What to pack for three months of travelling

We travelled around Australia, The Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Korea, and Japan over three months. All of these countries were in warm spring, late-summer or early-autumn seasons during our visits, which meant the things we needed to pack didn’t vary too much per country. However, packing for so many places in one go – and in one bag! – can feel overwhelming.

The trick is to only pack for about two weeks of travelling. It’s reasonable to factor in laundry every two weeks, and with one week of packing you’d probably run out of combinations of clothing and, if anything gets too wet/muddy/sweaty then you’d fall short quite quickly. Anything more than two week’s worth could feel excessive and would verge on being too much to fit in a backpack.

Plus, obviously, you’ll need to think about the places you’re going and what you’ll need. If you’re only going to cities you might not need swimwear, if you’re only going to beaches and islands then you’ll probably be fine with light, laid-back clothing… So tailor these lists to your specific travelling needs.

You can find out more about how we planned three months of travelling here.

Here’s what I packed for three months travelling, and what I wish I hadn’t bothered with!

Packing for three months of travelling

Bear in mind that, although I like to pack strategically, I’m not necessarily a super-light packer! I don’t pack excessively but I also don’t want to feel like I’m running short on things to wear, and I hate not having options! So you could go a little lighter than this, but since all of this fit easily into my 65L carry-on (and only weighed about 10kg!) I didn’t see any reason to minimise further.

Clothes and accessories:

• 1 pair of jeans

• 2 pair of light, wide-leg trousers

• 1 pair of leggings

• 2 pairs of workout shorts (suitable for hiking)

• 2 pairs of regular shorts

• 5 t-shirts 

• 3 tank tops/camis

• 1 light long-sleeve top

• 1 warmer long-sleeve sweater

• 1 hoodie

• 1 plaid shirt

• 1 dress for nicer outings

• 5 dresses (a mix for beaches, cities, and evenings out)

• 4 bikinis

• A sarong/beach cover-up

• 1 rain jacket 

• 1-2 week’s worth of underwear

• 1-2 week’s worth of socks

• 3 sports bras

• Running trainers for exercise and hikes 

• 2 pairs of casual trainers (Converse and Adidas Speziales)*

• Waterproof sandals (Birkenstock EVAs)

• Sunglasses

• A sun hat/cap

• 1 casual day bag (the Uniqlo cross-body bag)

• A backpack (for hiking and plane carry-on) 

• A tote bag (also doubles as a beach bag)

• 1 toiletry bag

Toiletries:**

• Toothbrush 

• Deodorant

• Facial cleanser

• Morning and evening moisturisers

• Face SPF

• A flannel and face pads

• Enough pills to last 3 months, plus an extra pack

• Toothpaste and floss

• Shower gel***

• Shampoo and conditioner***

• A small pack of wet wipes

• Lip balm

• Hand cream

• Sanitizer

• Body butter/after sun

• Floss

• Hair brush + ties

• Sun cream****

Everything else:

• Passport with all relevant visas

• Travel adaptors

• A battery pack and all necessary chargers

• Packing cubes for organising clothing, etc.

• A microfiber travel towel

• A cross-body phone case (honestly the best thing I bought for this trip!)

• A small first-aid kit

• Water bottle

• An e-reader (much more convenient that books)

• A pack of cards

Other things to consider

• What vaccines do you need to enter each country?

• Do any of the countries you’re visiting require proof of a ticket to leave?

• Does your travel insurance cover all the countries you’re visiting?

What I wouldn’t bring, next time:

• Solid shampoo and conditioners – I know some people who swear by these but I hate them! They stay wet and slippery in your back and they never have time to dry back into a solid state. Small bottles of shampoo and conditioner were far preferable for me.

• A lightweight, waterproof blanket –  I was recommended one of these for beaches, picnics on grass etc but just found I used my sarong or towel every time instead.

• Additional accessories – I bought a big camera, which I don’t use and just weighed me down and also binoculars which I used once and probably weren’t worth the weight.

• Anything you can easily buy globally – I brought an excess of some small things (e.g. plasters in the first aid kit) which would have been easy to find in any country. Consider what you can definitely find while travelling and just bring a small amount to tide you over before/until you need more.

• A torch – we stayed in some rural places that were very dark and night and still, the torch on my phone was sufficient every time.

• Multiple battery packs – I only used one the whole time we were away and was easily able to recharge it.

*Notes:

*I have fairly small feet and was able to pack two pairs of day-to-day trainers but I would have been fine with just one, had my packing allowance been tighter or my shoes been bigger!

**The toiletries you need will be fairly unique to you. This is an overview of what I took and what I consider essentials but obviously, take what you know you need.

***Some accommodation will provide shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner and others won’t so I prefer to always have some on me, although this does take up additional space. Having very long hair I’m fussy about what I wash it with! 

****SPF might seem like something to buy while you’re travelling but it’s often cheaper to buy at home where it’s easily accessible and used by most people. In countries like Sri Lanka and The Philippines where the locals rarely use SPF, it’s a luxury sold to tourists and therefore is not cheap to buy and sometimes can be hard to come across altogether.

Ready to go? Find out more about planning three months of travel here.