‘Well begun is half done’ they say – and happy travelling begins with excellent packing. To enjoy your travel and have a stress free and inexpensive holiday, you need to follow just a few simple packing tips.

Travel light

This is the most important thing in any trip – travel as light as possible. Every traveller should have only one check in bag and one hand baggage per person. Not only does this save you a tonne of money in check-in fees and porterage, but also gives you unmatched flexibility and safety. How exactly does one travel light?

  • More underwear, less overwear – stock up on the undies, so that you always have fresh stuff to wear – but carry only 1-2 sets of jeans and a few shirts, which you can wear for days.
  • More synthetic fibre clothes – Stock up on quick dry nylon clothes – they are light and wrinkle-free, and also dry in minutes. Avoid heavy cottons and woolens.
  • One pair sneakers, one pair rubber chappals. – avoid varieties of shoes, as they are big and bulky.
  • Quick dry towels or ‘panchas’ – never carry Turkish towels.
  • In the case of cold climates, practise layering – clothes which you can wear on top of each other, instead of heavy woolens. Thus you can customise your clothing for various temperatures by adding or removing layers.
  • Tiny toiletry bag: Your toiletry kit should include small travel packs of toothpaste, oil and shampoo sachets, disposable razors and small bags of shaving foam or moisturiser. Never carry full-size bottles. Bonus tip – Re-use those little transparent pouches that underwear or socks are sold in – thus security hassles would be reduced if you have to take out the bags for flight check in.

Electronics

Plan your electronics requirement carefully and pack it well. Try and carry items with a common charger so that you don’t have to carry separate chargers for everything. But carry a spare charger – don’t depend on one single charger

  • Mobile Phone + Charger + Power Bank
  • Tablet + charger, Kindle, Laptop + Charger
  • Camera + charger, lenses, tripod. (Learn Top Travel Photography Tips & Tricks here)
  • Memory cards, Hard Disk
  • Bluetooth speaker + Charger.
  • Headphones for everyone.
  • International power adapter if applicable
  • International SIM cards or hotspot if applicable

Money

Plan out your money plans – calculate what you need and carry twenty percent more. Have a spare credit card, in case one is lost or stolen. Split your money stocks across yourselves, so all of it won’t be gone in the event of loss or robbery. Call the credit card company and tell them in case you care to go abroad. Save helpline numbers in the event of a loss.

Documents

Carry originals, photocopies, and also scan and save them in cloud storage – Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. Carry printouts of the itinerary, hotel reservations, air tickets. Bonus tip: even small babies need proper photo ID when travelling by flight. Be sure to carry same, and also save scans of same online.

Bonus tips

  • Bring instant tea mix powders, which you can mix in hot water to get a refreshing cup of tea whenever you want. An Indian ‘chai’ makes the world a better place.
  • Carry a multi-tool like a Swiss army knife.
  • Carry a medicine pack. In addition to any prescription medication, be sure to take medicines for diarrhoea, headache, fever and pain.
  • Caps, Sunglasses and a stole or a ‘gamcha.’
  • Carry an empty plastic bottle, and fill it with water once you have cleared security at the airport.
  • Carry an empty plastic tiffin box and spoon, so that you can pack food to take in the day instead of buying expensive local food. This can also be used to pack food in a restaurant if the quantity is more than you can eat at a time.
  • Carry a small folding umbrella – useful in case of rain or strong sunshine.
  • Carry a plastic ‘Lota’ when travelling abroad. Toilet paper can be very unsatisfying.

Now that you know these hacks, take the plunge and book your holiday now.