What To Pack For A Month In Southeast Asia (For Women)

A lot of the questions I’ve had about our trip to Southeast Asia have revolved around packing for the trip, especially since we were there for a month and carried everything on our backs. Packing for Southeast Asia is about to get a whole lot easier for anyone planning a trip with this tried and true packing list!

START WITH A GOOD TRAVEL BAG

I have done a TON of research on travel bags (after doing multiple backpacking trips with some not so great ones) and finally settled on the Osprey Fairview 40L (for women)/Farpoint 40L (for men) for our upcoming Europe trip. I carried a MEC Flair 60L through Southeast Asia and it was a pretty good bag, but if you want to fly carry-on only, then the Fairview/Farpoint bags are the way to go!

Whatever bag you do go with, make sure you get it properly fitted before going on your trip. Go into the store if you can, fill the bag with some weight and walk around the store for a bit to get an idea of how it’ll feel while traveling. Also remember that bigger isn’t necessarily better- you have to physically carry every pound in that bag on your back, so I don’t recommending going any bigger than a 60L bag and even then, don’t pack it to it’s full capacity, either.

For those that don’t want to or can’t carry a backpack, Calpak hard-sided rolling luggage is a great option. They look nice, stand out in a sea of black bags and the hard shell will keep everything inside protected. There’s lots of zippers and compartments inside to keep everything nice and tidy, and they also come in several sizes to suit your needs.

PACK THE ESSENTIALS

Clothing

While packing for a month long backpacking trip, there are a few things to keep in mind: what activities you’ll be doing while there, how often you’ll be able to/want to do laundry, and the expected weather and temperature of the places you’ll be visiting. You often will need less than you think you do! Make sure everything you bring is practical for where you’re going and make sure the clothes you bring mix and match well with each other.

Tops

• 4-5 tank tops (I lived in these. Bring basic colors or prints that match with everything)
• 2 t-shirts (I brought a basic white tee and a cute olive green one that could be more “dressy” without actually being dressy)
• 1 warm sweater (it was so hot and humid everywhere we went but having a sweater for the airports was a necessity- they’re chilly!)
• rain jacket (we had a couple downpour days in Hanoi and this was a lifesaver)

Bottoms

• 4 pairs of shorts (I brought a couple denim pairs that I wore daily, a pair of sporty shorts for hiking/activities and a comfy pair to wear to walking around or bed)
• 1 pair of leggings (these were great for airport days and I did wear them a few other times throughout the trip on cooler evenings as well as during activities that required long pants like ziplining)
• 1 pair of loose, comfy pants (great for visiting temples when you need to cover up. You can buy these all over the place in Southeast Asia for very cheap, so don’t stress if you don’t already have a pair to bring with you)
• 1 dress or long skirt (I like to have something that I can get a little dressed up in for a nice dinner or evening out. You can buy dresses for very cheap in Southeast Asia as well)

Undergarments + Swimsuits

• 2-3 swimsuits
• 1-2 sports bras
• 1-2 regular bras
• 8 pairs of underwear (you can bring as many or as few as you like- you always have the option of washing them in a bathroom sink if need be)
• 4 pairs of socks

Shoes

• 1 pair of runners (these will come in handy for hikes and various outdoor activities)
• 1 pair of comfy sandals for walking (think Tevas, Chacos, Birkenstocks… something you can walk around all day in comfortably)
• 1 pair of flipflops (for beach days and hostel showers)
• 1 pair of dressy sandals (something that you can wear with dresses or cute outfits if that’s your thing)

Accessories

• a hat
• cheap sunglasses
• turkish towel/sarong/big cotton scarf (as a general rule, your legs and shoulders need to be covered when visiting temples. Having one of these in your bag is great when you need to cover up and it also doubles as a towel at the beach and a blanket on the bus or airplane)
• day bag and/or small purse

Toiletries

• microfiber towel (these dry quickly and are far more compact than a regular towel)
• makeup (keep this very simple. I found it WAY too hot to ever wear any sort of foundation or heavy makeup, so I’d recommend bringing a tinted sunscreen/BB cream with SPF, concealer, waterproof mascara and tinted brow gel at most)
• travel sized shampoo/conditioner/body wash (you can stock up on bigger sizes once you’re there, but it’s nice to not have to rush to the store the first day you arrive to be able to take a shower)
• toothpaste and toothbrush
• deodorant
• razor
• q-tips
• lip balm
• sunscreen (I noticed a lot of the sunscreens in SE Asia had whitening ingredients, so I definitely avoided these when I had to restock my supply. I’ll bring more sunscreen from home next time!)
• hairbrush and elastics (my hair was up almost 100% of the time)
• bug spray (I’m not normally a bug spray person but it’s a must in SE Asia- the risk is just too high with some of the diseases that mosquitos carry)
• tissues or toilet paper (you can buy these when you get there if you’d prefer, but you’ll likely come across several instances in which you either have to pay for a few sheets of toilet paper or there’s just none at all)

Other

• passport (duh) and a couple photocopies of your passport in case of emergency
• travel insurance (a MUST have when you go anywhere. World Nomads is my favorite for this)
• dirty laundry bag (the kind with a plastic lining is great to keep smelly or wet clothes separate from the rest of your stuff)
• a few packs of ear plugs (if you’re living the hostel life like we do, these are a necessity)
• padlock (another hostel necessity)
• travel size bottle of laundry soap (great for washing clothes in the sink if need be)
• packing cubes (these make packing so much more organized!)
• travel adapter (make sure to get one that works for the specific country you’re going to)
• power bank (so handy to be able to charge your phone on bus rides/flights/basically any time)
• headphones (again, great for travel days)
• basic first aid kit
• medicine (advil and pepto bismol)
• water bottle (this one is a toss up. Normally I’m all about the refillable water bottle life, but you can’t drink tap water in Southeast Asia so you usually have to buy bottled water regardless. If you do bring a water bottle, bring something very lightweight)
• laptop (only bring this if you have work to do on the road, otherwise it’s not worth the weight or risk to be hauling around in your backpack)
• camera and memory cards
• GoPro (we used ours a lot and I’m so glad we have those videos to look back on!)
• phone (you can get a SIM card when you arrive at the airport for pretty cheap. This was SO helpful to have throughout our trip!)
• chargers for all of the above electronics

AVOID OVERPACKING

Remember, you have to carry all of this on your back… and in hot, incredibly humid weather? It’s not the most fun when your bag weighs a million pounds. Here are a few things I brought but should have left at home:

• sticky bra (I brought this for a couple of my tops/dresses but it is WAY too hot and humid in Southeast Asia for a sticky bra. They won’t stay on!)
• jeans (I brought one pair and wore them one time for all of half an hour before peeling them off my sweaty legs, hahaha)
• too much makeup (as I mentioned before, keep your makeup routine super simple. You will sweat face makeup off so quick, so stick to a tinted sunscreen or BB cream with SPF and leave the heavy makeup at home)
• jewelry (don’t bring anything expensive or flashy as it makes you a target for thieves. You also don’t want to risk losing these things!)
• heavy water bottle (I brought my BKR glass water bottle for some reason. Probably just because I thought it was cute, haha. These are heavy and super impractical for travel, though)

I hope this list helps with packing for your trip to Southeast Asia trip! What’s the longest trip you’ve ever had to pack for?