Packing list for international travel: a master list and a variant

Most of what goes in a bag for a trip abroad is the same every time: documents, money, medications, electronics and clothes. Write that once as a master list and keep it. For each trip, add a short variant for the weather, the plugs, the activities and the length of stay, instead of starting from a blank page.

Keep each line a single decision you can tick. Clothes is not a line, it is a second list; trousers, a rain layer and walking shoes are lines. A list of decisions is quick to check at midnight, and it shows what is actually missing.

• Documents: passports, entry authorizations, insurance details, booking confirmations and copies of each.
• Money: two ways to pay that do not depend on each other, and a little local cash.
• Medications: prescriptions in original containers, plus the basics.
• Electronics: phone, chargers, one power bank and the right plug adapters.
• Clothes: layers, walking shoes and one day-one outfit in the carry-on.

Passports, visas or entry authorizations, travel insurance details and booking confirmations belong in a carry-on or personal bag, never a checked one. Entry rules, including how long a passport must stay valid, differ by country and can change, so read the destination's official entry requirements when you book and again a week before you leave.

The CDC's packing advice tells travelers to bring copies of their passport and travel documents, in print and in digital form when possible. Keep the copies apart from the originals, and put the digital ones somewhere every traveler in the group can open them if a bag goes missing.

For money, carry two ways to pay that do not depend on each other, such as a card and a second card from a different account, plus a little local cash for the first day. Tell your bank where you are going, and write down which of your cards charge fees on foreign purchases.

The CDC's packing list recommends carrying prescriptions in their original bottles, and it notes that some countries restrict which medications you can bring in. Check the destination's rules before you fly, and start early for anything controlled, since an answer can take days.

Pack enough for the whole trip plus a few extra days, split between two bags if you can, and keep it in your carry-on. Add the basics that a pharmacy abroad may not stock in your usual brand: pain relief, an antihistamine, rehydration salts and a small first-aid kit.

The same CDC list names insect repellent with an active ingredient such as DEET or picaridin, and sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection and an SPF of 15 or higher. Check the destination's health pages for anything else they recommend, since repellent matters more in some regions than others.

The TSA limits liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes in a carry-on to travel-sized containers of 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) or less per item, all in one quart-sized clear bag. Larger containers go in checked baggage. Medications and infant and child nourishment are exempt from the limit.

Airports outside the United States set their own screening rules, so check the rules for every airport on your route, including connections. Decant sunscreen, repellent and shampoo into small bottles, or buy them at the destination and travel with the empties.

Pack the clear bag where you can reach it in the security line, and keep a second sealed bag for anything that leaks. A bottle that bursts in a checked bag ruins clothes; a bottle that bursts in a carry-on can ruin a phone.

Outlet shapes and voltages differ between countries, and they can differ within one trip. Look up the outlet type for every country on your route, and read the label on each charger: most phone and laptop chargers list a voltage range, and one that covers the local voltage needs only a plug adapter, not a converter.

Bring one multi-port charger, one cable per device and one power bank. Airlines set their own rules for lithium batteries, so check yours before you pack the power bank, and keep the cables together so a missing one is obvious.

In a group, count adapters per room rather than per person. One adapter and one multi-port charger in a shared room serve everyone, but only if someone has agreed to bring them.

A workable rule of thumb is one outfit per day of the trip plus one spare, re-worn where you can and laundered once on anything longer than a week. Ollin's own Weekend Essentials starter uses the same idea for underwear, one a day plus one extra. Treat it as a starting point, not a law.

Layers beat bulk. A base layer, a mid layer and a rain shell cover a wide range of weather and pack smaller than one heavy coat. Choose one pair of broken-in walking shoes for the whole trip, plus a lighter pair if the plan includes beaches, boat days or evenings out.

Think about how the bag will be carried. A bag you must lift up station stairs or roll over cobblestones should be smaller than one that goes from a car to a hotel door, and a second bag costs you a free hand every time you move.

The variant is short because the master list already did the work. Look at the forecast for your dates and add what the master list lacks: a warm layer and gloves for cold, sun protection and swimwear for heat, a packable rain layer for wet weather. Then add anything the plan needs, such as water shoes for a boat day or a hat for a long hike.

Check local customs too. Some places expect covered shoulders and knees in religious sites, and some restrict items you would pack without thinking, such as drones, certain medications or particular sunscreens. The destination's official travel pages are where those rules are published.

Ollin's packing lists start from ready-made starters, Weekend Essentials, Beach & Sun, Cold & Ski, Business Trip and Toiletries, that you can edit and reuse, and it can suggest items from a destination's forecast, such as sun protection for hot days or layers for cold ones. Suggestions are a prompt, not a substitute for checking the rules above.

In a group of three to fifteen, the same items get packed five times and the first-aid kit gets packed by nobody. Split the shared items by name before the trip: one adapter and charger set per room, one first-aid kit, one laundry bag, one speaker if the group wants one. Personal items stay personal.

Write the assignments where everyone can see them, and settle them a week out, not at the airport. If one person's flight is delayed or a bag is lost, the list shows which shared item has to be replaced.

Assume the checked bag might arrive a day late. Put one day of clothes, medications, chargers, documents and the toiletries that fit the liquids rule in the carry-on, so a delay costs you a day of comfort and not a day of the trip.

Pack an empty foldable bag as well. Souvenirs and damp laundry take more room on the way home, and a spare bag costs almost nothing to carry.

Last, download the maps and tickets you need before you leave, and check that each one opens without a connection. Airport and roaming connections fail at exactly the moments you need a gate number.

Packing decisions follow the itinerary: a boat day adds a dry bag, a long hike adds decanted sunscreen, a cold month adds a layer. Keep the list in the same place as the day-by-day plan, so a change to one is visible next to the other.

Ollin drafts a day-by-day plan from a sentence like a week in three cities for six friends in April, and everyone you invite opens it from a link in the browser. Changes show up live, the group ranks the maybes with group picks, assigns rooms, chats beside the plan, and splits expenses and settles up. It is free for up to 15 travelers on a trip.

One honest note applies to any planner: entry rules, airline rules and security rules change, so confirm them with the official page for your trip before you lock the list. A packing list is only as current as the page it came from.