Packing for a Trip Around the World

I have probably agonized over what to pack for this trip more than the actual trip itself (including our desired destinations). It sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. And you may be asking, how can you even think about packing when you don’t even know where you’re going? The answer is: it doesn’t matter. After reading through several online blogs from travelers who have taken a trip of this magnitude, I found that you basically pack for a week or two and just recycle your outfits and do laundry along the way. I should mention this rule of thumb applies only to those looking to travel carry-on. The biggest travel tip I came across from my endless hours of research, is that those looking to travel long-term should aim to travel carry-on if at all possible as this can eliminate many headaches and will make getting from point A to B much easier and more enjoyable.

Jeremy and I plan to travel for approximately 6 months, maybe longer depending on how far we can stretch our budget. During this time, we plan to find ourselves in a variety of terrains and climates, hemispheres and continents, and there’s no way to pack for every occasion. Therefore, we focused on packing the basics and essentials and agreed that if we find ourselves on a glacier trek for example, we’ll just rent the additional items needed for that particular activity when we get there.

Since we are traveling from July to December and we’re starting in Europe, we have at least 3 months of warm summer weather to pack for. We’re also planning to spend a minimum of 2 months in South East Asia (where the heat is oppressive year-round) so the majority of our trip will be spent in warm/down right sweltering conditions. The remainder of our trip will be spent in Nepal and Tibet during the month of October where we plan to trek through the Himalayas as we complete the Annapurna Circuit. Being in the mountains as we complete this 100-145 mile trail will of course bring it’s own unique set of circumstances, so we plan to rent and/or buy any special gear and clothing once we get there.

Now to our detailed packing lists! All of these items were carefully packed into either our main backpack (Osprey Farpoint 55) or it’s detachable daypack. We plan to travel by train, bus, and boat as much as possible, but we will also need to take the occasional flight in which case we want to make sure we can fly 100% carry-on. The Osprey Farpoint 55 is great for this because the detachable daypack can serve as your “personal item” while the main backpack can serve as your “carry-on.” If these items weren’t detached from one another, the bag would most likely exceed most carrier allowances for carry-on luggage and we would end up needing to check our bags.

Whitney’s (Extensive) Packing List:

Clothing:

• 9 short sleeve/sleeveless tops
• 2 light long sleeve tops
• 1 waterproof pant (convertible into shorts for the jungle treks)
• 1 jeans (super light and stretchy)
• 1 legging
• 2 denim shorts
• 1 athletic shorts
• 2 sundresses
• 1 maxi skirt
• 1 waterproof jacket
• 1 soft shell jacket
• 2 bathing suits
• 10 underwear
• 3 bras (including sports bra)
• 4 pairs of socks
• 3 shoes (walking shoe, flip flop, sandal)

Other:

• Backpack
• Waterproof cover for backpack
• eBags 3-piece packing cubes
• eBags Pack-it-Flat toiletry kit
• Baseball cap
• Belt
• Sunglasses
• Pashmina
• Cross-body purse & slim wallet
• Travel sheet
• Travel towel
• Travel pillow
• Headlamp
• Titanium spork
• Wet bag
• Water bottle w/ built in filtration system
• MacBook Pro
• Kindle
• iPhone
• Journal
• Make-up bag & brush

Jeremy’s (Extensive) Packing List:

Clothing:

• 6 short sleeve tops
• 2 long sleeve tops
• 2 waterproof pants (zip-off to shorts)
• 1 jeans
• 2 shorts
• 1 waterproof jacket
• 1 light jacket
• 1 bathing suit
• 6 underwear
• 9 socks
• 2 shoes (sneaker, flip flop)

Other:

• Backpack
• Waterproof cover for backpack
• eBags 3-piece packing cubes
• eBags Pack-it-Flat toiletry kit
• Belt
• Money belt
• Sunglasses
• Travel sheet
• Travel towel
• Travel pillow
• Headlamp
• Titanium spork
• Wet bag
• Water bottle w/ built in filtration system
• GoPro + accessories
• Travel alarm clock
• Olympus tough camera + accessories
• iPhone
• Adapter
• Rope/laundry line
• 4 locks (2 bag, 2 locker)
• Earplugs
• External hard drive
• Power converter
• Kindle
• Journal
• Medication

As Jeremy has said, “if we’re missing anything, we’ll buy it”

-Whitney