The difficulty of packing your whole life into a bag or two cannot be overstated. What should you bring and what is best to leave at home? And on the opposite end of things, how can you make sure you won’t forget anything? This is where we come in — this is the ultimate packing list for digital nomads.
Clothes
Depending on where you go, you want to pack warmer or less warm clothes. But either way, you need to pack these essentials:
- Underwear, socks, pyjamas
- Shirts, button-up shirts, blouses, and informal dresses
- Pants, both formal and informal
- Shorts and skirts
- Swimwear
- Sweaters, cardigans, jackets, and other warm clothes
- Dresses, suits, and more formal wear
- Sport clothes (for running, skiing, water sports etc.)
- A hat or some sort of head cover against the sun or cold
- At least three pairs of shoes (formal, everyday, and outdoors)
Technology
As a digital nomad, you need to make sure you have your tech always on hand. So here are the necessities you need to pack:
- Laptop with a charger (mouse, extra keyboard, and a laptop stand are optional but recommended)
- Alternative to a laptop can be a tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard
- Phone with a charger
- Headphones (preferably earplugs for portability)
- Flash drive and an external hard drive
- Universal electronic socket converter and a travel adapter
- Portable Wi-Fi hotspot device
- International Sim card (or get a SIM card when you land)
- Pen and a notebook
- Wire for connections between devices (OTG cable, chargers etc.)
- Optional: USB Hub, retractable Ethernet cable, external battery
Hygiene and self-care
Just because you’re traveling half a world away doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stay healthy. Here are the bare essentials you need to take with you:
- Razors both electric and metal together with shaving foam and shaving balm
- Deodorant
- Perfumes
- Skin care (lotions, oils, and the like)
- Hair combs, beard combs, de-tanglers, etc.
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash
- Pads, tampons, moon cups, period underwear
- Skin scrubs
- Hair products (shampoo, conditioner, repair shampoos etc.)
- Manicure with tweezers
- Towel
- Make-up (take essentials only, more general stuff like micellar water can be bought locally)
- Portable mirror or a pocket mirror
- Medication (check if it is available in the country you are moving to and if not, stock up at home)
Documents and administrative essentials
You might leave with all your clothes and hygiene perfectly packed but if you forget any of the items below, you can find yourself in a heap of trouble. So make sure you have all of them:
- Tickets (plane, bus, train etc.)
- Passport and ID
- Visa or any documentation you need for entering the country
- Healthcare insurance
- Travel insurance
- Contact paper (emergency contacts in case you lose your phone)
- Credit/debit card and the correct currency in cash
Other
Some of these are optional and depend on where you go and what you will need. But it is still important to double-check whether you didn’t forget something:
- Reusable water bottle
- Flashlight
- Earplugs
- Travel cutlery
- Multitool (with a screwdriver, bottle opener, can opener etc.)
- Pack of COVID masks and an antigen test
- Umbrella or raincoat
- Camera, entertainment electronics, E-reader
- Sleep mask and blow-up pillow
