Two columns, not one
The packing lists you find online are written for one person. In a group, half the mistakes come from exactly that: five people following the same individual list pack five first-aid kits, five adapters and no speaker.
A useful list has two columns: yours and shared. Yours is your business and there is nothing to discuss. Shared gets divided up before you leave, with a name against each item.
Shared, divided up
| What | How many you need |
|---|---|
| First-aid kit (painkillers, plasters, anti-diarrhoeal, antihistamine) | One |
| Plug adapter | One per two people |
| Extension lead | One — it multiplies the sockets in the room |
| Power bank | One per two |
| Large sunscreen | One, and a serious size |
| Speaker | One |
| Bin bags or laundry bags | One pack |
| Travel detergent | One, if the trip is over a week |
| Hairdryer | Almost never: check the accommodation first |
The extension lead sounds trivial until there are four of you and two sockets.
Yours, the minimum that works
- Clothes for half the days, and do a wash. Nobody has ever come home thinking they packed too little; everybody has come home with half of it unworn.
- One genuinely comfortable pair of shoes, already broken in, and a spare. In a group you walk far more than you expect, because you are not setting the pace.
- A thin warm layer even if you are going somewhere hot: planes, night buses and air conditioning.
- A small wash bag. Shampoo can be bought there and weighs less on the bill than in the bag.
- Your medication, in your hand luggage, with a prescription if it is anything serious.
Carry-on or checked
In a group this is not only your decision. Checking a bag means a queue on the way out and a wait on the way back, multiplied by the number of people: with five, that is over an hour of trip lost across the two ends. If you can all go carry-on, the trip moves far better — and the conversations about whose bag is over the limit stop.
If somebody has to check a bag, make it one person, and let them carry the bulky shared things.
The paperwork
- A valid ID card or passport — check in March, not July; renewals take time.
- Your European health card, if you are travelling in Europe. It is free and you apply online.
- Travel insurance, if you have it, with the policy number and the assistance phone number.
- Tickets and confirmations downloaded, not sitting in email.
- Driving licence, plus the international one outside the EU if you are renting a car.
The classic failure: one person has all the documents, in their email. If that person runs out of battery, data or signal — and at an airport they will — the whole group waits. Everyone should have them, stored on their phone.
How OhMyWay does it
Packing lists are built per person or per bag, with quantities and suggestions based on the trip, and ticked off as you pack: the group sees the progress, so it is immediately obvious whether the first-aid kit is being packed by everyone or by nobody. The things to do before leaving — renew the ID, apply for the health card, buy the adapter — carry an owner and a deadline. And each person’s documents live in their own wallet and are shared into whichever trip needs them, available offline.
If the trip is still up in the air, start with how to plan a group trip.