Starting your India Packing List? Packing for India can feel like a riddle. You are trying to balance conservative cultural expectations, intense heat, dusty train journeys, and the physical reality of moving your bags through crowded streets.
But having visited India seven times as a family with our travel blog, Away with the Steiners, and our India Group Trips we have dialled our India packing list down to an absolute science.
- Tips for Packing for India
- Backpack vs. Suitcase
- What To Wear
- Buying Clothes in India
- Toiletries & Medical
- Technology
- India Packing List Checklist
Tips for Packing for India
We have experienced everything from backpacking the dusty roads of Rajasthan to navigating overnight trains with young kids.
So, forget the generic packing guides written by someone who spent two weeks in Goa. This is the ultimate, real-world packing list for India – designed to keep you comfortable, respectful, and light on your travel feet! Ready?
1. The Right Bag: Backpack vs. Suitcase
Before you put a single item of clothing into a pile, you need to choose your luggage.
Our Golden Rule: Leave the hard-shell, four-wheeled suitcase at home!
India’s streets are like a chaotic obstacle course of broken pavements, steep steps, dirty alleyways, and open gutters. Dragging a standard suitcase behind you is an absolute nightmare.
Instead, opt for a quality travel backpack (40L to 55L) with a front-opening panel (so you don’t have to dig from the top).
A backpack keeps your hands free to navigate busy train platforms, hold your kids’ hands, or hand over your money or ticket. Combine this with a lightweight daypack for your daily essentials, water bottle, camera, hand sanitiser and wet wipes.
2. What to Wear: India Packing List
The key to dressing in India as a woman is modesty combined with breathability. You want to keep your shoulders, chest, and knees completely covered to respect local customs and deflect unwanted staring, without melting in the heat.
- Loose, Lightweight Trousers: Pack 2–3 pairs of light trousers or travel pants. It is easy to get pants in India to go under a Kurta. Avoid tight leggings or jeans, which are entirely too hot and culturally too revealing for traditional areas.
- Modest Tops: Bring lightweight cotton t-shirts, tunics, or loose button-down shirts. Choose ones with high(er) necklines and sleeves cover your shoulders.
- Scarf (Dupatta): Never leave your guesthouse without a lightweight cotton scarf or Dupatta in your daypack! It is the ultimate multi-tool: you can use it to cover your chest, wrap around your head when entering temples, or shield your face from dust on a rickshaw ride.
- Footwear: You only need two pairs of shoes. First, a sturdy, worn-in pair of walking sandals (with good grip). Second, a pair of easy slip-on shoes or flats. You will be taking your shoes off constantly to enter temples, shops, and homes; wrestling with laces or buckles ten times a day gets old very fast.
3. Don’t Overpack: Buy Your Clothes Locally!
One of the biggest mistakes female travellers make is packing a wardrobe for the entire trip. Don’t do it! India has some of the most beautiful, affordable, and perfectly suited outfits in the world. I love the clothes in India and chance to dress in the incredible colours.
Plan to pack light for your first two days and then head straight to the local bazaars.
Buying local clothing is highly recommended for two reasons: it is dirt cheap, and wearing local styles shows a respect for the culture, which instantly alters how locals interact with you.
Look for a Kurtis (a long, loose tunic worn over leggings or pants) or cotton harem pants.
Where To Go Shopping
Markets in Rajasthan (like Jaipur and Jaisalmer) or Delhi’s Chandni Chowk are absolute goldmines for this.
Sarojini Nagar Market in Delhi is our absolute favourite for Kurta shopping. This is where we go every time we land in Delhi and where we take our Group Trips to get sorted for India travel!
4. Toiletries and Medical Essentials
While you can buy basic items like shampoo and soap anywhere in India, there are a few specific toiletries and health items that are better to bring from home, as they can be difficult to find locally.
These are what we recommend from our India Packing List.
The Non-Negotiables:
- Tampons / Menstrual Cups: Sanitary pads are widely available in India, but tampons (especially with applicators) are notoriously hard to find outside of major upscale pharmacies in mega-cities. A menstrual cup is a good, eco-friendly option for long-term travel here.
- High-Quality Insect Repellent: Dengue and malaria are real risks. (Like, real risks; Gavin got Dengue Fever in India on our last visit!). Pack a repellent with a high concentration of DEET or a strong natural alternative that you know works for your skin.
- Sunscreen: Good quality, high-SPF facial sunscreen is expensive and hard to come by in rural India. Pack enough to last your entire trip.
- Hand Sanitiser & Wet Wipes: These are essential for a quick refresh before eating street food or after using train station restrooms – and most places you travel in India!
Your Medical Kit:
Do not travel to India without a basic stomach-care kit. Pack Rehydration Salts (ORS), Imodium (for emergency transit situations!), and Probiotics if you need them to help your gut handle the intense spices.
However, ORS are available and cheap at every pharmacy in India. (Much cheaper than at home!).
5. Electronics: India Packing List
Below are the basic electronics you need to add to your India packing list. However, don’t stress if you leave something behind. India is a massive subcontinent, and cities like Delhi have huge international airports and markets where you can find anything you need.
If you forget a charging cable or need a new plug, you can easily buy them all over the country.
Our Electronics Packing List
- Smartphone
- Kindle / E-reader
- Portable Power Bank
- USB Charging Cables
- Universal Travel Adapter
I reckon a portable power bank is absolutely essential, especially for keeping your devices alive during long, overnight train journeys.
The universal travel adapter is for plugging into various guesthouse and hotel walls. Or it is easy to buy a cheap, local phone charging plug at the airport right when you arrive.
- Tip: India primarily uses the Type D plug socket, which is designed for three round pins in a triangular pattern.
6. Our India Packing List Checklist
As a quick India Packing List to refer to as you start refining and reducing what you’ve packed, here is what we ultimately recommend as the basic essentials.
| Category | India Packing List |
| Bags | 1 Main Backpack (45-55L), 1 Daypack, Packing Cubes |
| Clothing | 3 Loose Pants, 4 Modest Tops, 2 Scarves, 1 Sleepwear, 5 Underwear |
| Footwear | 1 Pair Walking Sandals, 1 Pair Slip-on Shoes or light Sneakers |
| Toiletries | Tampons/Cup, Sunscreen, DEET Repellent, Hand Sanitiser, Wet Wipes |
| Tech & Extras | Universal Adapter, Power Bank, LifeStraw/Filtered Water Bottle |
Packing for India: Final Thoughts
India is a beautiful, rewarding country to explore. We love it and have been seven times. We already look forward to heading back again next year!
By packing light, choosing comfort over fashion, and dressing with respect for the local culture, you will set yourself up for a smooth, incredible adventure! Enjoy India. 🙂
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- Ultimate India Food Tour: 10 Must-Try Treats.
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- 10 Things To Do In Kochi & Kerala.
- Best Tourist SIM Card For India.
- What To Wear In India.
- 10 Tips To Avoid Delhi Belly In India.
- 4-Day Kochi & Kerala Itinerary.
- Travelling India By Bus: Intercity, Tourist & Sleeper Buses.
- 10 Iconic Things To Do In Kolkata.
Travel Planning for India & Beyond
These are the companies we use while traveling and that we would recommend to anyone planning and booking travel.
- Booking.com – The best all-around accommodation booking site. They have the widest selection of budget accommodation and it’s easy to filter and sort into price and availability with all the extras you are looking for personally.
- 12GoAsia – Book trains anywhere in Asia through 12Go.
- Skyscanner – Our favourite flight search engine. They can search small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites often miss. We book all our flights through Skyscanner.
- GetYourGuide – A huge online marketplace for tours and excursions offered all around the world. Everything from walking tours to street-food tours, cooking classes, desert safari’s and more!
- SafetyWing – A global travel insurance that covers people from all over the world while outside their home country. You can buy short or longterm; and even if you are out of the country.
- World Nomads – Travel insurance tailored for short or longterm travel and nomads (including those who have already left home). Make sure you have travel insurance before planning your India Packing List further!
Hi! I’m Sarah. I am the self-confessed dreamer, travel-schemer and the main editor behind this blog. I love to write, and it is a dream come true to share so many experiences together and inspire others in our stories.
