We are super excited about our upcoming world trip. However, we are not at all excited about the packing and luggage aspect of the trip. Is anyone ever? This is especially so for this trip because it’s a 6-month trip in which clothes are needed not only for various types of climates but also for various types of terrains and activities.
So, to make this mammoth task a bit easier for you if you ever wish to travel for more than a week or two, we’ve made a detailed packing list for long-term travel.
In this blog post, we will discuss all that we had considered for our luggage and clothing along with what exactly we ended up packing. This blog post will be especially helpful if you reside in India. Indians don’t usually travel for a long-time and as such it’s not easy to find clothing and other items suited to such long trips. We have done A LOT of research to understand what to carry and our best to find the perfect travel wear for ourselves in India. We have linked most items below. Plus, after we get back, we will edit this article to tell you about the items we hardly used and what mistakes we made.
Type of Luggage
We did a lot of hit and trial over the years to decide what luggage worked best for us. After several trips, we realized rucksacks do not work for our 32-year-old backs. Our luggage of choice became two cabin-sized suitcases (55 cm) that weigh around 9-10 kg each when filled. That’s what we’ve done for the past few trips because cabin-sized luggage allows us to be very mobile. However, we do not carry these with us in the flight cabin owing to our camera equipment and laptop bags. So for this trip, we initially planned to carry two cabin-sized suitcases but a little bigger at about 59 cm each.
However, for this trip, we soon realized that since check-in luggage doesn’t come complimentary with a seat in other parts of the world, this wouldn’t work. Checking in two pieces of luggage on this trip would mean that we would have to pay for two checked-in suitcases on each flight. This would add a significant amount to our flight costs because we’re taking over 15 flights.
So, this time we’ve decided to go with one medium size suitcase instead. Now, not only do we have to pack in one suitcase for both of us, but we also have to ensure that the weight of the luggage doesn’t exceed 20 kg (which is the limit on some flights). Can you even imagine packing this light?
At this point, we’ve finally packed our luggage after a lot of hits and trials. We ended up purchasing a 71 cm Samsonite Softcase that weighs only 2.5 kg as opposed to the general medium suitcase weight of 3-4 kg. The packed suitcase weight is 22 kg.
We’ll simply have to manage the weight for our 20 kg limit flights by wearing our hiking boots and filling our pockets with the heavier stuff 😛
Additionally, we are carrying two backpacks between the two of us for this 6-month trip:
- A camera backpack: We had the LowePro Tahoe which we’ve used for years and absolutely loved especially because it was completely waterproof without even putting on a rain cover. For this 6-month trip, we need a slightly bigger bag which can also fit a laptop. So we’ve purchased the Lowepro Photo Active BP 200 AW. We like it because we can access our camera, drone, and lenses easily from the sides of the bag. Plus, we can attach our hiking sticks to the front. I still find it a little small for our needs but could not find a bag we liked more.
- A laptop bag: Using the CarryPro HOBO25 for this trip. It fits both our laptops Macbook 13 Pro and Macbook Air like a glove. We’ve removed the side access camera cubes because it was too heavy and are instead using that space to store easy-access items. It’s a huge bag that fits A LOT.
I am also carrying a personal item – an anti-theft sling cum backpack! It is a thing of genius.
Picking Long-Term Travel Clothing
It is impossible to fit all the contents of this packing list for long-term travel in a medium-sized suitcase or 2 carry-ons (1 per person) without following some of the tips below. These tips not only aid in packing light but also make your life on the road easier. Don’t say I didn’t warn you – they’re not always easy to follow. We follow as many as possible and break a few along the way 😛
- Carry clothes that dry fast and don’t need ironing: This essentially means polyester or similar materials. I know we all like to stay away from polyester because it’s not very breathable nor sustainable but it’ll be your best friend on such a long trip where you need your clothes to dry in the AC of hotel rooms or even in an Airbnb. Often, you won’t find an iron or won’t have the time to iron so wrinkle-resistant clothing is best!
- Lightweight clothing: We always try and carry items that aren’t bulky and heavy. For this trip, it’s become even more of a dire need and this is what we have focused on for most of our clothing – the weight. Carrying lightweight clothing has allowed me to pack more pieces of clothing than I thought I could. Unfortunately, most clothes I’ve ended up carrying are not made of polyester but of viscose – a light flowy material that does crush. Not for the lack of trying. However, it’s not as bad as cotton or linen which I’ve tried to avoid as much as possible but Modi didn’t have as much of an option. His shirts and pants have ended up being made of cotton mostly though he did chance upon some really nice crepe shirts at the last moment. These do not crush, dry fast, and are lightweight. These are linked below.
- Merino Wool: Merino wool is thermo regulating – keeps you cool or warm depending on the weather. It does feel a bit itchy at first but settles down soon enough. It is ultra-lightweight and since it keeps odour away so one can wear merino clothing again and again without the need to wash it. Both of us are carrying full and half-sleeve Merino t-shirts for hikes and regular wear. We found Merino clothing in Decathlon, M&S and Athlos.
- Versatile Items: It’s very important to take clothes/items that can double up as different things E.g.
My daypack doubles as a sling
My scarf doubles as a blanket.
Our nightwear doubles as hiking/workout wear
Our t-shirts (merino) can be worn in any climate - Pack Similar Colours: Pack tops and bottoms that all go with each other so you can mix and match clothing. I like wearing colourful bottoms and hence have carried mostly black and white tops so that the tops go with all the bottoms.
Our Packing List for Long-term Travel
This packing list for a long-term trip has details of all the items we’ve packed along with links to them wherever available so you can buy them too if you’d like. The links are mostly from Indian sites and some from the US.
Clothes for him (Modi’s list)
Modi’s clothes are mostly purchased from the brands Blue Island, Snitch and Decathlon. Blue Island has stain-resistant clothing, Snitch has crepe shirts that don’t wrinkle and Decathlon has very functional clothing.
- 4 shirts: 1 red wrinkle-resistant | 1 blue wrinkle-resistant | 1 half-sleeve beachy | 3 cotton shirts
- 3 t-shirts: 3 t-shirts that double as casual, workout, and nightwear. These are really light-weight, quick-drying, and wrinkle-resistant
- 3 pants: 1 black | 1 cream | 1 grey (the first two are stretchable and stain-resistant)
- 3 shorts: 1 stretchable blue (from Thailand) | 1 peach | 1 khaki (the latter two are stain-resistant)
- 2 Hiking Tops: 1 half-sleeve Merino | 1 full-sleeve Merino
- 2 Hiking Bottom: 1 beige | 1 black
- Night Suit: 2 bottoms (they can double as hiking wear as well)
- Swimwear: 2 trunks
- 7 Underwear
- Socks: 7 no-show socks, 1 hiking sock
- 1 microfibre towel
- 1 Northface Rain jacket
- 1 Down Jacket
- 1 Fleece
- 1 Set of Thermals: Top | Bottom
- 1 Belt
Shoes (for him)
- 1 pair of Hiking Shoes: For hikes
- 1 pair of Loafers: For daily exploring
- 1 pair of Sandals: For beaches
Clothes for her (Trisha’s list)
Typically one doesn’t need as many clothes as I’m carrying. If I wasn’t a content creator I would definitely not have packed as many items. I might’ve carried fewer skirts and dresses. But that’s totally up to you. We have just one rule while packing clothing – that all our daily wear should fit in one medium-sized packing cube. So basically, all the skirts, dresses, pants, shorts and tops listed below do fit in one medium packing cube except one yellow skirt which is actually only for photography purposes.
- 3 dresses: Mini black dress|Printed mini dress| Light blue midi dress
- 4 skirts: 1 red midi skirt | 1 orange midi | 1 white maxi skirt |1 yellow maxi (made in my mom’s boutique)
- 3 pants: Black Culottes| Dark Blue Pants | Blue Pants (sad part is that all these wrinkle a lot but they’re super lightweight)
- 3 shorts: Black Skort | Khaki shorts | Leafy Shorts
- 11 Tops: 1 white half-sleeve | 1 black ribbed | 1 H&M beige bodysuit |1 black dressy vest | 3 sleeveless tanks (from a store in Koregaon Park Pune)| 1 white off-shoulder| 1 black off-shoulder | 1 white shirt | 1 pink overlay
- 2 Hiking Tops: 1 half-sleeve Merino, 1 full-sleeve Merino
- 2 Hiking Bottom: 1 comfy legging (can double as travel wear), 1 trek legging
- 1 Night Suit: 1 satin, 2 tops (that double as workout wear. They’re t-shirts for men. Modi ordered them for himself but it was small for him so I kept them because I loved them. Had to get them shortened though)
- Swimwear: 2 sets
- Bras: 1 sports bra| 1 regular supportive |1 strapless | 1 no show
- Underwear: 7 panties (I also carry 2 shorties because of thigh chafing)
- Socks: 7 pairs of no-show socks, 1 regular, 2 hiking socks (merino)
- 1 microfibre towel
- 1 Rain jacket
- 1 Down Jacket
- 1 Fleece
- 1 Set of Thermals: Top | Bottom
- 1 Shawl cum Scarf ( because I feel extra cold I’ve borrowed Mom’s Pashmina)
- 2 caps – 1 warm beanie (from New Zealand), 1 baseball cap
- 1 glove (from New Zealand)
- 1 belt
Shoes for her
- Hiking Shoes: for hikes
- Walking Shoes: for daily exploring
- Slippers cum Sandals: for beaches, parties, etc.
Sanitary & Hygiene Items for Her
I see hair removal being a huge issue while abroad and have set myself up to be self-reliant and hence have packed a million things. You could easily do with just menstrual cups and an epilator/wax strips/razor.
- 6 Pads: For heavy flow days. I wish I could use menstrual cups or tampons but I find neither comfortable.
- 2 Uniqlo Period Panties: For day 2 onwards
- Epilator cum Razor: To get rid of my arm and leg hair
- Face Razor: Lipstick size razor I go nowhere without
- Wax Strips: For underarms only
- Upper Lip Hair Removal Spring: For upper lip hair
- Tweezer: For eyebrow hair
- 2 Nipple Pasties: 1 with support and 1 without
- 2 Transparent Straps
- Safety Pins
- Sewing Kit – Thread and Needle
- Rubber bands and clips
Make-up for her
I rarely use makeup on trips. However, I’ve still carried some so that if I’d like to look nice someday, I have the option!
- Kajal
- Waterproof eyeliner
- 2 lipsticks – day/night
- Lip and Cheek Tint
- Blush, Contour, Highlighter Palette
- Foundation in a little box
- Makeup remover wipe
- A pore-blurring primer
Toiletries for both
All toiletries we’ve kept are 80 ml or below (most 50-60 ml). We’ve either purchased travel-sized products or filled them in 60 ml refillable bottles.
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body Wash
- Tooth Brush
- Tooth Paste
- Facewash
- Lotion
- Hairbrush/comb: Comb cum Hairbrush from the Emirates Business Class Kit. They’re super lightweight.
- Face Moisturizer
- Niacinamide & Zinc Serum
- Face Sunscreen
- Body Sunscreen
- Deodorant
- Perfume
- Lip Balm: with SPF and without SPF
- Eye Cream
- Liquid Detergent
- Detergent Powder
- Nail Clipper
- Bug Spray
- Small Scissors
Gadgets
Being content creators, we carry a full bag of gadgets. Listed these below along with some travel essentials.
- 2 MacBooks, 1 charger
- Camera
- 3 Lenses: Tamron 17-28 mm, Sony 50 mm, Tamron 70-300 mm
- Tripod
- Go Pro Creator Kit
- Go Pro Accessories: Floatie, Underwater Housing
- Drone + Remote Controller + Extra Batteries + Charger + Extra Propellers
- Mic
- Selfie Stick cum Tripod
- Gimbal
- Universal Power Adaptor
- Power Strip
- 2 earphones
- 2 Hard Disks of 2 TB each
- 4 SD Cards
- Rechargeable AA Batteries + Charger
- 2 Power Banks
Travel Essentials
- 1 Compact Travel Pillow (only for Trisha)
- Portable Water Purifier: We have the Steripen Classic 3 but this has better reviews now. Carrying this so that we can simply purify tap water wherever we go and not have to buy plastic bottled water
- Luggage Weighing Device
- 2 Locks: 1 Luggage Lock with Steel Cable| 1 Luggage Lock
- Portable Washing Bag
- Wet Bag
- Foldable Tote
- 4 packing Cubes + Pouches
- Passport Case
- Hand Tissues
- Wet Wipes
- 2 Reusable Water Bottles
- 2 Pens
- 1 Small Cork Screw
- The Bug Bite Thing
- 1 pair of Hiking Sticks
- 2 Headlamps
- Earplugs
- Eyemask
- Portable Bidet
Important Docs
Impossible to travel without these essential travel documents for international travel.
- Passport Old and New
- e-Visa Print Outs
- Travel Insurance
- Yellow Fever Vaccine: We need this for Latin America
- Driving License
- International Driving Permits (IDP): An international driving permit is basically your Driving License converted to different languages. It is used in conjunction with a Driving License as it is not a license in itself. I’ve got my IDP from the Pune RTO. It was a headache because the RTO people didn’t check the forms properly on submission and made me return to the RTO 2 more times. Modi’s got his from International Driver’s Association because the Kolkata RTO wanted him to give a Driving Test and he had limited time. It is more expensive but definitely more convenient. Also, it is granted for 3 years as opposed to the Indian one which is valid for 1 year.
- 2 Forex Cards: BookMyForex (multi-currency card) and Thomas Cook (one-currency card)
- Currency
Medicines
We’ve carried a few basic medicines so that in case anything happens, we are prepared.
- Crocin
- Disprin
- Lorapet
- Emeset
- Pudin Hara
- Meftal
- Allegra-M
- Neosporin
- Bandaid
- Lycor – Hydrocortisone 1%
- Volini
- Personal Meds: Migraine Meds (for Trisha), Inhaler (for Modi)
- Thermometer
Phew! All that stuff has filled up our luggage to the brim. Okay, no, we do have a teeny bit of space for souvenirs. Not sure if we could’ve packed less than this. Hope you found the packing list for long-term travel helpful. If you have any questions, do drop them in the comments section below 🙂
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