This complete travel packing guide is a comprehensive checklist of everything to consider before traveling, whether this is your first trip, or you are a seasoned traveler. I recommend bookmarking this travel packing guide to use in the future as a reference!
It is important to note that one size does not fit all! All trips are unique and there are many factors to consider such as: your transportation, the duration of your trip, how often you will be moving locations, and planned activities (hiking, scuba diving, relaxing on the beach). This guide has been created to allow you to pick and choose based on your own needs.
Let’s Get Started!
Step 1: Choose your main bag
This can be one of the hardest parts of packing; trying to squeeze everything you need into one piece of luggage. Some of this comes down to organization and the other comes down to having good quality, durable bags. I am here to help you pick the right luggage for your trip and get the most out of it as possible. Here are a few things to consider:
How long will you be gone?
What type of activities are you going to do?
What mode of transportation will you be using most?
What are your accommodations like?
Travel Packing Guide: Choosing Your Luggage
Wheeled Luggage
This is the “standard” piece of luggage that most people think of when they think of packing for vacation. This category, however, offers a lot of variety. There are hard cases, soft cases, bags with extra pockets and organization built in and even some with locks.
Best for: family trips; business travel; road trips; general travel
Recommended Wheeled Luggage: The Large Away Suitcase, The Large Expandable Spinner (Briggs & Riley), Samsonite Omni Expandable Hardside Luggage
Read more: Best Road Trips to Take in America
Wheeled Duffels
Duffle bags are the best way to hold all of your bulky, oddly shaped items. If you need a lighter option for a quick trip, there are carry-on sized wheeled duffels as well!
Best for: adventure travelers carrying sports gear and bigger clothing items; road trips; camping
Recommended Wheeled Duffels: Patagonia Wheeled Duffel, Eagle Creek Gear Warrior
Wheeled Backpacks
These backpacks are great for on-the-go, but also provide a level of convenience when needed, perfect for adventure travelers.
Best for: adventure travel; backpacking country to country; weekend trips
Recommended Wheeled Backpacks: High Sierra Wheeled Backpack, Eagle Creek Load Warrior 22
Travel Backpack
Great for going where wheeled bags can’t: unleveled terrain, stairs, and cobblestone streets! This is a great option if you want to be completely hands free!
Best for: adventure travelers who want to be highly mobile; hiking; camping, backpacking travelers
Recommended Travel Backpacks: The Hugger 30L, Osprey Farpoint 70 Backpack
Duffel Bag
These are simple bags, but great for all kinds of travel. As I said above, they are great for holding oddly shaped items, but they are also malleable, making them perfect to shove up in the overhead bin! Duffel bags are also a little friendlier on the budget.
Best for: active travelers (skiing, snowboarding, hiking, climbing); budget travelers
Recommended Duffel Bags: Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 120L
Laptop Bags
These are great for anyone who is traveling for work or with their work. Laptop bags have a padded compartment to keep your laptop safe during travel, while also providing other pockets to keep papers, pens, and cables.
Tip: Some laptop bags are actually “check-point friendly” which means with these bags TSA may not actually make you remove your laptop to go through security.
Best for: business trips; remote employees
Recommended Laptop Bags: Booq BSQ-GFT Boa Squeeze, Everki Versa Briefcase, Herschel Little America Backpack
Carry on Luggage
There are carry-on sizes for all of the luggage I previously discussed, so you will have to use your best judgement on what carry-on would work best for your trip. Here are a few guidelines to think about when it comes to your carry-on luggage:
- Carry-ons shouldn’t exceed 22 x 14 x 9 inches / 56 x 36 x 23 centimeters
- Label your carry-on the same way you would other luggage in case in needs to be checked
- Check to see if your carry-on fits by testing it in the sizer at check-in
Step 2: Choose bags for your equipment
Camera Bags
Having a great camera bag equipped for your travel needs can make all the difference in the world. I have some great recommendations; ranging from unpredictable, adventurous travel to a daily urban environment. Take a look and select what works best for you!
Adventure Camera Bags: Peak Design Everyday Backpack, PRVKE Travel and DSLR Camera Backpack
Daily Camera Bags: Peak Design Everyday Messenger Bag, Kattee Leather Canvas Camera Bag
Scuba Diving Gear Bags
People who scuba dive often tend to own some of their own gear, but traveling with bulky scuba gear can be challenging. Sport Diver has a great article with 9 rolling bag recommendations for scuba gear that is definitely worth checking out!
Step 3: Pack your main bag
I created a basic packing list to start. Of course, you will have to edit depending on your destination!
Basic Travel Packing List
T-Shirts & tank tops (Remember to consider the culture you are visiting)
Pants and/or shorts
Long sleeved shirts
Dresses/skirts
A sweater or jacket (something that can be layered)
Comfortable walking shoes
Belt
Socks
Pajamas
Underwear
Bras (for the ladies)
Sunglasses
Jewelry
Swimsuit or trunks (if relevant)
Cell phone charger
Outlet converters (if necessary)
Consider:
Hat
Scarf (great for Middle Eastern countries)
Rain jacket/umbrella
The best way to pack light is to pack versatile clothing! Consider clothing that can be casual during the day and dressed up at night. I always bring a few basics, jeans, solid color shirts, neutral colored shoes, and a few fun items to change it up (scarves, hats, necklaces, sweaters etc.)
Step 4: Get your main bag organized
Packing Organizers
Packing Cubes
These are a game changer! Packing cubes help keep your stuff organized and in one place during travel. They also make it easy to empty your suitcase into your hotel dresser to store your suitcase out of the way. Not having to tear your suitcase apart for that blouse you swear you packed saves time and sanity. Check out ebags ultralight packing cubes and Shacke packing cubes!
Tip: You could consider packing clothing that easily wrinkles in a clothing folder and some of the more durable clothing in packing cubes.
Compression Sacks
Compression Sacks are a great item to help shrink down your big, puffy jacket or sweaters for your trip. These sacks resemble zippered plastic bags with a one-way valve to let air out when you’re ready to close up. These aren’t necessarily great for everything, but they are good for shrinking your bulkier clothes. While compression sacks do save space in your suitcase, they do not help with weight. Just because you can fit more in your bag, doesn’t mean it will be within weight guidelines.
Folders
Folders are a great way to take your more delicate clothing items without wrinkling them. They are pretty easy to use, and they help compress your clothes to save on space. Here’s a great tutorial on folders and how to use them! We recommend Eagle Creek Garment Folders.
General Packing Tips:
Roll your clothes
Pack Socks inside shoes
Keep a dirty laundry bag
Keep a bag for wet clothes
Step 5: Pack your toiletry bag
Remember, if you’re not checking a bag and all of your toiletries are going in your carry-on, you’ll need to make sure you are TSA compliant. All liquids, gels, aerosol cans, creams, and pastes much be in a 3.4 ounce (or less) container and must be in a 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic bag. For your convenience, here’s a set of silicone travel bottles that we like from Amazon.
Tip: to keep your toiletries from leaking during travel, put a small piece of plastic wrap in between the cap and the bottle!
As far as toiletry bags go, here’s a few I recommend depending on your needs.
Hanging toiletry bags: Bago Hanging Toiletry Bag, eBags Pack-it-Flat Hanging Toiletry Kit
Standard toiletry bags: Herschel Chapter Travel Kit Bag, KOMALC Genuine Buffalo Leather Unisex Toiletry Bag
Basic Toiletry Bag List
Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss
Deoderant
Shampoo & conditioner
Bodywash & razor
Hairbrush, hair ties, bobby pins
Chapstick
Make-up
Face wash/make-up remover
Feminine hygiene products
Nail clippers & tweezers
Prescription medication with label
Toiletry Bag Extras
Cologne/perfume
Sunscreen
Hairspray/hair gel
Tide pen
Toiletry Bag Tips
If you have issues with your eyeshadow breaking up during your travels, try placing a flat cotton wool pad in between the pressed powder and the lid. This should keep the eyeshadow intact!
If you travel frequently, keep a pre-packed toiletry bag with travel sizes for all your favorite products!
Jewelry Organization and Packing Tips
I suggest bringing jewelry you don’t mind losing and not bringing a large amount of it. Try bringing some simple pieces that go with a lot of things.
Here are some options for your jewelry organization
Roll: BAGSMART Travel Jewelry Organizer Roll
Pouch: Ellis James Jewelry Travel Pouch
Jewelry Box: Le Papillion Jewelry Box
Step 6: Pack your health kit
It’s always a great idea to pack a health kit if you are traveling overseas (even if it is a little one). The health kit will give you piece of mind, especially if you are traveling to a country where you can’t drink the tap water and you have to be extra careful. When you decide to book an international trip, it is always a good idea to check the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website for travel advice related to vaccines, medicines, etc.
I provided a general health kit list. Not all items will pertain to you and your travel plans.
Prescription medicines
Band-Aids
Liquid Band-Aid (great for scuba divers!)
Pain relievers – advil, alieve, etc.
Motion sickness medicine – dramomine
Eye drops
Ear drops (also a great item for divers)
Diarrhea medication – Imodium or Pepto-Bismol
Antacid
Cough drops/cough suppressant
Decongestant
Allergy medication – benedryl
Hydrocortisone cream/antibacterial ointment
Hand sanitzer/wipes
Hydration tablets to add to your water – (the ones we used in Egypt)
Insect Repellent
I leave a little bag of these packed at all times to easily grab when I am about to travel. It’s also nice to have a sampler of a few of these in your carry-on bag, especially if you are going to be on a long flight.
Step 7: Pack your carry-on luggage
Be sure to pack your carry-on with items to keep you comfortable during your flight or other means of travel while on your trip (bus, train, etc.). It’s always a good idea to keep an extra pair of clothes and some basic toiletries in your bag just in case your main luggage gets lost. I love to use backpacks as my carry-on bag, as I can fit a small travel blanket in the drawstrings, a laptop in the flat back portion, and I can use this bag for day trips when I won’t have access to our main luggage for a while. For example, while we were in Egypt, we would go site seeing for long periods of time in the heat, so we would bring one backpack to fill with water (because it’s unsafe to drink the water in Egypt), snacks, a small health kit with Pepto-Bismol and some other useful items, and a scarf or extra layer in case we were required to cover up.
Here are some other items I think would be great to pack in a carry-on bag
Travel Comfort
Small travel blanket
Eye mask (this is my favorite mask that also has Bluetooth speakers built in)
Small pair of socks
Chapstick or lotion (as planes can be really dry)
Water bottle
Travel pillow
Disinfecting wipes
Small hand sanitizer
Technology & Entertainment
Noise cancelling headphones
Laptop, ipad, or e-reader (with chargers)
Camera / Go pro
Electrical converters and adapters
Books / Magazines
Travel journal and pen
USB power pack
Just-in-case
Extra pair of clothes
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Small deodorant stick
Health kit items (advil, pepto-bismol, tums, etc.)
Tide to go pen
Also consider putting your travel documentation in your carry-on so it is readily available when you get to your destination.
Step 8: Prepare your travel documentation and credit cards
Gathering your important documents is one of the most vital parts of travel preparation, especially if you are traveling internationally. Considering buying a travel wallet designed to hold your essential credit cards, ID, cash, and passport, making it easy to carry everything in one spot. There are even some travel wallets that function as a cross-body bag that will fit down in your carry-on so there’s no need to take a big purse.
If you aren’t sure what other travel documentation you should be taking, check out my list
Passport / Visa – check here if you aren’t sure if you need a travel visa
Personal ID
Health insurance card or other documentation
Cash – look into the best way to get the local currency of the country you are traveling to. You can get different currency at the currency exchange in the airport or can also get it at an ATM in that country.
Credit cards – be sure to call your bank or credit card company to let them know you will be traveling out of the country.
Travel insurance information
Frequent flyer cards (if you have them)
Hotel or tour contact information
Transportation tickets
Any other reservations you made in advance printed
Emergency contacts
Copies of these items in case anything happens to the original
It’s important to make sure that your passport and ID are not going to expire before or during your trip. It’s also worth noting that most countries will not permit a traveler to enter their country if the passport is going to expire at least 6 months after the last day of travel. If you have less than 6 months remaining, renew your passport beforehand.
Download Your Own Travel Packing Guide
Wherever your travels take you, I hope you have a great time and that this travel packing guide has helped you get well prepared! If you’d like to download a packing checklist, click here.
