Travelling for 12 months- taking too much or too little.

[ahunter90]

Heres my packing list

Clothing/shoes/accs:
4x tank tops
1x denim shorts
2x leggings
4x dresses (will be travelling in one)
Plain longline cardigan (will travel in)
Patterend short cardigan
Lightweight jacket (will travel in)
1x pjs
7x knics (obviously travel in a pair)
3x bras (travelling in one)
2x bikinis
Bikini cover up
2x walking socks (travelling in a pair)
Walking shoes (travel in)
Flip flops for gross showers in hostels.
Sandals
Multicoloured print scarf- more to use as a wrap if necessary (travel in)
2x statement necklaces
1x plain necklace (travel in)
1x ears studs (travel in)
1x hoop earrings

Electronics:
iPhone
iPad Mini
Camera + lens
Chargers for above- wall, in car a battery pack and wires.
Travel hairdryer and straightners- do not tell me not to take these. They will be packed before my clothing.

Cosmetics/toiletries
Makeup- mascara, foundation, powder, 1x blusher, eyeliner and small 4 palette eyeshadow.
Moisturiser and cleanser
Exfoliator
Shampoo and conditioner (maybe intensive conditioner I have room)
Shower gel and shower puff.
Razor and 2x spare heads.
Toothpaste and toothbrush. Maybe mouthwash and floss if I have room.
1x perfume.
Mini nail clippers
Mini tweezers
1x pack of sanitary towels
1x pack of washlets

Misc
Microfibre towel (are these horrid?!)
Beach towel
First aid kit- plasters, savlon, parcetamol, ibuprofen, gaviscon tablets.
Mini sewing kit
Worldwide adaptor
Alarm clock
Washing line
Small travel wash
Bag protector and combination lock
Roll of freezer bags
Swiss army knife
Suncream
Insect repellant
Rubber door stop
Safety alarm
Small pack batteries
Neck pillow
Mosquito net
Copies of passport, embassy details in the countries i'm visiting and emergency numbers at home.

Too much? Too little? Anything else I "must" take. Going to NZ, Australia, Asia, Dubai, Europe, South/North America and Hawaii.

Art- would I be OK wearing a dress with leggings? Long dresses don't look very flattering on me.

Cross post. I see you have a dp. Never mind

I'm on birth control Bringiton and i'm 99.9% my DP doesn't have a STD so think i'm safe without

Not really. Most Religions state your not supposed to show not only skin but the shape of body above knees or above elbows in most ie Islamic. Also leggings will
Be boiling. You could use your sari wrap thing as a long skirt though if large enough

I second the call for a hamam towel, I swear by them, big enough for full coverage, small enough to take up very little space and light enough to dry quickly. Also good for wrapping around grotty hostel pillows.

OK. Will switch two dresses out for maxi dresses and buy get some zip off trousers.

Thank you everyone.

Ear plugs for snorers and air conditioning.

In the USA try and book private rooms where possible.

Take a headtorch (Petzel are a good brand). When you're trying to clean your teeth in a bathroom with no light and you hear a noise, you want to be able to swing your head to see what's happening, rather than balance all your stuff and your torch while you grab a large stick to fend off the potential attacking spider/snake/bear/slimy guy from the tent next door.

Some kind of hoody for cold flights/cold nights/emergency pillow/covering up to avoid slimy guy.

YY to sarongs - I used to take two and a microfibre towel. You can always rent beach towels if needed.

Spray deodarent - apart from the obvious, can be used for emergency 'refreshening' of clothes or living spaces.

Suntan lotion and tampons and sanitary towels can be surprisingly expensive and hard to source decent ones in some of the places you've mentioned.

Malaria tablets. YY to course of antibiotics and cystitis medication. Also get some DEET bug repellant.

I'd ditch the iPad, unless you really don't mind if it gets nicked. iPhones are easier to stash in something like...

Waterproof diving bag (even if you're not diving, so useful for many many trips going anywhere near water!)

Have an amazing time!

Not sure if you use tampons, but these are not easily available in all countries.

Stock up on the insect repellent (cream, bands).

Dry shampoo?

Are moon cups easy to use? Always hated the idea but may give it a go.

I find them difficult to remove, but I know it's very popular on MN. You should definitely try it but you will need a sanitary option (privacy/water/ clean space to squat) to rinse and re-insert if you are travelling. I think you might want to keep all options and use the right one for your circumstances at the time.

I find them difficult to remove, but I know it's very popular on MN. You should definitely try it but you will need a sanitary option (privacy/water/ clean space to squat) to rinse and re-insert if you are travelling. I think you might want to keep all options and use the right one for your circumstances at the time.

Take as little as possible you can always buy extra clothes very cheaply on your travels
The reason I am saying this, is because you are the one who will be carrying it around !
Most places you can buy toiletries and medecines
Most places you can hand wash your clothes or pay to have your laundry washed in a day

I like to travel I would recommend 10-15 kg each if there are 2 of you
You can spread the gadgets and toiletries between you eg
one lot of toothpaste
one lot of suntan cream
one camera
etc

Suggest
zip off long trousers (you will need to visit temple)
one dress that does not crinkle
sarong can use as dress, skirt, hat,towel, bag (you can use to visit temple)
one leggings
2 micro fibre towels
long sleeved top (you will need to wear to visit temple)
couple of short sleeved tops or t shirts
shorts
hat
swimwear
under wear
socks
quality comfortable walking shoes
flip flops
bum bag
passport, driving license.money, credit card
inform your bank you will be travelling abroad before you go, otherwise they may block access to your money, you may need to tell them all the country you are due to visit
travel insurance
access to emergency money
travel pillow
camera
mobile phone
book to read or travel diary unless you are using social media
flight tickets
flight socks/compression socks stops you getting DVTs on buses or planes

solid soap (no liquids)
no shampoo (most places provide access to toiletries)
no perfume
hand sanitizer
wet wipes flushable
deoderant
comb
very thin fold up but very strong small rucksack for day to day usage or carrying shopping
insect repellant
toothbrush with a "hat"/protector
toothpaste
ibrufofen
immodium
cystitus medecine
malaria tablets
small scissors
head torch, wind up ?
alarm clock, wind up ?
travel adapter
chargers for mobile phone, camera
laundry paper eg www.amazon.com/Travelon-Laundry-Soap-Sheets-50-Count/dp/B000Y0CL8K
blister plasters www.google.co.uk/search?q=blister+plasters&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=667&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwimveqb56rMAhXIORoKHY46DE0Q_AUIBygC#imgrc=HktmQlEPuz2TOM%3A
tea tree oil or tiger balm
spare plastic bags for wet clothes or laundry and a light weight reusable bag
suntan and after sun
razor
sanitary items
If you are taking a big rucksack, put a thick survival bag in it, you buy them from camping shops eg evaq8.co.uk/SURVIVAL-BIVI-BAG.html?gclid=CL_B7sPtqswCFRSeGwodrN0AdQ
pen for writing
few ear buds
mini sew kit
mini sleeping bag and liner ?
piriton tablets for allergies and insect bites
if you are visiting hot countries book accomodation with air con

turn international roaming off on you mobile phone before you leave
Use free wifi in airports, hotels, cafes for internet

I have seen people with huge main luggage and huge second luggage why ?
Not necessary if you are travelling alot, especially if you are going to hot countries, you do not want to be carrying 30 kg ?

I would leave all jewellery, buy something on your travels

If you buy something you can post it home if you dont want to carry it on your travels

ENJOY YOUR TRAVELS

Get all your travel injections before you travel

Yes if travelling with partner def take one item and share.

I loved taking kindle. Kindle and phone over iPad here. Kindle can be read on planes/ trains/ accomadation/ beaches. Get the old style one and the charge lasts weeks at a time. Then just use phone for Internet access when needed. Can always find an Internet cafe if you want to use a main computer occasionally

Basically even when travelling I assume you aren't going too far from towns. Your not hiking up a remote mountain or anything so you can usually get whatever you need within a few hours.

Our travel mantra was take three of each thing generally. So three tops ( none strappy, burnt shoulders not good) , three dresses ( one casual, one smart casual, one long), three pants ( 7 is ott, you want to rinse as you take off so you not carrying 4/5 days of dirty pants around), three socks etc. Then one of bigger things not changed daily like jacket/ trousers/ jumper etc. If you end up somewhere for a month and it way colder than you thought you can just buy another cheap jumper for example locally.

take more bras and underwear. can be really hard to buy your size when travelling, if they go missing, or you dont have a chance to wash them.anything else you can get on the road.

Don't take normal towels, way too bulky.
Take a microfibres towel and a large sarong type thing to lay on on the beach, you'll dry quick enough in the sun and can shower etc back at your room.
You don't have any trousers - take a pair of very thing combat type
Trousers for hiking etc.
Sunhat?

Recommend also taking

A smile

A sense of humour

Agree with your partner that you will stick together no matter what
If there is some sort of family emergency you may need to return home

Try to take things that wash easily & dry quickly - and my tip is to avoid white, esp underwear I speak from experience. Depending where you are staying, getting things washed & dried can be tricky but I did rough it.

Not sure what sort of jacket you mean, but depending where you are & season, NZ and S America are not that warm. Also inland Aus at night is bloody freezing. A decent fleece? Can get pretty acceptable ones; they are warm and dry very quickly. Raincoat?

Penknife is a great idea. Also suggest sellotape (sealing things up) & elastic bands (same). Fewer unexpected explosions in your bag.

Torch is a must.

Insect repellent - there's some stuff available in Aus called Rid. In a bright pink bottle. I hate to think what's in it but it is absolutely amazing. Deters anything.

Sunhat!

I did similar countries for six months. Take two pairs zip off trousers, one thin fleece, one thick fleece, one decent waterproof ( not fatty fashion jacket), one skirt, a few t shirts, a few vest tops,one pair long shorts, one pair board shorts, one rash vest, two bikini tops. Buy a sarong. Take more walking socks. All clothes in same colour palette , no black or white

Forget the following: doorstop, ( ridiculous) safety alarm ( get less pissed, use local sense and put phone away )travel towel, hairdryer ( sit outside ten mins, I'll allow you the straighteners but in many places it will be too hot to use them) ipad, dresses, cardigans, rucksack security devices (useless), perfume, beach towel (sit on sarong), batteries (what for? ),denim shorts ( too hot, too cold or inappropriate), heavy necklaces, washing line ( hostels have them and in asia you get washing done)

Kit won't last a year so replace as you go . you'll need camping gear but get that as required.

other thoughts: 7 pairs of knickers don't take up much space, if you are in hostels you often have to wait for a washing machine and on nice days you want to be sightseeing not washing. Life is too short to hand-wash.

your clothing requirements for Oz and NZ will be quite different from humid parts of Asia, but my list should deal with all of them. If you are doing walks in NZ you must have the proper gear, flip flop and shorts tourists can and have died of exposure.

I did my long holidays before i-things. There was always an internet cafe or computer BUT this may have changed. But you do NOT need daily internet access, learn to cope! Keep the valuables right down, remember your biggest theft risk is your fellow tourist, the entitled gappie whose mummy won't send him any more money.

someone said 'flushable wet wipes'. No such thing. Nothing down toilets except body waste and toilet roll, and in some places it is just body waste.

you don't need malaria tabs unless you are going somewhere malarial.

useless things for long holidays: jeans (too hot or too cold, take ages to dry), flight socks (get up and walk around), travel gadgets beyond adaptors.

ankle length dress not needed unless going to serious Islamic countries. Covered knees to elbows is fine (e.g. Thailand) and also keeps sun and insects off.

Maybe another pair of sandals too - decent walking ones like tevas. You mention walking shoes but while they are great for serious walking, for your classic travelling trip (sea kayak to an island and climb to the top of a steep hill) you'll need something a bit cooler than walking shoes but more substantial than flip flops.

ah, but OP is going to New Zealand and unless it is 100% Kiwi Experience, she needs decent walking shoes.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply OP should leave the walking shoes, just that she should consider an additional pair of walking sandals.