<p>After having been waitlisted for two trips, D just got notified that she will be traveling on a Birthright trip in March. I took a quick look at the recommended pack list and I’m thinking it sounds a little unrealistic (4 sweat shirts, 2 long skirts for Sabbath dinners, a casual long skirt for touring religious areas, etc.). I don’t really want to spend money on stuff that isn’t part of D’s normal wardrobe (she doesn’t own a sweatshirt, I think there’s one long skirt lurking somewhere in her closet), and my experience with summer camp pack lists tells me that a lot of the recommended items aren’t actually needed or may never be used. So I’m wondering if anyone whose daughter actually went on one of these trips can offer some advice on the subject. For example, I would think one long skirt can do for touring and dinner, and a medium weight jacket can take the place of multiple sweatshirts–but maybe I’m way off base. Apart from having concerns that this free trip will end up denting our budget, I’m a great believer in traveling light, and know D doesn’t want to be shlepping around any more stuff than is absolutely necessary. Any inside info?</p>
<p>My daughter went on a January trip – and I know that she packed all of her stuff in one carry-on suitcase. (I know because this apparently didn’t go over particularly well with El-Al security – that one little suitcase was searched very thoroughly) I do have to say that it is rather amazing what my d. can manage to cram into a single suitcase – and also my d. is rather petite. I doubt that she remembers her packing list – but I would agree that I can’t fathom why she would need 2 long skirts for Shabbat dinners… I mean, it’s not a fashion contest, she can wear the same skirt twice.</p>
<p>I just took a look at my d’s facebook photo album from the trip, and for daily activities, the kids are all dressed very casually. Grunge, basically. (Jeans, tee’s & hoodies). </p>
<p>My d. did take a dress with her - she wore it for her bat mitzvah - it’s quite nice but not ornate, sleeveless – but there are some photos of her wearing it with some of the other kids in it, and the other girls are still dressed quite casually. </p>
<p>My d. went with a Hillel group, FWIW.</p>
<p>D just returned from a January trip, and she also packed one carry-on. I think she brought one dress and no skirts, and she was fine. The only reservation I would have in advising you is that different organizers seem to have different policies, and perhaps if she’s going on a more orthodox trip there would be a different dress code.</p>
<p>Btw, my daughter also got bat mitzvahed and said, “I would say I had the time of my life, but I already said that after my study abroad…” (She does tend to say that, but I don’t mind.) It was an amazing and wonderful experience, and she feels she made lifelong friends (and she’s reuniting with some this week) and learned a ton. I hope your D has the same type of wonderful experience.</p>
<p>That’s cool that your daughter also chose to get her bat mitzvah in Israel. I had no clue that my daughter intended to do so – it was quite a surprise when I learned. </p>
<p>My d. has traveled all over the world, extensively, and she always has the time of her life. But the Birthright trip was definitely very meaningful for her, and she also made some very good friends.</p>
<p>I truly applaud anyone who can fit 10 days of clothing in a carry-on! Good to hear that my reaction to the pack list was reasonable. Interestingly, two pack lists are provided, one for winter, one for summer, but my research shows that March weather will be springlike, so we’ll be improvising anyway. I think a sleeveless dress topped by a denim jacket will have to do for Shabbat. And sweatshirts will become hoodies. This has all happened so suddenly–she got notice on Tuesday and had to accept or refuse by Thursday–so my head is having a hard time keeping up, And with second semester starting in just a few days, I think she’s going to be a little overwhelmed, too. (And have I mentioned the small matter of the expired passport that I’ve been noodging her to take care of for months? Sigh.)</p>
<p>My D went on a late summer trip, but I agree that the level of orthodoxy is key. My D’s trip was through Hillel at her school and they recommended one long (knee length at least) skirt for visiting the religious sites. Shabbat is in the hotel (or was for my D’s trip) and she didn’t mention dressing up to any significant degree. It wasn’t shorts, but a as you mentioned, a casual dress with a sweater or jacket. She also packed in one small carry-on duffle bag, which made her post-trip travel much easier, as well as packing and unpacking pretty much daily. So glad this came through for her, I’m sure she’ll have a great time. My S is going to grad school in Israel at the moment and he says the weather should definitely be warmer by March.</p>
<p>My daughters are in a birthright trip right now. They each packed one long skirt (for Shabbat and a trip to the synagogue) as they planned to simply wear it more than once. They were told not to expect to be able to do laundry, so that is part of the reason for needing extra clothing. </p>
<p>I can relate to your frustration at having to purchase clothing that she may not wear again, so I’d encourage her to head on over to a thrift store for those items. </p>
<p>We did purchase one special garment for their trip - a jacket that is designed for travel. It is light weight and will get plenty of use after the trip, but for now, they are using it daily as it holds all the items they need to carry with them so they don’t need to carry a purse. [url=<a href="http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/Essential_Jacket_Women.shtml]Women’s">http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/Essential_Jacket_Women.shtml]Women’s</a> Travel Jacket from SCOTTEVEST/SeV - Buy Stylish iPod Travel Clothes - Lightweight Wrinkle Resistant and Water Resistant Jacket for Women, Converts to a Vest<a href=“Click%20on%20the%20xray%20image%20to%20see%20just%20how%20this%20jacket%20works.”>/url</a><br>
My son got it for his travels and recommended for his sisters.</p>
<p>Thank you all for this great information. My daughter and son are hoping to go at the end of May. Someone from Birthright in Israel called this week to inform them that they will be chosen for May or June. They are so excited. I know there is no way that my d will pack 2 skirts and a dress. She will probably just roll up one dress and wear it several times. I can only hope it won’t smell bad the last time she puts it on haha.</p>
<p>My older d just returned from December Birthright trip. She brought one sleeveless black dress that she could wear a cardigan with as well as one long skirt. She extended her trip for a few days and was there for a second Shabbat with family who are observant. She did wear a hooded sweatshirt on flight and brought a zip-up as well as a medium weight jacket. She really did use all the suggested clothes that her itinerary called for and lucked out without needing to use the rain gear. Younger d went on a June trip after her freshman year and it was exceptionally hot. The itinerary had to amended because of the record heat and too hot to do some of the outdoor hiking activities planned. She felt that she would have liked to have brought an extra skirt and maybe a dressier top for going out at the one night in Tel Aviv and one night in Jerusalem that wasn’t Shabbat. It is a great experience. Older d really got into the spirit of the “group event” because at 26 she is far removed from camp trip and schoo trip experiences-her group had many good discussion activities. I do recommend bringing an extra bath towel from home if you can fit in…told d to just dispose of at the end and she did appreciate having that with her-after their Dead Sea experience on the next to last day.</p>
<p>Maybe you can check out the local Salvation Army – they really have some nice, but out of date stuff where I live, really low price.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input. We squeezed in a little shopping today, but found that unfortunately spring clothes are not in the stores yet (ironic–I’m usually the one complaining about how the stores rush the seasons), and there wasn’t much to choose from among the winter leftovers. But D did pick up a cute hoodie on sale at Gap. I’m hoping the pickings will be better in a month or so, though she’ll have to do without the assistance of her devoted valet…I asked her to contact the sponsoring organization for some guidance when I realized we had differing ideas about what a “long” skirt might be–I’m assuming at least mid-calf, D thinks it need only cover the knee. In any event we saw virtually nothing in either category except for very dressy dresses, so this will be a challenge. But it seems like March will be a great time for touring, with weather that isn’t neither too hot nor too cold.</p>
<p>I have to admit that I find it kind of charming that you are shopping for/with your daughter for clothes. My d. loves to shop & has a great eye for a bargain, so she probably could have outfitted herself 3 times over for the Birthright trip, but for her determination to fit everything in one suitcase. </p>
<p>You might try ordering online. Old Navy seems to have a good selection of skirts that look like they would be great for travel: [Women’s</a> Clothes: Dresses & Skirts | Old Navy](<a href=“Old Navy”>Old Navy)</p>
<p>I always find that resale stores are a great place to find out of season clothes as well as clothes that are more conservative such as long skirts. The stores also have the advantage of being reasonable.</p>
<p>I don’t have specific experience with Birthright, but my daughter is on a gap year program in Israel at the moment. I got her “long skirt for touring holy sites” online at JCP.com–a cotton peasant skirt, mid-calf length on her (she’s tall). However, looking at the pictures on Facebook, I can see that the girls are wearing anything from the knee on down. </p>
<p>There are shawls available (sometimes loaners, sometimes for purchase) at sites that are persnickety about covering up. They also sell long flowy skirts in the shuk if she decides she needs one. Also, I just got back from a trip to Israel and wore pants everywhere. I am guessing there are places I couldn’t go in pants, and maybe the Birthright itinerary includes some, but I didn’t encounter any on my trip.</p>
<p>How anyone could need four sweatshirts on a, what, 10 day trip, is unclear to me. My daughter has a three-in-one jacket with her (you know, one of those LLBean things with a water-resistant jacket and a zip-out fleece hoodie that you can wear either separately or together). She has a pullover hooded sweatshirt and a zippered cardigan. This has covered her for all the weather possibilities for the last 3.5 months.</p>
<p>One more thing. Someone mentioned towels. My girls brought old towels with the plan that they’ll leave them behind (and have more space to bring treasures home). This would also work with clothing. Buy used (really cheap - thrift stores/garage sales) and leave it behind so you can bring more things home. Since it is not special clothing, and little cost was involved, it would ultimately give you more space in the suitcase.</p>
<p>Another important thing to remember is a hat to wear to protect you from the sun. I believe Birthright (or at least, a lot of the trip organizers) require participants to wear a hat on some of the hikes. Both my brother and I made the same mistake of packing a “winter hat” rather than a lightweight-summer one, and our pictures look a bit funky as a result (t-shirt and shorts + wool-knit ski cap in the desert pics). </p>
<p>The packing list that Birthright provides looked a bit like overkill to me when I was helping my brother pack for his trip last month (I went 3 years ago, in Dec 2008). My memory is a little blurry, but I vaguely remember a skirt that went just past my knees and a nice pair of slacks. Also had a few nice shirts (long and short sleeved), t-shirts, sweatshirt, jacket, and jeans. </p>
<p>Also good to bring a pair of flip-flops (or water shoes) for the Dead Sea day, as most don’t realize the salt crystals are very sharp (and the salt content of the water makes any cuts very, very painful!).</p>
<p>^I prefer an old pair of sneakers or water shoes for any areas near the Dead Sea or streams that may be ventured into on hikes in Israel. I had a terrible time with flip flops once.</p>
<p>As to 4 sweatshirts, this seems like overkill. I think layers are the key for a trip to Israel in the winter/spring. A fleece jacket, a light sweater or two, and a waterproof wind breaker would cover most types of temperature/weather. The light sweater can go over a top that does not have sleeves if needed in areas where modesty is required. As to skirt length, this is more a style thing, custom of the group, as long as the knees are covered (for modesty) - no high slits are generally a good idea. Some groups of orthodox young women may wear the long skirts (mid calf or below), but this is more of a style thing IMO.</p>
<p>I pack for a week to 9 days in a carry on, even in winter. </p>
<p>Safe journey.</p>