I’m just about done packing for India in one carry-on and one personal item. I hope. It’ll be close but I love going lean when packing if possible. Some have asked what I pack on such trips and while it is slightly different each time, below you will find my packing list. I left out the camera gear as yours will be different, but I have some suggestions of other photography items that you might not normally take on a day trip. It’s full of affiliate links to items I already own and use, and that helps fuel this site. I’d never link to something I wouldn’t use myself or suggest others might find useful. Especially the link for “Cash”.
If you prefer the PDF verison, it is here: India Packing List
India Photo Tour Packing List
Clothes
Fleece Pants- Fleece Coat or warm sweater
- Jeans or quick-dry pants, consider zip off pants
- Long shorts
- Short sleeved shirts
- Long sleeved shirts
- Water Proof Rain Jacket and Pants (both optional, a poncho can also suffice)
- Comfortable socks
- Sock liners
if you tend to need them when walking
- Underwear
- Sleepwear
- Sunglasses (good quality)
- Wide brimmed hat for sun during the day
- Boots or trail shoes
- Sandals
- Bandana
Fleece Pants
Personal Items
- Waterbottle
- Sun Block (small bottle, can be purchased in country)
- Headlamp
/small flashlight
- Day pack
- Water proof cover
for day pack
- Duffel bag for all other items
- Books/reading material
- Writing Journal (optional)
- Small notebook
- Passport
- Copy of Passport
- 2 extra Passport Photos
- Guidebooks/maps (optional)
- Credit/Debit cards
- Cash (cashiers checks can be cashed, but it can be a pain. There are ample ATMs available in Delhi)
- Cell phone (optional and needs to be capable of accepting a different SIM card)
- Cell Phone Charger
- Travel documents
- Alarm clock
- Watch (optional)
- Photos from home to share with locals (include family, location, attractions, etc…)
- Extra batteries (I suggest rechargeable as India has no little ability to recycle spent batteries)
- Snacks you might be partial to
- iDevice and charger if you need music or distraction.
- Water purification – I prefer the Steripen device, but good old iodine works. While not required, I personally prefer to not buy bottled water as much as possible as India has little in the way of recycling.
- Small Binoculars
Credit/Debit cards
Toiletries
- Plastic bags for all liquid toiletries (in case of rough handling induced rupture)
- Deodorant
- Shampoo/Conditioner
- Hairbrush/Comb
- Toothpaste
- Toothbrush
- Dental Floss
- Hand lotion
- Towel (I suggest a quick dry version)
- Razor
- Lotion
- Chapstick/lipbalm
- Extra eyeglasses/contacts
- Contact solution
- Facial soap
- Tweezers & nail clippers
- Feminine products
- Emergency toilet paper
First aid kit including:
- Tiger balm or pain reliever
- Accupressure bracelets or ginger candy for motion sickness
- Prescription medicines
- Anti-diarrheal
- Insect Repellent
- Malaria prophylaxes (consult with your doctor as to whether you want to take this)
- Tea Tree Oil (for cuts)
- Antibiotic cream
- Ace bandage
- Handi-wipes or anti-bacterial gel
- Safety pins
- Eye drops or flush
- Lip balm
- Band-aids
- Pain killer of choice
- Antibiotics
- Cold relief tablets, antihistamine, cough drops
- Earplugs
- Dramamine (for motion sickness)
Standard Camera Gear
(Fill in your own list here to ensure all your vital gear makes it to Bhutan)
Camera Gear
(options to consider beyond your normal gear)
- Power plug adapter for battery charger – Make sure your chargers are ‘international’
- Portable power strip to charge multiple devices with one outlet
- Polarizing filter
- Neutral density filter
- Graduated Neutral Density filter (2 or 3 stop, soft transition)
- Extra lens cap in appropriate sizes
- External harddrive for backup of photos (or laptop)
- Card reader
- Sensor cleaning material if you are comfortable doing this yourself
- Extra batteries – We will have electricity in most locations, but it’s best to have backup
- Gray card
- GPS – Optional, but handy for tagging photo locations
- Small packable umbrella (optional)
