International Travel with Kids: What to Pack for a Month
Packing Like a champ
The only time I’ll say that Less is More.
Packing
Pack as light as Possible. So you’ve made it across the world with everyone! Congratulations are in order! Now you need to get all of your family and their belongings into a car and I promise you this is when you’ll be thankful you didn’t over pack. If you factor in carseats, strollers, pack and plays (god bless you traveling with all of this. We are finally grown out of some of it and its so great!) The real estate in the back of a car is going to be super tight and if you have too much luggage you’ll find yourself negotiating multiple taxis to get you to your final residence. We are again super lucky in this regard since we have family there and they are BEYOND helpful to us at every turn. Once though we stayed over in Hong Kong and we didn’t have the luxury of family there….. and we almost ran out of room in the van for our family of 5, luggage etc. We couldn’t actually install any carseats either.
Get Organized: A general rule for success in NOT overpacking (for me) is to be very organized. So I usually take a month of slowly packing and list making to get our family of 5 ready for the long haul. Since we’ve been fortunate to travel to Thailand a few times, I’m pretty well versed in what we can easily stock up on once we arrive and what we need to bring along. You also have to know how generally flexible you are when it comes to trying something new. Do you have really sensitive skin? Well maybe bring all of your family cleansing and care products. Maybe you know you’ll want to try some new things and you can leave it all at home. Once you know what you need, I always group like items together in the suitcase to keep it easily accessible. Each person gets a packing cube for outfits, under garments/bathing suits and jammies. I also am a stickler on shoe quantities. One pair of athletic shoes worn on the flight, one pair of shoes for the water. That is it. Shoes just take up way to much space and I would rather have less luggage than an additional shoe option!
Charging and Electrical: So you’ve taken my advice and you’ve packed everyone a tablet but…. now you need to charge it ALL. Usually your Apple block charger works to convert the electrical current and can be directly plugged into an international outlet. (double check though, OK?). We always bring a multi port charger though so we can keep everyone juiced up on one outlet. In addition to iPhones, and iPads my husband and I need to keep our laptops charged and I always keep a few external batteries charged for back up power. Plug everything in at night in your charging hub and everything is good to go in the morning… no charging shifts needed.
Cultural Considerations: Even though it can get hot in Thailand it’s important to remember that modesty is important. If you plan on site seeing at any Temples or sacred spaces you’ll be required to have the majority of your skin covered (this goes for both men and women!) Its important to also remember at these places you will be required to remove your shoes so wearing ankle socks with your athletic shoes is a nice addition to the day. I encountered this when we traveled to India as well. So I would say its worth looking into the modesty customs of your destination to be sure you are appropriate, respectful and comfortable.