Packing light for a warm weather getaway

Hailing from the other side of the globe in Australia means it’s actually turning cool in my neck of the woods (cool being a relative term that will sometimes require me to wear a hoodie on autumn days), but I know many of you are just starting to emerge from a long, cold winter.

And while I would take a snowy winter’s day any time – particularly if it’s to be spent on a snowboard – I can understand the yearning for a warm weather getaway too.

Given Tsh’s gorgeous book is just about ready to bloom in to the world and will, no doubt, see many of us come face to face with our wanderlust once again, I wanted to share my very lightweight packing list for warm weather traveling in the hopes that it might help make your travels a little simpler too.

Of course, this list changes depending on where we’re going (a weekend camping list looks very different to a couple of weeks spent Airbnb-ing near the beach, for example) but there are a few basic rules I like to stick to:

• Pack as many multi-use items as possible
• Limited choices are my friend
• I try to ensure that every item of clothing I pack will work with every other item
• Most items can be worn more than once before washing, and a lot of the items below can be washed in the sink and dried overnight
• Minimal make-up! (I invariably become too relaxed to use any more than the absolute necessities anyway).

With all this in mind, here are the basics I like to bring whenever we hit the road in summer:

• Lightweight sarong – can be used as a towel, a beach cover-up, a skirt, a dress and a wrap if it gets chilly
• One pair of comfortable, lightweight yoga pants – great for traveling, sleeping, exploring (and if you abide by the idea of ‘leggings aren’t pants’ then you can pop a dress over the top!)
• A few simple tanks and t-shirts
• Two bottoms – shorts, skirts, pants, whatever you’re most likely to wear
• A couple of floaty dresses that aren’t going to crease
• One lightweight cardigan
• One pair of flat, comfy sandals that go with everything
• If you’re hiking or doing lots of heavy-duty exploring, then bring a pair of sneakers, too
• A big hat
• Sunglasses
• A bold necklace or earrings
• Underwear and socks (if needed)
• A pair of swimmers
• Coconut oil in place of a moisturizer and hair serum – it’s quite effective in soothing minor sunburn or insect bites as well
• Your favorite essential oil – use it to replace perfume, help you sleep, or make you feel right at home
• Sunscreen
• A good book (I’ve just finished Kate Mildenhall’s Skylarking and it was wonderful! As is Sarah Wilson’s newest book First, We Make the Beast Beautiful. And of course, there’s Tsh’s new book, At Home in the World.)
• Notebook and pencil
• Podcasts and music playlists
• A deck of cards

(Note: We’ve linked to examples from ethical brands we feel good about.)

As I said, there will be different versions of this list depending on where we go, what our plans are and what the weather’s doing, but I do know that keeping my bag light makes things so much easier. (Related: Here’s Tsh’s master packing list.)

Less choice, less stress, less packing and lugging and washing and folding. More relaxing, more time, more reading and listening to music and sitting around campfires and doodling and playing cards and simply being.

As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry writes, “He who would travel happily must travel light.” (Or at least light-ish.)