Every packing list we have written, in one place, with a free printable that covers documents, hand luggage, the suitcase, the first aid kit and the children. Print it, tick it, pack once.
We have packed for two-week road trips, a fortnight in the sun, wild camping in Canada, Christmas markets in December and two months solo across Australia, and for most of those trips somebody forgot something.
The list on this page is the result. It is written from what we actually pack rather than from a template, it is organised the way you pack, from the documents you sort first to the bag you zip last, and there is a printable version so you are not scrolling on your phone with a suitcase open.
The list assumes a trip abroad by plane with a case in the hold, because that is most holidays. If yours is different, or you want to work out what your particular trip needs before you start ticking, our guide to the twelve questions to answer before you write your packing list is the place to begin; it has a worksheet, and everything on this page follows from it.
In short:
A holiday packing list has five parts; documents and money, the bag that stays with you on the plane, the case that goes in the hold, a small first aid kit, and the children’s bag if you are travelling with children. The headline items for each part are below. Each part has its own detailed guide, linked as you go, and the printable has all of them.
These go in your hand luggage, in one place, and they are the first thing on the list because they are the only things you cannot buy when you get there.
Everything you need in the air and everything you would not want to lose with a suitcase: the documents above, any medication, phone, charger and power bank (the power bank must be in the cabin, not the hold), a plug adaptor, something to read, snacks and a refillable bottle, and a change of clothes, because our bags have been delayed enough times that this is no longer optional.
The hold bag is where the variables live: weather, activities, how long you are away and whether you can wash anything. Work through it in groups: toiletries (decanted, in a hanging bag), the clothes basics that mix and match, clothes for the forecast you checked rather than the one you hoped for, beach and water kit, whatever the activities ask for, and the practical items everyone forgets, from a sink plug to a fold-flat bag for what you bring home. For us the one thing we cannot leave without is Yorkshire teabags; add yours to the printable.
We have used almost everything in ours at some point, from blister plasters on a walking day to bite cream after a scorpion in Australia. The medicines you might need in transit (anything prescribed, EpiPens, antihistamines, pain relief) travel in the cabin bag; the rest of the kit goes in the hold until you arrive and then into the day bag. If you are travelling with children, add their medicines in the right strength and a thermometer.
Children do not pack lighter than adults; they pack heavier, and the younger they are the truer that is. A few things we have learned across a lot of family trips:
We will write a full children’s packing list in time; until then these go on the printable as their own section.
One PDF, two pages, every part above with tick boxes and a blank column for the items only your family would think of. It is free. Print one per trip; we keep the last one in the suitcase so it is there for the next.
Documents and money first, then the bag that stays with you, then the hold bag grouped by weather and activities, then a small first aid kit, then the children’s bag if you have children. Work from a list rather than from memory, and write it a week before you go so you can add to it. The printable checklist on this page covers all five parts.
Write the list a week out and pack the case two days before you leave. That gives you a day to notice what is missing and buy it, and a day for the washing to dry. The bag that stays with you gets packed last, the morning you go, from the documents section down.
Lay everything out on the bed and halve it. Choose clothes that mix and match so a small number of items make a lot of outfits, plan a wash midway through any trip over a week, and wear the bulkiest items on the plane. Most people never use half of what they take.
In our experience the plug adaptor, followed by the sun cream, followed by the driving licence for the hire car. All three are on the printable, near the top.
Go to the previous guides: