List of things to pack for holiday abroad

[CoffeePleaseSir]

I thought a thread with a list/ideas from people on what items could be useful on holiday, or ideas of clothing, essentials when going abroad.

We have 2 children between 7-11 but even items/suggestions for younger/older kids to for others to look at.

Also does anyone know anything about what you can take in your hand luggage?

hand luggage: anything valuable (electronics), anything essential (documents, medication) Liquids, gels and pastes up to 100ml per container, all the containers to fit in one 20 cm x 20cm plastic bag. Nothing sharp.

hold luggage: nothing valuable. All the things that don't go in hand luggage.

packing list really does depend on the climate where you are going, and what you will be doing.

Thank you special that really helps, I had no clue about hand luggage.

We are going to Greece in August so hot, very hot I am told

I am adding bits to my list so by the time we have to go I will have it there on a list and won't forget anything.

Greece in August will indeed be very hot. Are you the people going to Kos?

each person needs: a week of underwear, three sets of swimwear (one on, one to change into, one rinsed in the shower the previous night and drying on the balcony), a few t-shirts, light long trousers and one light long-sleeved top (evening cover up against mosquitoes). Swimwear for kids is sunsuits to protect against UV. Sunhats all round. Perhaps an extra long sleeved loose top or two. Flip flops, beach shoes, one pair trainers to wear on journey/for any sightseeing. Maybe one fleece top each for the plane/transfer coach (can be over airconditioned).

if staying more than a week, pack a bit more or do a bit of laundry.

whatever you need in the way of kids/baby stuff. Toiletries. Medication (of course Greece has pharmacies but you don't want to be finding one when you are ill). NB nothing with codeine in, illegal in Greece.

lots of suncream, some insect repellent, sunglasses. Books/kindles. A euro adapter or two.

do not take hairdryer (it's hot in Greece, just sit outside for 10 mins) straighteners (far too hot to use), too much makeup (it slides off), perfume (bad in the sun, attracts mosquitoes in the evening), jeans (too hot), high heels (silly on cobbles/marble).

that's it!

If you go somewhere hot you need to realise that you will need to change T-shirts and underwear in the evenings because everything will be drenched with sweat unless you stay all day in beachwear.

Buy suncream here, the prices in the resorts are quite high always.

Get some new books for the flight and leisure time. If your childre have gadgets maybe a couple of new games.

Thank you, great advice here, I hope we manage to pack everything within the 20kg weight limit!

We are going for 10 days, dd is the one that is accident prone, ie spills food/drinks/ice cream etc all down herself I think I will need to pack a lot for her.

The thought of packing all this stuff makes me have palpitations!

Should we take our iPad? If so should we pack in luggage or hand luggage?

Thanks for suncream tip will stock up before we go.

Special - yes we are off to Kos

Go and buy cheap pants. Set of 7. Wear and bin

the ipad is VALUABLE and goes in hand luggage. If you put it in hold luggage there are reasonable odds that it will either be broken or not there at the other end. It only takes one crooked baggage handler. You will also find that your insurance does not cover valuables in hold luggage.

for messy eaters in warm climates, sit them in the shade at meal times and dress them in a swimsuit. (this is fine for kids, adults should cover up a little at mealtimes) Chuck them in the sea (not the pool) after lunch or under the beach shower, job done.

underwear economy tip - put fresh knickers on after your evening shower, wear that evening and the next day. Change at evening shower time.

20kg is per person but there is absolutely no need for that much in a warm climate. Lighter bags get treated better by baggage handlers, but they all get thrown around.

Buy a cool sleeve for your water bottle. Keeps them cold for around 4 hours. We also take a small insulated lunch box with the gel( to freeze). Handy for all sorts of snacks you are carrying around.

A couple of cotton sarongs perhaps (not polyester ones, too sweat making) - as well as wearing them you can use them to shade you from the sun, double as a towel etc etc.

Also try to take loose cotton clothes - manmade fabrics are NOT good in hot weather. I find long sleeves and 3/4 length trousers (or cotton maxi dresses) keep me cooler than tiny clothes, plus you need to wear less sunscreen that way.

A wide brimmed sun hat per person, not too tight around the band, is invaluable in sunny weather - keeping your head shaded makes the sun less tiring plus obviously you avoid sunburn.

For DD one option is to take some things that dry quickly (light cotton, etc) so you can quickly handwash things if she spills - it will dry really fast in the sun in that weather.

Another thing to take is a small backpack for daytrips - big enough for phrasebook, phone, camera, water bottles, sunscreen etc.

And I always take a universal power converter that has USB - that way you can take only USB chargers not the ones with the power plug at the end - much lighter and smaller. You can get them in the airport.

Sounds like a lovely holiday, have a great time!

If you DC are prone to spilling food/drink, think about packing a tube of travel wash instead of loads of extra clothes. You can wash out things by hand and hang up to dry. Good for socks and underwear too. Get them to pack in their hand luggage spare top and shorts in case of spills on the plane.

I also do specialsubjects trick of clean pants on after shower to go out for dinner, then wear next day. For yourself you could also use pantyliners as well. And grannys tip for an insulated sleeve for water bottle.

I always take a small first aid and medicine kit as well.

My favourite thing for holidays are microfibre towels. Fold small and light, are incredibly absorbent and dry very quickly. We just take one ordinary beach towel each (to lie on), and a couple of microfibre ones. You just pat yourself dry and hang them up after your swim.

Pack toiletries in your suitcase. In your hand luggage you can take wet wipes which don't count as liquid, handy for quick cleanups. If you have any make-up it does count as liquid so will need to be in the clear bag for security. Remind DD if she has any lip balm. As said before electronics, jewellery, documents/passports, essential medication, and small amounts of non-essential like painkillers, diarrhoea tablets etc in dry form (tablets, capsules) are O.K. in hand baggage. If you buy any liquids/gels/pastes after security you can have them in your hand baggage.

seconded: the 'liquids' rules are actually liquids, gels and pastes. Makeup, lip balm, toothpaste etc etc.

if anyone wears disposable lenses; you can take a couple of pairs in hand luggage (in the plastic bag) but all the rest must go in the hold.

Thank you am so glad I started this thread as I am so out of touch with the "flying rules"

What is this clear bag you speak of? Do I need a clear bag then put all my liquids, gels, paste in it and do I keep that out of my luggage?

The "clean bag" is for liquids in your hand luggage. It needs to be a bag you can close, some of these sandwich bag types where you press the top sides together are fine as long as it is clear plastic, not blue or similar.

Oh, the most important thing to take on holiday is travel insurance. Even in Europe don't rely on your European Travel card, you will need private insurance.

I always take sarongs instead of beach towels - they don't take up much space or weight in the case, they dry quickly and are multi-functional as you can use them as a skirt or dress on the beach.

here you go:

www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/overview

keep the plastic bag accessible in your hand luggage, so you can extract it quickly at security.

other top tip: take EMPTY water bottles through security. Fill them after the inspection at a tap if there is one. Cheaper than buying drinking water.

Fantastic and thank you for the link.

So much to remember

Will take a sarong, dd will live in swim gear, t-shirt and dresses with flip flops/sandals.

Am collecting as we go, bought the suncreams yesterday and some after sun.

Dd is just clumsy so will make sure I get some light weight clothes I can wash in sink.

Got some sun hats.

I like to be organised

Thank you for all your fantastic tips am going to print this out and read back over the next couple of months make sure I don't forget anything and pack as light as possible.

We have the light weight suitcases and dd and ds have smaller cases than us each.

We have travel insurance through our bank but am going to have a read through it.

Not got the European cards yet can I do that now?

I presume if you're going to Kos in August then you're doing beach? If so, do you need beach towels or can you hire them there? We tend to do the latter to save lugging them around.
For the plane, you can all have one item of hand luggage so your DC should have one bag each in which they can have their books/gadgets etc for the flight (make sure they know how to put any gadgets into flight mode), drink & snack (they may not be sitting with you) whilst you or your DH/DP have what you'll need for the flight plus family valuables & paperwork.

For hold luggage, rather than having a bag each, we spread stuff across the bags so that if one bag goes missing, we'll all still have a swimming costume, clean undies, T-shirt etc. Once we get there & we're unpacked, one suitcase then becomes a laundry basket and everything that gets dirty & isn't going to be washed on holiday, goes in there & stays in there until we come home. If I am being ultra-organised and there's lots of it, I will sort through it when we're packing to come home & have a "dark wash" and "light wash" suitcase.

Coffee, make sure you order the EHIC's from the NHS website as it is free of charge. www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ehic

There are some websites that have the cheek to charge you for this!

Second putting some of everyones clothes in all the cases. We usually put a day outfit, evening outfit, some undies and swimwear, in addition to the spare shorts/top/undies in our hand luggage.

I'd order your EHIC cards now. They start getting busy towards the Summer.

Last year when we went away, and I am going to do the same this year, I took dresses for night time and cover up/beach type dresses for the day, 1 pair of ballet pumps(that I wore on the plane), one pair sandals and a pair of flip flops. It really, really cut down on the weight we took. I loaded up my Kindle with books so that saved weight too.

I always buy the same bikini, but in 3 different colours, so I don't get odd tan lines.

Take some baby wipes, they are fab at sponging a mark off clothes, so they can be worn again.

I always take Dettol wipes, just incase someone gets ill then I can give the loo a quick wipe round.

Photocopy all of your passports (the pages with your photos and the numbers on) it will make it a lot easier should you lose them.

We ordered all our EHIC cards about a fortnight ago and got them through within a few days. Don't be conned by any websites looking official but charging - poor FIL paid £22 each for theirs!!! Ours were all free through official website.