Read on to discover our packing list and everything we took on our year around the world! Here’s what to pack for a family gap year!
How much stuff are you taking for a year around the world? This was the question we got asked the most.
And the resounding reaction was, “That’s it?!”
We set ourselves the goal of taking one rucksack each, and then a day bag for Stef and I, so 6 bags in total. We probably could have travelled with less if we weren’t working whilst away, as we did have a lot of art supplies for Stef and more electronics than we would have liked.
But here’s what we took with us for our family gap year.
Backpack or suitcase: the great debate!
Let’s start with luggage options!
As we set out, we opted for rucksacks over holdalls or suitcases just because we already had adult ones, and preferred to have our hands free for grabbing the kids if needed.
For the kids, we bought them rucksacks from Decathlon which were 18l for Nyle and 28l for Alicia. These have adjustable shoulder straps so they grow with your child for a better fit. In all honesty, they struggled carrying their stuff at times so we probably should have gone even smaller for them both.
For day packs for us, we opted for a good quality laptop rucksack for our electronics and then just used another 30l rucksack we already had. We also took a small 5l rucksack for small trips out – Alicia is carrying it in this photo, but we did pack it inside another bag for most journeys. We also took a small bum-bags each – handy for the kids toys, and easy access for passports, money, phones.
As it happened we had a travel re-set and we did learn from our first stint and took the chance to reset. Stef changed from her rucksack to a large suitcase, mainly because he art supplies fitted better in a rectangle, and she found it easier to pull. We also swapped the kids rucksacks out for pully cases after ending up carrying their rucksacks ourselves too much!
So rucksack or suitcase – I’d say it is 100% personal preference. But unless you have complete confidence that your kids will carry their own, they get wheels for them!
Half way through our trip Alicia’s case broke and we ended up swapping it out for a larger check in one – mainly because we were buying stuff and needed the extra space.
We used compression packing cubes, and normal packing cubes, to help with our packing – clothes went in the compression ones, and then we used others for electronics, medicines, toys, water shoes, toiletries. They really help with organisation and without having to unpack a lot of stuff making repacking easier.
On our recent trip to New York we actually took hand luggage only. For this trip we used vacuum bags with a portable pump to save even more space with clothes. We also weren’t working at all and so needed a lot less stuff.
Adult packing list
Both Stef and I took very similar items for our packing lists so I’ll break it down as a general adult list. We probably took a couple of dresses that were too thick for South East Asia and they didn’t get worn, and I would recommend taking more underwear than you think. But everything else we pretty much nailed.
- 10 pairs pants – it gets sweaty in humid climates and packing extra undies meant less handwashing!
- 3 bras – including the one we travelled in
- 2 pairs of socks – for wearing with trainers, or when it got cool on the plane
- 2 pairs of trousers – leggings and baggy/thai pants or joggers – again, one for travelling and a spare if we went anywhere cooler
- 5 dresses
- 3 shorts
- 6 tops – mainly vest tops, but we travelled in a t-shirt
- 1 set gym gear – shorts, t-shirt and sports bra
- 1 x cardi / long sleeve top (travelled in)
- 2 x shoes – 1 pair of trainers and 1 pair of walking sandals (we love Teva and Chacos)
- 2 swimsuits
- 1 set PJs (shorty)
- Sunglasses
We did end up in Taiwan and Japan in Winter which was much cooler than everywhere else we visited. Rather than carrying around a winter wardrobe we actually just went shopping on day 1 in Taiwan. We invested in layers and spent around £200 in total for us all for our 6 weeks winter wardrobe.
Kids packing list
All the kids clothes fit into one packing cube each with their other items then fitting on top of their rucksacks (or later carry-ons). This list is a combo of Alicia and Nyle’s but I’ve included an image of each underneath too. Again, this worked out pretty perfect!
- 7 pairs undies
- 2 pairs socks
- 4 vests
- 3 t-shirts
- 6 shorts or (3 shorts and 4 dresses for Alicia)
- 1 trousers (which they travelled in) and a pair of leggings
- 1 set of PJs (shorty)
- 2 swimmers inc. UV swimsuits
- 2 x shoes – 1 trainers and 1 sandals (for the kids we always go with Karrimoor walking sandals) – travelled in trainers
- 1 hoodie (which was travelled in)
- Hat
- Sunglasses
Other items which we took
- Snorkel masks – yes we could have rented them there but from our 2019 travels we knew that the full face masks worked well for young children, and Nyle took to it like a duck to water! We snorkelled in Bali, Thailand, Mexico, Taiwan and the Philippines so they were well used.
- 3 sets of goggles
- 2 x cotton towels
- 1 x beach mat (a very large one which packs up small and can also be used as a picnic blanket or sunshade)
- Water shoes for everyone – very handy for waterfall trips, hot sand, stoney beaches or avoiding sharp coral / sea urchins! This was our top unexpected travel item that so many people commented on as a great idea.
- Swiss pen knife
- Binoculars – mainly for Nyle’s adventure side!
Toys and Games
We probably maxed out with toys and games for the kids, especially games. Below are our favourite travelling games. Our kids were between 5 and 10 whilst travelling and could play all of these (unless stated).
- Uno – a firm favourite!! We also got Uno Flip on a night market
- Playing cards – rummy, ‘poo head’, trumps work well for our kids ages
- Triominos – we have a simplified version we made up for the whole family to play, and then when it’s just us mums we go all out! And we only take the actual tiles with us in a small bag.
- Travel yahtzee
- Kanoodle
- Dobble
- Exploding kittens
- Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza (this is a new addition)
- Bananagrams – this is more for the mums
- A selection of small cars for car-mad Nyle
- Notebook and pencil case for each child
Electronics
As mentioned, we had to take a lot of gear as we were both working whilst away, and my job requires a fully locked down laptop so could only be used for that job!
- 3 laptops (1 x Stef, 1 x Kris personal, 1 x Kris work) – this was heavy with all the 3 cables too but our laptop bag fit all three in. We did end up condensing to 2 and managing in the latter stages of our trip.
- 1 x ipad
- 2 x Kindle Fire HD 8 for the kids – we also bought Alicia a bluetooth keyboard to help her with her school work on the kindle (and for messaging her friends)
- Worth noting that we have since replaced the kids Kindle Fire’s with ipads and I would recommend these over the Fire Tablets if you can afford them. They are much better for home-schooling.
- Kindle for Alicia’s reading
- 2 x Travel adaptor plug which allows 4 devices to be charged at the same time via USB ports, and a UK plug to be plugged in. We took 2 as often in Asia, we needed 2 separate rooms, or for when one of us went off working.
- 4 x USB-C chargers, 1 x micro usb charger, USB to HDMI cable (to connect the iPad to a TV)
- Bluetooth speaker
- Portable power pack (for charging on the go)
- GoPro (Hero9) and accessories – our GoPro broke and we picked up a new Hero13 model in Hong Kong easily and for around £50 cheaper than the UK
- Flexible tripod with adapters for phones and GoPro
- Stef’s good proper DSLR camera and battery charger
- USB toothbrush charger
- Over-ear bluetooth headphones – these were super for the kids and protect their ears compared to in-ear ones.
- Adult ear buds
- The pin for removing sim cards easily – this was really handy if you aren’t using esims and swapping sim cards in each country
- Mini photo printer which Alicia used for her travel journal – in fairness we also ditched this as the ambition of a daily travel journal didn’t materialise!
Toiletries
It can be a trap to try and take too many toiletries with you – they both weigh and cost a lot and you can buy most toiletries in other countries so no need to stock pile. We would recommend stocking up on tampax and suncream, especially if visiting South East Asia.
Our favourite things we took with us included (this wasn’t our whole list more the best things, or often forgotten things):
- shampoo and conditioner bar (we love those from bodyshop and Lush)
- electric toothbrushes
- P20 factor 50 – this is our go-to sunscreen for the kids as you need to apply it max. twice a day (only once if not swimming). NOTE: sunscreen in Bali was expensive i.e. £17 a bottle for factor 50
- P20 factor 30
- 1 bottle mosquito repellent and mosquito bands
- Nail clippers and tweezers
- Headbands and sea salt spray – for curly hair girls like me!
- Lots of hair bobbles
- Tampax – NOTE: we found these very very hard to come by in Bali, and when we did find them they were £7 a box!!
Medicine kit and first aid
Kids get sick wherever you are so have a good medical kit with you so you aren’t trying to find stuff late at night. There’s no need to overstock as pharmacies in Asia are brilliant and we even got antibiotics over the counter – and for more serious illnesses then Drs are very easy to come by. This was our starter kit which we replenished:
- Nyle’s inhalers (his wheezing was so much better in warmer climates so we didn’t need to use them as much as we thought!)
- Plasters and anticeptic cream and wipes
- Calpol and kids ibuprofen
- Paracetamol and ibuprofen tablets
- Anti-bite relief pen – this was very useful
- Sudacream
- Anti-histamine for kids
- Indigestion relief
- Anti-diarrhea tablets
- Lipbalm with SPF
- Thermometer
- Oximeter (due to Nyle’s history of wheezes)
Homeschooling gear
We weren’t going to follow the curriculum but we did have plans to try and keep their maths and english going whilst we were away. Alicia was in Yr4 and Nyle in reception. We used Doodle Learning to begin with, which adapts to their ability with lessons, tests and games, and also Reading Eggs – we preferred Reading Eggs if we are honest.
Alicia also had a maths puzzle book which she enjoys doing. We took 20 counters for Nyle, 10-sided dice for adding and times-tables games for them both. We used Alphablocks on YouTube for phonics, made up games such as word bingo, and used notebooks for maths and simple sentences and just made them up as we went. Alicia also had a kindle for reading.
Summary
Obviously if travelling to cooler climates you may need more warmer clothes or hiking shoes, but also remember you can buy anything (and you will buy stuff) in the countries you visit so worst case if you forget anything you can get hold of it. Shopping in South East Asia is also very cheap!
The biggest thing I can recommend is not to overpack. Constantly moving and unpacking and repacking can get tiring – not to mention the fact the kids wont carry much at all.
If you are travelling with toddlers or babies, we have also been there, and have a full list of tips and recommendations for the youngest world explorers.
