Ultimate Lapland Packing List: What Actually Matters at –20°C

Are you looking for the ultimate Lapland packing list?

One that will not only keep you sane in the process of planning your winter wonderland holiday.

But will also save you from packing fails and arctic disasters?

You’ve come to the right place!

In this post, we share our Lapland packing list—based on a lot of research and our strong desire to not freeze.

If that sounds good to you, keep on reading!

If not, message us on Instagram to tell us, so we know that you are a weirdo! 😝

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please read our Disclaimer.

Here’s a little bit about our journey, if you are new here! If you know us, feel free to skip this part.

After leaving our old life in Scotland in March 2022 (it rains too much there), we travelled full-time for almost 2 years. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Well, it was. If you think that carrying overpacked backpacks in 45°C heat around streets that aren’t even on Google Maps is fancy. And that’s just 1% of all the fun we had! 😆

During the 2 years we volunteered in Italy and Bulgaria (free travel while learning new skills, anyone?), explored other amazing European countries and backpacked Southeast Asia. Btw, even our secret wedding was more of an expedition than a wedding. 😅

And, of course, we researched and planned everything ourselves, because you gotta keep the budget low, right? If you are like us, you’ve come to the right place, because we want to share all the useful travel tips and info with you!

Excited? Good. Let’s get into it so you can go on your own epic adventures too!

All you need to know about packing for Lapland

In this post? You’ll find the ultimate Lapland packing list – what we actually packed for our awesome Lapland adventure (click here to skip to the list).

We’ll also share tips on building your own packing list, because it’s no use just copying someone else’s, when you’re your own person!

But if you want more info? Check out these in-depth packing posts with extra tips and hacks (COMING SOON):

🧣 Clothes to Pack for Lapland: Arctic Winter Packing Guide

🔦Essentials to Pack for Lapland (Small Stuff, Big Difference)

💡Lapland Packing Hacks: Winter Travel Made Easier

What you need to know about our Lapland trip

Don’t worry, we won’t bore you with details on how amazing our Lapland trip was. Even though it was. Better than finding a bar of chocolate that doesn’t state that sugar is 50% or more of its total ingredients!

We know you are here for the Lapland packing list – and you shall get it real soon.

But here are some basics you should know about our trip to Lapland, so the packing list makes sense to you:

• We travelled to Lapland as 3 adults, the two of us + Mirka’s sister.
• The trip length? 12 days for us, 11 for Mirka’s sister.
• We packed into: x1 20kg suitcase, x1 10kg suitcase and 3 daypacks.
• The one thing no one, including Mirka’s sister knew about the trip? That we were getting married at the start of it, in Copenhagen! Yep, you read that right. We had a totally secret, unhinged wedding in Denmark, before flying over to Finland for our magical, winter wonderland mini honeymoon.
• Because of the secret wedding, we were keeping the whole trip under wraps, so all the planning and shopping was done in stealth mode – a lot of cover stories were created and spread. 😅If you ever need help keeping a trip a secret, we’re your people! Just DM us on our Instagram.
• If you want to know more about our Lapland trip, how we made it all work, and how we did it all on a budget, since Lapland is eye-wateringly expensive, read this post.

How to create your Lapland packing list

When it comes to creating your own Lapland packing list, we’ve got 2 tips for you.

First of all, organising.

1. Organise your Lapland packing list

Whenever we are getting ready for a trip, whether a short getaway somewhere like Venice (speaking of, if you go, don’t miss out on the best tiramisu! It comes in quirky flavours too!), or our full-time travel adventures, we organise our packing list the same way.

We divide the packing list into 3 main categories:

1. Clothes – this is usually the biggest part of our luggage
2. Other – this is everything other than clothes
3. Hand luggage – this is everything that you need to have on your person at all times, so things that can’t go into your checked luggage

Why is this helpful

If you don’t usually organise your packing list and just throw everything together as you think of it, you might find this approach especially helpful.

Here is why:

• Having your list organised means you are less likely to forget something
• It’s easier to check your list quickly, to see if you are missing anything
• It helps you pack light – because you’ll be able to see more easily how much of each thing you are taking (“5 pairs of shoes for a week-long holiday? Okay, maybe that really is an overkill. 😬”)
• It will also help you stay sane as you try to pack, because you will know exactly how much space you need to fit everything from your list in

Obviously, if different categories work for you, feel free to organise accordingly!

For us, we try to keep things simple and easy, so 3 main categories are enough.

The 3 main categories

Here is some more info on our 3 main categories, which might make the painful process of packing for a trip less soul-destroying for you:

1. Clothes

We keep clothes as a separate category, because Mirka, despite travelling full-time for almost 2 years, still struggles with packing clothes for trips.

Why?

Mainly because of weather (having to check the weather forecast and dress accordingly, since she is forever cold) and because of trying to create outfits, whereas Daniel is usually happy with just T-shirts and trousers. (Does anyone else have this problem?? Give us a shout on our Insta if you do!)

So this category often gets packed last, after we’ve given ourselves a good start packing the other two categories, to get Mirka motivated enough to battle the clothes. 😅

On the other hand, sometimes we pack clothes first – tackle the difficult task first and then the rest is even easier (“IRL it looks more like: have a meltdown first, then revel in how easy the rest of packing is. 😄” – Mirka)

2. Other

After years of travelling, this category is pretty easy for us to pack. 

We usually take the same things with us, on all trips, so it’s pretty fast putting it all together.

We are talking stuff like solid toiletries (make the switch btw!), Mirka’s travel essentials for women, portable power bank, handy universal adaptor, a good travel game or the crazy things no one else seems to travel with.

Now that we are at a home base (2026), we pile all of these things from the “other” category on a table and then just run through our packing list to make sure we haven’t forgotten anything.

Obviously, adjust accordingly!

If you are going on a winter holiday, include all the Lapland must-haves, instead of a pool inflatable!

3. Hand luggage

A good tip here is to think about this category from the start, rather than later on.

That way you are not looking for your passport in a pile of clothes.

Or you are not on a plane wishing you have packed painkillers into your handbag (btw, learn how to make long-haul flights more comfortable here).

Put your hand luggage essentials aside as you pack—your medication, your travel documents, chargers, tissues, snacks, hand gel etc. It will save you time and energy later.

Also, as always, we are curious!

Do you divide your packing list into any other categories? Let us know! We are forever looking to make our travels better too, so any tips from other travellers are welcome!

2. Put your list in alphabetical order

The second tip, useful especially for keeping big packing lists, like the one for a Lapland holiday organised?

We found this so so helpful. 

Putting things on the list in an alphabetical order.

We never did this when we were going full-time backpacking and boy, would it have been so helpful!

With the Lapland packing list, there were 3 of us using it (us and Mirka’s sister, our unwitting wedding guest 😆), so keeping things super organised was key.

Being able to quickly check whether things were on the list already was super helpful. 

The best thing? Adding things on the list in alphabetical order isn’t any extra work – that is, if you do it right at the start, rather than trying to organise a mess of a packing list after you’ve dumped everything onto a page.

Be smart.

Don’t do that.

Start well and save yourself time (and keep your sanity too).

Bonus tip for packing for Lapland

Okay, this tip is a bit… unconventional. But bear with us, you might find it super helpful! We sure did.

When we were planning our Lapland holiday (and our secret wedding!)?

We struggled to figure out how much luggage we’d be taking.

The problem

Here is why not knowing how much luggage we’d have was a problem (no, it’s not cause we’re a bunch of weirdos):

• There were 3 of us going on this Lapland trip. Normally we pack just for 2 people, and as we mentioned in our packing hacks post (COMING SOON), while some things were tripled, others we were sharing (packing light hack!), so it was hard to figure out, how much it would all amount to
• We’ve also never been on a proper winter holiday before, so we had no idea, how all those things would pack (winter gear is so bulky! 😭)
• Why did we care how much luggage we were taking? We needed to know so we could book the flights, since adding luggage at the time of purchase is cheaper than adding it later on (low-cost flights, of course)
• We were doing Lapland on a budget, so we wanted to take (and pay for) as little luggage with us as possible (plus because it’s a faff to carry – we are used to travelling light!)

The solution

So what did we do instead of just screaming at the living room wall over a glass of wine? (Btw, did you know Slovakia has amazing wine that is also, bless it, super cheap? And our home base is right next to a wine region. Send help.)

We did something unhinged, but useful (this kinda sums up our travel style).

We did a mock packing session.

Why should you do a mock packing session?

If you are now thinking: “You must be joking. It’s bad enough having to pack for a trip once, let alone doing it two times. Clearly the wine has gone to your heads.”

We get that.

And to be fair, this was the first time we’d done something like that.

Other than when we were getting ready to leave Scotland and go full-time travelling, but that was a whole other process. 😅

So you don’t have to do this. But here is why you should:

• With a big trip, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, especially the closer you get to the departure date. There is a lot to be done before going on a big holiday and doing a mock packing session can help you feel more prepared (but wine also helps, don’t forget that).
• It will help you figure out what you really need and what is possibly an overkill (6 sweaters, anyone??) much better, than just reading a Lapland packing list will.
• Saving money! We said that already, but if you are flying as cheaply as possible and paying for each piece of luggage? This can save you so much! Especially, if you are taking a few flights, like we did. Also, we estimated the things from the packing list to be much heavier than they turned out to be – just as well we did do the mock packing session!
• Ironically, packing is not our favourite, despite doing it nonstop as full-time travellers. Mirka especially gets stressed out by it (“It won’t all fit!!” “What am I going to wear?” “Did we forget something??”). But when it came to packing for Lapland? Like the actual packing before leaving? Having already done it once, during our practice packing session, made everything so much faster, easier and smoother. And we didn’t have to worry that we forgot anything – we had our Lapland packing list AND we’ve done the practice run. So if you also get stressed by packing, this can help your sanity.

How to do a practice packing session

What we did was very high level, super fancy, advanced travel professional stuff:

• We pulled up our Lapland packing list.
• Piled everything from it onto a bed.
• Stuffed it into bin bags.
• Weighed those bin bags using a luggage scale.
• Added it all up to see how many kilos we were approximately packing.

We did say it was super fancy, didn’t we? 😆

You can, obviously, do it in a more proper way.

But what we wanted was to find out how much the stuff from our Lapland packing list weighed – and to get to the number as fast and easily, as possible.

Hence the bin bags and all.

Now, here is some more info if you do decide to do a practice packing session yourself:

• It was pretty fast for us to pull things together, since we already had our Lapland packing list ready at this point. Tidying it all away though, after we weighed the bags? That took longer (especially since we had to refold many of the clothes that got messed up in the process 😅).
• We did this 2 months before our trip, but we left buying flights to the last minute – this was a big mistake and one we talk about in our Lapland on a budget post. Check it out to avoid wasting money like we did!
• If you have some extra space in your home (haha. We know. Who does. But maybe you live a pretty organised, minimalist life, and you do have extra space?), gather all the things you won’t need until your trip and store them together in the extra space – it’ll make packing before the actual departure even easier.

Btw, if you have any questions at any point, about this Lapland packing list, or the general state of our mental health, feel free to reach out to us in the comments below, on our Instagram.

Or – and this is the real fun option – book a call with us, so we can have a virtual mock packing session together (you’ll bring the stuff you want to pack, we’ll bring wine and our unhinged ideas).

Lapland packing list

Okay, let’s finally get into the fun stuff!

Let’s talk about exactly what you should put on your Lapland packing list.

Need-to-know about our Lapland packing list:

1. Remember the 3 categories we told you about? We’ve divided the Lapland packing list into them.
2. In the brackets, we’ve included how many pieces of each item we took. Remember, we travelled as 3 adults, for 12 days. The numbers are the total for all of us, so if it says x3, that means each of us had one item. If it says x6, each of us had two items and so on.
3. We’ve also noted where we shared something with Mirka’s sister, to save space and weight (this is one of our packing light tips).
4. You can find more info and tips on almost all the things we packed in these 3 bonus posts (COMING SOON): clothes, essentials (like cosmetics and useful small bits and bobs) and packing hacks.

Here’s our actual Lapland packing list:

Clothes

• Base layer top (x6)
• Base layer bottom (x5)
• Bra (x4)
• Buff (x1)
• Gloves (x3)
• Hat (x5)
• Jacket (x3)
• Neck warmer (x2)
• PJs (x3)
• Scarf (x3)
• Shoes (x3)
• Sliders (x3)
• Socks thin (x12 x3 = 36 pairs [FML])*
• Socks wool (x8)
• Sweater (x5)
• Swimwear (x3)
• Top long sleeve (x6)
• Touch screen gloves (x2)
• Trousers mid layer (x3)
• Trousers city (x3)
• Underwear (x12 x3 = 36 pairs) 

*Mirka speaking: “I left this note for you here to keep it authentic. That is genuinely what I wrote into our Lapland packing list when I did the math and realised we need 36 freaking pairs of socks (plus the woollen ones). I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

If this doesn’t highlight the importance of packing light, I don’t know what does. (Where you can, obviously. Don’t take 5 pairs of socks for 12 days just for the sake of packing light. You want to be a pro traveller that saves money, not a stinky little gremlin.)”

Other

• Cleanser bar + dish
• Conditioner 
• Contact lenses
• Cotton swabs – share
• Deodorant x2 – share
• Elastic bands
• Extension double x2
• Face cream 
• Feminine wipes – share 
• Game
• Hairbands 
• Hair curly thingy
• Hairspray – share
• Hair mousse – share
• Handbag
• Hand cream – share
• Lip balm 
• Locks 
• Luggage scale
• Make up
• Makeup remover cloth
• Manicure scissors 
• Mouthguard
• Nail file 
• Nail clippers
• Noodles x6
• Paracord
• Perfume 
• Period stuff?
• Plastic bags spare
• Protein bars x9
• Razor
• Retinol – share
• Shampoo 
• Snacks 
• Sunscreen – share
• Tangle Teezer
• Teabags
• Toothbrushes
• Toothbrushes interdental
• Toothpaste – share
• Torch
• Towel x3
• Tripod + clicker
• Tweezers – share
• Waterproof bag x1
• Waterproof phone bag x1

Hand luggage

• Camera + charger 
• Chargers
• Emergency cash
• Glasses +  cloth + case
• Hand gel 
• Inhaler 
• Insurance cards
• Medication (painkillers, diarrhea medicine, antihistamines, Lemsip)
• Passports
• Plasters
• Pocket mirror
• Power bank
• Sunglasses
• Tissues
• Tote bag x2
• Travel Tap – x1 with filter, x1 without
• Waterproof covers for backpacks
• Wet wipes – share

That’s everything we packed for our Lapland trip, minus our wedding outfits!

Remember, you can find even more useful tips on (almost) all of these things here (COMING SOON):

🧣 Clothes to Pack for Lapland: Arctic Winter Packing Guide

🔦Essentials to Pack for Lapland (Small Stuff, Big Difference)

💡Lapland Packing Hacks: Winter Travel Made Easier

Bonus tip: add this to your Lapland packing list

One thing that might be the most important for your Lapland trip, and yet you can’t actually pack it?

Travel insurance!

It’s important for all trips, but when you are off exploring the Arctic?

You better make sure you are covered—including having coverage for all the fun activities you’re planning on doing.

We trust True Traveller when we head out to see the world.

In fact, we picked them out of a list of 23 different travel insurance providers. Yep, we researched that many! 

Shows you we take these things seriously.

If you want to know more about True Traveller, here is our full review highlighting all the important things you need to know about.

And if you just want to hear about how insane their claims process is, read this.

Most importantly though, make sure travel insurance is on your Lapland packing list. Even if you can’t pack it into your suitcase.

Do you need help with your Lapland packing list?

If you have any questions about our Lapland packing list, or anything else from our winter wonderland trip, give us a shout in the comments below or directly on our Instagram.

Remember that you can find more tips about the things we packed, as well as what we left at home, in these bonus packing posts: (COMING SOON)

🧣 Clothes to Pack for Lapland: Arctic Winter Packing Guide

🔦Essentials to Pack for Lapland (Small Stuff, Big Difference)

💡Lapland Packing Hacks: Winter Travel Made Easier

And if you want help planning your Lapland adventures, book a call with us and we can chat through your ideas together. Unhinged humour and travel fail stories are included as a bonus!

We hope this Lapland packing list helps you stay sane as you plan your winter holiday.

Remember: stay calm, pack smart, and embrace the fact that you’ll probably wear the same base layer three days in a row. It’s fine, no one’s judging (except maybe the reindeer).