Definitely with ya on the knives and probably a good cutting board so you don't damage your good knives. Measuring cups or a "measure-all" and spoons are only needed if you're planning on cooking something you'll need to measure. I personally don't try "new" recipes on vacation (unless eating out!) and so don't usually need to measure. Plus, there's usually a dollar store or grocery near enough to pick up some cheap ones if I find I need them. But like was mentioned, figure out what's essential to you. For me, with two small kids, I take small utensils for them. I also take a plastic tea jug since we LIVE on iced tea. Anything else I need I can usually find nearby and so don't bother hauling it along...

You can eliminate some of the tools you may need if you make and freeze a meal or two in advance. My family usually totes a tray of frozen lasagna or enchiladas so that no one has to cook the first couple of days.

great ideas! i brought my magic bullet blender and we were able to make smoothies in the morning.

I second the suggestion of 2 good knives - I brought a chef's knife and a paring knife. And I also agree that measuring cups and spoons can be skipped.
My three essential pieces of cookware are a large nonstick skillet, a steamer pot, and a baking dish. (I'm using a deep-dish Pyrex pie pan for 2 people, but if your family is bigger, make it a 9x12.)
That's all I have for a six week excursion this summer, and it lets me do almost anything. The steamer inset works as a colander for washing berries, and the pot part substitutes for a kettle. I use the baking dish for baked chicken or roasted veggies.
For ingredients, definitely bring olive oil. This is also a good time for some premixed spice blends (either homemade or store-bought). Curry powder, chili powder, barbecue rub - they're all easier than taking a bunch of separate little bottles.

My family rents a place for a week every year- we're all avid cooks, so we've developed a little kit we take with us: 2 knives (chefs + paring), a flexible cutting board or two, a whisk, measuring cups and spoons, salt and pepper grinders, a small colander, and a wine key (corkscrew). For spices- chili, cinnamon, italian seasoning or herbs de provence, old bay, and cumin. We grill and have simple meals, and it usually works out!

Another vote for knives...or at the very least a knife sharpener (traveling with knives sounds less than ideal to me). I also bake a casserole or two ahead of time...it's so nice to be able to relax and have home-cooked food without any effort. If you're going with other families I recommend planning out your dinners for a least a few nights. Dividing up the cooking ahead of time can save you from bringing extra tools or ingredients.

I too agree with taking a good knife. We rent houses along the Gulf several times a year, so I've learned thru experience that there are never any good knives in a rented house! I just wrap my knife in several plastic grocery bags and pack it in among other kitchen stuff. I also have found that most rental kitchens have the cheapest, crummiest skillets ever so I've started traveling with my all-purpose Cuisinart skillet. As far as ingredients, I always have salt, pepper, evoo & balsamic vinegar, a head of garlic, coffee, and peanut butter. Everything else we'll buy locally.

Try going to the IKEA website and looking up one of their Smart Box kitchen kits and then edit like mad.

Aluminum foil, knives and cutting board and a folding veggie steamer, skillet, turner and tongs, 4-qt. stew pot would be amongst my stuff. Also my Swiss Army knife with bottle opener and corkscrew on it.

I agree 100% on the knives. I, at the last minute, grabbed a 4" paring knife with me on a trip I went on last year. I used it for absolutely everything because the knives in the efficiency we were at were miserable.

Knives!! And a cutting board, spices, and oil. Everywhere we have rented has had enough of the basics for a long weekend. A medium skillet is also a good idea. Tongs are another good idea especially if you are going to be grilling. And you may want to take a picture of what you bring (on your phone?) So you don’t forget your stuff in the chaos of packing after your stay. :)

One good knife and a whisk - I've found in my last few months of baking and traveling, you can get away with just those!

I always pack a kitchen box when we go on vacation in October for 2 weeks. Especially because, by October, the kitchen equipment in rental houses has been super abused all summer long, and is definitely on it's last legs. With that said, I always taking a chef's and paring knife, two pans (one for eggs and a skillet...I actually buy cheap pans at Ikea (the set of two is less than $10) and leave them at the rental house), my lemon squeezer, and a decent spatula (especially for eggs).

Also olive oil, peanut butter, coffee, a small amount of sugar and flour, and a baggie full of the most used spices and herbs. I am lucky that my local nature food store sells bulk spices, that you can buy in small quantities for very cheap. But, of course, you can just do the same by putting spices in small snack sized baggies and labeling them. Easier than carrying the bottles, for sure.

A nonstick spatula! I've stayed in at least 2 rental apartments that provided multiple nonstick pans, but only metal utensils...not fun to cook with. It's no fun using cheap, scratched up nonstick pans to begin with, but I can't bring myself to use a metal spatula on them.

I stay in rental properties with kitchens several time per year, often in other countries. I've seen the entire range from beatifully outfitted kitchens to kitchens I wouldn't consider furnished. Here's the list of what I keep in my suitcase as a survival kit: stainless steel tongs; chef knife; paring knife; corkscrew; wine bottle stoppers; coffee filters; initial supply of coffee; coffee sweetener; twist ties or bag clips; ziplock bags; a dual salt shaker/pepper grinder; a 7-day pill container with dried herbs in the compartments.

A knife, my nonstick egg pan (rental pans are always destroyed by people using metal utensils on them and my son needs his eggs for breakfast!) and some foil and saran wrap. And a corkscrew.

Definitely agree on bringing any spices/cooking basics you need. Don't forget salt and pepper! I always bring a small container of kosher salt (I've found most of our vacation rentals have iodized salt), and a black pepper grinder (one of the "disposable" ones from the grocery store). I suppose you could pre-grind the pepper and bring it with you, if you don't want to lug it.

If you're planning on baking anything, I would pre-measure the dry ingredients and throw them into a Ziploc bag. This eliminates the need for measuring cups.

I'd also recommend bringing up any pre-made food in food containers you can wash and re-use while you're up there. Have fun!

After my first trip to Hawaii, and paying $6 for a jar of mustard, I asked my sons to save the individual condiment packets they got with fast food. I put that with a small spice kit and my second trip to HI was much more cost effective!

Last fall I spent a week in a rented cabin, and wasn't sure what would be there. Here's what I brought
. knife & cutting board (of course)
. one good pot (can mix, stir, toss, or cook anything in it)
. spices in tiny ziplock bags (meant for pills) that I got from a pharmacy
. grocery store salt & pepper grinders
. small containers of: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard
. coffee and tea, and a teapot (with a built in basket for loose tea that was used in the end to brew coffee)
. 2 aluminum disposable pie plates (used to bake & broil various things including bread. One upside-down on top of the other gives you a covered baking dish) and if they get foul, you don't need to keep them.
. a few nesting covered containers for leftovers, taking food with you out on adventures, or marinating things for future meals
. instead of measuring cups, I took an empty clear plastic recyclable container and marked the outside with a sharpie at 1/4 cup amounts. Worked a charm.

I would think about what you absolutely have to eat/drink every day and make sure that can happen. :-) I love coffee, so my French press travels with me. I have to have breakfast so I always bring granola--I even packed granola when we stayed in a rental house in Mexico! Definitely salt and pepper and other spices that are essential to what you like to cook (smoked paprika, etc.). Knives of course are a must, and I also bring my favorite stirring utensil which is a flat wooden paddle. IF you have the room, one good all-purpose pot is a great idea. Rentals do not tend have nice heavy-bottomed pans, so I like to bring one if I can.

For easier spice storage/transportation, buy an inexpensive multi-day pill container from the drugstore. You can put a different spice in each compartment, probably enough for a tablespoon in each one.