- Quick facts
- Total days on the road: 586
- Currently in: USA
- Miles Driven: 36821
- Countries Visited: 17
- Days Camping: 389
- Days Indoors: 202
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Packing Lists
Everything is easier when you have a list to follow. Here are a few from our most recent trips, covering a variety of locations and types of travel. When it comes to choosing what to take there are a lot of variables, especially for a digital nomad. Our goal is to give you a sense of what has worked for us and what has not.
Every packing list includes items that we used frequently, gear we packed but wished we hadn’t, and stuff that we didn’t bring but wish we had. We also include a list of regrets and smart moves we made for each trip so that hopefully you won’t repeat our mistakes.
Packing List: Central and South America Overland
{jcomments lock}Below is a huge list of all the gear for our 15 month drive from Seattle to Argentina. Please note that this article is being published in the middle of the trip, and we will continue to update as we travel and buy, sell, or break equipment.
We have also published more detailed breakdowns of what we packed. These sections include photos and sometimes more detailed information. Links are by section in the below list.
Packing List: Photography Equipment
{jcomments lock}This list is split into 3 sections: Camera gear I don’t leave home without, gear I take sometimes, and gear I’ve packed in the past but have since decided to live without. I list brands for your reference, but quality equivalents in other brands work just as well.
Download and Excel file of this list here: Photography Equipment List
Packing List: Backpacking in Southeast Asia
{jcomments lock}This list is for a six week trip through South East Asia from December 2008-Jan 2009. We started in Hanoi, Vietnam and traveled south to Ho Chi Minh City with a few stops, then crossed through to Phnom Pehn and Angkor, then south to Bangkok. From Bangkok we flew to Phuket and spent a week on the islands, and then flew south to Kuala Lumpur for a few days before heading home.
We were not working on this trip. But could easily have added a laptop in place of a bunch of camera supplies and done just fine.
Packing List: Backpacking in Europe
{jcomments lock}Although we’ve done more backpacking Europe than we can remember, this list comes from a two week family trip in May 2010 from Italy to Austria. We each worked about 10 hours a week during this trip.
Although this was a short trip, I probably wouldn’t add much for a longer trip, except maybe a another laptop. Having to share gets old.
Packing List: Driving and Camping in Australia
{jcomments lock}This packing list is for a six week car camping trip through Australia. We started in Sydney, rented a four door sedan, drove south to Melbourne, then to Adelaide, and eventually up to Darwin, with quite a few side trips a long the way. It was Australian winter (August-September 2010).
We both worked about 10-20 hours a week on this trip.
Packing List: 4x4 Overlanding in Africa
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Below is the list of gear we packed on a four month trip through South and East Africa from June-Sept 2008. We started in Johannesburg and went north along the east coast to Dar es Salaam, then cut inland to Nairobi and central Uganda, looped south through Rwanda and continued back through Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia to Joburg.
Having family near Joburg made outfitting this trip easier than most. We were able to stay with family and friends and spend several weeks gathering our gear and buying and outfitting a vehicle. We attempted to sell the vehicle once the trip ended, but because of the economic collapse that happened while were on the road, we were forced to leave the vehicle with a family member who sold it several months later.
We were not working during this trip, aside from amassing a huge collection of photos to someday sell for millions.