When planning a self-made trip to the countries of Southeast Asia, especially for the first time, many tourists do not know what to pack. As a result, it often happens that tourists take a lot of extra items or forget to take the right ones in Asia trip. This article is the ultimate guide on what to bring in a trip to Southeast Asia. Our Southeast Asia packing list is based on many years of experience traveling around the continent.
We adore traveling to Southeast Asia. The region attracts us with incredible nature, warm climate throughout the year, delicious food and exotic fruits, fresh seafood, a huge number of outdoor activities while visiting natural attractions, and of course cheap accommodation for rent. This is the region where we are always ready to travel. When it comes to planning a trip to Southeast Asia, many people wonder what to bring in a self-planned trip there.
The answer is quite simple because there are 2 main rules:
- Bring only what you really need
- The fewer items, the better it is!
Your Asia packing list should be truly minimalist. Believe us, there is nothing worse than moving to a new destination with a heavy suitcase every 4-5 days. Taking this into account and wanting to help you, we have prepared a Southeast Asia packing list – an ultimate guide on what to take in a trip to the countries of the region. The beginning of every journey is planning, including the items you need to bring with you on the trip.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
What to Bring on Southeast Asia Trip – Packing List
Suitable Travel Bag
Clothes for a Trip to Southeast Asia
- Trips to Southeast Asia – Packing List for Women/Girl
- Trips to Southeast Asia – Packing List for Men/Boy
Other Important Travel Essentials to Pack to Asia
Do Not Forget! What You Need to Take on a Trip to Southeast Asia
Electronics Packing List for Southeast Asia Trip
Toiletry Packing List for Asia Trip
What Toiletry to Bring to Southeast Asia – Packing List for Women
What Toiletry to Bring to Southeast Asia – Packing List for Men
Southeast Asian Travel Safety
Transport Tips in Asia – How to Travel Around the Region
💬 Do You Still Have Questions? Ask in the Comments!
What to Bring on Southeast Asia Trip – Packing List
Southeast Asia is perfect for self-planned trips, as for traveling there you do not need large vacation packing list. For example, you can go to Southeast Asia only with one set of clothes and a wallet. All the items you need for vacation in this case you can buy upon arrival to destination. This option is possible of course unless you have a budget trip. But if you want to avoid additional travel expenses in Asia – it is better to bring some items with you.
Having made quite a lot of self-planned trips to the countries of Southeast Asia, we are sure that there’s actually no need to take a lot of luggage with you, make your packing list for vacation short. So, for a trip to Southeast Asia, we strongly recommend having good-quality basic clothes that you can mix and match, and if for some reason you need anything else, you can easily buy it during the Asia trip.
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Suitable Travel Bag
One of the main aspects of comfort and good mood in any trip for us is a suitable travel bag. Choosing a travel bag always comes first, before you decide what to pack for a trip. Trust us when we say that uncomfortable bag or suitcase, that seems absolutely unimportant at first, can spoil your whole trip experience. That’s why when choosing a travel bag or suitcase, we recommend paying special attention to its brand, size and quality. As you often have to travel around the islands and rugged terrain when visiting Southeast Asia, we recommend choosing wheeled backpacks instead of suitcases. Transformer backpacks that turn from a backpack into a wheeled suitcase will also be suitable here, as the roads and sidewalks in Asia are far from perfect for wheeled suitcases mostly everywhere.
To facilitate your choice of comfortable travel bag, we recommend several options, which are popular among experienced travelers:
Product
Osprey Packs Transporter Carry On 44L Pack Westwind Teal 
– the durable, water-resistant, and abrasion-battling fabric keeps your stuff nice and protected in transit, while a special RFID security pocket inside the laptop sleeve keeps your most important items (passport, credit cards) free from hacking or theft. Plus, the main compartment is split between a fabric-covered section for wet or dirty clothes and a mesh section with compression straps to keep your clothes neat and organized on bumpy flights and rugged mountain roads.
Features
- Material: 400D nylon, TPU coating
- Volume: 44L (2685cu in)
- Backpack Carry: deployable
- Pockets: [external] 1 toiletry, 1 organizer, [external] 2 zippered mesh, 1 RFID
- Carry-On: most U.S airlines
Price
Osprey Packs Fairview 40 Womens Travel Backpack – the LightWire frame suspension transfers the load from harness to hipbelt. A mesh backpanel improves ventilation and the mesh on the harness and hipbelt reduces chafing under load. The entire suspension stows away under a zippered panel creating a sleek silhouette for transport. Outside you’ll find a zippered front panel slash pocket to keep you organized and sewn attachment points to lash on extra gear.
- Stowaway backpanel, harness and hipbelt with zippered rear flap for protection
- Laptop and tablet sleeve secure in lockable compartment
- Lockable sliders on main compartment zipper
- Two internal compression straps hold contents securely
- Shoulder strap included
Osprey Packs Porter 46 Travel Backpack – This season brings a relocated and dedicated zippered laptop and tablet pocket—and functional storage options for items both big and small—with multiple access points.
- Large panel lockable zip access to main compartment
- Reinforced cord loops to attach an Osprey Daylite daypack
- Front panel vertical zippered pocket for books, travel documents and more
- Padded top and side handles provide comfortable carry
- Carry-on compatible
Osprey Packs Sylva 12 Women’s Bike Hydration Pack – This highly ventilated and lightweight women’s-specific pack is just the right size for carrying everything you need for an all-day ride. A BioStretch harness offers superior stability in the form of winged shoulder straps that curve just as you do when you’re reaching for your handlebars. When things get steamy, a breathable 3D AirSpeed tensioned mesh backpanel means you’ll feel the wind coming down your back.
- Women’s-specific fit and sizing
- Maximum ventilation with AirSpeed backpanel and bike-specific shaped harness
- Dedicated hydration compartment with included Osprey Hydraulics LT 2.5L reservoir by Hydrapak
- Front stretch mesh pocket
- Integrated removable high-visibility raincover
- LidLock helmet carry
- Zippered tool organization pocket
- Padded spacermesh hipwings with webbing ErgoPull waist strap provides comfort and stability
Clothes for a Trip to Southeast Asia
Be sure, you won’t need a lot of clothes during a trip to Southeast Asia. Due to the climate of the region, almost all you need to have – is summer clothes and swimwear. This greatly facilitates the choice of what clothes to bring when preparing for a trip to Southeast Asia. Your clothes packing list should consist mostly of summer clothes. When choosing the amount of clothes for a trip to Southeast Asia, it is worth remembering that here you can always use the laundry, which costs here incredibly low. The packing list of what clothes to take with you to Asia listed below, is just an example, because it may vary depending on the purpose of your trip. For example, if you plan to spend time in big cities, take 1-2 pairs of jeans or light trousers with you. And in case you have plans for a lot of outdoor activities in the countries of Southeast Asia – put more emphasis on quick-drying sportswear. Also, when planning which clothes to take on a trip to Asia, we recommend choosing calm tones and matching colors (for example, white, blue and beige), so you can mix the elements of clothing to get different looks.
Whatever from your clothes you decide to take on a trip to Asia, the most important is the material of which the clothes consist. If you plan to visit the countries of Southeast Asia, do not bring clothes made of thick fabrics. Instead, we recommend taking items from light and quick-drying fabrics, while traveling around Asia you will appreciate their great benefits! At the same time, do not forget to include in your packing list one set of warm clothes, for example, a hoodie and sweatpants -for traveling around the region, as it is often cold in the buses and airplanes. We have made a complete packing list for two, and these are the items of clothing that will be necessary for any trip to the countries of Southeast Asia.
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Trips to Southeast Asia – Packing List for Women/Girl
- T-shirt
— 5 pcs - Dri-fit — 2 pcs
- Linen Long Sleeve Shirt — 1 pc
- Long skirt or sundress (in case of visiting temples) — 1 pc
- Mini sundress — 3 pcs
- Active shorts (for trekking and other activities) — 1 pc
- Denim shorts — 2 pcs
- Leggings — 1 pc
- Sports bra — 2 pcs
- Hoodie and sweatpants — 1 pc + 1 pc
- Jeans — 1 pc
- Swimsuit — 2-3 pcs
- Travel underwear — 1 pc
- Flip flops + sandals + sneakers — 1 pc + 1 pc + 1 pc
- Panama, cap or hat
- Raincoat — 1 pc
- Small shoulder bag or waist bag (to have documents and other valuables always close to you)
Trips to Southeast Asia – Packing List for Men/Boy
- T-shirt + Tank tops — 5 pcs + 2 pcs
- Dri-fit t-shirt — 2 pcs
- Active shorts — 1 pc
- Shorts — 3 pcs
- Light trousers (in case of visiting temples) — 1 pc
- Hoodie and sweatpants — 2 pcs
- Boardshorts — 2 pcs
- Raincoat — 1 pc
- Long sleeve baselayer — 1 pc
- Travel underwear + socks
- Flip flops + sneakers — 1 pc + 1 pc
- Panama or cap
Other Important Travel Essentials to Pack to Asia
Everything that you decide to pack for Asia trip should depend on the goals and style of your trip. For example, we, obsessed with photography and videos, take more gadgets than average tourists. We also take snorkeling equipment as we adore snorkeling and like to enjoy it whatever the beach is.
Below we list a few other important items that we recommend to include in packing list for trips to Asian countries.
- Travel Locks
- Travel Adaptor
- Travel sleep sheet (if you prefer to stay in budget accommodation in Asia, your own sheet will be right by the way)
- Ziplocks
- Water travel bottle (with filtration)
- Rain cover for backpack
- Packing cubes
- Microfiber quick-drying towel
- Travel wallet
- Polarized Sunglasses
- Snorkeling equipment(we love snorkeling and prefer to take masks with us, it is hygienic and gives freedom, because we can snorkel on any beach we like)
- Waterproof phone case
- Bedtime Bliss Eye Mask
- Stainless steel drinking straw (almost all drinks in Asia are served with plastic straws, taking care of the environment you can have your own reusable one)
Do Not Forget! What You Need to Take on a Trip to Southeast Asia
- Passport + other documents
- Keys
- Phone + charger
- Wallet with credit cards and cash
- Travel insurance
Electronics Packing List for Southeast Asia Trip
We travel with a lot of electronics, and there are two main reasons for that: we not only like high-quality photos and videos, but also often work during the journey. And here it’s right time to remind – always watch your luggage and valuables in trips, do not leave them unattended.
- Laptop + Charger
- iPad / Kindle
- Headphones
- GoPro + all you need for it
- Camera + all you need for it | we use Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mark II + 12-40 2.8 PRO
- 2 SD-cards (64 Gb)
- Manfrotto Mini Tripod
- Power Bank
Toiletry Packing List for Asia Trip
If you don’t care much what cosmetics to use, you can buy everything you need upon arrival in Asia or use hotel cosmetics if you are staying in a good hotel during the trip. However, if you are used to a certain brand, it is better to pack it for Southeast Asia with you. We usually bring everything we need on a trip with us, often except for a sunscreen, which we run out of quite quickly during Southeast Asia trips.
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What Toiletry to Bring to Southeast Asia – Packing List for Women
- Shampoo, conditioner & hair oil
- Shower Gel & Body Lotion
- Face cleanser
- Moisturizing Face Serum
- Hairbrush
- Lip balm
- Toothpaste and toothbrush
- Sunblock for face and body
- Deodorant
- Wet wipes
- Cosmetics (powder, blush, mascara)
- Nail file
- Mosquito repellent
- Hand sanitizer
- Travel First aid kit (a mix of Bandages, Plasters, Gauzes, Eye Pads etc, pain killers, cough remedies, vitamin C, 1 bottle of hydrogen peroxide, absorbents, pills for motion sickness)
It’s convenient to bring on a trip travel size of the liquids. So if possible, we recommend to pack travel sizes of your favorite products.
What Toiletry to Bring to Southeast Asia – Packing List for Men
- Shampoo & shower gel
- Mosquito repellent
- Toothpaste and toothbrush
- Sunblock for face and body
- Deodorant
- Wet wipes
- Nail clippers
- Shaver & aftershave cream
- Hand sanitizer
- Travel First aid kit (adhesive plasters, pain relievers, cough remedies, vitamin C, 1 bottle of hydrogen peroxide, absorbents, pills for motion sickness)
Southeast Asian Travel Safety
Of course, during your trip to Southeast Asia you should keep to safety rules. But also remember there’s one thing you should pack first and always keep it with you – and this is travel insurance. You can forget to bring any item from your clothes, toiletry or electronics packing list, but make sure you take your travel insurance, as this is one of the most important items in a trip to Southeast Asia. Wherever you go, always take it with you! Asia is a perfect place for motorbike driving, trekking, diving and going in for a lot of other activities, so don’t forget to protect yourself from unpredictable troubles. We recommend World Nomads service because of the possibility of choosing the insurance options that you personally need.
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Transport Tips in Asia – How to Travel Around the Region
When it comes to traveling around Southeast Asia, everything about transport is pretty simple here. Of course, the fastest and most rational way to travel around the region is by plane, but if you prefer to save money, we recommend traveling by bus and train. We always use Bookaway or 12go to see timetables and book tickets in advance. Usually we book tickets during the trip in 1-2 days in the off-season, but when traveling in the high season – we book tickets as early as possible, up to several months before the trip.
Travel tip: if you prefer to stay in apartments or villas for rent, we recommend Airbnb website. Click here to get a coupon that will give you a $40 discount for your next booking.
Earlier during the trips, we had checked luggage almost all the time. Now, we mostly travel with backpacks that fit the size of hand luggage. With the help of thorough planning of what to pack and packing skills, you can make luggage for two persons on your trip to Asia truly not too big and heavy. When deciding what to bring in a trip, remember that it is always hot in Southeast Asia, which significantly reduces the amount of clothes you need to relax.
And one more transport tip
- If during the trip you have checked luggage – put not only all the valuables, but also one set of clothes to your hand luggage. If we travel with checked luggage, we always do this in case the luggage gets suddenly lost or delayed.
Southeast Asia is a unique region, traveling around it usually causes bright emotions and impressions that you should certainly enjoy! We wish you unforgettable trips to Asia, so do not forget to pack light using our tips and your journey will become bright and positive.
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