It took me years of traveling and carrying heavy backpacks to master the art of packing – and even more so the art of packing light. I always ended up packing too much and bringing stuff that I’d never use or that was totally out of place, or forgetting items that would have been handy.
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Now that I am finally a pro at packing, friends, family and readers ask me tips on what to pack, so I thought I’d share a list of travel essentials. If you are a girl about to embark on a trip – short or long, it doesn’t matter – you’ll be relieved to have someone tell you what to leave behind, and to share a bunch of useful travel packing tips.
Just keep on reading!
Table of Contents
The basics
The number one in the list of travel essentials for women is a good backpack or a sturdy suitcase. I am a fan of backpacks as they are easier to carry but – let’s face it – a rolling suitcase is so much easier to pack and keep organized.
When it comes to backpacks, you really want something that is big enough to carry your stuff, but not so huge to be impossible to lift. Your backpack should be:
- Light but sturdy
- Waterproof or at least with a rain cover
- With padded shoulders and hip bands
- With plenty of side pockets to keep things separate and within easy reach
- Opening like a suitcase as well as from top and bottom
- Adjusted to your body size – this is probably the most important thing!
- Comfortable.
Try the backpack before purchasing it, though it’ll never be the same as carrying it around when it is full. These are my favorite backpacks in the range of 60 to 70 liters:
- Osprey Kyte 66
- Ariel 65 – my overall favorite.
- Atmos AG 65
- Ariel pro – a very light backpack.
- Samsonite backpacks – great for business travel (I have a detailed review for these as well)
Not a fan of the backpack? You could opt for a rolling suitcase such as the Samsonite B-Lite Icon Spinner, my absolute favorite (and yes, I do have a detailed guide for this as well).
Daypack
A good daypack is another important item. It’s what you’ll carry with you on the plane and what you will use during the day while exploring. If you are backpacking, you may end up wearing your daypack at the front – yet, some are not made for that. My Osprey Daylite Plus is a great small backpack for a hike, but impossible to wear in the front.
My favorite daypacks are:
- Zomake Lightweight – it’s foldable, very light, and comes in many colors to match your clothes.
- Osprey Skarab 22 – a very good daypack with plenty of pockets to organize your stuff, great for short hikes.
- Twentyfourseven 20 by Berghaus – perfect for a day in the city as well as a short hike.
You can also pack a small purse to use during the day. It should be small enough to be comfortable to carry around, but at the same time, pack your phone, wallet, camera, water bottle, and anything else you may need for the day.
Packing cubes
Packing cubes help you keep your backpack or your suitcase nicely organized. I recommend using one for your t-shirts, one for your underwear, and one for your cables and camera equipment if you don’t have a dedicated gear bag like this one. I love transparent packing cubes as I don’t have to open each of them to remember their contents.
Ziploc bags
Ziploc bags have several uses, they’re one of those items that don’t cost much but can help you greatly (psst, pssst….I have a detailed blog post about items to buy of good quality and essentials you can go dirt cheap on). I normally use them to pack any toiletries that may leak, especially the ones I take in my cabin bag (I had the experience with some TSA agents complaining about other toiletry bags that were not ziploc).
Camera Gear
If you are a photography geek, your female packing list will include a good camera and a couple of lenses. This is the camera gear I normally travel with:
- A good DSLR camera. I use a Nikon D3300.
- A good lens such as the 18-105 mm, perfect for wide angle and a bit of a distance. I also use a 70-300 mm lens for wildlife photos.
- A few spare memory cards. I recommend getting one that is at least 128GB.
- Spare batteries, you don’t want to be left without a battery before your perfect shot.
If you are not obsessed with photography, buy a good compact mirrorless camera. If you have an excellent smartphone, you can even just use that (most of the pictures on this blog have been made with my iPhone 11, for example).
Other Tech Items
Other travel essentials for women include:
A smartphone – you’ll use it to talk to your family and friends at home; to take photos; and to guide you through apps such as Google Maps and other free travel apps you might use. Make sure it is unlocked, in case you need to buy a local SIM card (although I warmly recommend you eSIMs these days, they’re so much easier to use!).
A reliable power bank – in case you need to charge your phone on the go. You don’t want to be in my shoes, a few years back, when my phone died while I was in Japan, in the middle of nowhere, and having no idea how to go back to the hotel without my phone.
A universal plug adapter – depending on where you are traveling, this is vital. I recommend you have it with you in all trips, at least fro the convenience of having 3-4 USB ports you can use at the same time, so that you can charge your laptop and other devices over night.
A Kindle (and maybe an Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription) – a must if you love reading. Make sure to get one with a built-in light so you can read at night too.
A lock – to keep your stuff safe, especially if you sleep in dorms. Locks with combinations will spare you the hassle of fiddling with a key.
Noise-canceling headphones – a much-needed item to listen to your favorite tunes while on a long flight, or when you simply want to silence all the noise around you. Please ensure that you have the relevant adapter with you as well (the one with two prongs is usually used in airplanes), otherwise you won’t be able to watch movies and block the engine noise at the same time. I love my new Sennheisers, and the quality of sound is absolutely amazing (if the source offers good quality, of course, it can’t do magic!)
Clothes
Comfortable yet pretty clothes are the ultimate travel essentials for women. I love Icebreaker clothes because they’re stylish yet comfortable. They have a great selection of hiking gear, but also trendy items perfect for a day of sightseeing.
My typical list of travel essentials for women includes clothes that you can layer to wear even in colder climates:
- 3 pairs of pants, best if in colors you can easily match. I love Horizn Convertible and Splash roll-up pants.
- A pair of shorts. I love these shorts, for example.
- Long and short sleeves t-shirts. I suggest picking 100% cotton shirts for the summer ones, and cotton mixed with wool for colder climates. Throw in a thermal shirt if you are going to a very cold place.
- A comfortable t-shirt and a pair of leggings to use as pajamas.
- A tank top or two, to wear on warmer days. Bring stuff that can be easily dressed up or down, depending on how you match it. I like Katrin Tank.
- A micro fleece
- 6 pairs of very comfortable underwear and just about the same number of socks. Throw in also a couple of pairs of hiking socks if you plan to hike.
- A sports bra and a normal one.
- A rain and windproof jacket or a poncho. I have this one for sport-ish holidays, but sometimes I’m also a fancy girl and love my RainSisters coats, as they’re both beautiful and comfortable, even though they’re rain jackets at their core.
- A hat or a beanie.
- A light scarf – you can use it when it is cold, or to cover your shoulders if you are visiting churches or temples.
- A bikini swimsuit, if your trip has some beach or pool time.
- Long dresses or skirts – they are an essential vacation item that you can use whenever modest clothing is required.
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Shoes
You don’t really need to pack 5 pairs of shoes. I mean it! Even if I recently discovered my passion for shoes (I’m not Carrie Bradshaw, but I have been eyeing some Manolo Blahniks for a while), I still avoid packing too many as they’re bulky, heavy, and most often unnecessary as well.
If you have an idea of what you’ll be doing during your trip, picking your shoes will be much easier: If you are going to hike, hiking boots are a must as sneakers won’t grip to rocks and slippery terrain. Also bring a pair of flip flops (perfect for the beach and to shower) and a pair of comfortable walking shoes for when you plan to go sightseeing.
Here is a good selection of shoes:
- Mammut – they are fabulous hiking boots.
- A pair of flip flops or walking sandals.
- A pair of good walking shoes. As I have overpronation, I use Saucony and Ecco shoes with custom-made insoles, and let me tell you, my feet will never be the same after I tried them.
If you really want to feel all fancy, take a pair of flats. They pack really small.
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Personal Care
A list of travel essentials for women is bound to include a good dose of personal care items. Make sure to get yourself a good toiletry bag like this one – something you can hang and that has pockets to store all your toiletries and keep them separate. Here’s what to pack inside.
- Toothpaste, toothbrush, and floss – they are so essential, and yet so easy to forget!
- Make-up remover – after a long day of exploring, you will want to properly wash your face. You can even opt for cleansing wipes if you find them better.
- Lip balm – you really don’t want cracked lips while on holiday!
- A razor – unless you have invested in permanent hair removal (I’ve heard it’s a life changer, your girls!).
- Deodorant – you may want a travel size you can bring in your hand luggage to freshen up on long flights.
- Sunscreen with very high SPF
- After sun lotion – after a day in the sun, you really want to replenish your skin!
- Hand sanitizer
- Nail kit – you want to be able to file a nail or just cut it in case it breaks.
- Solid shampoo – it’s much lighter and smaller to carry than a liquid one, and it’s great for your hair! I am a fan of Lush products – if your town doesn’t have a shop, you can purchase online. But if you really want to order online easily, I loved the Etique solid cosmetics as well, and these can be found with ease.
- Solid conditioner – for the same reasons.
- Face moisturizer – keep your skin nice and soft. I normally prefer packing something I have already been using, just in case a new product gives me allergy.
- Insect repellent – and if you’re going to tropical areas often, get yourself a great one!
- A menstrual cup – it produces zero waste and thus is much more environmentally friendly than tampons and pads. Pick something that fits you in terms of size and feel, or else wearing it is a real hassle.
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First Aid Kit
Make sure to add a first aid kit with at least some basic medications and your prescription drugs. You can buy yourself a ready-made one, or you can make it yourself by including the following:
- basic pain relief medicines such as paracetamol.
- Imodium or any other diarrhea medication.
- bandaids and other bandages.
- antiseptic wipes and cream.
- cortizone cream.
- steristrips.
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Miscellaneous Items for Your Female Packing List
Other things you should be including among your travel essentials for women:
- A travel pillow – unless you are flying business class, you really want something to hold your neck and head on those long-haul flights!
- A personal safety alarm – it’s small to carry and easy to use. In case of emergency, you press it and it sounds very loud, attracting attention.
- A quick dry towel – for those beach days
- Ear plugs and eye mask – to help you sleep
- Sunglasses – they protect you from the sun and the wind.
- Water bottle and filter – because you want to use less plastic
- Sewing kit – for fixing stuff on the go. Some of them are tiny!
Travel Insurance
By all means, this should never be missing! If you are still unsure whether you need it, make sure to read my post about SafetyWing, the travel insurance I warmly recommend, where I also tell you a personal story that could have gotten really wrong. Otherwise, you can get a good travel insurance here.
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Travel Essentials for Women – The Takeaway
Whew, that was a lot to cover. And while I’m sure I’ll come back to add more once I remember some random thing that makes my life easier when I travel, this list is quite a lot to grasp as it is. Be sure to check after every trip what exactly have you used and what you haven’t, as you might be able to improve this list further (and please let me know when you do so, I love to get feedback from my readers!).
Want something more to read for your next trip? Check out my related posts, or get my list of 45+ free travel apps to help you on your next trip!
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