Holiday packing list: the checklist to tick off

Most people don't forget the big things – they forget the small ones: the charging cable, the adapter, the tablets. This packing list starts with what belongs in every bag and then adds extras by type of trip. Plus a table of plug types and voltages by country, and a section on packing as a group.

The basics: in every bag

Documents and money

• Passport or ID card (check the expiry date – some countries require 6 months of validity)
• Health insurance card or travel insurance details
• Debit and credit card, some cash in the local currency
• Driving licence if you rent a car
• Bookings and tickets saved offline on your phone

Tech

• Phone and charger
• Power bank (hand luggage, never in the checked bag)
• Headphones
• Plug adapter if needed (see the table below)

Clothes – for one week, this is usually enough:

• 5 to 7 sets of underwear and socks
• 3 to 4 tops, 2 pairs of trousers or skirts
• a warm layer and a light rain jacket
• comfortable walking shoes and a second pair
• sleepwear

Toiletries and health

• Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, travel-size shower gel
• Sunscreen, lip balm
• Personal medication (in your hand luggage, with 2 to 3 days extra)
• Small first-aid kit: plasters, painkillers, something for upset stomachs and travel sickness

Extras by type of trip

Beach: two swimsuits (one can dry), beach towel, sun hat, sunglasses, after-sun, water shoes for rocky coves, a waterproof phone pouch.

City break: shoes you can walk 20,000 steps in, a small day pack, a refillable water bottle, a scarf for churches where shoulders must be covered.

Hiking: broken-in hiking boots, technical shirts, a fleece, rain jacket and rain trousers, blister plasters, a head torch, an offline map on your phone.

Winter and ski trips: thermal underwear, hat, gloves, ski socks, high-factor sunscreen (snow reflects), lip balm with SPF.

Long-haul: passport, visa or entry authorisation, vaccination record, insect repellent, adapter, copies of key documents kept apart from the originals, a travel eSIM for mobile data.

Plug types and voltage in 26 countries

• AUSA, Canada, Japan
• BUSA, Canada, Mexico
• CEuroplug, most of Europe
• EFrance, Belgium, Morocco
• FGermany, Spain, Greece
• GUK, Ireland, UAE
• IAustralia, China
• JSwitzerland
• LItaly

Type C is the flat two-pin Europlug, F the round German "Schuko", G the British three-pin plug, A/B the North American plugs. Almost all phone and laptop chargers accept 100 to 240 volts (it says so on the charger). For hair dryers, straighteners or shavers with a motor, check before using them in countries with 100 to 127 V – an adapter changes the shape of the plug, not the voltage.

Packing as a group: what you need only once

Travelling as a couple, a family or with friends, you often carry things twice. These are enough once for everyone:

• Sunscreen and after-sun
• First-aid kit
• Plug adapter and a power strip (then one adapter charges four devices)
• Power bank, Bluetooth speaker
• Shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste
• Travel wash, corkscrew, a deck of cards, a guidebook

Agree beforehand who brings what – otherwise you end up with three bottles of sunscreen and no adapter.

A packing list that thinks along

In YesTrip every trip has its own packing list. The app suggests what fits the trip: a rain jacket when rain is forecast for your travel days, swimwear when a beach is in the plan, an adapter of the right type when the country uses different sockets. In shared trips you see who brings what and can assign items to a person – "Anna brings it".