merino wool top, rain coats and ball caps. 

Shoes

We need shoes for lots of different types of activities. In fact, we had a lot more shoes when we first started traveling. Gillian had a pair of dress loafers and I had dress boots, silver flats and suede flats. Not only were they too bulky to fit into our smaller suitcases, we never, ever wore them. We just carried them around in our luggage for a year. 

This time round, we feel like we’ve nailed it for footwear. We both have running shoes, hiking shoes and flip flops and I also have stylish but comfortable shoes for around town. 

Technology

We each have a computer, a phone, some earphones, and all the cords and adapters and accessories that go with them. Until very recently we were traveling with just one computer but for the sake of our marriage we decided to add another.  

Of course we also have a few pieces of tech to help us with our youtube channel. We try to keep it pretty minimal but it does add up, including a large tripod, a smaller tripod, a Pocket 2 camera, a couple mics, a power bank and hard drives.

Toiletries

Before we traveled full time, we were comfortable bringing along little travel sizes for all our toiletries. Now that we’re on the road all the time, we need the full -sized versions of everything: toiletries, beauty products, pharmaceuticals. 

Of course, everyone has different needs when it comes to this personal stuff. We’re not going to walk through the specifics but we will show you how we pack them: in dry bags. These are bags that are typically used for keeping stuff dry while camping or on a canoe trip. We use them for packing away all our toiletries because — no matter how tight we put on the lids — it seems like something always leaks on our travel days. 

That covers all the basics and you might be thinking it shouldn’t be a problem to fit it all into 23 kg or 50 lbs. But there’s still more. As we mentioned, we’re traveling for months at a time — maybe even years — and we want to feel comfortable. This means bringing along a few things that help us have a nice lifestyle on the road. 

Lifestyle

Some people might bring along a musical instrument or sports equipment or art supplies when they travel. We love cooking and since there’s always something missing from every Airbnb kitchen, we bring along a kit of essentials for the kitchen. This includes a chef’s knife, a paring knife, cloth bags, food containers, measuring cups and spoons, a vegetable peeler, an adorable teeny tiny grater, tea infusers and, most importantly, a travel coffee filter. We are constantly shocked at how many Airbnbs don’t offer a way to make coffee in the morning. 

We also love working out everyday. We used to go to the gym and lift weights but these days we’re really into yoga. So we need to make room in our luggage for yoga mats and blocks. 

Finally, don’t forget that we’re also traveling with two dogs. We have their beds, grooming kit, coats, bowls and more. We won’t go into it all in detail because not many people are up for traveling internationally with two dogs (but check out our travel with dogs section). 

That’s basically everything we bring along for our life on the road. It seems like a lot but, amazingly, we are able to fit within the 23kg / 50 lb cutoff. Of course, we’ve had a lot of trial and error along the way. When we first started traveling, we were carrying around a lot of ridiculous things that we really should have just left at home. If you want to see all our packing mistakes, you can check out the next post right here.