The Ultimate Travel Packing Checklist for Your Next Trip | Vacation and Business Travel Packing List
Prologue
Our readers often ask us what are the things we need to pack while traveling. To be honest, years back, when we started with our travels, we didn’t even know where to start. And today, after having traveled to 39 countries across the globe, by driving 300,000+ km, taking the train, plane, boat, cruise, and whatnot, in all seasons of the year, we’ve made innumerable packing mistakes and learnt from them. So based on our experiences and learnings, today I’m going to share with you a comprehensive checklist of things to pack for your next travel. So, let’s begin!
But remember, before you start packing, you need to do a robust travel planning which will serve as an input to your travel packing list. To know how to do a robust vacation planning like us from the scratch, please read our article The Ultimate Step-By-Step Vacation Planning Guide | Pre-Travel Checklist | Things To Do Before Your Next Trip.
Travel Packing Checklist
Technically, when you start packing for your holidays, you need to bear in mind a few parameters like your gender, whether you are traveling for vacation or business, the duration of your trip, the season of travel, weather, temperature, countries you want to travel to (Western countries, Middle-Eastern, Asian, etc.), kind of places you plan to visit (beach, forests, weddings, professional events, religious monuments, etc.), and the gear that you would need for the activities you plan to do on your vacation (hiking, camping, swimming, scuba diving, surfing, rafting, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, etc.)
But to keep life simple, I’m sharing a master checklist (superset) that will cover all of the above requirements. You need to only select the ones that are relevant for your trip (a subset of this master checklist) based on the parameters mentioned above. So here we go!
1. Headwear
Hats
Caps
Hair Bands
Bandana
2. Eyewear
Spectacles
Contact Lenses
Sunglasses
3. Neckwear
Ties
Bows
Scarfs
4. Topwear
Indoor
Indoor Undergarments Top
Indoor Singlets
Indoor T-shirts
Indoor Sweaters
Pyjamas Top
Outdoor
Outdoor Undergarments Top
Formal Singlets
Swimming Singlets
Bikini Top
Thermals Top
Tracksuit Top
Outdoor T-shirts
Shirts
Outdoor Sweaters
Suits
Blazers
Jackets
Long Coats
5. Bottomwear
Indoor
Indoor Undergarments Bottom
Indoor Shorts
Pyjamas Bottom
Outdoor
Outdoor Undergarments Bottom
Bikini Bottom
Thermals Bottom
Leggings
Tracksuit Bottom
Outdoor Shorts
Jeans
Trousers
Belts
6. Footwear
Indoor
Slippers
Flip Flops
Outdoor
Sandals
Loafers
Formal Shoes
Informal/Casual Shoes
Sneakers/Running/Hiking Shoes
Socks (Short and/or Long)
Shoe Polish
Shoe Brush
7. Accessories
Wrist Watches
Wrist Bands
Bracelets
Gloves
Hankies
Towels
Combs
Wallet
Room Keys
Car Keys
Jewelry (Ear Rings, Necklace, etc.)
8. Documentation
Passport
Photo ID Card
Dual Citizenship Card/OCI Card (for Indians with foreign passports) if you are traveling to your native country
Driving License (International if you plan to drive across countries)
Health/Travel Insurance Cards
Public Transport Card (if you are taking public transport within your source country to catch a flight, train, or ferry to the destination country)
Car Registration Card (Kentekenbewijs in Dutch)
Car Insurance Papers (Green Card for Europe)
COVID Vaccination Certificates
COVID Forms/Documents needed by the Countries of Travel
Travel Tickets
Boarding Pass (if you are traveling by air)
Hotel Bookings
Your Company or Client Office ID Cards (if you are on a business trip to a foreign branch of your own company or that of your client)
Native and Foreign Bank Cards
Native and Foreign Currency (Cash)
9. Miscellaneous
Prescription Medication
Mosquito Repellant
Hand Sanitizers
Disinfectant Wipes
Face Masks
Hair Drier
Iron
Baggage Weighing Scale
Spike Buster/Surge Protector/Extension Cord
International Travel Adapter
Nail Cutter
Umbrella
Locks and Keys
Tissues
Plastic Bags/Trash Bags
Rubber Bands
Lunch/Snack Boxes
Plastic Spoons
Diapers (for young children)
Potty Seat (if your child is too young to use an adult WC)
Stroller (for young children)
Gifts for your family, friends, and/or host
10. Food
Breakfast Cereals - Oats, Corn Flakes, etc.
Evening Snacks - Nut Bar, Crackers, Fruits, etc.
Meals - Ready to Eat
Cakes
Chocolates
Baby Food (for young children)
Packaged Drinking Water
11. Toiletry Kit
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Shaving Foam
Shaving Blade
Extra Blades
Shampoo, Baby Shampoo (for young children)
Conditioner
Face Wash
Body Wash
Body Lotion, Baby Body Lotion (for young children)
Hair Gel
Anti-Pimple Cream
Facial Cream
Sunscreen, Baby Sunscreen (for young children)
Lip Guard
Powder
Perfume/Deodorent
12. Camera Kit
Camera Body/Bodies and Body Cap/s
Lenses, Lens Hoods, and Lens Caps
Lens Filters (at least UV + ND6 + ND10)
Camera Lens Cleaning Kit - Blower, Cleaning Solution, Microfiber Cloth (at least 2)
Cable Release
Memory Cards (at least 2)
Memory Card Reader
Batteries (at least three)
Battery Charger
Data Cable
Tripod
Rode Wireless Go Microphone Kit (if you shoot videos) - Transmitter, Receiver, Windshield/Dead Cat, Charging Wires, SC4 Cable to connect Rode Wireless Go to the camera, Cold Shoe Adapter to fit the Rode Wireless Go to the camera
Selfie Stick
Selfie Stick Charging Wire
GoPro Kit (if you shoot action videos)
Drone Kit (if you shoot drone videos)
To know more about our cameras, lenses, and photography accessories, please visit the page Our Gear.
13. Other Electronics Kit
Kindle/E-Book Reader, Charger
Tablet/iPad, Charger
Mobile, Charger, Tripod and Mount, Native and Foreign SIM card
(Bluetooth) Earphones, Charger (for Bluetooth earphones)
Laptop, Charger, Mouse, Hard Disks
14. Car Kit
Phone Mount (to use GPS navigation on your phone while driving a rented car)
Phone Charging Cable
Cigarette Lighter Socket Adapter (to convert the cigarette lighter to a USB charging point for your phone)
Parking Disc
Child Seat (for young children)
Child Study/Eating Table (for young children)
15. Fun/Activities Kit
Toys for kids
Board Games
Sports/Activities Gear
Epilogue
So that was our travel packing checklist. Please let us know in the comments below if you enjoyed reading this article and if it helped you in planning your travel.
But remember, before you start packing, you need to do a robust travel planning which will serve as an input to your travel packing list. To know how to do a robust vacation planning like us from the scratch, please read our article The Ultimate Step-By-Step Vacation Planning Guide | Pre-Travel Checklist | Things To Do Before Your Next Trip. Until then, I wish you merry traveling and happy shooting!
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