Ultimate Packing List For a Road Trip in India

Does the item ‘Spark Joy‘?

At home, I do believe in KonMari method of only keeping items that ‘spark joy’. Being a minimalist.

For my non road trip travels, I prefer to travel light as I don’t want to be lugging stuff. This has forced me to shop for accessories during the trip, resulting in my possession of at least two swimsuits, two jackets and three hats more than I actually need.

The advantage of packing for a road trip is that you don’t need to be thrifty with it.

Instead of “does the item spark joy in me”, my question is “Is there a possibility that I may need this”?

What Kind of a Bag Should I Carry?

Most of the overnight stops will either be at small hotels or homestays with no lift facility, muddy or cobblestone pathways making it difficult to drag your trolley suitcase.

Since you will mostly need to carry the bag and that too only from the vehicle to your room, its best to keep your stuff in lightweight duffel bags.

Buy Duffle bag here

It will also be easier to load-unload these in your vehicle.

During my initial few road trips, I used to dump a lot of stuff in the boot of my vehicle and most of the stuff was in small bags or loosely thrown (jackets etc).

With experience I have come to realize this is not the best way to pack for road trips as it gets difficult to unload-load multiple small bags at my overnight stops.

So nowadays, I limit my luggage to one overnight bag per person.

Along with a few cloth bags which mostly have stuff which I ‘may’ need and which I mostly do not need to unload at my overnight stops. They remain in my vehicle.

Organisation is the key for this. And if you are unable to plan and organise, then I suggest keeping all your stuff in one bag, even if that means you need to take a bigger bag/suitcase.

In my experience, what you need to avoid is multiple small bags.

How to Organise The Bags?

I usually keep the following bags:

• One overnight bag per person: This should include everything that you might need at night (toiletries, bed linen, electric kettle, towels, clothes)
• One handbag per person: This includes valuables and I always carry this with me.
• One bag for food items: Depending on my need, I may or may not leave this in the vehicle during my overnight stay
• One bag for footwear: I usually wear flip flops for the most part of my journey and leave the footwear bag in the vehicle.
• One bag for swimwear: I leave this in the vehicle
• Loose items: Jackets, umbrellas/windcheaters, water bottles (keep in the vehicle door bottle holders)

How to Load the Luggage in the Vehicle?

This depends on the amount of luggage you need to carry. If you have a lot and need to maximise the space, then the larger items should go in first so that the smaller bags can be crammed in.

If you don’t have an issue with space, then the rule of thumb should be ‘First In Last Out’. Keep the ‘may need’ bags at the back and the definitely-need bags in the front of the boot.

Make sure the luggage does not block your windows especially the rear window glass. All items should be securely fastened and preferably be in the boot of the vehicle.

Also, do not overload your vehicle as that will reduce the mileage efficiency and decrease stability, making it difficult for you to manoeuver and also increase the braking distance of your vehicle.

From a long term perspective, it will affect critical systems in your vehicle (for e.g. suspension) leading to premature wear and tear.

What All Should I Keep in my Handbag/Purse?

A handbag is what you will carry with you every time you get out of the vehicle. Preferably use a bag which has zip pockets:

• Zip pocket 1: Cash, Few Credit Cards, Driving License
• Zip pocket 2: Lip balm, Sanitiser, Sunscreen
• Car Key
• Pocket Knife
• Mobile Phone
• Peebuddy (for women)  buy it here

What All Should I Pack?

Dry Snacks For Munching in The Vehicle

If you are travelling in Punjab/Haryana – there will surely be no dearth of dhabas. And that is one of the things I really look forward to.

However, my trips in Himachal/Gujarat/Rajasthan had me struggling to find a decent place for food especially on state highways and village roads.

Most of the places were either too dingy (and frequented by truck drivers) or there were the typical fast food chains (like McDonalds).

Neither of these are my preferred stop choice but just so that you know, these places do exist.

That is why, it is a good practice to keep some snacks in your vehicle for those crazy hunger pangs. I usually carry chips, nuts, biscuits, chocolates, fruits and also try to pick up local food on the way to munch at in the vehicle. One of my favourite roadtrip snacks is Daadi’s methi khakra (Buy it here) (it is a brand and does not refer to my daadi!), Nutri bars – I prefer Yoga bars. It is light and also available in travel friendly sizes (50g).

Also, keep a few pouch sealing clips to seal the leftovers. These are great for keeping the food dry and also preventing spillage.

Another thing I like to carry is my Coffee travel mug so that I can sip on my coffee while driving without worrying about spilling.

Drinking Water

I always carry enough water to last for at least 24 hours. It is important to keep yourself hydrated.

As most of you would know, tap water in India is not fit for drinking.

Having graduated in microbiology, I am a little wary of trusting ‘filtered water’ in India, especially if I cannot ‘see’ the filter. I also try my best to avoid buying plastic packaged water bottles.

There is a possibility the water you consume outside during these trips is contaminated and that’s one of the easiest ways of falling sick while on a vacation.

It is also one of the easiest things that you can avoid.

My method is equally simple. Most hotels nowadays provide an electric kettle in which I boil RO filtered water from the hotel during my overnight stops. That’s how I refill the bottles and manage to avoid purchasing plastic bottled water.

I also carry my travel kettle with me for those instances when the hotels do not provide a kettle.

Buy travel electric kettle here

It is safe, environment friendly and economical.

I also use the Lifestraw bottle (Buy it here) which is a reusable bottle with a built in filter. It is perfect for treks where you find either rivers/water stream/water falls along the way; which is actually a part of most treks. I recently used it on my Kheerganga trek in Himachal Pradesh and was very useful on that trip as I did not need to carry excess weight.

Another option is to keep Water purifier tablets with you – Would especially recommend this if you have a sensitive stomach.

Meals

As mentioned earlier, I always carry an electric kettle. Along with this, I have tea/coffee mixes and cup noodles handy.

For dinner, I prefer to either eat at my hotel or some place close by as smaller cities may get too deserted at night.

At times you may not get that lucky with either.

This happened during my visit to Konkan region. It was off season, our hotel did not have a functional kitchen and none of the restaurants around my hotel were open.

After an entire day of driving, we were too exhausted to head out in the vehicle looking for a meal. All we wanted to do was to eat something and crash.

Which is when the cup noodles proved to be perfect.

Dinners are typically light for me because I take multiple stops on the way trying regional cuisines, leaving me with very little appetite for a full-fledged dinner.

Weather-Related Accessories

Irrespective of the weather, I always keep sunglasses, sunscreen, a sweatshirt and an umbrella in my vehicle during a road trip.

Additionally, I pack clothes and footwear depending on my destination.

For hills, it would be woolen jackets, thermals, woolen caps and boots while for beaches, it would be shorts, summery tops, swimwear, and flip flops.

Clothes

On road trips, I prefer loose clothes. The attire depends on the region and weather of the place I am travelling to.

Maxi dresses, track pants, knee length shorts and a quite a few tops and undergarments is what I usually pack. I also prefer clothes that don’t wrinkle easily.

I do have a travelling iron (buy it here )which I sometimes carry with me; however it is not very effective. And I also feel lazy to iron my clothes while on a vacation.

Also, carry a separate cloth bag in which you can dump your dirty clothes.

Swimwear

I must mention here that I am a complete water baby and can rarely resist the temptation of jumping into it.

And there is no dearth of water bodies in India. The sea, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and the man-made ones too: swimming pools, tube wells.

Yes, while on a family road trip in Uttar Pradesh, I have jumped into a tube well too – nothing like water to beat the Indian heat.

I usually carry two pairs. One is a swimsuit – the one I usually carry is my Speedo swimsuit (which is a good blend of comfort and style) and the other is a pair of quick dry tee and swimskirt.

This reminds me of an incident during a weekend at a nice-looking resort in Himachal Pradesh. I was so tempted by the pool I had to purchase a swimwear from the resort shop.

And, since there were not too many choices at the shop, I was forced to pick one that I did not like too much – and pay a bomb for it 🙁

Needless to say, I have never worn it again. I recently gave it away.

I have learnt from my mistakes and always carry my swimwear in a separate bag.

Accessories for the Vehicle

A chunk of the time you spend on your road trip will be in your vehicle. It, therefore, is almost necessary you strive to make yourself ‘at home’ there. I do that by equipping my vehicle with the following:

• Mobile car charger (Buy it here)
• Mobile Holder: There are many types available in the market. I initially had a magnetic one which was very good. I had a pixel 4a phone at that time and since it was quite light, the magnetic holder was perfect for it. I now have an iphone 14pro and since it is a heavy phone, it keeps falling off. So I now bought the Portronics vent holder which is very good and value for money – Buy it here. Do make sure you use some kind of holder though, even if you have a co-passenger who volunteers to be the holder.
• Sun Shades for Your Car (Buy it here)

  

• Tissue holder – I prefer this one as it neatly goes over the sun visor, Tissues, Wet Wipes
• Garbage Bag
• Car Freshener

Basic First-Aid

I usually keep a strip of Paracetamol, a motion sickness tablet, antidiarrheal tablet, altitude sickness tablet (if travelling to such a region), band aid, pain relief spray, antihistamine cream and cetirizine as a part of my kit.

If you are planning to camp or are travelling with kids, you need to have a more elaborate first aid kit which should additionally include cotton, bandages, antiseptic to name a few.

Although most of the basic medicines are available in most parts of India (even remote areas), it is always better to be prepared.

Valuables/Important Documents

When travelling in India, I only carry my driving license as identity proof and leave all my valuables at home. Worst case, I do have soft copies of the documents in my phone.

As I have often repeated on this blog, carry enough cash as it won’t be easy to find ATMs on a highway and most restaurants on the highway do not accept cards/UPI.

Avoid keeping cash and cards in a wallet and then keeping it in the purse. A wallet is a small item and it is easy to drop it when getting in/out of the car. I would advise to keep cash and cards in one of the zip pockets of your purse.

I usually carry a sling bag with multiple zip pockets.

Also, do not keep a lot of cash in one place as that may attract thieves. I usually split my cash and keep most of it in my overnight bag.

Eye Mask, Ear Plug

I have an issue with my sleep as I suffer from the Restless Legs Syndrome. I am not proud to say this – but I am addicted to eye masks and cannot sleep without it.

For last-minute halts at highway hotels, always ask receptionist to allocate you a non-highway facing room. The light and the traffic on the highway can hamper your sleep especially if you are a light sleeper like me.

The thing to remember about highways is the traffic will not slow down at night.

Other Tips

Most hotels/homestays in India provide a set of towels and blankets. The towels are usually clean, but the blankets, not so much.

This is why I would recommend carrying one top sheet per person (you can wrap yourself in it and then use the hotel’s blanket) and a hand towel. Depending on my travel destination and hotels, I sometimes carry my travel towel (buy it here) which is light, compact and quick dry.

The other things that I recommend packing:

• Skincare products including moisturizer, lip balm and deodorant (keep these in a separate pouch)
• Toiletries: I carry my soap, shampoo, conditioner and hair oil in small reusable bottles, toothpaste, toothbrush  (keep all toiletries in a separate pouch)
• Sanitary pads/tampons/menstrual cup if applicable
• Mosquito repellant
• Battery backup
• Safety pins
• Pepper spray/pocket knife