TRAVEL: Packing for Ireland

Let’s be completely honest. I am an over-packer and this post is here to just to try to help me not over-pack if I ever take a trip like Ireland again.

For reference: Ireland was 10/11/23-10/25/23 or 2 weeks in October. I knew I would have a washer where I was staying for the first 5 days, and then basically have 9 days of traveling all over and living in hostels. So, in some ways, I packed for a 9-day trip and considered the other days just a bonus.

My luggage was entirely dictated by the fact that I borrowed my bags from people but the bags I brought worked pretty well and I would use them again (with some modifications).

I packed into a Patagonia Black Hole® Duffel Bag 40L that could be carried or worn on your back. It was not a very comfortable backpack, it could help me navigate the bag on public transport. It was… not very pleasant to walk very far with it on your back though. I will just state that warning.

I also brought a packable backpack that folded up to be super small (like this one) and a cross-body purse/bag. I borrowed a Kipling bag with multiple pockets. It just fits a store-bought water bottle, so I ended up using one plastic water bottle rather than bringing my own nicer reusable one.

Overall Packing List:

  • 6 Shirts
  • 2 Pants
  • 4 Pairs Underwear
  • 4 pairs of socks
  • 1 Bra* (maybe 2 if being fastidious)
  • PJs (I accidentally brought a see-through tank top, do not recommend it for hostels). Shorts might have been better than pants
  • Rain Jacket  (I should have bought a more waterproof one. Like full rubber duck rubber for Ireland in October). Mine was expensive but wasn’t waterPROOF.
  • Light Jacket (brought sort of exercise over-jacket). Which probably was a step nicer than my usual “living in a hoodie” look. But it wasn’t super warm. That said, it was nice as I warmed up on hikes.
  • Jacket – I brought a very packable jacket, unfortunately, it wasn’t quite warm enough, so I sort of had to stuff into all the layers I had to be warm enough in Ireland in October. Because the cliffs are WINDY.
  • Hiking boots
    • I also brought sneakers, but they weren’t great sneakers. I could have done it all in hiking boots, but I would have preferred a second pair of shoes that were really comfortable, for changing up my feet options.
  • Scarf. (The original one I brought shed lint on EVERYTHING. So I ditched that and the next one I bought was a little too thick. But it was warm.
  • Hats. Baseball cap (for keeping the rain out of my eyes) and a warm hat. I often wore these together. [Fun fact, I forgot a warm hat and borrowed my friend’s after she left).
  • Electronics:
    • I brought an iPad with a keyboard case. While this was nice and good to journal on, it ultimately was not worth the weight to me. I could have done what I needed on my phone. This is my first time ever traveling without my computer. My separation anxiety is REAL.
    • Portable battery & charging cords.
      • SO NECESSARY! I BROUGHT 2 (which was overkill). But boy did I use the one!!
    • A case for containing all the cords and battery packs. Not necessary, but nice.
    • Mini Apple watch charger (I was wearing my Apple watch)
    • Charging Cords: Lightning (iPhone), USB-C (iPad, Case, Sleep Mask, portable battery pack)
    • Adapter. I got a universal adapter. It is bulky, but it had extra USB ports which was nice! As long as I don’t lose it, it will continue to serve me well.
  • Microfiber Towel – useful for hostels. Paying for towels wouldn’t have added more than maybe $10-$20 to the total trip cost, so this may not be worth it to everyone.
  • Lock – for hostel locks. Got one that was thinner since hostels have all types of lock options.
  • Compressable packing cubes & shoe/laundry bag. It was SUPER helpful to have a semi-organized bag.
  • Bathroom:
    • A SMALL toiletries case. I don’t use makeup, so this truly could be very small.
    • Retainer
    • Foldable hairbrush (similar to this one)
    • Pill container (with all prescription meds and some additional options)
    • SO MUCH DRAMAMINE (THIS SAVED ME!!). The small ones can fit about double the amount of pills, so I bought a few and combined them.
    • Travel toothbrush & toothpaste
    • Travel Shampoo and face soap (in a ziplock bag, they did spill)
    • Razor
    • Travel lotion & face supplies
    • Sunscreen
  • Misc.:
    • Laundry soap sheets (in a ziplock bag)
    • Tennis Ball – I didn’t use this on this trip. But I will never travel without it again. I have slept wrong on my neck or my back before, and it has ruined my whole trip. Having the ability to massage my muscles by lying on a tennis ball in invaluable.
    • Sleep Mask – So, I normally sleep with a noise machine and listen to music or a podcast. I already have insomnia and sleep-anxiety. I was very nervous about sleeping in a hostel. This mask cost WAY more than I wanted to spend, and I thought I’d buy it, try it, and return it, but it worked well for me. So I kept it. I trained myself to sleep in it for the 2 months before the trip. It’s both an eye mask and headphones. It can get kind of hot but is still better than anything else I’ve found.
    • Earplugs – on some nights when it was really loud, I also added earplugs to my sleep mask. I didn’t do this often, because my ears are really sensitive, and tend to hurt in the morning if I sleep all night with them in. But anything to get a better night’s sleep.
    • Airpods – I also brought wired headphones for the plane, but I was more interested in my phone than the plane movies. Plus they offered free headphones.
    • Mini Vaseline – for chapstick, lotion, wounds, etc.
    • Mints – this, along with the Dramamine, helps motion sickness.
    • Airtags – 1 in my wallet, 1 in my suitcase, 1 in my purse or backpack.
    • A bunch of Ziplock bags (I would often pack hostel breakfasts into lunches, etc. I had a whole box. SOOO helpful)
    • Masks (Because COVID is still a thing!)
    • 2 Pads/1 tampon (just in case, I could buy more there if needed).
    • Paper copies of my passport (tucked into every bag in case of theft — and digital ones stored in the cloud and on my phone).
    • Wallet – I generally use a tiny wallet, because I use almost no cash and never have coins, but Euro-using countries use a lot of coins, so I got a full wallet, with a large zipper pocket for traveling.
    • Liquid IV – Hello! Drinking!
    • Granola bars/protein bars.
  • E-Sim:
    • Purchased data through Airalo. I think I ended up using about 5 gig. I think I did 3, and then upgraded when I needed more. NOTE: This does not let you make phone calls. I knew with my phone plan if I turned it on, it would charge me $10/day. I decided if it was an emergency, I would pay that – rather than going out of my way to get phone service when data is cheaper and I didn’t end up needing to make phone calls. Also, most voicemails seemed to come through when I was connected to wifi, although I still don’t entirely understand how that works.