Travel 101: HUGE List of things to pack before leaving for a short vacation or journey

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This is a general purpose listicle that covers most travel use cases. Depending on your purpose of visit, there may be some items particular to your trip that you may want to carry (see last item in the list).

Towels and Clothing

Clothes are one of the most essential items you're going to need when you visit a place and plan to stay for more than 1-2 days. Apart from the usual stuff like a towel, few extra trousers, shirts, shorts, etc., think what you're going to need depending on your lifestyle or habits and pack them accordingly. Its always better to pack these known things beforehand instead of eleventh hour of leaving to avoid confusion and stress.

Toothbrush, Shaving Kit and Toiletries

Almost as essential as clothes are toiletries. Toothbrush is something almost everyone needs, you may want to carry a small toothpaste too depending on where you're going (on a campsite or hotel room, for example, it might be difficult or expensive to find grocery items). There could be a few other things you may want to carry such as a nail cutter, shaving kit, medicine box, etc. depending on how long your stay is.

Laptop, Chargers and Gizmos

In the digital age, you can't really live without the digital stuff, can you! If you're one of those who feel their existence might get threatened if they're unable to use apps like WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, etc. on their phone or browser, its important that you pay attention to this section! Smart-phones and the laptops are very obvious but chargers is what many people typically forget. Is there a specific item you're going to need there (such as a pen-drive)? Again, remember to pack these things beforehand. Doing so can be challenging sometimes though (you sometimes need to work on the Laptop until the very last moment of departure, and its easy to absentmindedly just forget it on the table!).

Tickets, Maps and Vehicle Particulars

You don't typically have to worry about tickets these days as online booking has become a norm in most parts of the world. However, you can't believe how many airports still insist on a hard-copy or printout of the ticket and refuse to accept the "e-ticket" or "m-ticket" on your mobile! Again, take all the necessary printouts beforehand.

Vaccine, RT-PCR and COVID stuff

And speaking of printouts, a COIVD-19 vaccination certificate and/or RT-PCR report has become mandatory in the times we live. In many countries of the world, RT-PCR is needed to cross even regional/district boundaries these days, forget about crossing state or international borders! Check about these requirements beforehand and keep the necessary printouts/certificates ready.

Documents and Papers, as needed

Depending on the purpose of your visit, there may be other documents you may want to carry. Are you going for some bank related work (like opening or closing a bank account)? In this case, you may want to carry your identity documents like SSN, Aadhar, PAN, etc. You may need your college degree certificate or employment certificate if you're going for an interview or job change.

Camping Equipment, Bug Repellent, as needed

If your trip is of a different kind (sight seeing or vacationing), you may again want to carry a different set of items. If you're going for a nature tour or camping in the Alps or Himalayas, you'll need stuff like tent equipment, bug repellent, even kayaks or mountaineering equipment if you're into that kind of stuff! Think about it and pack these things beforehand, you never know what you're going to need and when.

Binoculars, Camcorders, the Works!

If you're going to a hill station like Dehradun, Mussorie or Nainital, its impossible that you won't appreciate the natural beauty after going there, so it helps to have binoculars in your bag.

You may also want to capture those moments of happiness if you're going with family or friends (or even alone!), so carrying a camcorder helps. Apart from that, you may also want to Google and research that place on the Internet beforehand to know which places visit and which ones to avoid. If you haven't done it already, now is probably a good time to do it!

Gifts and Surprises for Kids

If you're visiting family or friends, don't forget to pack lots of gifts and goodies to give them a pleasant surprise! It just cannot be stressed enough how important doing this stuff is in today's day and age, as even though the digital revolution has made our world a global village, it has made our relationships far more distant than they once were.

Any other items depending on purpose of your visit

A general-purpose listicle like this cannot include all the use cases. Depending on where you're going, for how long and what's the purpose of your visit, there will be additional items you may want to carry but the best person to answer that question is YOU. Just ask yourself what's the purpose of your visit and visualize yourself in that scenario. Visualization really helps in this scenario, just do it and you'll come to realize what other items you're going to need.

Note: If you feel there is some other general purpose tip/item I've missed in this list, just comment below and I'll add it!

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