The Ultimate Holiday Packing Checklist: What to Pack for Your 2026 Getaway

Here's a question I find myself asking every single time I travel: why do we always forget the same things? After reviewing dozens of travel accessories and conducting what my colleagues now call "the great packing experiment of January 2026" (I packed and unpacked for fifteen imaginary trips in one week), I can tell you that most packing disasters are entirely preventable. You just need a proper system.

I've spent the past month testing travel accessories from UK supermarkets, timing how long different organisational methods take, and—yes—deliberately forgetting items to see which ones caused the most grief. The results were illuminating. And slightly stressful, if I'm honest.

This isn't your average holiday packing checklist. It's one built from actual testing, real airport experiences, and the cold hard truth about what you'll actually use versus what looks useful in the shop. Let's get into it.

1. Travel Documents and Money

Before anything else goes in your bag, deal with the paperwork. I know, boring. But I've watched grown adults have meltdowns at Gatwick because they left their passport on the kitchen counter. Don't be that person.

Essential documents:

• Passport (check the expiry date—many countries require six months' validity)
• Boarding passes (printed backup, even if you have the app)
• Travel insurance documents
• Hotel and booking confirmations
• Driving licence if you're hiring a car
• Copies of prescriptions for any medication

Here's something people miss: take photos of every important document and email them to yourself. When my colleague lost her bag in Barcelona last year, having digital copies saved her a week of bureaucratic nightmare. The Foreign Office recommends this, and for once, the official advice is actually practical.

Money matters:

• At least two payment cards from different providers
• Some local currency for arrival (not much—airport exchange rates are robbery)
• Emergency cash tucked somewhere separate from your wallet

The cash thing might seem old-fashioned. Actually, scratch that—it doesn't seem old-fashioned, it is old-fashioned. But when your card gets blocked because your bank thinks the Madrid transaction is fraud (happened to me, twice), that €50 note in your sock becomes suddenly essential.

2. Hand Luggage Essentials

Your carry-on bag is insurance against disaster. If your checked luggage vanishes into the airline void—and statistically, it happens to about 7 in every 1,000 passengers—this bag is all you've got.

What goes in hand luggage:

• One complete outfit (underwear, socks, basics)
• Toiletries within the liquid allowance
• All medication (never check medication, ever)
• Phone charger and power bank
• Headphones
• Entertainment for delays
• Travel pillow and eye mask for long flights
• Snacks

Speaking of liquid allowances, the rules have shifted in 2026. Several UK airports—including Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Belfast—have upgraded their security scanners and now allow containers up to two litres through security. But—and this is important—not all airports have caught up. Glasgow, Bristol, London City, and others still operate the 100ml limit. Check your departure airport before you travel, or you'll be binning that perfectly good sunscreen.

The Travels brand does a compact TSA-approved toiletry bag that passed through every scanner I tested without issues. Decent quality, reasonable price, does the job. Not glamorous, but travel accessories rarely need to be.

3. Clothing (The "Less Than You Think" Approach)

This is where most packers go wrong. The urge to pack "just in case" outfits is strong. I know—I've been there, standing in a Lisbon launderette in my last clean shirt, thinking about all those "emergency" jumpers sitting unworn in my suitcase.

The honest formula:

• Tops: one per day, plus two extras
• Bottoms: half the number of days
• Underwear: one per day, plus two extras
• Sleepwear: two sets maximum
• One smart outfit if needed
• Layers (always layers)

The layering point isn't travel-blogger fluff. British weather being what it is—unpredictable, contrary, determined to catch you out—you need options without bulk. A light waterproof that packs small is worth more than three jumpers.

Fabric matters:

Merino wool is genuinely a game-changer for travel. Doesn't smell after multiple wears, dries quickly, regulates temperature. It's not cheap, but if you travel regularly, it pays for itself in reduced laundry and lighter bags. I tested shirts from four different brands over a ten-day trip without washing them. The merino survived. The cotton did not.

Quick-dry is your friend. Nothing you pack should take more than twelve hours to dry—that's not my rule, that's collective wisdom from thousands of frequent travellers who've learned the hard way.

4. Toiletries and Medication

Here's where a bit of planning saves significant money and airport stress.

The toiletries truth:

• Decant into small containers (the 100ml bottles cost pennies)
• Solid alternatives exist for almost everything (shampoo bars, solid sunscreen)
• Wet wipes don't count as liquids
• Prescription medication can exceed liquid limits with a doctor's letter

I keep a pre-packed toiletry bag that never fully unpacks. Basic duplicates—toothpaste, deodorant, mini sunscreen, plasters—that live permanently in a clear bag. The moment I book a trip, it goes in the case. This single habit has eliminated approximately 90% of my "forgotten item" incidents.

For medication, don't mess about. Keep everything in original packaging with your name on it. Some countries are strict about unmarked pills, and trying to explain your antihistamines to customs in a language you don't speak is not my idea of a holiday.

Browse health and beauty essentials before your trip—supermarkets stock travel-sized versions of most basics at far better prices than airport shops.

5. Tech and Entertainment

Travelling without entertainment used to mean a paperback and optimism. Now it means chargers, cables, adapters, and the slowly creeping fear that you've forgotten one of them.

The non-negotiables:

• Phone charger (pack two if you rely on your phone heavily)
• Universal power adapter
• Power bank (must be in hand luggage—airlines won't allow them in the hold)
• Headphones (noise-cancelling for long haul, if you can justify the cost)
• E-reader or tablet
• Download entertainment before you go (Wi-Fi at airports is often useless)

On adapters: the UK uses three-pin plugs. Most of Europe uses two-pin. The US uses two-flat-pin. Get a universal adapter and stop worrying. They're under a tenner in most supermarkets—I've tested several, and honestly, the cheap ones work fine for phones and laptops.

That said, check your devices. Modern electronics—phones, laptops, tablets—handle 110-240V automatically. Hair dryers and curling irons often don't. Plug a 240V hair dryer into 110V American power and you'll get a sad, warm breeze instead of styling potential.

6. Comfort Items for Long Flights

Long haul flying is endurance sport disguised as sitting still. After a thirteen-hour flight to Singapore where I'd packed nothing for comfort (arrogance, pure arrogance), I've since become evangelical about in-flight survival gear.

Worth the space:

• Travel pillow (the U-shaped ones actually work)
• Eye mask (darkness is everything on overnight flights)
• Ear plugs or noise-cancelling headphones
• Compression socks (not just for the elderly—proper ones reduce leg swelling by a noticeable margin)
• Lip balm (cabin air is drier than you'd believe)
• Hand cream
• Refillable water bottle (empty through security, fill after)

The compression socks thing might sound excessive. I thought so too until I landed in Perth after twenty hours with ankles like balloons. Now I don't fly more than four hours without them. My dignity can recover; my circulation was taking too long.

For flight comfort accessories, UK supermarkets have upped their game. You'll find decent eye masks and travel pillows at Tesco, Sainsbury's, and the rest—no need for specialist travel shops charging tourist prices.

7. First Aid and Health Essentials

Nobody wants to think about getting ill on holiday. But the alternative—needing something you don't have at 2am in a foreign city—is worse.

A sensible travel first aid kit:

• Painkillers (paracetamol, ibuprofen)
• Antihistamines (essential for allergies, insect bites, or unexpected hayfever)
• Anti-diarrhoea medication (sorry, but yes, pack it)
• Plasters and antiseptic wipes
• Rehydration sachets
• Motion sickness remedies
• Insect repellent (depending on destination)
• Any regular medication you take, plus extra supplies

Brands like Safe and Sound offer pre-packed travel first aid kits that cover the basics without you needing to build one item by item. I've tested several—they're not comprehensive for serious situations, but they handle the everyday mishaps that actually happen on holiday.

Check the first aid section before you travel. Buying abroad is possible, but trying to explain "antihistamines" through a language barrier while your face swells up is not optimal.

8. Sun Protection and Beach Essentials

If you're heading somewhere sunny, sun protection isn't optional. I say this as someone who once spent three days of a Greek holiday applying yoghurt to burnt shoulders because I'd "forgotten" sunscreen. Learn from my mistakes.

Sun essentials:

• Sunscreen SPF 30+ (higher for fair skin, kids, or intense sun)
• After-sun or aloe vera
• Sunglasses with UV protection
• Wide-brimmed hat or cap
• Lip balm with SPF

The sunscreen liquid rules trip people up. Most standard bottles exceed 100ml. Either buy travel sizes before you go, or accept you'll be buying at inflated resort prices. Solid sunscreens exist and dodge the liquid rules entirely—worth considering if you're travelling hand-luggage only.

For beach trips specifically, add:

• Quick-dry towel (compact, dries fast, one of the better travel inventions)
• Reusable water bottle
• Waterproof phone pouch
• Beach bag that can handle sand and wet items

9. Luggage and Organisation

The bag itself matters more than people admit. I've seen suitcases disintegrate on carousels, zips fail at the worst moment, and wheels decide they're done with the whole rolling thing.

Luggage considerations:

• Check your airline's size and weight limits (they're all different, and they're strict)
• Hard shell protects contents better; soft shell is more forgiving with space
• Four-wheel spinners manoeuvre easier than two-wheel drag-behinds
• Luggage scales prevent excess baggage fees (worth the investment if you tend to overpack)

Packing cubes. I resisted these for years, dismissing them as unnecessary faff. I was wrong. They're genuinely useful—compartmentalise your suitcase, keep things compressed, make unpacking at the hotel take about thirty seconds. Not revolutionary, but properly helpful.

TSA-approved locks are essential for US travel—regular padlocks will simply be cut off by security. For Europe, any decent lock works, but TSA locks mean one purchase covers all destinations.

10. Items People Always Forget

After years of reviewing travel gear and listening to people's packing horror stories, patterns emerge. These are the items most frequently forgotten:

The consistent offenders:

• Phone charger (left plugged in at home)
• Adapter plugs
• Prescription medication
• Glasses or contact lens solution
• Toothbrush (the classic)
• Underwear (packed separate from everything else, then left behind)
• House keys (for getting back in after the trip)
• Belt
• Pyjamas

The charger one hurts because it's so avoidable. Keep a dedicated travel charger that lives in your suitcase. Yes, this means owning two chargers. The alternative is buying a third one at airport prices, so the maths works out.

For the "forgotten at home" problem, try the doorstep test. Before you leave for the airport, ask yourself: if I had to survive purely on what's in this bag for three days, could I? If the answer involves "well, I'd need to buy a toothbrush" then you've got work to do.

How to Actually Pack (Without the Stress)

The method matters as much as the list.

Two days before departure:

• Check passport validity and print documents
• Charge all devices
• Check weather at destination
• Lay out everything you plan to pack

One day before:

• Pack main suitcase
• Pack hand luggage with essentials
• Put items you'll use tomorrow (chargers, toiletries) in a "last in" pile
• Weigh your bag if you're anywhere near the limit

Day of departure:

• Add "last in" items
• Final walk through the house: bedside table, bathroom, charging stations
• Keys, wallet, phone, passport—check all four before leaving

The laying-everything-out step sounds unnecessary until you try it. Seeing all your clothes physically spread on the bed reveals how much you don't actually need. The general advice is to then remove a third. I'd say remove half, but I've been told my approach is "somewhat Spartan."

The Bottom Line

A proper holiday packing checklist doesn't guarantee a perfect trip—nothing does. But it eliminates the preventable frustrations: the frantic airport sunscreen purchases, the realisation at midnight that you forgot your medication, the sinking feeling of watching the luggage carousel empty with no sign of your bag.

Pack smart, pack light, and pack with a system. Then forget about packing entirely and enjoy your holiday. That's rather the point, after all.