World Race Packing List (For the Gals)
Here’s the thing you should know about this packing list. It’s written by a girl who would describe herself as half girly-girl, half outdoorsy adventurer. My mother loves to call me a Barbie doll ever since I went through a quite prolonged “pink” phase in my life. From birth until about 16, I owned only pink jump-ropes, bean bag chairs, school supplies, and the vast majority of my wardrobe. My sweet grandmother even bought me my first grownup set of rolling luggage in hot pink (don’t worry, I was definitely in my 20s). Never had trouble finding those suckers at baggage claim!
(Special thank you to Rachel Joy Anderson, who helped me brainstorm this list!)
But beyond the affinity for pink and makeup and sundresses, lies a girl who grew up playing in the dirt, mountain biking with my boy neighbors, kayaking the Nantahala and Little Tennessee Rivers, camping and fishing with my dad, and belaying for rock climbers and ropes courses. So there.
The World Race at times has been a breeze. I’ve had beds, hot showers, and even A/C at times! But alas, now I’ve found myself in Uganda, Africa without running water, indoor plumbing, or electricity. But I’m surviving! So if you’re like me, and you tend to be girly at times but also love a little adventure, then maybe this is packing list for you. Check it out.
Things to consider when packing:
-My route took me through Central America, East Asia, and East Africa. Make SURE to check the weather patterns during the months that you’ll be in your countries. My route was generally a warm/hot one, minus the first couple of rainy weeks in Guatemala and a couple chilly nights in Africa.
Necessities:
- Rolling Duffle with Backpack Straps! I promise 99% of my squad wished they had brought this instead of a pack! If you haven’t purchase your pack already, get this!! If you do get a pack, don’t get bigger than 75 L. Having a zip on the bottom for easy access is a plus! Also, brand doesn’t matter.
- Tent. Lightweight is best, but don’t stress too much about the brand, really. Definitely need a rain fly and footprint.
- Airporter for your pack. Your pack goes through the ringer on planes & in the bottom of buses.
- Durable Day Pack: I used my old Northface school bag, and it was falling apart by Month 3. Consider getting one that isn’t mostly fabric. It will hold up better if it gets wet.
- Passport: Duh. Protective cover is good to distinguish yours from your squadmates.
Bedding:
- Thermarest Pillow. It’s nice because it’s small, you can roll it up! I got a size Medium. If it gets dirty, you can use a tshirt as a pillowcase!
- Sleeping Bag: lightweight, use your discretion for degree of warmth, if you get cold get a warmer one, if you get hot… you get it.
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Sleeping Bag Liner: Cotton liner is the most comfy. I had a silk one and wished I’d had a cotton one. You can easily sew a twin sheet together too for cheap!
Sleeping Pad: Thermarest, the blow up kind, would be my recommendation. The self-inflating ones aren’t quite as comfortable. But treat your sleeping pad with extra care to avoid holes. And bring a… - Thermarest repair kit!!
Clothing:
- Fleece Jacket
- Zip-Up Hoodie: great to throw on if it’s a little chilly, but not fleece jacket worthy cold.
- Rain Jacket. Go for a good brand for this. I love Marmot myself. Cheap ones will not keep you dry and it WILL rain.
- Bathing Suit: Tankini or Cute One Piece. Bring a suit you’d actually wear in real life (keep it classy) and feel comfortable/cute in!
- Tennis Shoes (no hiking shoes): Necessary for outdoor adventures, manual labor and working out!
- Workout Shorts: 1-2 pairs
- Socks: 3 pairs ankle socks, 1 pair wool socks
- Jeans: for days off, you’ll want to look cute & feel comfortable.
- Cute dress up tops 2, for days off!
- Undies: 10 pair, see Special Hints!!
- Bras: I brought 2 regular, 6 sport
- Chacos: People have many debates about these. I LOVE them for Africa especially because there are so many muddy dirt roads, and they actually support your ankles on treacherous ground! I 100% recommend them. Sometimes flip flops just don’t cut it for long walks to get internet.
- Flip flops: I have a pair of basic Havianas that I use for shower shoes/around the hosue/casual outings.
- Cardigan to wear over sleeveless dresses/shirts, it’s a MUST!
- Cute/comfortable cotton dresses: 2-3, short sleeve & knee length are best
- Yoga/workout capris: 2 pairs, probably my most-worn item!
- Yoga pants/sweat pants: for chilly nights/airplane or bus rides
- T-shirts: I brought 4 solid color v-necks. Many countries (Asia!) have issues with revealing your shoulders!
- Skirts: 1 knee length, 1 floor length for Africa
- Leggings: 2 pairs, You will wear this all the time, especially countries where showing knees is forbidden
- Earrings/jewelry that you wouldn’t mind losing, bring a tiny Tupperware or zip bag to keep them in!
Electronics:
- Computer: Netbooks are great, but I just brought my Macbook and it was fine!)
- iPod touch or iPhone, great for music, wifi, texting people at home, etc.
- Kindle: you will get bored waiting on your drivers to pick you up or on long bus rides between countries! Remember: ‘on time’ in Asia & Africa means 30 minutes to 3 hours late.
- External Hard Drive: fill it with movies before you go! Save your photos/music on it in case something happens to your computer.
- Outlet converter for multiple countries (REI one is expensive, I have one from TJ Maxx for about $15)
- Multi-outlet with USB plugs. Totally worth it! Trust me.
- Camera: I just brought a little point & shoot. Lots of people had fancy DSLRs. Do whatever you’re comfortable/familiar with.
- Jump Drive: for transferring docs, music, photos, etc between teammates.
- Headphones: these go through the ringer, so bring 1-2 extra pairs! Seriously.
Toiletries:
- Sunscreen: Face & Body, I’m a stickler about wearing sunscreen, though.
- Hand Sanitizer!! Trust me, you will use it all the time. Ok, maybe I’m a germophobe, but sometimes there’s no soap/water in public toilets.
- Makeup: If you wear it in the States, bring it. You’ll want to look cute even if you’re got on clothes that you’ve worn 3 times already.
- BABY WIPES: See why here.
- Loofa: Yes. It’s worth it to scrub off the grunge and sweat.
- Shampoo/Conditioner: bring travel bottles, buy larger bottles along the way
- Razors: I brought disposables, or bring enough blades for the year, they’re hard to find in some countries.
- Deodorant: If you’re picky about brands, bring several sticks. Some countries only have roll-on, and I don’t do roll-on.
- Body spray: helpful for days you don’t feel 100% fresh 🙂
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste: easy to find overseas, yes, the good brands.
- Feminine Products: enough for 4 months or so. If you find them overseas, stock UP!
- Contact Solution/Contacts: You can find contact solution overseas, but it is more expensive. A couple of my squadmates got the contacts you can sleep in, and have loved them.
- Bandaids/Neosporen!
- Toner/Cotton balls: To clean your face! So much easier than using facewash and trying to find water.
Medicine:
- **Probiotics** I take one everyday, and I am convinced I have WAY fewer stomach/digestive issues than my teammates. Trust me. Someone recommended these to me, and they were a genius.
- TUMS: in case you do have stomach issues (or your teammates do since they don’t take probiotics)
- Ibeuprofen: headaches, obviously. Remember to stay hydrated and you’ll avoid many headaches though.
- Doxy: or whatever Malaria meds of choice, 3 months worth-ish, you can buy more on the Race for much cheaper than in the States.
- Sleep Aid: Helpful for noisy plane rides/bus rides!
- Evidence of your yellow fever vaccinations/health info
Miscellaneous:
- Ziplocks: gallon and quart, it is nice to have new ones when yours get holes!
- Towel: REI X-Large, or Regular towel is fine. Warning: they will probably stink by the later months.
- Journals: 2-3, These are hard to find abroad!
- Headlamp: Petzl is a good brand, just make sure you have one that will last, and bring extra batteries!
- Small mirror: for gettin’ pretty
- Pens/Sharpies/Markers: Good for writing notes, marking your belongings.
- Stationary: 2 packs, writing encouraging notes to teammates, or thank you notes to hosts
- Pocketknife: handy!
- Extra passport photos: A must for getting Visas overseas.
- Small bible. Easier than hauling around a full-size one.
- Sunglasses: ones you don’t mind losing/breaking. You can buy cheapo Ray Bans ($3-5), pretty much everywhere. I went through about 5 pairs.
- Bug Spray: MUST. I get eaten alive, so I brought some with a good amount of Deet. Mosquitos are bad in Central America.
- Ear plugs: MUST! I don’t think I slept one night on the Race without them. There’s always some kind of background noise/dogs/snoring teammates/early risers…
- Watch: Please, please, please bring this, so your teammates don’t have to be responsible for you being on time!
Optional:
- Baseball Cap: for sunny days or dirty hair days, only if you actually wear one in real life.
- Water bottle: sometimes there’s no where to wash these, and they wills stink. You will always be able to buy bottled water and even reuse the bottles.
- Pictures of your family & loved ones!
- Butterfly chair: sometimes you need a place to sit! See it here.
- Travel Locks: In case you feel uncomfortable traveling with your daypack.
- Bring a pack of new underwear to open half way! Trust me, your underwear will get destroyed. You’ll thank me.
- Two months before: Train your hair to be able to be washed every other day or every three days! Showers are often not available every day.
- Download the TextFree app so you can text your friends & family at home when you have wifi!
- Download Postagram app so you can send postcards to your friends & family for only 99 cents each!
- Label all your clothes/electronics/everything with a Sharpie. Just do it.
- If you’re thinking of brining an iPad instead of a laptop, don’t. You can’t blog on it or do many of the things you can do on a real computer. Just bring your laptop & iPod touch/iPhone.
- Get a check card that has no foreign transaction fees and reimuburses you for ATM fees. I went with a CapitalOne online banking check card, and it was great. Also, Visa is accepted more often than Mastercard, I found.
Don’t get:
- Mess kit. I promise, people will nearly always have plates and cutlery for you.
- Under-clothing wallet. It’s just a pain. Bring a small wallet you can conceal in the bottom of your bag in a hard-to-reach place. Most girls just brought regular cross-body purses. I had a little one-shoulder backpack that was awesome, and you can sling it in front of your body if ever you feel unsafe.
- Rain cover for your pack. Rarely will you
- Alarm Clock: If you have an iPod or Iphone, you’re fine.
- Calculator: unless you’re Finance person? Even then, you can use your iPhone/iPod touch.
- Clothes line. Most places will have one already.
