It’s been almost a month since I left India (I know because I only have six anti-malaria pills left to take!) and as I sit here by the washing machine at my Airbnb, double-washing a month’s worth of post-India laundry, it seemed like a good time to reflect on what I packed for India, what I should have packed for India, and what I seriously didn’t need to pack for India.
In this India packing list I’m not going to tell you to pack t-shirts and pants, because you’re a Big Girl and you can dress yourself. Not only that, but I felt that a lot of advice for foreign women about dressing in India was quite outdated or based on other women’s experiences in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Many young Indian women today wear Western-style clothing, and I saw local girls wearing shorts, crop tops, leggings and other clothing that often appears on bloggers’ “Do Not Wear in India” lists.
My only overarching advice for packing clothes would be to choose natural fibers like cotton and linen where possible, opt for clothes that can be machine washed in hotel and hostel laundry services, and think about packing more darker colors and prints that are forgiving if they get dirty. India is a big country and what works in Goa might not work in Rajasthan, so do a little research about the climate and weather in the places you plan to visit and pack accordingly.
Instead of talking clothes, I want to talk about ten things that I believe are absolutely essential for all solo females traveling to India. These are products that don’t take up very much space, that are hard (or impossible!) to shop for locally, and that I used daily, or almost-daily, during my two-month trip to India. You need to include these ten items on your India packing list, and you need to get them at home, before you arrive.
Keep reading for my list India packing list essentials, and if you’ve been to India already, let me know in the comments what you think about the list!