International Trip Packing List – Family of 5

Have you ever wanted to go on a family trip, but you weren’t sure exactly what to bring? Our family is learning it’s totally feasible take our kids on adventures, with a bit of planning and packing. In 2022, we took our 3 kids to visit Europe. We planned to fly into London and explore the city along with Edinburgh and Dublin. We tried to pack efficiently while still bringing everything our family of 5 would need.

In late summer 2022, our family decided to go on a somewhat spontaneous month-long trip to the United Kingdom and surrounding areas. In fact, we’d been wanting to go on such a trip for awhile. When we realized we had the availability and means to visit the UK, we took the first step: we booked the flights. The next question we encountered is, what should we bring for our month-long stay?

Here’s our vacation packing list (per person) for our family of 5.

Clothes

• t-shirts (6)
• jeans or leggings (6)
• underwear (7) Bra (2)
• socks (6 pairs)
• jacket medium weight
• hoodie
• pajamas (4)
• swimsuit (2)
• comfortable walking & hiking shoes
• flip flops or sandals

Cosmetics

• toothbrush
• toothpaste
• dental floss
• wet brush / hair brush
• hair ties
• travel hair spray
• hair straightener
• makeup
• makeup remover
• compact mirror
• face wash
• lotion
• sunscreen
• bug spray
• deodorant
• shaving cream
• razor
• travel shampoo & conditioner
• travel body wash
• Tylenol & Ibuprofen
• allergy medication
• first aid kit

Gear

• small pillow
• blanket
• hat
• sunglasses
• concealed money belt

Electronics

• cell phone
• waterproof phone pouch
• camera
• lightweight tripod
• laptop
• kindle or tablet
• USB chargers
• international power adapter

Strategic Packing

We tried to pack efficiently so that we would have the clothing, cosmetics and gear that would allow our trip to go smoothly. Since we hadn’t been to the United Kingdom, we didn’t want to rely on finding essentials there. Of course, we had to make sure the liquids we brought were the right size for the airline flight requirements.

Also, we brought enough clothes for a week. After that, we figured we would find a laundry mat to wash our clothes for the following week. Additionally, we planned to buy a few extra clothes on our trip, just for fun. My girls were excited to pick out some new outfits in Europe. Besides regular clothes, we brought jackets for cool weather, swimsuits, and supportive walking shoes.

Finally, we made sure we had an international power adapter and a power strip so we could charge our phones, cameras and devices. I learned from a previous trip that the plugs in other countries aren’t the same as the outlets in the United States. I weighed the options of bringing my Nikon DSLR camera in addition to my iPhone. In the end, I decided to bring both, because my Nikon takes much better landscape and building photos. After all, we planned to go to a lot of super cool, historic places.

Even though it’s helpful to pack efficiently for a vacation, we’ve learned we can often buy the things we forget. We may have to try something new or go without, but that’s part of the fun of a travel adventure! I hope this international trip packing list is helpful for your next family vacation.