Packing Checklist

How to use the list

Pick the trip style first. The list rebuilds itself around a core set that applies to every trip — documents, chargers, adapter, toiletries, medication — and adds the items that only matter for that kind of travel. Ticking an item marks it packed; the state lives in the page while you work through it, so pack with the tab open rather than ticking everything and closing it.

The list is deliberately short. A checklist you actually finish is worth more than an exhaustive one you abandon halfway, and most forgotten-item disasters involve the same handful of things: a charger, an adapter, a prescription, or a document.

The rules that decide what goes in which bag

Two airline rules cause more repacking at security than everything else combined. Both are worth knowing before you pack rather than at the scanner.

Liquids in hand baggage

In the United States, the TSA’s 3-1-1 rule limits each container to 3.4 ounces (100 millilitres) or less, with all containers fitting inside one quart-sized bag per passenger. The container limit is what counts, not how full it is: a half-empty 200 ml bottle is still refused. Duty-free liquids bought abroad on an inbound flight to the US may travel in a transparent, tamper-evident bag with the receipt from within the previous 48 hours. Many other countries apply a comparable 100 ml limit, and several airports have begun relaxing it as new scanners are installed: the limit in force is the one at the airport you are departing from, so check it there.

Source: TSA, Liquids, Aerosols, and Gels Rule.

Power banks and spare batteries

Spare lithium batteries and power banks must travel in carry-on baggage only: never in checked luggage. Batteries up to 100 watt-hours carry no quantity limit for personal use and need no approval. Between 101 and 160 Wh you need airline approval and are limited to two spares per person. The detail people miss: if your cabin bag is checked at the gate or on the jet bridge, you must take the power bank out and keep it with you in the cabin. Airlines may also impose limits stricter than the regulator’s, so the carrier’s own rule is the one that applies.

Source: FAA PackSafe, Lithium Batteries.

What the trip styles change

Beach adds sun protection and swimwear, and is the list where the liquids rule bites hardest: sunscreen is the single item most often confiscated, and it is usually cheaper to buy a full-size bottle on arrival than to decant it.

City break stays close to the core list. The variable that matters most is footwear: city days routinely run past 20,000 steps, and shoes you have not already walked in are the most reliable way to ruin one.

Adventure / hiking adds layers, a first-aid kit and water capacity. If your route gains altitude, read the destination guide before you finalise the list: acclimatisation affects what you carry and how fast you move, and our guide to altitude in Cusco and Machu Picchu covers how that plays out in practice.

Winter / cold weather is the one case where checked baggage usually wins: the bulky items are exactly the ones that eat cabin allowance. Keep one warm layer in the cabin anyway, in case the bag and you arrive on different days.

Business shifts the priority to what cannot be replaced locally — documents, the right adapter, a spare charging cable — rather than clothing, which almost anywhere will sell you.

Three habits that beat any list

Pack the documents first. Passport, any visa or entry authorisation, insurance details and booking confirmations. Everything else on the list can be bought at the destination; these cannot.

Photograph the contents of your checked bag. It takes ten seconds and makes a lost-luggage claim far easier to file.

Split essentials across bags when you travel with someone. Half your clothes in their bag and half theirs in yours means a delayed bag is an inconvenience rather than a shopping trip.

Before you finish packing

Check what the weather will actually be, not what the season suggests — the best-time-to-visit section of each of our destination guides and country guides covers the difference. If you are still working out dates, Days Until Trip is a quick way to see how much preparation time you have left.