Packing for any overseas travel can be daunting, especially if it is your first time. There are essential travel items to pack for Southeast Asia, besides your own personal belongings. These items are essential for travelling as they make travel life easier, packing lighter, or are specific to travelling Southeast Asia. Here is our list of essential travel items to pack for Southeast Asia.
**Disclosure- By using the links, you are helping us to earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for allowing us to continue producing more content and blogs**
JUMP TO:
Accessories
Toiletries
Day Pack/Carry On Bag
Electronics
Clothing and Footwear
Travel Packing Tips
Depending on the type of bags and backpacks you use, you may need to invest in some locks for your luggage bag, day packs or carry-on bags. Locks help you to feel at ease and keep your belongings safe from pick-pocketers. We suggest using locks with a code instead of a key, as we have misplaced our keys in the past, and locked ourselves out of our own bags!
OUR SUGGESTION:
FOSMON TSA APPROVED LUGGAGE LOCKS (4 PACK) - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
The best way to organise your clothing is by using packing cubes. Packing cubes help to separate different types of clothing and keep your clothes rolled instead of floating around loose in your luggage.
OUR SUGGESTION:
PRO PACKING CUBES (6 PACK) - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
Always, always, always travel with a first aid kit. You never know when you will need band-aids, pain-killers, antibiotics, hydralyte, travel sickness tablets, bandages or antiseptic cream. It is also a good place to store medication and vitamins that you travel with.
OUR SUGGESTION:
SURVIVAL HANDY FIRST AID KIT - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
In the past we have used shopping bags and plastic bags, but any bag is useful to hold your dirty laundry. It is convenient to separate your dirty clothes from your clean ones, and easy to hand over at the laundromat.
OUR SUGGESTION:
RAMANTA HOME LAUNDRY BAGS - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
In addition to a laundry bag, we also carry around a block of "Sard" soap to wash our clothes by hand. Sometimes we have needed to remove stains out of clothes and wash our whites so they don't get ruined at laundromats etc.
OUR SUGGESTION:
TANGIE STAIN REMOVER BAR - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
It is a given, but taking a 25-35L bag is an essential travel item. You will be surprised how many items you will want to take out each day, such as a rain coat, sunscreen, towel, water bottle, hat, snacks, snorkels, camera etc. Packing a decent sized day pack will be a life saver.
OUR SUGESTION:
KAUKKO BAKCPACK - FIND OUT PRICES AND STYLES HERE
KAKA WATER RESISTANT ANTI THEFT TRAVEL BAG - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
Insect repellent will be an essential travel item on your packing list, especially if you are heading to South East Asia. Not only will it prevent annoying mosquitoes and flies, it will also prevent you from obtaining any insect-borne diseases.
We never thought these would be an essential travel item, but after travelling long term you will want to cut your nails as some point. Tweezers were also handy for removing splinters or plucking eyebrows.
OUR SUGGESTION:
QUEENSLAND QUINTESSENTIALS NAIL CLIPPER SET - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
Obviously, you will need a bag to hold your toiletries. Packing a bag with a hook will allow you to hang your toiletries over the shower door, as some budget places do not have shelving or hooks for you to place your toiletries while in the shower. Instead of putting the toiletries bag on the wet floor, pack a bag with a hook so it can be slung over the door.
Always pack sunscreen. We have noticed that the price of sunscreen whilst travelling has been super expensive. It really depends where you are going, but to avoid purchasing any overseas, just pack your own to be safe. Also, if you plan to go snorkelling, swimming or diving in the ocean, try to wear "reef safe" sunscreen to avoid damaging the fragile coral reef environments from the harsh chemicals used in some sunscreens.
OUR SUGGESTION:
Australian brand DIRTY HIPPIE COSMETICS stock package -free and reef safe coconut sunscreen
We always travel with a travel pillow. We have found that travel days make us tired and always seem to fall asleep on buses, aeroplanes and trains. We both use memory foam travel pillows which have been surprisingly comfortable.
OUR SUGGESTION:
AIRPLANE KIT WITH MEMORY PHONE NECK PILLOW - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
I always pack a travel wallet to hold important documents and items. My travel wallet only ever comes out on days we are flying, otherwise it stays locked up in my luggage. Items I put in my travel wallet are passports, travel insurance documents, currency, photocopies of our passports, spare bank cards, sim cards, and receipts.
OUR SUGGESTION:
GENDA 2ARCHER LEATHER TRAVEL WALLET - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
Bringing a reusable water bottle was a game changer for us. We were surprised to see how many accommodation places and restaurants supplied filtered water dispenses, even in Southeast Asia! Everywhere we went we carried our water bottles! There were only a few times that we were stuck and needed to buy plastic water bottles as we couldn't refill. As we drink up to 6L a day between us, taking a reusable water bottle for 8 months of travel saved us having to buy 100s to 1000s of plastic bottles. Saving money and the environment! We both carry 750-900mL bottles, which are insulated to keep our water cool. In addition, we would also love to invest in a filtered water bottle or filtered straw, so we will never be stuck again. There are many different types of filtered water bottles, but essentially you can fill your water with any water that might be undrinkable and make it drinkable.
OUR SUGGESTION:
MIRA STAINLESS STEEL WATER BOTTLE - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
We have a small pouch with a handful of metal reusable straws and cutlery. We pack this in our day packs to use while at cafes and restaurants. We love to buy juices, smoothies and takeaway now and then, and when ordering we ask for no plastic straws or cutlery, and instead use our own. The straws can easily be cleaned with the cleaner and water afterwards and be used again. Saving us ever needing to put it in the bin.
OUR SUGGESTION:
BETTERJONNY CUTLERY AND STRAW SET - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
never thought I would use a waterproof phone case, but it is now an essential travel item. On boat trips I would use one so my phone wouldn't get wet from the spray or fall in the water when filming. Another great use is on a scooter. I am normally the navigator and not the driver. So, whilst sitting on the back I would constantly be holding my phone in my hand for directions. Having my phone in a phone case around my neck meant that there was no chance of it being dropped, snatched or getting wet from the rain.
OUR SUGGESTION:
AIRUNN TECH 3 PACK WATERPROOF PHONE CASE - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
A dry bag was a travel item we purchased along the way, and have used a lot! Our dry bag comes in handy during boat trips, kayaking trips, waterfall trips and beach trips. It was the one way we kept our valuables safe from water damage. We have a 35L dry bag that can also be used as a backpack, but a smaller one is fine to roll up and not take up too much room.
OUR SUGGESTION:
WHISTYTWIG 20L DRY BAG - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
We snorkelled A LOT during our time in Southeast Asia and eventually bought our own snorkels to save on rental costs, and to avoid dodgy and unhygienic snorkels. Our best investment!
OUR SUGGESTION:
CAMGO SNORKEL SET - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
We brought a reusable shopping bag with us to minimise our waste in undeveloped countries who don't have the resources to manage it. Without a doubt, you will shop for groceries and food at some point on your trip, a reusable bag will eliminate having to use any plastic bags. In addition, it was always handy having an extra bag to carry essential travel items if we needed.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: ZERO WASTE TRAVEL PACKING LIST (PLUS ZERO WASTE TRAVEL TIPS)
OUR SUGGESTION:
REUSABLE MESH BAGS - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
Definitely pack your own towel! You will not be guaranteed towels at all accommodation places, so make sure you have a lightweight and quick-to-dry towel so it doesn't take up too much room in your luggage, and can be dry the next day to take to the beach!
OUR SUGGESTION:
SANDY COVE TRADING CO. TURKISH TOWELS - An Australian up and coming brand - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
Travelling Southeast Asia normally consists of hiking in the blazing sun, or lying on a beach with the sun in your eyes. It isn't practical packing a huge floppy hat for backpacking, as they are awkward to pack. Pack any hat that you love that can be worn with any outfit, easily packable and suitable for hiking.
No matter where you go in the world, you will need to pack an adapter to plug into the power points, so you can use your chargers etc. A universal adapter is an adapter that can be used with any power point around the world, so you don't need to purchase a different one for each country you visit.
OUR SUGGESTION:
JOLLYFIT UNIVERSAL TRAVEL ADAPTER - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
A portable charger is a handy device for every day life, but particularly overseas. Packing this essential travel item is important so you can charge your phone wherever you are. A great way of preventing a flat phone during difficult situations.
OUR SUGGESTION:
ANKER PORTABLE CHARGER - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
An essential travel item that we didn't think to bring to Europe was a power board. Thankfully we packed one for Southeast Asia, to charge all of our phones, camera batteries and devices at once. We pack a power board with 4-sockets, and also use the laptop to charge our phones if we run out of sockets.
Headphones were a lifesaver for long boat, plane, bus, car or train trips. We regularly downloaded podcasts to listen to, and sat back with our headphones in to let the time fly by!
OUR SUGGESTION:
APPLE AIRPODS - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
If you are in to photography, and want more than your phone photos to remember your travel by, we suggest investing in some camera gear. We personally use a DSLR camera, drone and GoPro to capture our adventures. However, one device is plenty! We have written a detailed list of our camera gear for travelling you can check out HERE.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS FOR TRAVELLERS
Do not go to SE Asia without a good pair of walking shoes. Any sports shoe will do, you do not need hiking boots. Regular sandshoes are lightweight and take up less space in your luggage than hiking boots. We managed to do plenty of hikes with just our Adidas shoes. However, we do recommend packing a pair that is waterproof, as there is a high chance you will walk over water or get rained on whilst hiking.
OUR SUGGESTION:
ALEADER QUICK DRYING WATER SHOES - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
Whilst the weather is warm in SE Asia, it is a tropical climate, and bursts of rain can happen at any time of the year. Even though there are dry and wet seasons throughout the continent, not every area shares the same climate. If you are planning on seeing many places, definitely pack a rain coat. We both have coats that fold up really small so they don't take up too much space.
OUR SUGGESTION:
MAVIS LAVEN WATERPROOF LIGHTWEIGHT JACKET - FIND OUT PRICES HERE
Without a doubt you will be visiting conservative and sacred places like temples, so packing clothing that covers your knees will be useful. Therefore, I suggest packing a pair of breathable and loose-fitting pants or a long comfortable skirt/dress for females backpacking SE Asia. Make sure both items can be worn with any top that you pack.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: A GIRL'S PACKING LIST FOR BACKPACKING SOUTHEAST ASIA
A trip to SE Asia isn't complete unless you swam in the warm waters, snorkelled the reefs or relaxed on the beach. We wore a set of bathers almost every day whilst we travelled, as we never knew when we might jump in the water for a swim. For females, we would suggest bringing at least 3-4 of your favourite sets, ones that can be easily mis-matched so you don't get sick of the same pair. For males, 2-3 pairs of board shorts is plenty!
Whilst the weather is mostly hot in SE Asia, there are still some areas that experience cold weather, especially in the highlands. Packing a lightweight jumper, long socks, a long sleeve top, and waterproof pants will come in handy for any cooler nights, and will be perfect for overnight trekking. You will never know when you will need them, so it's better to be safe than sorry.
OUR SUGGESTIONS:
I love the sustainable travel and outdoor brand PATAGONIA. Their gear is high quality and made from recycled materials.
Whilst cutting down on your packing list for Southeast Asia is important, how you pack is also just as important. We always pack the same way every time, that way we know where everything is, and can pack our bags quicker. Here are our top tips for packing:
If this list was beneficial to you, please share it with your friends and family. These items are our must have and essential travel items to pack for Southeast Asia. They will make your life easier! Comment below if you have any other suggestions to add to the list! We love hearing other traveller's tips and tricks!
RELATED ARTICLES
ZERO WASTE TRAVEL PACKING LIST (PLUS ZERO WASTE TRAVEL TIPS)
A GIRL'S PACKING LIST FOR BACKPACKING SOUTHEAST ASIA
CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS FOR TRAVELLERS
WHAT'S IN OUR CAMERA BAG?
If you want to see more of our day to day adventures and photos then like and follow our socials above.