I’ve always been a fairly light packer, so as my SouthEast Asia trip started coming together, I knew I wanted to get by with carryon luggage only, but I had no idea what to wear in Thailand. My first flight involved a 20 hour, overnight layover and a hotel stay in Hong Kong – what would happen to my checked baggage? Not to mention, with 7 flights over 2 weeks, I didn’t want to waste time at baggage claim each time or worse, risk losing my belongings. I knew I would have to do laundry at some point in the trip, but that’s pretty typical on my longer trips. I had a few pool days planned where sending my laundry out wouldn’t be an inconvenience. Knowing that other travelers will struggle with what to bring to Thailand, with extreme heat and humidity combined with modesty guidelines (no shorts or tank tops) at the temples, I put together my Thailand packing list.

This post contains affiliate links. Buying through these links will not cost you extra, but I will earn a small commission.

Carry-On Roller Bag

The carry-on I took for this trip is the TravelPro MaxLite 3 International Carry-On Spinner.  It looks and feels tiny, but you can cram a whole lot into this bag.  You know how sometimes you have a roller bag and you worry about whether it’s going to fit in the overhead? Yeah, I’ve fudged a few in my day. This one has never been a problem. Except when I tried to leave America and found out International airlines go by weight, not size. Oops! Let’s just say I was re-packing my stuff at the ticket counter. (Which really makes no sense, as all of the weight was still going onto the plane with me)

Personal Carry-On Item

My “personal item” is almost always my trusty Timbuk2 messenger bag.  I love this bag – I’m wary of backpacks when traveling as I feel like someone could easily get into the back without me knowing, plus they just scream “tourist.”  This bag has crazy loud velcro (not so great on a flight) and buckles so I feel like it would be hard for a thief to sneak into.

What to Pack for Thailand

The key to figuring out what to wear in Thailand is finding modest clothes that you can stay cool in. That’s a tough combination, as your legs and shoulders have to be covered but the temperature can be close to 100 degrees with very high humidity. Most of my hiking clothes and technical fabric include tank tops and shorts, so this trip required some creative thinking.

Clothing:

• 1 pair white linen pants – shop linen pants at REI
• 1 pair black linen capri pants
• 1 black skort – shop skorts at REI
• 1 pair of shorts
• Pajamas – old workout clothes I planned to leave behind
• 1 swim-suit
• 1 maxi dress
• 1 t-shirt dress
• 2 lightweight sweaters – total overkill, 1 sweater would suffice for flights or restaurants.
• 7 Tops – 3 t-shirts, 1 nicer top, 3 tanks
• Yoga Capri pants and denim tunic I wore on the plane

Shoes:

• • Teva flip-flops
  • Chaco ZX/2 Sandals
  • Keen leather sandals
  • Tieks Ballet Flats
• Accessories
  • 1 Panama Hat
  • 1 Sarong
  • Pashmina wrap for the plane
  • Extra tote bag for shopping/return carry-on
  • Sockwell compression socks
  • Sunglasses, prescription sunglasses and prescription glasses (ah, life at 40!)
• Electronics
  • DSLR – Nikon D3000
  • 3 lenses, battery pack, charger, etc
  • iPhone 4S w/ waterproof case
  • iPhone 5S for photos, podcasts and Instagram updates
  • Kindle e-Reader
• Miscellaneous
  • Kind Bars
  • Electrolyte Powder
  • Lifestraw Water Bottle
  • Travel Laundry bag
  • Wet wipes, bleach wipes, bum wipes
  • Toiletries – the usual toothpaste, deodorant, face wash…no makeup!
  • First-Aid – a small bag with aspirin, band-aids, Pepto, Immodium

In addition to apparently exceeding the carry-on weight limit, I’ll also admit to bringing 2 1-liter bags full of 3 oz toiletries.  I strategically packed one with necessities and a 2nd I could live without if I got busted, which thankfully, I did not.

I feel like I brought a lot of items that were more suited to a backpacker trip. I mostly took planes and stayed in nice hotels, so I didn’t need as many wipes or cleaning items as I thought. I barely used the Lifestraw Water bottle as every hotel provided bottled water on a daily basis, although looking back, I should have used my bottle to reduce waste as recycling wasn’t widespread. (I’m wiser now: see 7 Steps for Sustainable Travel)

On final reflection, I could have actually gotten by with much less – maybe 1 more swimsuit, more underwear, and fewer shoes and sweaters.  In total, I spent about $40 to send out my laundry twice, both times using the hotel service. (Granted, I could have taken it down the street for $3, but better safe than sorry!)

I never felt like I was missing anything by not bringing a larger suitcase, and it was so nice to bypass the baggage claim area every time I landed. I did eventually check the roller-bag towards the end of my trip after buying some souvenirs and expanding into a 2nd tote bag, but for the most part, I was quite happy with my packing strategy. I’ll never be one of those people who always try to go smaller and smaller, as there are some trips where I want lots of shoes and clothing options, but this time carry-on only worked perfectly for me.

And, despite what my sister might think, I did not wear the exact same outfit every day for 16 days 😉

Do you have questions about packing for Thailand? Leave me a comment!

Like this post? Pin it for later!