For a 7–14-day international trip with laundry every five to seven days, pack one repeatable week of clothing, the documents required for your route, and a small essentials bag that stays with you. Adjust for the forecast and your airline’s baggage allowance—not by adding an outfit for every day. The checklist below includes what you wear in transit.
Choose your laundry plan, weather and bag arrangement to see what to adjust.
Your Packing Adjustments
Use the Repeatable-Week Baseline
Laundry: Use the starting quantities below, with enough underwear and socks to reach wash day and allow for drying.
Weather: Keep one warm midlayer and one light rain or wind layer suited to the forecast.
Bag: Keep documents, medicines, first-night essentials and charging gear in a removable pouch or personal item. Remove power banks and spare lithium batteries before any gate-check.
| Clothing | Starting Quantity |
|---|---|
| Tops | 4–5 |
| Bottoms | 2–3 |
| Underwear | 5–7 |
| Socks | 3–5 pairs |
Counts include transit wear. These are starting quantities, not a guarantee for every route.
With JavaScript off, the visible plan uses the selected defaults. The full checklist below covers documents, toiletries and electronics.
Source: the article’s suggested clothing quantities and packing guidance. Airline, border and medication rules still require route-specific checks.
Check Your Route Before Filling the Bag
- [ ] Check passport validity, blank-page requirements, visas and electronic travel authorizations for your nationality, destination and transit stops.
- [ ] Check cabin-bag dimensions, weight and personal-item allowances with each operating airline, including any separate regional flights.
- [ ] Look at daytime and overnight forecasts for every stop, including higher-elevation destinations.
- [ ] Confirm laundry access and accommodation amenities before packing detergent, towels or a hair dryer.
There is no single passport-validity rule for every international trip. Use the destination’s official border or embassy guidance for your nationality. For U.S. travelers, the State Department’s checklist also directs readers to destination-specific entry requirements.
Keep Documents and Backup Money Accessible
Keep originals accessible, with backup copies stored separately.
- [ ] Passport and required visas or authorization confirmations
- [ ] Flight details, first accommodation address and arrival-transfer instructions saved offline
- [ ] Insurance policy details, assistance number and emergency contacts
- [ ] Passport and key-document copies, both offline and on paper
- [ ] Payment card, separately stored backup card and modest arrival cash
- [ ] Any required vaccination records, child-travel consent documents or driving documents
Check the last item against your actual trip rather than carrying every possible document. The State Department checklist explains why children traveling without both parents and U.S. travelers driving abroad may need additional paperwork.
Pack a Small Bag That Stays With You
Use your personal item, or a removable pouch inside your carry-on, for the flight and your first night if another bag goes missing. Keep it with you if your larger carry-on is checked at the gate.
- [ ] Documents, money, phone and keys
- [ ] Regular medicines, prescription copies and any required medical letter
- [ ] Glasses, contact-lens essentials and other daily medical necessities
- [ ] One clean top, underwear and socks
- [ ] Toothbrush and minimal toiletries
- [ ] Charging cable, earphones and optional earplugs or eye mask
For medicines, check permission and quantity limits at the destination and layover countries before departure. Keep them in original labeled containers and carry enough for the trip plus a permitted delay buffer. CDC guidance recommends carry-on storage and checking medication rules with the relevant embassies.
Pack One Repeatable Week of Clothing
These suggested quantities include what you wear in transit. Choose enough underwear and socks to reach your planned laundry day, allowing time for drying.
| Item | Starting Quantity |
|---|---|
| Tops that work with all your bottoms | 4–5 |
| Everyday bottoms | 2–3 |
| Underwear | 5–7 |
| Socks | 3–5 pairs, adjusted for footwear |
| Sleepwear | 1 set |
| Warm midlayer | 1 |
| Light rain or wind layer | 1, suited to the forecast |
| Comfortable walking shoes | 1 pair |
Add a second pair of shoes only for a distinct need, such as a formal event or beach stay. For longer trips, replenish the same clothing cycle through laundry rather than adding an outfit for every day.
Swap for conditions instead of automatically adding. Replace a bottom with shorts for heat, choose a warmer midlayer for cold evenings, or replace an everyday outfit with event clothing. Sustained winter conditions or technical hikes need a separate, activity-specific kit. For mixed-weather routes, use the carry-on system for changing climates.
If laundry access is unconfirmed, resolve that before treating these quantities as sufficient. The starting list assumes washing every five to seven days; it does not establish quantities for a longer stretch without laundry.
Keep Toiletries Within Each Checkpoint’s Rules
- [ ] Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant and only the skin/hair products you use
- [ ] Sunscreen and insect repellent suited to the destination
- [ ] Menstrual products or other personal-care essentials
- [ ] A few plasters and familiar, permitted over-the-counter medicines
- [ ] Leak-resistant liquids bag; small laundry kit only if needed
For U.S. TSA checkpoints, ordinary carry-on liquids must fit in one quart-sized bag, in containers of 100 ml/3.4 oz or less. Check separate guidance for exemptions in the TSA liquids rule.
UK government guidance says liquid limits and bag requirements depend on the airport. Check departure, connection and return checkpoints—not just the first flight. Keep the kit compact with the toiletries packing checklist.
Keep Batteries in the Cabin and Test the Packed Bag
- [ ] Phone, necessary charger and cables
- [ ] Plug adapter suitable for each destination; check device voltage compatibility separately
- [ ] Optional power bank, with its rating readable
- [ ] Offline booking details, useful maps and entertainment
Power banks and spare lithium batteries belong in cabin baggage, with terminals protected against short circuits. Remove them if your carry-on is gate-checked. The FAA’s battery guidance also warns that airlines may impose stricter quantity and capacity limits; check your carrier’s current rules before packing.
Weigh the fully packed bag and carry it around the block. Remove duplicate shoes, bulky “just in case” outfits and gadgets without a clear use. Leave enough room to put away the layer you wore to the airport without having to repack everything.