Bank Holiday Getaways: The First Aid Kit You Actually Need for Camping, Caravanning and Road Trips
Every camping and road trip packing list on the internet has the same line on it: "first aid kit." Then it moves straight on to tent pegs and power banks. Fair enough — most of those lists are written by travel bloggers, not first aiders. Here's the version with actual detail: what should be in it, and just as importantly, what you'd do with each item if you needed it.
This matters more over a bank holiday weekend specifically. You're further from a pharmacy, further from a GP, and often relying on whatever's in the car or the tent until Tuesday.
What should actually be in the first aid kit
Assorted plasters and blister plasters — the single most-used item on any trip involving walking, new shoes, or children
Sterile dressings and a roll of conforming bandage, for anything a plaster won't cover
A triangular bandage, useful for slings and improvising support for a sprain
Antiseptic wipes and a small tube of antiseptic cream, to clean cuts and grazes before covering them
Medical tape and small scissors
Tweezers, for splinters and (carefully) for removing a stinger
Disposable gloves, so you're not treating a wound bare-handed
Antihistamines, for stings, bites, and unexpected reactions to new environments or foods
Rehydration sachets, particularly if you're camping somewhere hot or active
A basic pain reliever such as paracetamol or ibuprofen
Any personal or prescribed medication, in its original packaging, plus a spare adrenaline auto-injector if one is prescribed to anyone travelling
A thermometer
A printed note of allergies, medical conditions, and an emergency contact for each person travelling — genuinely useful if you're not the one who ends up needing it
If you're travelling by car, keep a separate, compact kit in the vehicle itself — UK and European DIN 13164 standard car first aid kits are a sensible baseline, and several European countries legally require one if you're driving abroad.
Knowing what to actually do with it
A cut or graze: clean with an antiseptic wipe, apply pressure with a clean dressing if it's bleeding, and cover once it's stopped.
A sprain: follow PRICE — Protect, Rest, Ice (15–20 minutes at a time), Compression with a bandage, and Elevation. Seek medical help if you can't put weight on it or the swelling is severe.
A splinter or small foreign object: clean tweezers, clean the area, remove it if it's superficial and easy to grasp. Don't dig for anything embedded deeper.
A minor burn (from a camping stove, disposable BBQ, or campfire): cool under running or bottled water for at least 20 minutes. Never use ice, butter, or toothpaste.
An allergic reaction: antihistamine for a mild reaction; if there's any facial swelling, breathing difficulty, or widespread rash, that's 999 and an adrenaline auto-injector if one's prescribed, not a wait-and-see.
Know before you go, not when you get there
A first aid kit is only as good as your plan for using it. Before setting off:
Check the site or route for phone signal. Many campsites and rural touring routes have patchy coverage — know where the nearest reception is, or download an offline first aid app such as British Red Cross's, which works without signal.
Know where the nearest A&E or minor injuries unit is, not just the nearest town — minor injury units are often faster and entirely appropriate for sprains, minor burns, and cuts needing more than a plaster.
Check your kit hasn't expired or been raided since last summer — plasters go missing, antiseptic cream dries out, and antihistamines have use-by dates.
Brief everyone travelling, not just the person who packed the kit, on where it is and what's in it.
A trainer's honest take
We say this every summer and we'll keep saying it: the first aid kit itself isn't what saves the day. It's someone in the group actually knowing what to do with what's inside it, calmly, before the adrenaline of "something's gone wrong" kicks in. A fully stocked kit in the boot of the car doesn't help if everyone's first instinct is to panic and Google it. That confidence is exactly what proper hands-on training builds, and it's worth having in your group before you're relying on a patchy signal to work it out live.
FAQ
What's the most important thing to include in a camping first aid kit that people forget? A printed note of allergies, medical conditions, and emergency contacts for each person. Phones die or lose signal; paper doesn't.
Do I need a separate first aid kit for the car if I already have one for camping? Yes, ideally. Keep a compact, DIN 13164 standard kit in the vehicle itself, separate from your main camping kit, so it's there even if you're out and about without your full kit.
How should I treat a sprain while camping, away from a pharmacy? Follow PRICE: Protect the area, Rest it, apply Ice for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, use Compression with a bandage, and Elevate the limb. Seek medical help if you can't bear weight on it.
What should I do if someone has an allergic reaction and we're somewhere remote? Give antihistamine for a mild reaction. For facial swelling, breathing difficulty, or a widespread rash, use a prescribed adrenaline auto-injector immediately and call 999, giving your location as precisely as you can.
Is it worth downloading a first aid app before a trip with poor signal? Yes. Apps like British Red Cross's First Aid app work offline once downloaded, which is genuinely useful at campsites and rural touring routes where signal is unreliable.
Cracking Training's Emergency First Aid outdoors and Paediatric First Aid courses build exactly this kind of practical, confident know-how. See our upcoming courses or get in touch before your next trip away.
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