Southeast Asia Packing List – ULTIMATE Guide for 2024

Planning a trip to Southeast Asia? Our guide covers the essentials to include in your Southeast Asia packing list.

We’ve visited all countries in SE Asia, and it’s one of our favourite areas to explore.

Southeast Asia Packing List – ULTIMATE Guide for 2024

Planning a trip to Southeast Asia? Our guide covers the essentials to include in your Southeast Asia packing list.

We’ve visited all countries in SE Asia, and it’s one of our favourite areas to explore.

Hi, we’re Rach & Marty!

We’ve visited every country in the world and want to help you get the most out of your travels!

Whether you need an expertly planned itinerary, some experienced hints and tips, or just craving a delicious food adventure, we’ve got you covered!

Hi, we’re Rach & Marty!

We’ve visited every country in the world and want to help you get the most out of your travels!

Whether you need an expertly planned itinerary, some experienced hints and tips, or just craving a delicious food adventure, we’ve got you covered!

Hi, we’re Rach & Marty!

We’ve visited every country in the world and want to help you get the most out of your travels!

Whether you need an expertly planned itinerary, some experienced hints and tips, or just craving a delicious food adventure, we’ve got you covered!

We may earn affiliate commissions from websites we link to, at no cost to you. Click here for details.

southeast asia packing list girl with backpack
What to pack for Southeast Asia? Not much at all, it’s warm weather all year round

Travelling through Southeast Asia is exhilarating! Expect your trip to be full of adventure, diversity, smiling locals, beaches, incredible cities, and fantastic street food

Our favourites are Thai cuisine, Vietnamese cuisine, and the foods from Laos; although Cambodian cuisine and Burma’s food are quite special, too.

The best part is that travelling in Southeast Asia is very affordable too.

Southeast Asia includes nine countries – Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, and Cambodia.

Each country has different local customs and traditions, varying weather conditions depending on the time of year you visit, and various things to do.

Our best advice for your Southeast Asia packing list is that less is more!

Travelling around SE Asia is much easier when your backpack or suitcase is light. It makes it so much easier when you’re guaranteed to jump on and off buses, boats, trains, tuk-tuks, and ferries to get around this gorgeous region.

Southeast Asia is one of the easiest continents to travel through. Many travellers wander through these countries with just a few items and some comfortable shoes.

If you forget something or need anything else, you can easily pick it up at the markets or the nearest mall. 

Here it is! Your Southeast Asia Packing List:

southeast asia packing list rice fields

Choosing the Right Travel Bag

Ok, some people are backpack travellers, and others are suitcase travellers. We chat about the pros and cons of each travel bag in our post, Suitcase Vs Backpack – Which one should you choose?

In saying that, we recommend choosing a backpack over a suitcase for your travels in Southeast Asia. You will encounter uneven surfaces, rough terrain, numerous islands, stairs, and random transport options. It is much easier to navigate this if you have a backpack rather than wheeled luggage.

Nowadays, you can buy fabulous travel bags that offer both options, like the Osprey Wheels 36 Bag. You can wear this bag as a backpack and then convert it into a rolling suitcase, too. 

Over the past twenty years, we’ve used many travel bags. We now use the Osprey Farpoint 40L Backpack; we love it!

This is the ideal backpack for your Southeast Asia packing list. 

Do you need a small day pack?

Travelling with a small day pack is a personal choice. We travel with one as we always prefer to keep our valuables with us.

This is especially important when taking overnight train/bus rides.

We carry this small Osprey day pack

We often lock our large 40L backpack to something stationary when we sleep, and our small daypack containing our valuables remains on our person, inside our silk sleeping sheet—it feels much more secure to do this to deter any opportunistic thieves.

When we’re on the move, our small Osprey day pack sits on the front of our body with our Osprey 40L backpack on our backs; this makes it easy to access passports or money quickly.

southeast asia packing list
The inside of our Osprey 40L Farpoint backpack.

Choosing Your Travel Clothes

Generally, most of Southeast Asia is relatively warm throughout the year. Temperatures range between 26 and 36 degrees from cool to hot season, and the humidity is high year-round. 

The best clothing for your Southeast Asia packing list is light, breathable cotton, clothing you can mix and match, and items that dry quickly. 

Southeast Asia Packing List: Clothing for WOMEN

Southeast Asia Packing List: Clothing for MEN

Toiletries for Women

We’re lucky to share some toiletries on the road, giving one of us more room in our backpack.

I’ll take our espresso machine and fresh coffee to share the load if Marty carries the toiletries.

southeast asia packing list toiletry bag
Try to keep your toiletries to a minimum for your Southeast Asia Packing List

We try to keep toiletries to a minimum as they can be heavy. We also travel with carry-on baggage; therefore, all our toiletries must be 100ml or less.

  • Hanging Toiletry Bag
  • Small containers (100ml) for refills
  • Shampoo/Conditioner 100ml each
  • Bar of soap
  • shaver/razor (we never have a problem at airports with this in our carry-on)
  • hairbrush
  • Roll-on deodorant
  • Toothpaste & toothbrush
  • exfoliating shower glove (we found these in Morocco..love them)
  • 100ml sized sunscreen – We like Nivea or Neutrogena brands
  • Nivea face moisturiser SPF30
  • Blistex and lip balm
  • A few pieces of makeup (which we rarely use, but sometimes it feels nice to dress up) 1 tube of foundation, bronzing powder, and brush, 1 mascara

Toiletries for Men (as suggested by our male travel buddy)

  • Hanging Toiletry Bag
  • Toothpaste and toothbrush
  • Shampoo
  • Body gel
  • Moisturiser
  • Deodorant
  • Lip Balm
  • Sunblock
  • Deodorant
  • Shaver/small shaving cream
  • Mosquito repellent (with DEET!)

 Accessories/Extras

Lonely Planet Global Banner

Technology/Electronics

We understand if you’re a photographer, digital nomad, or can’t live without your MacBook and other electronics. We need these things as we work online as we travel the world.

Here’s what we take in our Southeast Asia packing list regarding electronics.

southeast asia packing list MacBook electronics
Southeast Asia Packing List – Electronics we pack in our bag.

Join our Nomads Newsletter!

Receive our best tips on how to travel in every country!

Sign up now, and we’ll send you our FREE eBook, “How to Travel Like a Boss!

Safety in Southeast Asia

Travelling around Southeast Asia is considered relatively safe, but reading our 12 tips for safe travel is best.

The same goes for travelling anywhere in the world; accidents do happen.

We highly recommend you sort out some good travel insurance to cover you when things go wrong.

We recommend Heymondo  Travel Insurance (here’s a 5% discount on all policies)

We recommend adding one of their comprehensive travel insurance policies to your Southeast Asia packing list.

Another fantastic (and affordable) Travel Insurance company is SafetyWing Travel Insurance. This company was created by travellers, for travellers.

These guys offer Travel Medical Insurance that covers people from all over the world outside their home country.

Get Connected with eSIM

Get connected easily on your travels—buy an eSIM! It works like an app: buy it, download it, and get connected in minutes! It’s easy, affordable, and convenient. Keep your original phone number, too!

Use our code: RACHEL5045 to get $3 off your first purchase!

Transport and Getting Around Southeast Asia

Getting from A to B in Southeast Asia is easy. If you’ve got the budget to include flights, that would be fantastic! We book all our flights on Skyscanner. The prices are unbeatable, and you can pay in your chosen currency.

If time doesn’t matter to you and you’ve got a budget to stick to, consider looking at trains and buses.

The best website for checking boat, bus, and train timetables is 12Go.asia

When deciding what to pack for Southeast Asia, remember that you may be taking many forms of public transport.

Therefore, a light backpack is essential to help you move about easier with more freedom and flexibility.

southeast asia packing list tuk tuk

How to Book Accommodation in Southeast Asia

We always use the same websites to book accommodation in Southeast Asia. Booking.com is our number one choice.

In saying that, Agoda has some unbeatable deals all over Asia, so it’s worth double-checking if you can get a better price with these guys.

Apps to download for Southeast Asia

Download these apps on your phone to make your Southeast Asian travels easy.

  • Skyscanner (to search for flights)
  • Booking.com (to book accommodation on the go)
  • XE.com (to check the latest exchange rates)
  • Maps. me (the best offline maps to help you navigate around)
  • Google Translate (while English is widely spoken in SE Asia, this app is handy when you get lost in translation.)
  • 12.Go (book a bus, boat, ferry, train, or flight in Asia)

RELATED POST – 20 Best Travel Apps (and they’re free)

southeast asia packing list apps to download
vhn group tours banner

Staying in Southeast Asia long-term?

If you’re considering staying longer in Southeast Asia, check out the Trusted Housesitters website for tips on saving loads of money on accommodation. If you’re considering staying in one place for a little longer, you can become a housesitter in Southeast Asia (and worldwide).

Being a house-sitter means free accommodation for you in return for looking after different homes around the globe. Signing up for a membership was one of the best things we ever did!

Join now with our invitation and receive a massive 25% off your membership!

Travelling Beyond Southeast Asia?

Our Ultimate Packing List for every traveller includes the items we carried on our journey to visit every country in the world!

Considering we move between all types of weather, from very cool temperatures to sweltering hot ones. And we still manage to travel with carry-on baggage only, our 40L Osprey backpack or sometimes our Samsonite suitcase, often weighing less than 10kg.

Join a Small Group Tour in Southeast Asia

Have you considered travelling around SE Asia on a small group tour? We highly recommend G Adventures. They offer 30+ different itineraries in SE Asia, so there is a trip to suit everyone.

Check out the range of G Adventures Southeast Asia Tours.

tourradar banner deals

More Travel Tips

We have so many tips to help you travel more!

These 21 cheapest countries to visit will help you stretch your hard-earned dollars further.

Read our top 6 travel hacks to save money and the 20 best travel apps to make travel easier! 

For food lovers, don’t miss our top 10 best countries for foodies. And, if history is your thing, these 30 amazing historical places worldwide will fascinate you!

We have many tips to save money for travel and consider these 20 jobs that PAY YOU to travel the world to help you travel longer.

If you become a trusted housesitter, you can also get FREE accommodation worldwide. Read more about how this works.

Check out our ultimate packing list for travellers, and remember to pack travel insurance! We recommend these two travel insurance companies for excellent coverage.

Our 12 essential tips for safe travel in any country are worth a read. 

You’ll need to stay connected while travelling the world. We recommend eSIM. It’s easy, reliable and affordable. View eSIMs for individual countries, or consider a Global eSIM if you travel to multiple countries or regions. This eSIM connects you in 124 countries, offering data-only eSIM and data/call/text eSIM.

The Global eSIM has been a game-changer; we couldn’t imagine travelling without it now.

If you want to travel with like-minded travellers, consider joining a group tour.

Check our Group Tours first for any upcoming trips you may be interested to join, or view these deals on worldwide group tours with Tourradar.

Check out our best-ever travel tips compiled from more than twenty years of experience.

Did you enjoy this article? Share it with friends and family!

Travel Planning Resources

✈️ Flights: We use Skyscanner to book cheap flights worldwide.

🏨 AccommodationBooking.com is our preferred platform for booking hotels and accommodation. We use Vrbo to book apartments and long-term stays.

🏥 Travel Insurance: We recommend Heymondo (Get 5% off Heymondo) & SafetyWing

🚌 Transportation: Trainline is the best website to reserve trains. We use Omio to book transport worldwide. For travel in Asia, we use 12Go. 

🚘 Car Rental: We use DiscoverCars to book rental cars worldwide.

👫 Group Tours: We now offer Group Trips; view them here! Alternatively, we recommend searching the Tourradar website. For Europe, Expat Explore is a good choice. *Get 5% off when you quote code VERYHUNGRYNOMADS to your Expat reservations agent. (*Valid for new clients only).

📸 Day Tours & TripsGetYourGuide & Viator are the only two platforms you need.

📚 Lonely Planet: The Best Range of Travel Guides & Ebooks, and FREE Shipping! (use code RACHELDAVEY10 for a 10% discount)

🎒 LuggageOsprey Farpoint 40L Backpack or Samsonite Luggage Range.

🛄 What to Pack: Don’t forget your Universal charger and a good power bank.  To help you pack the essentials, here is our ULTIMATE Packing List for all Travellers.

🐶 Become a House Sitter: Join Trusted Housesitters and enjoy FREE accommodation worldwide. Use our invite to receive 25% off your new membership.

💰 Send Money Anywhere: WISE & Revolut are the best online accounts that let you send money, get paid, and spend money internationally. Both are so easy to use and way cheaper than any bank transfer.

📶 Stay Connected: Airalo eSIM allows you to get connected the moment you land at your destination, and you can avoid those expensive data roaming charges. We LOVE this product! Use code RACHEL5045 to get $3 off your first Airalo eSIM.

✅ Check out our Travel Gear and Travel Resources for more valuable tips to save you money!

Tasty Food Adventures

Are you looking for more adventures?
See all articles about Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam

1 Comment. Leave new

  • You guys are such an inspiration for me thank you for this post it’s helping so much for my first solo (female) backpacking trip!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.
You need to agree with the terms to proceed

Thailand Food and Culture Adventure Very Hungry Nomads MartyTemple