Pack for the trip you are actually taking.

Core Documents and Money

• Passport, visas, permits, travel insurance details, driving permit if needed, and offline copies of bookings.
• Two payment cards stored separately, a small amount of local cash, and a plan for ATM fees and exchange rates.
• Offline maps, hotel addresses, emergency contacts, and screenshots of transport tickets or reservation QR codes.

Clothing

• Layer for the coldest realistic moment of the trip, not only the average daytime temperature.
• Use quick-dry fabrics for humid, beach, hiking, and overland routes; add one smarter outfit for city dining or hotels.
• Pack a sun hat, warm layer, rain shell, and comfortable shoes before adding destination-specific extras.

Health and Hygiene

• Personal medicines in original packaging, basic pain relief, blister care, oral rehydration salts, and motion-sickness support if useful.
• High-SPF sunscreen, insect repellent where needed, hand sanitizer, and a compact first-aid pouch.
• For water-risk destinations, choose a bottle, filter, purifier, or tablets that match the actual risk. See the travel health guide.

Electronics and Adapters

• Universal adapter, charging cables, power bank, headphones, and a small USB wall charger with enough ports.
• Downloaded maps, translation files, booking apps, airline apps, and ferry or rail apps before remote travel days.
• Waterproof phone pouch or dry bag for boat trips, beaches, waterfalls, and rainy hiking regions.

Beach and Boat Days

• Reef-safe sun protection, swimwear, light cover-up, dry bag, small towel, water shoes where coral or rocks are likely, and enough drinking water.
• For ferries and small boats, keep valuables, medication, and a warm layer in a day bag rather than checked luggage.

Hiking and Remote Travel

• Trail shoes or boots, headlamp, offline map, spare battery, water capacity, snacks, rain layer, and insulation for sudden weather changes.
• For altitude, desert, safari, or polar-edge trips, check specialist gear needs before booking non-refundable logistics.

Luggage Choice

• Use a backpack or soft duffel for islands, ferries, guesthouses with stairs, safari vehicles, and rough roads.
• Use rolling luggage for city, rail, cruise, and resort trips where pavements and transfers are predictable.
• Keep a lightweight day bag ready for valuables, documents, camera gear, water, medication, and one warm or waterproof layer.