Ultimate Travel Packing List For A Trip Around The World

Last Updated on 10th May 2024

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When we first talked about going travelling, one of my initial thoughts was “how am I going to pack my entire life into one backpack?”.

Thankfully, packing for a round-the-world trip wasn’t quite as bad as I thought and despite having to get my mum to help me squash everything in, I’m pleased to say that I have literally all of my belongings in one 70L backpack.

With that in mind, I wanted to share what I’ve packed for a trip around the world. I certainly don’t profess to be an expert in packing (although I did manage to pack a 3-day trip into 1 backpack…) and these packing tips might not work for you, but I wanted to share what I’ve packed nonetheless.

Whether you’re just nosey or you have an exciting trip coming up, here’s what I’ve packed for a trip around the world.

My packing list and tips for a trip around the world

Packing for any trip, whether it’s just for the weekend or for an entire year or two around the world, is never really an easy feat.

As I mentioned before, everything that I’ve packed for a trip around the world is suited to me and my needs and the places that we’ll be travelling to. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of things we need to pick up along the way, but I feel that I’ve packed for a trip around the world in the best way possible to give myself a good start.

Our trip around the world doesn’t really have much structure to it; we’re planning on visiting many places including (but not limited to) New Zealand (where we are now), Australia, Thailand, Bali, Fiji, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong , Singapore , plus many more, so naturally, we need to be well equipped for all sorts of terrain, temperatures and timezones.

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The best backpack and packing cubes for a trip around the world

The backpack that I’m bringing around the world with me is the Osprey Fairview 70L backpack with a detachable 15L daypack. We did an awful lot of research when deciding on our backpacks and we both settled on the Osprey brand; they get so many incredible reviews and after our short time of using them, I can safely say they’re worth every penny.

Another great tip that I don’t think I could travel without now is the use of packing cubes. I received these Vercord 7 set pink leopard print packing cubes for Christmas and we’ve shared them out between us.

Osprey* also very kindly sent the Ultralight Packing Cube Set in Shadow Grey which is perfect for fitting so many things in.

If you’re travelling long term, I seriously couldn’t recommend using packing cubes enough; they’re so great for fitting SO much into one cube and it allows you to organise your backpack much more effectively!

Clothes – ultimate travel packing list

It’s safe to say that clothes are one of the most important things that you’ll pack for any trip. Packing clothes for a lengthy trip, however, can be pretty tricky.

It’s difficult to know exactly what you’ll need and how much of each thing you’ll need to take with you. You can obviously adopt the mindset that you’ll always be able to pick up anything you don’t have pretty much anywhere in the world, but I wanted to make sure we were as packed and prepared as possible.

Tops – ultimate travel packing list

In terms of tops and jackets, I think I’ve got the balance just right. I have enough t-shirts to last me a few days without needing to wash just a couple before I run out. The jumper is serving me well on chilly mornings and nights but I’ll probably get rid of it when we move on to warmer places.

• 5 t-shirts
• 1 jumper
• 1 zip-up hoody
• 1 thermal long-sleeve shirt

Trousers/bottoms

For bottoms, I think I should have packed at least another pair of shorts as I’ve been wearing (and washing!) the same pair for most days of our time in New Zealand. I’ll definitely be picking up another pair before we move on to our next stop and will probably get rid of a pair of jeggings maybe…

• 1 pair of lounge trousers (used as pyjama bottoms)
• 2 pairs of jeggings
• 1 pair of yoga/exercise pants
• 2 pairs of comfortable, elasticated trousers
• 1 pair of shorts

Underwear/loungewear – ultimate travel packing list

When you’re going on holiday, or even just on a weekend break, does anyone else pack twice as many pairs of pants ‘just in case’? It’s such an irrational and silly thing to think that you might sh*t yourself on more than one occasion, but I suppose it is better to be safe than sorry…

When it comes to travelling around the world, however, we’re obviously quite limited on space so I’ve managed to keep my underwear numbers to a sensible amount.

• 10 pairs of pants
• 7 pairs of socks
• 2 pairs of shorts and vest pyjamas
• 3 bras
• 1 bikini

Dresses/jumpsuits/playsuits

Upon reflection, I’ve already realised that I didn’t need to bring both of my beloved pyjama-like jumpsuits from New Look. The leopard print one and the spotted one were some of my most-worn items over the last couple of months so I couldn’t bring myself to part with them, hence why I packed both…

The playsuits, however, have already come in handy and I’m sure I’ll get an awful lot of wear out of them in the likes of Indonesia and Asia as it’ll be particularly hot when we head there.

• 2 jumpsuits
• 1 long, lightweight dress
• 3 playsuits

Shoes

I’ve raved about these hiking boots in so many posts now but I really can’t express my love for them enough. I always really struggle with footwear and no shoes ever seem to fit my feet properly but these boots are genuinely the comfiest things I’ve ever worn and I really couldn’t be without them now.

They’re ideal for so many different terrains and they’re so ridiculously comfy!

My Nike trainers, however, are still a little uncomfortable but my mum and sister have the exact same pair and they both say that they’re incredibly comfortable once you’ve worn them in a bit.

I haven’t really had much chance to wear my sandals yet but I know these will come in handy in warmer countries.

• Nike trainers (I can’t find the exact ones online!)
• Primark sandals
• Vango Women’s Velan Hiking Boots

Toiletries – ultimate travel packing list

When it came to packing toiletries for a trip around the world, I was pretty reluctant to do so as I favour my skincare routine so much, arguably more so than my makeup routine.

There were a few items that I couldn’t compromise on and definitely wouldn’t leave behind such as my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish (literally one of my favourite beauty products EVER) and my trusty No7 Day Lotion. Admittedly, I’m usually more accustomed to the No7 glass jars of moisturiser but I knew they wouldn’t be practical for bringing around the world so I compromised and purchased the Hydra Luminous Day Lotion instead.

*Updated 17th July 2019: Since I’ve been travelling around New Zealand for the last three months, I’ve been #blessed to experience three ~delightful~ periods since we arrived.

One thing that I never, ever thought I’d buy into was the use of a menstrual cup. However, after undertaking a lot of research before we came travelling, I heard so many rave reviews about menstrual cups and so I decided to go for it.

I’m using the Intimina Lily Cup One and oh my god; it is LIFE-CHANGING (well, period-changing…). As we’ve been in a campervan for the last 5 weeks, I really thought that having my period was going to be an absolute nightmare but using my menstrual cup was an actual breeze and I’ll never go back now.

It’s a little scary and awkward trying to work it out at first but my god, once you get used to it, it’ll be life-changing. It’s the best thing to happen to my menstrual cycle and overall ~health and well-being ~ since I first started my period eight years ago.

Please feel free to DM me or send me a Tweet or an email if you have any questions about it or want to chat more, I’d love to help you guys make the switch too!

• Toothbrush/toothpaste
• Intimina Lily Cup One
• No7 Hydra Luminous day lotion
• Clean and Clear Dual Action face moisturiser
• Sudocrem
• Wet brush hairbrush
• Origins Original Skin retexturising mask
• Soltan factor 50 suncream
• Dove roll-on deodorant
• Sure aerosol deodorant
• Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish cleanser

Makeup

I actually didn’t find it as hard as I thought to condense my makeup into just one small bag (instead of having drawers full of products…). However, as I’ve been FaceTiming my mum pretty much everyday, it’s been heartbreaking seeing her use my beloved Urban Decay Heavy Metals palette and my Benefit blush and bronzer palette! I might even miss them more than her 😉

I jest!

In all seriousness, I haven’t struggled too much just having a limited amount of makeup; it’s actually been incredibly freeing to have very little and I’ve actually worn makeup very few times since being here. My skin is loving having the goodness of Vitamin D every day (with a protective layer of factor 50 on, of course!) so makeup really isn’t a necessity for me at the moment.

Having said that, there are a few things that I did bring with me to help me look (and feel) alive as and when I need to.

• Dior Forever foundation
• Maybelline Fitme! concealer
• Rimmel London X Kate Moss Sculpting Highlighter Palette
• Charlotte Tilbury The Queen lipstick
• Soap & Glory Thick & Fast mascara
• MAC Craving lipstick
• Rimmel London eyebrow pencil
• MAC Whisper of Gilt highlighter (limited edition)
• Front Cover eyeshadow palette (discontinued)

Miscellaneous/technical – ultimate travel packing list

This list of items is probably the longest but it’s also full of things that we haven’t used an awful lot of yet.

Of course, the J-pillow*, which was kindly sent to me before we flew, was useful on the plane and will be great for travelling around on different modes of transport.

The technical items such as my phone, camera and laptop have all been used many times already but other things such as the sleeping bag liner and the microfibre travel towel haven’t really been put into use just yet.

As we’re housesitting in New Zealand, we have the luxury of staying in a warm house with comfy beds and a hot shower; I’m sure when we’re ‘backpacking’ more, we’ll get much more use out of all these items!

• Nikon D3500 Camera
• iPhone
• Eastpak springer bumbag
• Cap
• Winter beanie hat
• MacBook laptop
• Microfibre travel towel and face cloth
• Vlando travel jewellery box
• J-pillow* travel pillow
• Backpack rain cover
• Ultra Dry Adventurer dry bag and waterproof phone case
• Headlamp
• Sleeping bag liner
• Travel first aid kit

SHOP THE POST – ultimate travel packing list

When I write it all down and list almost every single item that I’ve packed for a trip around the world, it does seem like quite a lot and it’s rather impressive that I’ve managed to fit it all into one 70L backpack!

What top 5 things would you pack for a trip around the world? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @imjustagirl_16!