In a nutshell

  • Planning a trip with children? Our family vacation packing list covers everything you need to pack for the kids — so nothing gets left behind.
  • We cover clothing, toys, gadgets, toiletries, and a first-aid kit — with honest recommendations from parents who travel regularly with their kids.
  • This list focuses on what to pack for the kids. For parents, we have separate packing lists depending on the type of trip — linked throughout the article.

Family Vacation Packing List

Our family vacation packing list focuses primarily on the kids. For parents, we have separate packing lists for different types of trips:

Packing list for city trips

Packing list for beach vacations

Packing list for camper van trips

Packing list for Southeast Asia

Packing list for hiking vacations

Luggage and Suitcases for Kids

Child with a small suitcase at the airport
When the distances aren’t too far, the kids bring their own little suitcase

For each category, we’ll give you our checklist first and then explain it in more detail. Here’s our checklist for suitcases and luggage:

Suitcases and backpacks for the kids:

Suitcases and backpacks for the parents:

What you need to know:

We travel 90 percent of the time with our large 100-liter Patagonia travel bag, our PinqPonq backpack, and the Patagonia Terravia Tote backpack, which holds all the kids’ stuff. On the go, it always hangs on our travel stroller using these velcro hooks.

Only when we’re flying to the grandparents, for example, or when we know we’ll just have to make one trip from the airport to our accommodation, do the kids get to bring their own suitcases.

Most of the time, our fare doesn’t allow for much checked luggage. There are four of us, so we have four pieces of luggage. Since we always bring our Stokke Yoyo travel stroller as a carry-on item, that leaves only three pieces of luggage.

We each have a backpack on our backs — that leaves one piece of luggage. Which would mean only one child can bring a suitcase. We’d rather avoid that argument altogether.

The 70-liter Patagonia duffel bag is our ace in the hole. You can fold it up fairly small into the inner pocket. We bring it empty when we know we might want to pick up something at the destination, or when we don’t want to play Tetris after every accommodation change to fit everything in.

Our kids’ suitcases are from Aldi Süd. At around 25 euros, they’re a total steal — they’re exactly the right size and hold up really well. The suitcases are usually available at the end of summer. On Amazon you can find an almost identical kids’ suitcase.

Add-ons and alternatives to our luggage:

  • Trunki — the classic kids’ suitcase. We decided against it because we felt it would create more chaos than it would simplify things. One kid wants to be pulled, then someone tips over, or their legs aren’t long enough to push the suitcase themselves.
  • Stokke JetKids — less a suitcase for carrying lots of stuff, more a way to turn a regular airplane seat into a bed for the kids. We don’t have one ourselves, but we’d consider it for the next overnight or long-haul flight.

Clothing

The quantities are intended for one child and five to seven days.

Add-ons:

The perfect kids’ clothing for travel

Pants for travel

We love the knickerbockers from the brand Petit-Cochon made from a cotton/linen blend in a herringbone pattern.

These are the perfect pants because they’re light and comfortable, while also protecting against the sun and mosquitoes — and thanks to the herringbone pattern, dirt doesn’t show for a long time (psst!). The long waistband means they grow with the kids for a long time and never slip down.

For shorts, we usually bring the linen shorts from Petit-Cochon. These are also easy to care for. You can often just brush the dirt off.

Shoes for travel

Our kids wear exclusively barefoot shoes, usually Wildling shoes with a linen component. We always bring a replacement insole, since the kids wear them barefoot and that way we can throw the insole in the wash. As an alternative, they have Groundies sneakers.

Jackets for kids while traveling

Since the kids were one year old, they’ve had the kids’ fleece jackets from Patagonia. They’re super thin, so they pack down really well, dry incredibly fast, and hold up to a lot. We buy them a size too big, since the ribbed cuffs on the arms mean they can never be too big and always fit.

For a windproof and rain jacket, we have rain jackets from Decathlon. They were the only ones we found that pack down really small for travel. They won’t hold up in a major rainstorm, but for traveling they’re perfect. They’re the kids’ equivalent of our Patagonia wind jackets.

We always buy the rain jackets and fleece jackets at least one size too big, often even two sizes up. That way a thick sweater can still fit underneath.

Tops for kids while traveling

We prefer thin long-sleeve shirts over short-sleeved T-shirts because they provide sun protection. In the early years, we exclusively brought long-sleeved striped wool-silk shirts from Cosilana and a small travel laundry soap to wash them out.

Dresses and skirts are a matter of personal taste. If your child likes wearing dresses or skirts, go ahead and pack them. We try to avoid them because they can be restrictive in everyday situations — climbing, jumping, or playing on the playground.

When it comes to clothing, the same rule applies for kids as for adults: layering. We bring a little of everything and layer rather than packing a separate outfit for every temperature. We also generally recommend longer clothing made from linen or wool/silk. That way the little ones are protected from the sun without overheating.

Toys

Kids with headphones on an airplane
A little entertainment for the kids is always a good idea on the plane

Which games we bring changes a little each time. Sometimes puzzle books are more popular, sometimes paint-by-numbers, sometimes just a few sheets of paper. But we always make sure the items are lightweight.

Our Memory game isn’t classic playing cards but made from thicker cardboard. For us it’s often the game of choice outdoors — for example in restaurants when the wind picks up a bit.

More activity ideas for kids can be found here:

Practical Gadgets

The perfect gadgets for kids while traveling
Wet bags are super practical for wet and dirty clothing. We pack the kids’ spare clothes in them and always have them on hand.

The small and large cloth we use as a bib, blanket, scarf, or for sun protection in a baby carrier and travel stroller.

Add-ons:

We usually no longer bring a travel crib and bed rail. We improvise a barrier from whatever is available on-site, or slide a pillow under the duvet cover as a border.

In general, we always look at the accommodations before the trip: What’s already there? What should we specifically pack additionally for the kids (e.g., booster seat, bed rail)? Many family-friendly hotels or vacation rentals have almost all gadgets available to borrow on-site.

Documents

  • Current passport or ID
  • Vaccination record (or at least a photo of it)
  • Health insurance card
  • International travel health insurance (e.g., through a credit card)
  • Trip cancellation insurance if applicable
  • Visa or entry authorization (if required)

In Your Carry-On or Within Easy Reach in the Car

  • Day backpack
  • To-go lunch box with compartments
  • Kids’ water bottle (from 24bottles or Greenstories with an interchangeable top)
  • 1x change of clothes (packed in a wet bag)
  • Fleece jacket to layer over or sleep in
  • Baby wipes
  • Entertainment ideas: small puzzles, Lego, activity cards, activity pads, tablet with headphones (for multiple kids with a dual adapter), pencils & paper, Maxi Pixi books, sticker book, and a small stuffed animal

You can hang the day backpack on the travel stroller using hooks.

For the drive or flight, pack (lots of) snacks — specifically ones that don’t crumble or make noise:

  • Cut fruit, e.g., bananas
  • Cereal rings
  • Waffles
  • Granola bars
  • Sandwiches, rolls, or soft pretzels
  • Dry pasta
  • Treats like gummy bears (for bribing in exceptional situations, hehe)

Toiletries and Travel First-Aid Kit

Toiletries on the packing list for vacations with kids

First-aid kit on the packing list for vacations with kids

Please discuss your travel first-aid kit with your pediatrician.

When it comes to vaccinations: look into them as early as possible (six to nine months before the trip). Vaccinations take time. Your best bet is to check with your local health department — they often hold consultation hours for travel vaccinations. Or make an appointment at a tropical medicine institute.

Add-ons for the Packing List for Summer Vacation

On summer vacation, your family travel packing list should focus primarily on airy, longer clothing.

Add-ons for the family vacation packing list for the beach:

First-aid kit add-ons for the family vacation packing list:

When it comes to insect repellent, make sure you buy the right one. For babies from two months old and pregnant women, you need Ballistol Kids. From six months you can use Doctan Kids, and from one year old Anti Brumm Kids Sensitiv and NoBite Kids are also options.

With the exception of Ballistol, all of our recommended insect sprays contain the active ingredient icaridin, which is recommended by tropical medicine specialists. From age six, the active ingredient DEET may also be used. Personally, we’ve only ever used the ones listed here for the respective age recommendations — including for ourselves. You can find more information on the tropical medicine institute’s website.

For sunscreen, every year we buy the sunscreen guide from Annisbuntewelt and trust their recommendations. Up to age two, you should simply try to stay out of the sun or cover up as much as possible with clothing. Under one year old, we recommend mineral sunscreen, and from one year old, regular sunscreen.