Packing for a holiday - how to stay sane?

gibson123

I love a challenge:

For you for one week:

From the bottom up:

One pair of comfy sandals (wear to travel)
One pair of flip flops
One pair of going out shoes.

7 pairs of pants
2 bras
2 bikini tops (double up as bras)

2 swim suits
2 pairs of shorts
I pair of long trousers (wear to travel)
4 vest tops
3 t-shirts
1 dress
1 sarong (double as dress or skirt)
1 overshirt or light cardigan

Make up bag including creams and potions
Toilet bag - shampoo, soap, razors, toothpaste, suncream, paracetamol, diacalm, calpol.

Camera, MP3, headphones, phone, kindle

papers - passport, tickets, insurance.

For your other half

Get him to do his own.

Toddler

1 pair of sandals
1 pair of trainers

4 pairs of shorts
4 t-shirts
3 sun dresses
2 hats
2 swimsuits
favourite cuddly
7 pairs of pants

Good luck

mcfisco

mrcow wrote: »

And there's your answer.

Get someone else to do it! :rotfl:

Not at all

Don't need to pack soap as the hotel provides it and there's no point us both packing toothpaste

Phone charger

Nope, I only switch it on for 2 mins, twice a day, then use the hotel phone if needed if I did need to charge it, I could plug it in any USB socket on a PC

boardies and rashies.
the sunglasses are sheer poser-value however, ditch 'em !

No idea what boardies and rashies are
I need my sunglasses otherwise I spend the whole trip squinting

I stand by my list

travelgran

My memory- jogger is simple. PMMT- passport, money, medicines, tickets. Consider what you're going to do on holiday and pack accordingly. Do people really need a complete change of outfits with matching pairs of sandals every day for example? Why take umpteen pairs of pants? Wash them in the shower, most will dry overnight.
Have to agree with Mr Wang about suntan lotion though. It was available, but a small chemists shop in Turkey wanted the equivalent of £50! No sale there.

zagfles

mcfisco wrote: »

Easy

For me, for a week - in the bag

Pants - 7
Socks - 0
Shorts - 2
Shoes - 1
Shirts - 7
Hat
Sunglasses
Toothbrush
Razor
Deodorant
Kindle
Reading Glasses
iPhone

Done in about 5 mins :j

What do you do on holiday?? I like the idea of going with so little, but what about:

Swimming trunks
Socks & trousers eg for a meal out in the evening
Shoes for walking plus flip-flops/sandles for the beach/pool
Sunoil (yes you can buy locally but it's one thing that's usually cheaper in the UK)
Camera
Phone/shaver/camera chargers
Plug converters
Floss
Beach towels (& other beach stuff eg masks/snorkels)
Any medication required

Plus documents eg
Passport
EHIC card
Insurance card/documents
Hotel bookings etc
Emergency numbers for bank/credit cards
Dictionary
Driving licence (if driving)
Car stuff if taking your own car (a whole separate list!)

Vikki_74

I got a really useful free iPhone / iPad app called Pack the Bag which I would recommend if you have the appropriate technology. It has a load of different categories of items for different types of trip etc (beach, winter, children, pets...) - you go through and select the ones you want to include, then it generates a list which you can tick off as you go along. It covers packing but also things to do before you go (unplugging electrics, closing windows) which is useful if you're like me and always rushing around the morning of your flight trying to remember everything!

mcfisco

zagfles wrote: »

What do you do on holiday?? I like the idea of going with so little, but what about:

What do I do?
Typical day would be
Lazy breakfast
Trip out to something/somewhere
Long lunch
Siesta, reading/snoozing in the shade somewhere
Wander out for a drink or two
Dinner

Swimming trunks - I don't do swimming
Socks & trousers eg for a meal out in the evening - 1 pair of trousers which I travel in, no socks needed, wear these sockless for pretty much everything
Shoes for walking plus flip-flops/sandles for the beach/pool - see above or I often go bare-foot
Sunoil (yes you can buy locally but it's one thing that's usually cheaper in the UK) - I don't use it, just a hat
Camera - I rarely take photos but if I wanted to I have my iPhone
Phone/shaver/camera chargers none needed
Plug converters - not needed
Floss - it's in the end of the travel toothbrush I use
Beach towels (& other beach stuff eg masks/snorkels) - I rarely go to the beach and never sunbath but if needed the hotel towel would suffice
Any medication required -I'm fortunate in not needing any

Plus documents eg
Passport - wallet
EHIC card - wallet
Insurance card/documents - wallet
Hotel bookings etc - wallet
Emergency numbers for bank/credit cards- iPhone
Dictionary - not needed
Driving licence (if driving) - wallet
Car stuff if taking your own car (a whole separate list!) - N/A

I'm presuming we're talking about a typical holiday resort holiday.

I also go on cycling holidays to the Alps or Pyrenees
The packing list for those trips is - I guess - similar to the list NASA used to get a Shuttle launched

zagfles

mcfisco wrote: »

What do I do?
Typical day would be
Lazy breakfast
Trip out to something/somewhere
Long lunch
Siesta, reading/snoozing in the shade somewhere
Wander out for a drink or two
Dinner

Swimming trunks - I don't do swimming
Socks & trousers eg for a meal out in the evening - 1 pair of trousers which I travel in, no socks needed, wear these sockless for pretty much everything

Don't they get really smelly after a couple of days? :eek:

Shoes for walking plus flip-flops/sandles for the beach/pool - see above or I often go bare-foot
Sunoil (yes you can buy locally but it's one thing that's usually cheaper in the UK) - I don't use it, just a hat
Camera - I rarely take photos but if I wanted to I have my iPhone
Phone/shaver/camera chargers none needed
Plug converters - not needed
Floss - it's in the end of the travel toothbrush I use
Beach towels (& other beach stuff eg masks/snorkels) - I rarely go to the beach and never sunbath but if needed the hotel towel would suffice
Any medication required -I'm fortunate in not needing any

Plus documents eg
Passport - wallet

Big wallet!

EHIC card - wallet
Insurance card/documents - wallet
Hotel bookings etc - wallet
Emergency numbers for bank/credit cards- iPhone

Best to have a written backup in case the iPhone gets nicked along with your wallet

Dictionary - not needed

I've always found a dictionary useful going to any non-English speaking country even if I'm good at the language there is always the odd word that I don't understand. Mind you there's probably an iPhone app:)

Driving licence (if driving) - wallet
Car stuff if taking your own car (a whole separate list!) - N/A

I'm presuming we're talking about a typical holiday resort holiday.

I also go on cycling holidays to the Alps or Pyrenees
The packing list for those trips is - I guess - similar to the list NASA used to get a Shuttle launched

:rotfl:yes it's really one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions...

want2liveabroad

I have a list which is seperated in 3 columns - OH, me and things we need together. It's laminted and has been used over and over again. Things I dont want to take I cross out and any extra bits add at the bottom.
Works every time - I take less every time - getting good!!

mcfisco

Don't they get really smelly after a couple of days?

The trousers or the shoes?
The trousers - no, a couple of hours each evening is fine
I wear the same suit trousers every day for a week before rotating them for the pair back from the cleaners
The shoes - no they're well designed to stay cool
Other people may sweat a lot, I don't

Big wallet!

It's passport sized, passport on one side, some cards and docs on the other, it permanently lives in my bag [I travel a lot with work] my walking around wallet is minimalist
http://www.thejimi.com/

Best to have a written backup in case the iPhone gets nicked along with your wallet

You're obviously more risk averse than I am, however, I do have loads of such info in my Drop Box account in case Tuesday falls on a Wednesday and the World turns upside down as a result

I've always found a dictionary useful going to any non-English speaking country even if I'm good at the language there is always the odd word that I don't understand. Mind you there's probably an iPhone app

There probably is an app, if I ever feel the need to use it, I'll be sure to check it out

I'm used to packing very light, it makes life so much easier
My only concern is my wife's stress trying to keep her bag for the week down to 5kg
I can see it's going to cost me a bit, buying her new stuff she has to have when we get to our next hol [Lanzarote in 2 weeks]
She has no problem with airlines that have 10kg cabin allowance but she booked a Thomson's flight without realising.
We do have a bag booked for the hold just in case but hope we won't need it

s_b

we pack our own cases here so if we forget something theres nobody but yourselves to blame,however i left the wife in charge of passports last time and it wasnt until we were going out of the door that i checked she had packed them and she hadnt
how do i pack
start at me head and work out how many pieces of clothes i need timesd by days away
i dont do washed pants on the rail of my hotel thankyou:D