Family Holiday Packing Guide: What People Forget
Family packing is harder than solo packing. The secret is one bag per person and a system everyone understands.
Family travel packing is an exercise in catastrophe prevention. The good news: most of it is manageable with the right system. The bad news: some of those catastrophe items really are necessary. We'll tell you which is which.
The goal. Getting here without losing your mind is entirely achievable with the right system.
The journey matters as much as the destination. Having the right kit on the flight makes that possible.
One bag per person. Packing cubes. A clear system. That's the whole secret.
Every parent who has taken a young child on a flight has a version of this story. The one where you spent three nights before departure writing lists, rewriting lists, going to Boots twice, and still somehow arrived at your destination without a critical item. Calpol. Swim nappies. The specific dummy that is the only acceptable dummy. A sun hat that fits.
This guide is the one we wish we'd had. It's honest, it's practical, and it's organised around how family travel actually works rather than how it looks in an Instagram post. No wicker picnic baskets. No matching linen co-ords. Just the stuff you actually need.
The pre-holiday pack panic is a parenting rite of passage
The pre-holiday panic is different when you have children. Solo travel packing is an exercise in minimalism and confidence. Family travel packing is an exercise in catastrophe prevention. You're not packing for your needs; you're packing for every conceivable need a small person might have at any point across ten days, including needs they've never had before but theoretically could develop the moment you're 2,000 miles from a Boots.
The good news is that most of it is manageable if you approach it with a system rather than pure anxiety. The bad news is that some of those catastrophe items really are necessary. We'll tell you which is which.
The other thing to say upfront: the logistics change significantly by age. Packing for a six-month-old is a completely different exercise from packing for a three-year-old, which is completely different again from packing for a seven-year-old. We'll try to flag where this matters.
The nappy bag of doom (and what actually goes in it)
If your child is still in nappies, your hand luggage has a hard requirement before anything else: the nappy bag, or at minimum a clearly designated section of your hand luggage that functions as one. On a flight, the things you cannot be without are nappies (two per hour of travel plus a generous buffer), wipes (always more than you think), a changing mat, a spare set of clothes for the baby, and a spare top for yourself, because Murphy's Law has very specific clauses about nappy situations on aeroplanes.
For nappies at your destination: unless you're going somewhere genuinely remote, buy them there. A week's worth of nappies in a checked bag is bulk that doesn't need to travel from the UK. Take enough to cover travel day, arrival evening, and the following morning. That's it. Nappies are universal. The brands are different but they work.
Pack exactly enough nappies for travel day plus one morning's buffer. Everything else, buy at a local pharmacy or supermarket on day one. You'll save 2kg of luggage weight and they'll often be cheaper than at home anyway.
Always weigh your bag at home before you leave, every airline's carry-on limit is different, and the gate scale is the worst place to find out yours is over.
Kid-specific kit people underestimate
Sun protection is the one area where we'd say bring what you know. If your child has sensitive skin, their specific factor 50 suncream is worth bringing, especially for the first few days before you've found a pharmacy. For older children with less sensitive skin, factor 50 is widely available in beach destinations. A week of beach holiday for two children gets through suncream faster than you'd expect.
Kids' headphones are genuinely worth it on a flight over two hours. Volume-limiting headphones with a proper over-ear fit make a real difference to a child's comfort and, by extension, yours. Check they work with the in-flight entertainment system before you're 40 minutes into boarding.
A portable cot or travel crib is one of the most polarising items in family travel. Hotels will often provide a cot on request, but the quality varies enormously. If your baby or toddler is sleep-sensitive, bringing your own compact travel cot gives you control. If they'll sleep anywhere, save the luggage space.
A pushchair or carrier decision depends on the destination. Cobblestones and narrow pavements make a buggy more trouble than it's worth in many European cities. A good carrier earns its place in those contexts. For beach resorts or flat cities, a lightweight stroller is useful.
"The biggest packing mistake families make is treating it as one packing job instead of four separate jobs that happen to travel together." GO PAC family travel team
The parent survival kit for the flight
This is the hand luggage section that is specifically for keeping you and your children functional between departure gate and hotel room. Think of it as the kit for the journey, not the holiday.
Snacks are the single most underestimated item in family hand luggage. Airline food timing never matches when small children need to eat. Familiar snacks reduce meltdown risk. Pack more than you think you need, in formats that travel well, pouches, rice cakes, raisins, crackers, and whatever your child's specific comfort snack is.
Entertainment needs a plan and a backup plan. Tablets pre-loaded with downloaded content are the reliable option. Sticker books, colouring pads, and small figurines are useful for the bits where screens feel like too much, and they work without a battery.
Travel sickness is worth preparing for even if your child has never had it before. The combination of excitement, unfamiliar motion, airport food, and a pressurised cabin is different from a car journey. A children's travel sickness remedy, checked with your GP or pharmacist for appropriate age and dosage, is small insurance against a very bad flight.
We know, you know, everyone knows you should check in online. But printing physical copies, even as backup, costs nothing and removes one more thing that can go wrong when you're herding children through a busy terminal with your phone at 12%. Print them the night before. Thank us later.
How well does each strategy actually work?
Pack one outfit you can re-wear: dark colours, quick-dry, no logos. It's your "things went sideways" backup and it weighs almost nothing.
What's your family packing style?
Find out how your family approaches the holiday pack
When do you start packing for a family holiday?
How does your family handle luggage?
What's in your carry-on for the kids?
What to just buy when you get there
This is perhaps the most liberating section of any family packing guide. You do not need to arrive fully equipped for every eventuality. The following items are almost always cheaper, lighter to travel without, and easily sourced at your destination.
✓ Each person has their own bag
- Clear ownership, everyone knows where their stuff is
- Kids learn responsibility for their belongings
- No rummaging through one giant case at the hotel
- Easier at airport security and check-in
- Packing cubes work brilliantly at this scale
- Faster repacking on multi-stop trips
✗ One giant suitcase for everyone
- Becomes a shared chaos bag within 24 hours
- Overweight fees likely on return journey
- Nobody can find anything without unpacking
- One person becomes the designated "bag manager"
- Impossible to repack efficiently mid-trip
- Children learn nothing about packing responsibility
Water. Always buy on arrival, never travel with it through security. Destination water from a supermarket is cheap.
Bulky suncream. Unless you have a specific medical requirement, the large bottles go in your destination supermarket trolley, not your luggage. Take enough for travel day only.
Beach toys. Buckets, spades, armbands, inflatables. Buy them there, leave them there. They're cheap at beach destinations and the weight-to-joy ratio in your luggage is terrible. See our beach holiday essentials guide for more on this.
Family holiday packing checklist
Essentials by category
Nappies and baby essentials
Kids' entertainment
Snack bag
Medications
Activity bags per child
Frequently asked questions
Yes, on most airlines infants and children on full or child-fare tickets receive the same checked luggage allowance as adults. Lap infants (under 2, no seat) typically get a smaller allowance, usually one checked bag. Always check with your specific airline before booking, as budget carriers vary significantly. EasyJet and Ryanair charge per bag regardless of age on most fares.
Children's liquid medicines including Calpol are exempt from the 100ml liquid rule at UK airports, provided you have proof they're medically necessary (the packaging and your child's name on it is usually sufficient). You must declare them separately at security. Always check the most recent guidance from your departure airport as rules can change. Tablets and suppositories have no restrictions.
From around age 4-5, yes, absolutely. A small child-sized backpack that they own and are responsible for is one of the best things you can do for family travel. It gives them agency, reduces the parental carrying load, and means the snacks, entertainment, and a spare layer are with the child who needs them. Keep it lightweight, no more than 10% of their body weight when packed.
Yes, always. Children's medical emergencies abroad can be extremely expensive without it. Most family travel insurance policies cover children at no additional cost when travelling with insured adults, but confirm this explicitly when buying. Check the policy covers: emergency medical treatment, repatriation, cancellation due to child illness, and any pre-existing conditions. A decent annual family policy typically costs £80-150 and covers multiple trips.
The most commonly forgotten items, in our experience: sun hats that actually fit, a spare dummy (just the one specific one that works), printed copies of accommodation confirmations, children's paracetamol in hand luggage, an empty water bottle for after security, and a power bank for the tablet. The comfort toy almost gets left behind on the return journey more than any other single item.
Travel kit that earns its space
Every item in the GO PAC range is tested on real trips. No fillers, no fluff, just the kit we actually pack.