I've only been over my limit when returning not going out.........so makes no odds to me and I would hate to have to shop for essential items once I'm there, trying to source some of these things would be a nightmare. Plus you would end up with lots of "same" items on your return if you did this every holiday Which kind of defeats the object. As per the post last year on here, I always leave unused toiletries in my room to save bringing any half used items back.......in the hope I don't exceed the limit on return

I would have thought most people take small/travel versions of most items and if like me allow for these extras when packing clothes etc.

Interesting topic yet I cannot fail to note that many items people take can easily be purchased when they get to their destination.

I think that it really depends on your destination - I've already half filled my case with the basic essentials for going to Cuba in a fortnight because I know that decent sanitary protection is none existent (and if it turns out I don't need it after all then I know Cuban women who will happily receive it as a discreet gift. Likewise, anything in the pharmaceutical/First Aid line is really difficult to come by and the leftover contents are usually left behind too. What local toiletries are available are usually nowhere near the quality of what we are used to here and because soap is either on ration or very expensive I take quite a bit over for friends over there. And decent laundry detergent can be like gold dust so a box of that decanted into a sturdy polythene bags goes in too! I've discovered that where Cuba is concerned it's best never to count on being able to buy anything you've forgotten once you arrive. Gatwick is your last chance to stock up on nearly everything you'll need other than rum and cigars :-)

Also, I tend to go for holidays in smaller and/or more out of the way places where one can't always rely on the shops having much choice of goods on offer - when I go to La Gomera in October the fresh food produce is bound to be as wonderful as always but the local shops there will make my local corner SPAR seem like shoppers' heaven! There will often only be one shampoo on offer, one shower gel etc and so because I am fussy about using my favourite brands, I don't like to take the chance on discovering that it isn't on offer at all and I've wasted my entire first morning trolling round all the little shops in Valle Gran Rey in an attempt to find it! Much easier to decant what I'll need into a smaller travel container and have done with it. I'm so used to this now I know almost to the ml how much I'll need for a week or a fortnight! And last time we went my mother forgot to bring the spare batteries for her Walkman (she's a talking book addict!) and we regretted the fact that she didn't remember until we were already on the plane (or else I'd have bought them at the airport) because the locally available ones were so duff and shortlived that she needed to replace them everyday. It cost us a fortune!

Also, the clincher for me is that shopping bores me stiff and it certainly isn't one of my preferred holiday pastimes. If we've gone self-catering I get a shop for the basics out of the way as soon as possible after we arrive and then someone is dispatched each morning to buy fresh bread for breakfast and whatever fruit and fresh salady stuff looks good and takes their fancy for lunch only because we eat out every evening. And that's the limit of my holiday shopping if I can help it :-)

So, yes, I am one of those people who can't get by without my packing lists - if I didn't make them and meticulously tick everything off as it goes in the case, how on earth would I remember to take the kitchen sink with me :-)

SM

I have split these three posts from the Packing List Tool topic as it, in my opinion, merits its own discussion.

For that reason, the first sentence in FWH's post does not make any sense.

Mark

When on holiday I really don't want to have to go shopping I always take everything I'm likely to need with me and I've never exceeded my baggage limit.

Pippy

we just take the bare essentials (mainly the wife, stuff she uses at home all the time and cant get by without)

I'm like Pippy, I like to take everythinig I'm likely to need and have only once had to pay excess baggage.

I have cut back on what I take and I hate shopping so that's the last thing I want to do on holiday.

luci

Probaly a good idea, for victims of the flood, insurance copmanies should gove the holiday makers compensation for lost clothing, and allow them to go on holiday.

I find if you cut down on a couple of pair of shoes you can fit all the other essential items in without going over weight.

I always take everything we need out with us. Various members of the family have sensitive skin so its easier to take familiar brands that we know won't cause uncomfortable flare-ups. Tend to leave anything that we have left over for the housekeeping staff.

Sorry JayTrip but cut down on shoes???? Oh my life I'd rather leave half my bits and bobs at home then cut down on shoes! In recent years I've only holidayed in the UK but still took many pairs and this year even though we are "going abroad" on our first family holiday I have at least 5 pairs of shoes packed not including flip-flops etc. I just lurve my shoes!!

I sound like a right twit don't I?

Pippy, I'm with you. The last thing I want to do on holiday is shop for essentials- retail therapy is a different thing altogether of course!! I would rather go prepared with the brands that I know suit the family as even hubby, bless him has sensitive skin. Like others we've never been over our weight limit yet, and in some respect it works in reverse. All that weight you save on the way home by not having toiletries means you know you've got spare capacity for souvenirs

Pam

Ollysmum,The amount of times I have took new shoes on holiday only to end up with blisters!.I just took a pair of very comfortable gold shoes for an evening,a comfortable pair of beige sandals and a pair of white mock crocs.It was enough but I go to Turkey where you can get 4 pair of sandals for £10!.

LesB wrote

we just take the bare essentials (mainly the wife

Now is that a compliment or an insult?????

(sorry if off-topic...couldn't resist it )

I think I'd take that as a compliment!

Perhaps it would help if I explained some of my thinking on this topic.

First the putting together of a list is a great idea and helps members of HT - and anyone else who may browse the forum.

Some years ago we looked at what we packed when trying to meet weight limits - on that holiday e only had 15kgs - and realised that some of what we took we never used. I suppose you could cal it pack in case syndrome. The other problem (which has been discussed just recently) was the weight of our cases. They can easily eat into you allowance.

Once we started we quickly found that we could dispense with stuff - in addition once it has been packed then on return it gets washed, so less work when you get home.

We then looked at all the ancillaries, we realised that the cost of purchasing some items when we got there was not much more than buying in the UK.

I do appreciate that some items are essential so you have little choice but to pack them.

Most products are international brands anyway so you are not sacrificing your favourite products for some strange product. In most cases it is just a case of the information is printed in a foreign language.

We also view it as why carry things for thousands of miles if you do not need to do so.

fwh

I think im with most people when I say that I dont go on holiday to have to shop and search for the brands that I like and use.

I suffer from eczema and have to be careful which brands I do use, to have to traipse around shops looking for simple soap that would probably cost a lot more than here is not my idea of fun. For me, buying all my toiletries and benefiting from "buy 1 get one 1 frees" or "2 for 1s" is far more cost effective than having to budget for buying toiletries abroad.

I dont bring most of what I take home with me. I leave these things there or bin them.

I am conscience of my weight limits and I have never been overweight with my luggage allowance on an outbound journey (coming home is a different story but that was only once - dont want to go there again ).

I enjoy making, editing and filling my lists and shopping in my local supermarket for bargains on brands that I know and trust. I suppose its each to their own.

Sarah

I feel the same about not wanting to have to shop on arrival so I take everything with me, usually, depending on how many weeks I am going to be away I either buy travel sizes or decant into smaller bottles. I have never been overweight (case not body!!), usually way under apart from my trip to Cuba last March when my case was exactly on the limit going out but almost empty returning.

If I need to cut out toiletries etc to keep within the limits on the way out then I'm definitely in trouble on the way back

I take my toiletries with me as I have sensitive skin and like to know I've got brands I can trust - and of course it all depends on where you are going, for example in China last year I would have struggled to get my brand of shower gel.
If we are self catering in Europe, I'll take peppermint teabags and bran flakes with me but that's all - any other stuff I'll buy when I get there.