When traveling you require a lot of day-to-day things such as clothes, footwear, accessories, toiletries, cosmetics, electronics devices, etc., during your vacations, while additional travel-specific things such as documents, tickets, cameras, etc. are necessarily needed as well.
Packing is an exciting moment before any trip. However, in the excitement, you are prone to forget essential things to pack for your vacation. Imagine you went to Grand Canyon, Arizona, without your digital camera! All your dreams of capturing pictures of the red ancient layers of history and landscape are ruined just because you forget to check this travel checklist.
In such cases, either you purchase a new camera there and then, which adds up an additional financial load making you wander around to find a store to purchase it.
So, how can you ensure that you are fully prepared for your vacation? How to ensure that you have taken everything that you might need on your trip?
The answer is to refer to a packing checklist.
It is a list of things that you might need in your tour or vacation that can be used to cross-verify during packing. And, it can be time and effort-saving, peace to your mind when you know you aren’t missing anything.
Note: Do read the luggage policies of the flight before adding any item in your luggage, to make sure that your luggage size, weight, and items aren't going against policies.
Let’s now discover what are the things to add to your vacation packing checklist.
1. Travel Documents
When traveling overseas or even during your domestic tour, documents are the first thing you should check before leaving your home. Your documents such as Visa, Passport, flight ticket, boarding pass, etc should be kept in a separate carry bag instead of check bags.
Plus, due to the COVID-19 crisis, overseas and domestic flights have made it mandatory for travelers to carry PCR also known as (RT-PCR in a few countries) and vaccination certificates by themselves.
So, here is a quick checklist for documents:
Passport (along with a copy)
Visa
Train, flight, bus ticket
Hotel ticket
Boarding pass
National Identity card
Health insurance card
Student card (if you are a student)
Driving license
Medical prescription (if you are under any kind of medication)
COVID-19 related documents:
RT-PCR test (with negative test result)
Vaccination certificate
Check the validity of your passport, and ensure that all members get their all documents ready with themselves a night before the commence of your trip to avoid any last-minute challenges.
Along with the original documents, keep a copy of these as well, to help you at the hotel or other places in case needed.
2. Clothing
Depending upon the span of your vacation, weather, location of your destination, and your personal taste decide the number and types of clothes that you need to carry with you.
When packing, roll your clothes (instead of folding them) in the bottom of your suitcase. Rolling down clothes takes less space in your bag, saving it for other things. For vacation, choose clothes whose fiber demands no or least ironing.
The clothing checklist is given below:
Undergarments
Jeans and trousers
Skirts and Shorts
Tops/t-shirt
Shirts and Jacket
Pajamas (sleepwear)
Clothing extras include:
Face masks
Robe
Towel
Swimsuit (if you plan to hit the pool or the beach)
Belt
Gloves
Ties
Handkerchief
Cap/hat
3. Footwear
Footwear is important while traveling. What type of footwear you are taking with you depends on the location and your destination plan. If you’re going to a hilly destination for trekking and camping you’ll need Boots or hiking shoes that protect your ankles as well.
Additionally, other footwear is needed for other purposes. Here is a checklist:
Shoes
Socks
Bootie
Flip flop
Gumboots
Slippers
Heels/sandals
Footwear, shoes often add bulk. So, be specific on what you need and eliminate that isn’t practical.
4. Travel Aids
Traveling to an unexplored area isn’t always as easy as it may sound. You need many travel aid equipment to keep you in the mood; safe and guided. This equipment helps you to avoid any unfavorable situations.
Here’s a list of a few traveling aid equipment that you shouldn’t miss.
Few extra foldable bags
Backpack/suitcase
Maps and direction
Language guide (if visiting state or country with foreign/unknown language)
Travel locks (small and light-weight)
Travel tags (for luggage)
Torch
Pen and pocket notebook
For the language guide and map, several mobile apps are available that you can install and use. However, those having offline resources are better, just in case, your phone battery isn't charged.
5. Drinks & Eatables
While traveling, eating is an obvious thing. And, it's good to pack a few meals along with you, as relying on restaurants or processed food is not always healthy and affordable. At times, people take home-cooked foods, or other eatables, just in case they don’t find any good place to purchase lunch or dinner.
Carrying your own home-cooked food is healthy, as well as helps you save some extra penny.
Place things in plastic bags that can leak. If possible, get a separate small backpack especially for all your eating stuff. These are the things you can add to your food traveling checklist:
Homemade food
Water bottle
Thermo flask water bottle
Fruits or peanut butter
Packed items
Portable salads
Nuts, and dry fruits
Muffins, donuts, candies
Pack enough for every member on the trip. Use packing cubes, lunch boxes, or polythene bags that are specially designed for one-time food packaging.
6. Toiletries & Accessories
For men and women, different accessories are required in their day-to-day routine. These accessories are a must, and you can’t afford to travel without them. These include products of regular hygiene and makeup.
Hair ties
Jewelry
Soap and detergents
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Shaving kit (for men)
Hand watch
Feminine hygiene (for women)
Tissues paper
Umbrella (if rains are expected)
Toys (if kids are there)
Books or magazine
These products may add load to your luggage, adding the cost of handling. But, to be a smart traveler, you can plan them based on your span of trip and budget. For example, if you are going out for a few days, instead of keeping regular size toothpaste, get a mini-pack of toothpaste. Or purchase at the destination if that’s under your travel budget.
7. Electronic Devices
Phone or laptop chargers are common electronic devices that travelers often forget; struggling throughout their trip, asking co-travelers, or strangers for help to charge their electronic devices.
Additionally, charge all those devices that are powered by battery, such as laptops, phones, and earbuds. To avoid such mishap, check the checklist for your electronic devices:
Mobile phone
Laptop
Battery Backup (keep it fully charged)
Phone and laptop charger
Headphones/Earphones
Earbuds or AirPods
Camera
Travel iron
8. Health
While going out on vacations or a trip, your general routine ought to change, adding chances of cold, cough, or other minor health issues. Additionally, the risk of minor or major accidents can’t be ignored while traveling.
Therefore, we have a checklist keeping all that in mind, to ensure a healthy trip for you:
General medicine
Anti-diarrhea, malaria, or fever medicines (under doctor’s consultation)
Pain reliever
First Aid kit
Vitamins
Facemask
Sanitizers
Insect repellent
For people under serious or regular medication, ensure to save the doctor’s contact number in your mobile devices (or in your pocket notebook).
Another piece of advice; undergo a general checkup before leaving for the trip. Read alerts and health guidelines or warnings for the destination you have planned beforehand.
9. Finances & Currencies
If you are traveling out of the country, you should be careful with the cash you have. Since the Dollar is commonly accepted in almost every country, therefore, US citizens have the advantage of not worrying about currency exchange as much.
However, if you are going abroad on vacation, it is best to get foreign exchange currency right at the airport. To quickly summarize, confirm that you carry these things:
Foreign currency
Emergency money (as cash)
Debit card/credit card
Money belt
Don’t keep all your cash in one place. A money belt is advised as it plays a prominent role to keep changes and cash and handle local expenditure with much ease without making your pockets bulky.
Conclusion
This travel checklist is built with general readers in mind. However, to be more individual-specific, don't forget to write down your specific requirements on a piece of paper along with the above-mentioned travel checklist.
Pack and check everything in advance before the day of departure. Remember, not all things can be packed before, such as phone charger, toothbrush, housekeys, and therefore, allot a temporary place for all such items to grab them all when finally starting your journey.
Don’t overpack, as it may disturb your trip. Don’t under-pack, as that will make you regret it.
Plan your vacation package properly. List down everything and never miss anything.
Another important thing to remember, as we often tend to forget to plan what we are leaving behind in the excitement of planning our destination.
Check that stove and light are turned OFF, your pet responsibility is carefully shifted to the neighbor for days you will not be here to take care, windows and doors are locked, no active flame in the fireplace, water taps are properly closed and other things, so that you don’t get panic about them when finally you have reached to your destination and remember.
Enjoy your trip, do share your opinions in the comment about your packing checklist and how this article helped you in packing and managing your trip.
Contributer:
Satya Prakash Mourya
Satya is a digital enthusiast, who has a unique perspective of looking at the world