Are you planning a road trip and wondering what kind of clothing and toiletries to pack? In this article, I’ll highlight 13 essential road trip items, particularly those that help you maintain a minimalist packing list and stay comfortable while traveling on the road. This is a spin-off of the Road Trip Essentials for Car post.

The Best Road Trip Travel Bags

For road trips, leave the suitcase as home. Suitcases or luggage are ideal for air travel, but not great for road trips due to the rigid nature of the bags. Instead, pick a duffel bag or backpack with flexible fabric so that it can better fit into your car trunk. Select a bag that is between 30-50 liters of capacity, depending on how much stuff you’re bringing. My favorite travel bag is the Lululemon Out of Range Duffel 33 liter, and Martin loves the Osprey Snowkit Duffel 45L.

Packing Cubes

These are great not just for suitcases, but for duffel bags and backpacks too. Packing cubes help compress your items to better fit inside of your travel bag and also help organize your items so that you know where to find them.

How much clothing should you pack?

As a rule of thumb, I pack about a week’s worth of clothing. This is typically enough to snuggly fit into a 30-50 liter bag. If my trip is longer than 1 week, I plan to stay in a hotel with a laundromat, or with a local laundromat nearby. Alternatively, you can also wash select clothing items in your hotel room sink if you bring sink packet laundry detergent.

1. Clothes

The most important aspect of travel clothing is the fabric. Quick dry fabric is lightweight, packs down small, produces less lint, is not prone to wrinkles, and requires less drying time. Some fabrics such as Patagonia’s Capilene Cool also have a cooling effect which is great for hot climates.

Shirts - short, long, no sleeves.
Shorts - golf shorts or running shorts are great.
A nice dress / long sleeve shirt, preferably wrinkle-free material.

2. Underwear

Quickdry underwear is here, and if you haven’t tried it, what are you waiting for? Our favorite underwear brand for men and women is Exofficio.

3. Bathing suit

Swimwear is handy not only for swimming in lakes, rivers, or pools, but also for indulging in hot tubs or hot springs. Don’t forget a coverup or rash guard.

4. Hat

Consider packing several hats for your trip, such as a ball cap, and a wide-brimmed hat. These are handy for blocking sun, or a bad hair day. Pro tip — try to get hats with a neck strap to keep them from blowing off when a gust of wind strikes.

5. Neck gaiter or face mask

Since we’re still living in the time of COVID, don’t forget a face mask or neck gaiter. The neck gaiter is especially handy because it can protect your neck from the elements, such as cold, heat, or insects. The other nice part about face masks is that they can block odors from public bathrooms — this is one reason why I’ll keep bringing face masks with me on trips, even after COVID is over.

6. Sleeping eye mask + ear plugs + sleeping bag liner

A good nights sleep is essential, especially when you are spending long hours driving on the road. Be sure to pack an eye mask, ear plugs, and silk sleeping bag liner to help you get a good night’s sleep. These come in especially handy if you end up in a noisy hotel room, like we did on the very first night of our pandemic road trip. If you are unfamiliar with sleeping bag liners, they can come in handy if your hotel bed has cheap, itchy sheets. There are a lot of sleeping bag liner options, but this silk version by Cocoon is the best. It packs down small and light and is incredibly comfortable to sleep in.

7. Socks

There’s nothing worse than having to reuse dirty socks. Make sure to pack lots of socks to keep your feet feeling fresh. I wore cotton socks for years, but I recently replaced them all with Merino wool socks. These socks can be pricey, but Merino wool fabric is so comfortable, lightweight, and it absorbs moisture really well without leaving a damp, heavy feeling behind. Thus, it’s been 100% worth it to switch all of my socks over to Merino wool. I have a variety of socks made mostly by Smartwool and Icebreaker, including sporty cuts, and longer hiking boot socks.

8. Shoes

Pack several pairs of shoes according to the activities on your agenda. Sneakers or casual shoes are important for everyday use, as well as more hardcore walking or hiking shoes. You may also want to pack a pair of dress shoes to accompany your semi-formal outfit. My personal favorite shoe is the Altra Superior, available for men or women. This lightweight, low profile shoe doubles as a casual sneaker or a walking shoe, and it’s incredibly comfortable to wear for long walks or hikes. I also pack a pair of Altra Lone Peak hiking shoes for more rugged, rocky hikes.

9. Sandals, slippers, or water shoes

Water shoes vary in styles and design, but our favorites are sandals made by Keen. The sandals are well-made and good for using in rugged outdoor conditions, plus they cover your toes to keep them safe. If you pick a more neutral color and style of sandal, it can also be used as a dress shoe along with your semi-formal outfit.

10. First Aid Kit

Because accidents happen, and it’s good to have band aids and antiseptic wipes on hand. One pro tip is to add some gauze and mole skin to your first aid kit. Mole skin is really great at acting like a second layer of skin, insulating your cuts and blisters so you can keep on keeping on.

11. Toiletries

Sea to Summit makes the best toiletry bag that is lightweight and has just enough capacity for all of your travel essentials. Everyone’s toiletry bag will likely look a little different since we all have our personal preferences for hygiene items and brands. Generally speaking, pack your toiletry bag with things for grooming, toothbrush, toothpaste, contact lenses, nail clippers, tweezers, prescription medication, vitamins, and immunity boosters. Ladies, also consider adding dry shampoo and these microfiber hair drying towels, just in case there's no hair dryer in your hotel room.

12. Indulgent items

Small items that make you feel good or give you some comfort while you’re on the road. Because let’s face it, travel and being away from home can be rough. For me, indulgent items include quality shampoo and conditioner, a good face scrubbing soap, and my particular brand of toothpaste.

13. Laundry bag + laundry stuff.

Pack small packets of laundry detergent, dryer sheets, fabric refresher, and a portable clothing line. These are essential not only for washing your clothes in a hotel laundromat, or in your hotel room when in a pinch.

Free Road Trip Essentials Packing List Download

Click here to download the free PDF checklist.

Road Trip Essentials Packing List - Clothes and Toiletries