Packing list template: a simple list you can copy for any trip

Most people pack from memory the night before and find out what they forgot at the airport. A packing list fixes that, but only if it is the right shape. A list of two hundred items is as bad as no list: nobody reads it, and nobody trusts it. The best list is short, grouped by where things go, and built to be reused.

Below is a template you can copy into a notes app and keep. After it, how to adapt it to a trip, and a worked example for a week in Lisbon.

The template

Before anything else

• Where, when and for how long:
• Weather range: lowest and highest temperature, rain or none
• Bag: carry-on only, or checked as well
• Laundry: yes or no on the trip

Documents and money

• Passport, and the date it runs out
• Visas or entry confirmations, if needed
• Travel insurance details
• Booking confirmations, where you can open them offline
• Cards, some cash in the local currency
• Phone numbers for emergencies, written down
• Driving licence, if driving

Clothes

• Tops: one for each two days, plus one
• Trousers or skirts: two or three that go with everything
• Underwear and socks: one pair for each day, up to a week
• One warm layer
• One waterproof layer
• Sleepwear
• Shoes: one comfortable pair for walking, one other pair at most
• Swimwear, if there is water
• One smarter outfit, if the trip needs it

Toiletries

• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Shampoo and soap, or whatever the stay provides
• Sun cream
• Razor
• Contact lenses and solution, or glasses
• Make-up and skincare, in the smallest form

Health

• Regular medication, with a little extra
• Pain relief
• Plasters and blister cover
• Anything for upset stomachs
• Allergy medicine

Tech

• Phone and charger
• Plug adapter for the country
• Power bank
• Headphones
• Camera, if not the phone
• Charging cables in one pouch

For the journey

• Water bottle, empty through security
• Snacks
• Book or downloaded films
• Pen, for forms
• Small bag for the day

Extras for this trip only

• Anything specific to the plan: hiking boots, a snorkel, a dress for a wedding

Shared items, for groups

• Who brings the speaker
• Who brings the first-aid kit
• Who brings a games pack
• Who brings extra chargers and a multi-plug

How to adapt it

Write the weather first. The first block makes every later choice easier. A range of 8 to 15 degrees and some rain is a different bag from 30 and sun, even for the same city. Check a forecast a few days before, and again the day before.

Pack to a number of days, not a number of outfits. A week-long trip and a month-long trip need almost the same clothes if you can wash once. Choose a rule, such as "one top per two days, plus one", and stop there. If you are going light, carry-on only packing shows how far this can go.

Cut the extras you did not use last time. A packing list is a living document. After each trip, strike the items you never touched and add the one thing you missed. By the third trip it is a precise record of what you actually need.

Keep a core list and a trip list. The sections above are the core: they barely change between trips. Save them once, then add a short block for what is particular to this trip. Specific lists for particular trips are in the city break packing list, the beach holiday packing list and the cold weather packing list.

Pack the day before, not the hour before. Lay everything out, tick off the list, then leave the bag by the door. Documents go in last, in the same pocket every time.

For a group, split the shared things. Nobody needs six speakers or six first-aid kits. What a group should share goes through the list properly, and the last block of the template is a place to write the names.

A worked example: a week in Lisbon

Seven nights in March, two people, one checked bag between them, mostly walking. Weather: 10 to 18 degrees, a chance of rain, mild evenings.

Documents and money

• Passports (valid well beyond the dates), insurance details, the apartment confirmation saved offline, two cards and a little cash, the airport transfer details

Clothes, per person

• Four tops, two pairs of trousers, one dress or smarter shirt
• Seven pairs of underwear and socks
• One jumper, one light waterproof jacket
• Sleepwear
• One pair of comfortable walking shoes, one pair of casual shoes
• No swimwear, the trip is too early in the year

Toiletries and health

• Shared bag: shampoo, sun cream, razor
• Personal: toothbrush, contact lenses, make-up in small sizes
• One kit for the two of us: plasters, pain relief, blister cover

Tech

• Phones, chargers, one power bank, a plug adapter for the country
• One camera between the two of us

For the journey and the day

• A refillable water bottle, a book each, a small bag for the day

Extras for this trip

• A compact umbrella, and shoes with good grip for the steep cobbled streets

Notice what is not here: a hair dryer, a second pair of heels, six outfits of "just in case". The list is built around what the days will actually be like, and it fits in one case. More destination-specific ideas are in the Portugal travel guide.

Where to go next

If the list is turning into a long one, what not to pack is a good place to cut it back. And if you are flying with liquids, packing toiletries for a flight covers the part that catches most people out.