TOTAL guide to backpacking packing list for Thailand.
So you’ve finally booked that flight to Thailand! But what’s next? Is it time to start writing that Thailand backpacking packing list you’ve been dreading?
You’re filled to the brim with excitement. Your mind drifts off to images of you wandering down a bustling Asian metropolitan street.
The humid air drifts by with the scent of incense and charred street meat. You can hear the gentle lapping of the waves against the white sands as palm trees sway in the breeze. The sun glints off distant golden Buddha statues whilst monks chant rhythmically in worship.
This is Thailand, my friends! The Land of Smiles is within reach.
But oh no! You snap awake from your pleasant fantasies with panic. You haven’t packed a single thing.
Well… that’s where I slide in. After countless backpacking trips to this mystical land, I’m perfectly placed to pass on the knowledge I’ve earned from so much trial and error. I’ve put it all together in what is undoubtedly the ULTIMATE packing list for backpacking Thailand.
Fear not, because this is the only packing list for Thailand you will ever need, whether you’re going off for the rainy or dry season and an itinerary of hiking, partying, or just being a beach bum. This is EXACTLY what you need to take to Thailand.
Alright, so you’ve managed to negotiate the realms of the interweb and you’re here, desperately searching out information for your backpacking Thailand packing list before your big trip. Well, folks, you’ve come to the right place, cus we’ve been there and done it almost as many times as I’ve slipped on a soaking-wet Southeast Asian toilet floor!
Before we delve into our packing list for backpacking Thailand, I’ve got some words of advice.
After spending way too many hours dragging around a bag that was too big and too heavy, do yourself a favour and PACK LIGHT! That’s probably one of the most important bits of backpacking advice you’ll ever here!
Not only do you want to pack light, but you want to pack smartly. So make sure you get yourself some packing cubes to keep everything organised and maximise space. Also, do yourself a favour and get a comfortable, clamshell-opening backpack too.
In Thailand, being one of the cheapest travel destinations, you can buy a whole heap of things you might end up forgetting or thinking you don’t need. So don’t over-pack. The old tip of packing once, going for a walk with your bag, and then removing half of the contents still stands true.
After all, one of the classic things to do in Pai is buying elephant pants in a space cake-induced haze!
Thailand is all about living that backpacker lifestyle, embracing the freedom that comes from living out of what’s on your back. Now you can’t do that with a suitcase can you?! When it comes to a packing for Southeast Asia, you’ve got to be strategic!
Alright then, let’s get on to the golden question of what to bring to Thailand.
The List of Thailand Travel Essentials for BEFORE You Leave
First things first, before we get into the details, these are the Thailand travel necessities you’ll need on your Thailand travel packing list before you even leave the house!
Travel Insurance
Whilst Thailand is a super safe place to visit with great health care, you should always be prepared for any eventuality. Make sure you get yourself some good travel insurance before heading off so you can enjoy your trip with no worries.
Be sure all the activities you plan on doing are covered. We highly recommend Safetywing as one of the best and most trustworthy providers.
Travel insurance is one of those annoying things that no one likes to think about, let alone pay for, when you’re planning your next trip. It can also be bloody annoying as a backpacker/long-term traveller to find affordable coverage that meets the itinerary-less lifestyle (*cough* World Nomads *cough*).
So instead of getting subpar travel insurance, now we just always go with SafetyWing. It takes like 5-10 minutes to purchase your policy and essentially functions as a monthly subscription plan with near-global coverage!
Make sure your phone is unlocked and not from the Victorian era, ie, it is eSIM compatible.
Getting an eSIM is a real game-changer because you can set it up before you travel, top up and monitor your usage as you go and don’t have to change any fiddly single-use plastic SIM cards in the back of a tuk-tuk going breakneck speeds around Bangkok!
You can purchase different amounts of data and can set it up for just a single country, like Thailand, or for a whole region, like Southeast Asia.
Banking whilst travelling can be a bit of a pain, and you’ll often get stung with international fees. Setting up a Wise account means you can keep money in different currencies, withdraw with no fees and manage your money from anywhere.
Transfer Your Money Abroad Or Grab An International Card
In the early days of travel we would get a stack of money out and carry it with us… It wasn’t the best way to avoid a disaster really, but getting constantly stung by ATM fees wasn’t much better,
Now we have Wise and, phew, things have CHANGED!! With our Wise account we can keep money in multiple currencies as well as withdrawing cash and paying by card without paying transaction fees. Plus, if you work online like we do, then it’s a fantastic platform for payments.
Passport & Visas – Make copies, both digital and physical and check the validity. Get prepared with iVisa for the latest information.
Extra passport photos – Useful for visas if you’re travelling onwards
Vaccination card/ record – Get dem jabs done
Driving License & International Driving Permit – Good backup ID and needed if you want to rent a bike or car. Also get hold of an IDP if you plan on driving.
Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) – For British residents, it doesn’t replace travel insurance.
Cash – Cash money yo! I always carry some local currency and some US Dollars on me in case I need to bribe a police officer for scooter-related offences!
Top Tip
We also recommend scanning your documents, such as your passport, insurance and visas and alongside your emergency contacts, saving them online somewhere like Google Drive or Dropbox.
A backpacker in the wild at sunset, a majestic sight indeed! Image: The Roaming Renegades
What to Pack for Thailand: The Roaming Renegades’ 10 MUST-HAVES
A Big Backpack
The best backpacks for travelling in Thailand are those that are light, feature a clamshell opening like a suitcase and are rugged enough to last for extended periods, being thrown from bus to plane.
My favourite is the Osprey Farpoint 70L, I’ve used the same one for seven years, and it’s still going strong after some hardcore backpacking across 5 continents.
We’ve used the Osprey Farpoint/ Fairview for all our backpacking adventures over the past 5 years and highly recommend them!
The main area of the pack opens like a suitcase, which is great for using packing cubes to keep everything organised and they even come with a detachable day pack!
You’ll want a smaller day pack to take around with you during the day.
As a photographer, I use the Wandrd Prvke with its side-opening pocket for my camera.
If you don’t need anything as specific, you can use the 15l day pack that comes with your Osprey Farpoint or buy a bigger 27l Osprey Pack as I had for many years, it’s great for hiking as well as exploring cities.
It’s mega comfortable when when fully loaded. Has side access so you can grab your camera on the go. The material is weather resistant and there’s even a secret passport stash pocket!
There’s an expandable upper section with a roll top to keep gear separate from your camera.
Have you even been backpacking in Thailand if you’ve not been to Khao San Road?! Image: The Roaming Renegades
A Fanny Pack/ Bum Bag
Keep valuables like your passport, wallet, phone and small camera on your person, especially when you’re on public transport with a bum bag. One of my biggest travel tips for Thailand is to grab one of these bad boys!
A bum bag/ fanny pack is ideal as it means you can keep important items close when you’re on night buses and flights, where you will want to take your smaller bag off.
They also come in useful for those days when you want to keep things light and just carry your essentials rather than having your day pack on your back, where it gets a little too sweaty!
Get yourself an unlocked phone with a good camera so you can capture your adventures, and book your transport and accommodation on the go. I mean, what’s the point in backpacking through Phuket if it’s not on the gram?
I personally have the iPhone 15 Max Pro with its MASSIVE amount of storage and 3 different lenses. I also have iCloud set up so that photo of me being groped by a monkey in Ubud is safe for generations to come (DM for the pic!)
I use the Sony a7v and a 24-105 f4 lens for the majority of my travel photography. This is a professional-level camera with a full-frame sensor. Though it is light and compact for what it is, it certainly isn’t a beginner or small camera.
I find this lens to be a good all-rounder for travel, and it means I don’t have to worry about missing shots whilst changing lenses or getting the sensor dirty.
I also carry the compact Sony RX100vii. This genuinely is a very pocketable camera with a brilliant 1-inch sensor that packs a real punch for its size. It has an articulating screen and built-in flash too as well as a pretty powerful zoom. So it’s an impressive all-rounder, which is great for things like selfies too.
My real guilty pleasure when it comes to photography is the pretty niche Ricoh GRiiix. Now this thing is a beauty, but it’s not for everyone. It’s tiny and features a silent shutter, a super sharp fixed lens that’s equivalent to 40mm and an APS-C-sized sensor. It’s ideal for street photography.
Also, be sure to pack some extra batteries and SD cards. You don’t want to run out of memory when there are so many epic places to visit in Bangkok and beyond.
I always travel with a good quality head torch and they’ve come in handy on many occasions, especially on night buses or in hostel dorms. They are also pretty useful when it comes to nighttime photography and hiking after dark.
Make sure to get one that is powerful and also won’t flake out on you in the rain! These also make a perfect gift for travellers if you’re wondering what to buy your mates before their big trip and don’t want to spend a fortune.
Being a hot and humid country, Thailand can be a haven for bugs, especially those pesky mosquitoes! Wherever you are in the country, there will be bugs, but if you’re headed out into the jungle, then you’ll get eaten alive at night, TRUST ME, I’ve been there!
So grab yourself the best bug spray for Thailand before you go. This way, when you’re rocking up at the Full Moon Party on the pull, you’re not an itchy, swollen mess; no one wants that!
For better or for worse, we’re all surgically attached to our electronic devices these days. Whether they’re keeping you entertained on a long night bus or you’re shooting some killer scenes for the greatest reel Instagram has ever seen, or even just booking a last-minute hostel when you realise you’ve arrived a day earlier than planned (again, been there!).
Either way, we’re all on our phones A LOT, and most of us rely on them to keep us connected and book our next accommodation or transport on our travels. So a portable battery pack/ powerbank is a must-have item for any traveller.
With many having multiple USB ports, I can even charge my camera and phone at the same time.
International Travel Converter/ Multiple socket plug
Following on from the portable battery pack are another two items that you CAN’T live without as a traveller.
You’ll most likely need a converter for your plugs, and the best travel adapter for Thailand is one that can switch between US and EU standard plug types, as they are used interchangeably.
Another useful item to get is either a travel adapter with multiple USB sockets or a plug from your own country that allows multiple items to be plugged in at once. This is great for saving space and weight, as well as meaning you can have multiple devices ready to go in the morning.
A good set of noise-cancelling headphones is a must for those long flights, trains and night buses. They also come in handy if you want to watch a movie in your dorm bed at night or video call your dog back home in a noisy hostel.
I also use them a lot when working on the road to drown out distracting background noise or for those days when you want a nap after partying too hard, a tiring night bus or nursing jetlag.
The One-Stop Packing List for Backpacking in Thailand
When you’re preparing for a Thailand trip, one of the BIG questions is how and what clothing to pack. Here, you’re best not overthinking it. In Thailand, it’s super easy to get laundry done, so you want to pack minimally.
When considering what to wear in Thailand, remember it is a hot and humid country, but generally speaking, it isn’t overly conservative. So shorts, t-shirts, vests and flip-flops are all good in the hood for the most part.
You will want to bring some clothing so that your knees and shoulders are covered if you’re visiting a temple, which, if you’re headed up north, is one of the most important things to do in Chiang Mai.
The Best Clothes to Pack for Thailand
Wondering what clothes to pack for Thailand? Well, aside from elephant pants, here you go.
5 t-shirts (swap some for a vest if you like, but bring at least 1 t-shirt for temples)
Underwear (Up to you how many you take, you won’t need many socks)
Best Rain Jacket
No matter whether you’re travelling in the rainy or dry season, a good waterproof jacket is one of the most essential things to take to Thailand. You just never know when rain will strike, and when it does, in Thailand, it doesn’t mess around… despite being one of the best backpacking destinations in the world.
Be sure not to scrimp when it comes to a good waterproof jacket. I’ve had mine for over 7 years now, and it’s stood the test of time because I invested well. Not all waterproof jackets are created equal, and all have different ratings for just how waterproof they actually are… so BE warned!
A good waterproof jacket is useful no matter where and when you’re travelling because the weather is always unpredictable. They’re lightweight and packable too, so don’t leave without one!
When travelling to Thailand, it can be easy to overthink what shoes you’re gonna need for your trip. But this is where you can win or lose your battle in the war against overpacking!
Whilst some folks opt for massive hiking boots, I’ve never once, over 7 years of travelling, missed them, and I’ve hiked some pretty decent mountains!
Instead, I recommend the following:
Good quality flip-flops
Get some awesome flip-flops that are good quality, those with good padding and fabric straps, because these will be your day-to-day footwear.
You’ll be spending a fair bit of time pounding the pavement and the trails, so my preferred shoes are good-quality trail running shoes. These are usually made for comfort over rough terrain on long runs, so they are well-padded. They are also often equipped with a superior grip for hiking and ventilation for hot climates.
Tablet or a Kindle– Perfect for those long buses and flights without entertainment or for bookworms who don’t want to carry a library of books on their back!
AGoPro– Great for action sports and underwater pictures and videos.
Ahh yes, as you can see, I am legitimately working here! Image: The Roaming Renegades
Thailand Backpacking Packing Guide Tick List Sheet
Because I’m a good guy, I’ve made you this handy checklist so you can tick off each item and even add a few of your own bits and bobs to the bottom, too. Enjoy!
Did We Forget Anything On Our Thailand Backpacking Packing List?
Rightio then, there you have it. Hopefully, I’ve covered all your questions when it comes to what to pack for a trip to Thailand. Whilst there might seem to be quite a few items on this list, it’s all about keeping things as light and as simple as possible.
Thailand is a great place to travel to, and I’ve fallen in love with it over and over on successive trips. Our packing list for Thailand hopefully has taken some of the stress out of organising your trip and you can get back to the fun task of planning out all the wonderful places you’ll visit along the way.
Enjoy, folks and remember, we’re here if you’ve got any questions about what to pack when travelling to Thailand.
Need more information for your trip? Check out this epic backpacking FAQ I put together.
Me suddenly remembering I forgot to pack any spare undies! Image: The Roaming Renegades
Frequently Asked Questions
When it comes to what to pack for 2 weeks in Thailand, you can either double the number of t-shirts and underwear or stick to our list and use one of the many easy-to-organise laundry services in Thailand. Whereas the question of what to pack for 10 days in Thailand is a little harder, in this situation, it might be best to just pack extra and not have to worry about laundry.
We swear by the Osprey Farpoint 70l for anything longer than a week. This is made up of the main pack at 55L and the detachable daypack at 15L.
We always recommend using a backpack as it’s so much easier when travelling around. Our favourite is the Osprey Farpoint 70l.
Many nations can enter Thailand without a visa for 30 days including the UK, Australia, USA and many EU countries. If you plan on staying longer then make sure you organise your visa before you travel. Always double-check the requirements well in advance of travelling.
Wear lightweight and loose clothing in Thailand. The country is pretty liberal and open-minded so unless you’re entering a temple, shorts, t-shirts and vests are all good. Bring something to cover your shoulders and knees if you are visiting a temple.
For transparency’s sake:Many of the links we have on our site are affiliate links. This means that when you click one of these links and make a booking or purchase, for example: accommodation, gear, insurance or transport, we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you).Also, know that as an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Most importantly, know that we still only recommend services, gear and products we believe in and our earned commission helps us keep travelling and bringing you high-quality posts and content.
Yo, I’m Nic (they/them), one-half of The Roaming Renegades.
I’m an adventure (and halloumi) obsessed traveller with a passion for hiking mountains, exploring cities, watching Arsenal win, moshing out to Rammstein in random European fields and getting hopelessly lost on a motorbike somewhere in Asia! I am also a proud member of the LGBT+ community.
I’ve explored 80 countries, lived in Australia and New Zealand, and spent months wandering Southeast Asia, South America and Eastern Europe, all while trying to avoid growing up!
Did it work? I dunno, but my back hurts, and I still collect Pokémon cards! Who wants in?!
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