Travel packing checklist for an Indian family trip
Pack in three layers: a documents-and-valuables pouch that stays on you, a cabin bag with a day of essentials for everyone, and checked bags packed by person or by purpose. Give every bag a name, keep a list of what’s in each, and photograph each bag open before you close it.
A family trip in India — a wedding in Jaipur, Diwali at your parents’ home, a week in Goa — usually means four or five bags, packed over two evenings by three people. The problem isn’t forgetting to pack something. It’s not knowing which bag it went into. This checklist fixes both.
Layer 1: the pouch that never leaves you
- Tickets / PNRs (on phone and printed)
- ID for every traveller — Aadhaar, passport, driving licence; children’s ID too
- Visas and travel insurance (international trips)
- Cash in small notes, debit and credit cards
- Jewellery you are not wearing
- House keys and vehicle keys
- Photocopies of documents in a separate bag from the originals
Layer 2: the cabin bag — a day of essentials for everyone
Pack this as if the checked bags will arrive a day late. Sometimes they do (see what to do if your baggage is lost or delayed).
- Medicines for two days, plus prescriptions (BP, diabetes, thyroid, children’s syrups)
- One change of clothes for each person
- Phone chargers, a power bank (power banks must go in the cabin, not checked baggage), earphones
- Toothbrush, paste, small toiletries within liquid limits for flights
- Snacks and a refillable water bottle
- For children: diapers and wipes, a favourite toy, a book, a light blanket
- Laptop or tablet and its charger
- A pen — for forms at the airport and on international arrivals
Layer 3: checked bags — pack by person or by purpose
Two ways that work, and one that doesn’t:
- By person — one bag per adult, children split between them. Easy to unpack, easy to know whose things are where.
- By purpose — a clothes bag, a gifts bag, a “wedding outfits” bag, a shoes and toiletries bag. Better for functions and festivals.
- What doesn’t work: everyone putting things into whichever bag has space. That’s how the charger ends up in the bag on the hotel’s top shelf.
Clothes
- Daywear for the number of days, plus one extra
- Nightwear
- Innerwear and socks
- A warm layer — trains and flights are cold even in summer
- Function or festival outfits in garment covers
- Footwear: walking shoes, sandals, one formal pair
- Swimwear, caps and sunglasses for beach or hill trips
Toiletries and health
- Soap or body wash, shampoo, oil, comb
- Sunscreen and moisturiser
- Sanitary products
- Basic first aid: paracetamol, ORS, antacid, motion-sickness tablets, band-aids, antiseptic cream
- Mosquito repellent
Electronics
- Universal adapter (international trips)
- Extension board — hotel rooms never have enough sockets
- Camera and memory cards
For festivals and weddings
- Gifts, wrapped and labelled with names
- Puja items if you’re carrying them
- Jewellery in the cabin pouch, never checked in
- Safety pins, a small sewing kit, fabric tape
Name every bag, and know what’s in each
Give each bag a name everyone uses: “blue cabin bag”, “big grey suitcase”, “kids’ backpack”. Then keep a short list of what’s in each — or, quicker, photograph each bag open just before you close it. In WhatsWhere, each bag is a box with its own photos and contents list; on the trip anyone in the family can ask “which bag has the Crocin?” and see the photo of that bag.
The photos have a second use: if a bag is lost or damaged, the airline asks for a list of contents. A dated photo of the open bag is the easiest proof you will ever produce.
Before you lock the house
- Gas off at the cylinder, geyser and water heater off
- Fridge emptied of things that will spoil
- Windows shut and locked; balcony plants watered or handed to a neighbour
- Newspaper and milk paused
- Spare key with someone you trust
Before you leave the hotel
- Chargers from every socket — check behind the bed
- The safe and the bathroom shelf
- Under the bed and behind the door
- Each bag’s list, checked against what is in it
Which bag has the charger?
Photograph each bag as you pack and WhatsWhere lists what’s inside. On the trip, ask “which bag has the medicines?” by voice and see the photo of that bag — and keep the dated photos for a baggage claim.