Travel Packing Checklists Family Beach House AirBNB

How to Pack for an AirBNB Stay

Staying at an AirBNB is great and if you haven’t already signed up, you definitely should.  You get amenities like extra space, multiple bedrooms, and a kitchen, often for less than the price of a hotel. However, these options also mean you might need a few extra things during your trip.  Here are just a few.

Just want the checklist? Skip to the end.

Kitchen

  • Spices: Sometimes it can be weird using cooking supplies that are already open.  To play it safe, bring your own mini spice kit with you. I recommend something like this pre-made kit, just make sure it won’t open in transit. Alternatively, you can buy a small spice mix at the grocery store, similar to this fajita mix.
  • Good knives: if you’re really picky about quality (and already checking a bag), it might be worth bringing your own knife so you don’t have to risk dull knives.
  • Groceries: very few AirBNBs will have staples already stocked for you.  Be prepared to buy a staple set of groceries for quick and low-cost meals. You can use our quick grocery checklist to make sure you don’t forget the essentials.  Some easy meals include:
    • Caprese Salad: A classic and refreshing Italian dish. All you need is fresh mozzarella cheese, ripe tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Slice the cheese and tomatoes, arrange them on a plate, sprinkle with torn basil leaves, and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
    • Grilled Cheese Sandwich: A simple and delicious comfort food. You’ll need bread, cheese of your choice (cheddar, Swiss, or mozzarella work well), and butter. Butter one side of each bread slice. Place the cheese between the slices, with the buttered sides facing outwards. Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the sandwich until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted, flipping halfway through.
    • Pasta Aglio e Olio: A classic Italian pasta dish that only requires a few ingredients. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. In a separate pan, heat olive oil and sauté minced garlic until fragrant and golden. Toss the cooked pasta with the garlic-infused oil, adding chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, and grated Parmesan cheese to taste. Serve hot.

Bathroom

  • Toiletries: good hosts have full bottles ready and waiting for you, but there’s no guarantee. To play it safe, bring your own (travel-size) bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. We recommend buying refillable bottles and stocking up using what you already have at home before hitting the road.
  • Towels: Every AirBNB should already have clean towels waiting for you.  If they don’t, make sure you make a note in your review afterward.  If you find yourself without towels, beach towels are a great cheap and multi-purpose option you can leave behind at the end of the trip.
  • Laundry: One of the best perks of an AirBNB over hotels. Many include in-unit laundry so you can pack lighter for longer trips.  Might be worth bringing detergent packs/packets though, just in case your host doesn’t provide this or if you have strong brand preferences.

Electronics

  • Router: AirBNBs generally have wifi available (and you can filter for this when searching on Airbnb’s site). If you’re a heavy electronics user, bringing a lightweight travel router is nice to avoid setting up a new network for every device each time you travel.
  • TV stick: Roku (our preference), Amazon, and Google all make streaming “sticks” that are lightweight devices packed with entertainment.  Several cable providers now offer full service via WiFi, so you can connect your stick of choice and stream all the channels you’re used to.  If you’re traveling internationally, Netflix seems to be the only option that works at the moment, but a good excuse to get outside right?
  • Chargers: Most hosts won’t provide the specific chargers you need. Make sure you pack a computer charger (and international adapter if you need it).  From there, nearly everything else can be charged via USB cables.

The Airbnb Checklist

Use this add-on checklist with our other lists to build your ultimate AirBNB packing checklist. Recommended with: Basics, Groceries, and Leaving Things Behind. We’ve ranked these from must-haves to luxury, so just stop when you get to your appropriate level.

checkbox_unchecked Easy recipes

checkbox_unchecked Mini toiletries

checkbox_unchecked Chargers

checkbox_unchecked Must have spices

checkbox_unchecked Laundry pod/packet

checkbox_unchecked TV Stick

checkbox_unchecked Travel Router

checkbox_unchecked Good Knives

Not Sure You Have it All?

Here are a few of our recommended items from Amazon.

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