What to pack for your summer camp counsellor season in America

Your visa is approved, your flights are booked, and there's an empty suitcase sitting open on your bedroom floor.

Now what actually goes in it. It is one of the most common questions we get from Kiwis about to spend their New Zealand winter working at a summer camp in America, and the honest answer is that you need far less than you think.

Start with what your camp already provides

Every camp provides food and accommodation for the season, so you are not packing a kitchen or bedding in most cases.

Some camps supply linen, others ask you to bring your own, so check your camp's welcome pack before you buy anything.

This one detail saves most first-timers a whole bag's worth of unnecessary stuff.

The kit that actually earns its place

Camps in America run from the mountains to the coast, so weather varies a lot more than a New Zealand summer.

Pack layers rather than one heavy jacket: a few t-shirts, a couple of warmer layers for cool evenings, a light raincoat, and one pair of decent closed-in shoes for activities as well as jandals for downtime.

Sunscreen and insect repellent are worth buying before you leave, since American brands and NZ skin do not always agree.

If you are heading over as a premium counsellor with a specialist skill, bring whatever gear makes you good at your job: your own swimwear if you are a lifeguard or swim instructor, your instrument if you are teaching music, your own boots if you are leading hikes. Camps will have shared equipment, but your own kit is usually better and it is one less thing to source once you land.

A portable charger, a US plug adaptor, and a decent water bottle round out the practical stuff. Camp days are long and mostly outdoors, so anything that keeps you charged and hydrated earns its spot in the suitcase.

What to leave at home

Camp is not a beach holiday, so leave the going-out wardrobe behind. Most camps have a modest dress code for good reason, given you are working with kids all day. Expensive jewellery, your best headphones, and anything you would be gutted to lose are also better off staying in New Zealand.

Camp life is basic by design and your gear tends to end up covered in dust, glitter, or lake water by week two.

The documents you genuinely cannot forget

This is the part that actually matters. Your DS-2019 form, your passport with your J1 visa, proof of insurance, and your camp's contact details need to be in your carry-on, not checked luggage.

Print a copy of everything as well as having it saved on your phone, since airport wifi is not something you want to be relying on.

Losing a t-shirt is annoying. Losing your visa paperwork is a genuinely bad start to the season.

As Kelly M, who used AmeriCamp for her placement, put it: "The application was smooth from start to finish. Always answered any questions I had swiftly and promptly." That kind of support does not stop once your bags are packed. Our Auckland team is there to answer the practical questions too, right up until you board the plane.

Pack for the job, not the Instagram post

It is easy to overthink this. You are going to work as a camp counsellor, earning a guaranteed minimum of $2,250 USD for the season with food and accommodation covered, not heading off on a gap year photoshoot.

Pack for long days outside, changeable weather, and a role where practical always beats stylish. Everything else you can buy once you land if you genuinely need it.

Getting this list right is a small thing compared to the bigger picture: a New Zealand winter swapped for a season that actually means something, working alongside people from all over the world at a summer camp in America. The suitcase is the easy part. Getting placed is the part our team helps with.

Check with your camp

Your camp may have specific things they want you to bring - they may also have a uniform which will save you some space - so check with them before you pack.

Who is AmeriCamp?

Americamp NZ is operated by International Working Holidays, Auckland-based and Kiwi-focused. We're the NZ arm of Americamp - backed by over 24 years of placing New Zealanders at summer camps across the USA. The application is free to start and our NZ team is with you every step of the way.

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