Italy Packing List for Families

What to Pack for a Road Trip, City Break or Family Holiday in Italy

Packing for Italy sounds easy. A few summer clothes, comfortable shoes, swimwear and you’re done, right?
Well… almost.
Italy can mean walking through ancient cities in 35°C heat, swimming in the sea in the afternoon, driving through mountain passes, eating dinner outside until late and occasionally dealing with a very different kind of weather than you expected.
What you need also depends on your trip. A week in Rome is very different from a road trip through Tuscany, a beach holiday in Sardinia or a northern Italy adventure around the lakes and mountains.
So instead of packing your entire house, here’s the family-friendly Italy packing list we actually use   with a few things that are easy to forget.

🧳 The Italy Packing List

👕 Clothes

For a typical summer trip to Italy, I’d pack:

• ☐ 5–7 T-shirts or tops
• ☐ 2–3 shorts/skirts
• ☐ 1–2 lightweight trousers
• ☐ 1 nicer outfit for dinner
• ☐ 1 lightweight sweater or cardigan
• ☐ 1 light jacket
• ☐ 7 pairs of underwear
• ☐ 5–7 pairs of socks
• ☐ Pyjamas
• ☐ Swimwear
• ☐ Beach cover-up
• ☐ Sun hat or cap
• ☐ Comfortable walking shoes
• ☐ Sandals
• ☐ Flip-flops or water shoes

One thing I wouldn’t skip: a lightweight layer.
Even in summer, evenings can feel cooler, especially if you’re travelling through northern Italy or staying in the mountains. And air conditioning on trains, in hotels and restaurants can be surprisingly chilly.

👟 Shoes: Don’t Overpack

Italy is a country where you’ll probably walk much more than you expect.
Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa, Lucca and other historic cities are much easier to explore when everyone has comfortable shoes.
For most family trips, you really don’t need five pairs per person.
Our basic combination would be:

comfortable trainers + sandals + swim shoes/flip-flops

If you’re doing a mountain road trip, such as around the Dolomites or Stelvio Pass, add proper walking shoes.

🩱 Beach & Pool Essentials

If your Italian itinerary includes the coast, a lake or a hotel pool, pack:

• ☐ 2 swimsuits per person
• ☐ Microfibre towel if your accommodation doesn’t provide one
• ☐ Goggles
• ☐ Water shoes
• ☐ Beach bag
• ☐ Reusable water bottles
• ☐ Waterproof phone pouch
• ☐ Dry bag
• ☐ Small beach toys for younger children

A reusable water bottle is particularly useful in Italian cities. You don’t want to be buying drinks every time someone announces they’re thirsty five minutes after you’ve left the hotel.

☀️ Sun Protection

The Italian summer sun can be intense, especially when you’re spending hours sightseeing.
Pack:

• ☐ High-factor sunscreen
• ☐ Face sunscreen
• ☐ After-sun or moisturiser
• ☐ Sunglasses
• ☐ Sun hats
• ☐ Lip balm with SPF
• ☐ Aloe vera gel if you like to have it on hand

Tip: Put sunscreen in your day bag rather than leaving it in the suitcase. You’ll want it when you’re walking around a city, not just when you’re sitting by the pool.

🎒 What to Pack in Your Day Bag

Your day bag will probably become one of your most-used pieces of luggage.
I would pack:

• ☐ Reusable water bottles
• ☐ Sunscreen
• ☐ Sunglasses
• ☐ Power bank
• ☐ Phone
• ☐ Small wallet
• ☐ Tissues
• ☐ Hand sanitiser
• ☐ Small snacks
• ☐ Light cardigan
• ☐ Plasters
• ☐ Any essential medication
• ☐ Foldable shopping bag

For families, I also like having a small foldable backpack that can be pulled out when someone inevitably starts carrying their own stuff five minutes into the day.

🚗 Packing for an Italian Road Trip

If you’re driving through Italy, add a few things that you wouldn’t necessarily need for a city break.

• ☐ Phone holder for the car
• ☐ Car charger
• ☐ Power bank
• ☐ Reusable water bottles
• ☐ Snacks for the car
• ☐ Small cooler bag
• ☐ Sunglasses
• ☐ Travel games for children
• ☐ Downloaded maps
• ☐ Offline entertainment
• ☐ Travel documents
• ☐ Driving licence
• ☐ Rental car documents

And don’t forget to leave some space in the boot.
You’ll probably stop at a supermarket, bakery, market or little shop somewhere along the way   and suddenly you’ll be trying to fit olive oil, wine, souvenirs and six bags of snacks into luggage that was already full.

🏛️ City Sightseeing Essentials

If you’re visiting places such as Rome, Florence, Pisa or Lucca, comfortable clothes aren’t the only consideration.
You’ll also want:

• ☐ Comfortable walking shoes
• ☐ Lightweight day bag
• ☐ Refillable water bottle
• ☐ Sun protection
• ☐ Portable charger
• ☐ Small scarf or cover-up for churches
• ☐ Light layer for air-conditioned museums
• ☐ Small snacks for children

A lightweight scarf is particularly useful. It takes virtually no space and can come in handy when visiting churches or other places where shoulders need to be covered.

🏔️ If You’re Heading Into the Mountains

Italy isn’t just beaches and beautiful cities.
If your itinerary includes the Dolomites, Alps or Stelvio Pass, your packing list needs to change.
Bring:

• ☐ Hiking shoes
• ☐ Comfortable hiking clothes
• ☐ Lightweight fleece
• ☐ Waterproof jacket
• ☐ Long trousers
• ☐ Extra socks
• ☐ Small backpack
• ☐ Reusable water bottle
• ☐ Sun protection
• ☐ Sunglasses

Mountain weather can change quickly, even when it’s warm in the valley.

🩹 Family Travel First-Aid Kit

You don’t need to bring an entire pharmacy, but having a small kit saves you searching for a shop when someone gets a blister at 5pm.

• ☐ Plasters
• ☐ Blister plasters
• ☐ Pain relief suitable for your family
• ☐ Any regular medication
• ☐ Antiseptic wipes
• ☐ Insect repellent
• ☐ After-bite
• ☐ Thermometer
• ☐ Rehydration sachets
• ☐ Motion sickness medication if needed

Keep medication in your hand luggage rather than putting everything in your checked suitcase.

🔌 Electronics

Don’t forget:

• ☐ Phones
• ☐ Chargers
• ☐ Power bank
• ☐ Camera
• ☐ Camera charger
• ☐ Headphones
• ☐ Tablets/e-readers
• ☐ Charging cables

Italy uses European-style plugs, so travellers from the Netherlands generally don’t need a plug adapter.
A small multi-port USB charger can nevertheless be very useful for a family. One socket + four phones + a tablet is otherwise a surprisingly common holiday problem.

📄 Important Documents

Keep the essentials together:

• ☐ Passports/ID cards
• ☐ Travel insurance details
• ☐ Driving licence
• ☐ Rental car confirmation
• ☐ Hotel bookings
• ☐ Flight/train tickets
• ☐ Attraction tickets
• ☐ European Health Insurance Card
• ☐ Emergency contact details
• ☐ Copies of important documents

I also like keeping digital copies accessible offline, just in case there’s no internet when you need them.

🧳 How We Pack for a Family

The biggest packing mistake with children isn’t necessarily taking too much.
It’s having absolutely no idea where anything is.
Packing cubes make a huge difference.
Instead of throwing everyone’s clothes into two large suitcases, we give each family member their own colour.

One colour for Dad.

One for Mum.
One for each child.

It means you can open the suitcase and immediately find what you’re looking for instead of digging through four people’s clothes.
We also keep a separate cube for dirty laundry.
It sounds like a tiny thing, but after a few days on the road, having clean and dirty clothes separated makes unpacking and repacking so much easier.
And yes   our goal is usually to get the whole family into two suitcases rather than four.

Italy Packing List: The Short Version

If you’re in a hurry, these are the things I wouldn’t leave home without:

Clothing

☐ Lightweight clothes
☐ Comfortable walking shoes
☐ Sandals
☐ Swimwear
☐ Light jacket/sweater
☐ One nicer outfit

Beach & Sun

☐ Sunscreen
☐ Sunglasses
☐ Sun hats
☐ Water bottles
☐ Beach bag

Family Essentials

☐ Small first-aid kit
☐ Medication
☐ Snacks
☐ Day bag
☐ Reusable shopping bag

Road Trip

☐ Car charger
☐ Phone holder
☐ Offline maps
☐ Snacks
☐ Travel games

Documents & Electronics

☐ Passports/ID cards
☐ Travel insurance
☐ Driving licence
☐ Bookings/tickets
☐ Chargers
☐ Power bank

And finally…

☐ Packing cubes
☐ Dirty laundry bag
☐ A little room for Italian souvenirs 🇮🇹

Because let’s be honest: you’re going to bring something home.
Maybe pasta.
Maybe ceramics.
Maybe a ridiculous amount of food.
Maybe something you absolutely did not need but somehow couldn’t leave Italy without.
So don’t pack your suitcase completely full on the way there.
You’ll thank yourself later.

Read our Lake Como with Kids for more tips and inspiration.

Read our Best Italian Road Trips for more tips and inspiration.

Read our Bardonecchia Ski Resort Italy for more tips and inspiration.