Packing List for Adventure Travel in Thailand: What to Bring, Buy There or Leave

For an adventure trip to Thailand, pack light, quick-drying clothes for heat, one warm layer, shoes that can get wet, your own medicines, and the few pieces of kit you need to trust; buy almost everything else when you arrive. My first bag was enormous and I wore about a third of it. By my last season I could do two months of diving, a northern loop and a trek out of one carry-on and a dry bag. This is the list I ended up with, what is honestly better bought in Thailand, and the couple of things that can get you into real trouble at the airport.

The short version

My core list fits in a 35 to 45 litre bag: three or four quick-drying tops, two pairs of shorts, one pair of light long trousers, a warm layer, swimwear plus a rash vest, sandals and light trail shoes, and a small wash bag. Add a hat, sunglasses, a head torch, a dry bag, a small first aid kit, your medicines and your documents. That is it. Everything else is optional, specialised, or for sale on the next street corner.

The reason to pack small is not virtue. Ferries, songthaews, minivans and motorbikes all punish a big bag, and the island-to-island days described in the island hopping guide are much easier when you can carry everything on your back without thinking about it.

Clothes for heat, rain and the odd cold night

Choose quick-drying synthetic or light cotton blends, cover up for the sun and for temples, and bring one genuinely warm layer. Thailand is hot and humid for most of the year, and clothes that take a day to dry will smell by the second. A long-sleeved light shirt does more for sun protection on a boat than any sunscreen.

The warm layer surprises people. The cool season in the north, roughly November to February, brings cold mornings in the hills, and night buses and minivans are often air-conditioned to the point of frost. A light fleece or down jacket that packs small earns its place. For temples, carry something that covers shoulders and knees; a sarong bought locally does the job.

A light rain jacket or a cheap poncho is worth having in the rainy season, roughly June to October. When to expect what on each coast is set out in the when to visit Thailand guide.

Kit for each activity

Bring the activity kit that has to fit you; rent or buy the rest locally.

• Diving and snorkelling. A mask that fits your face is the one item worth bringing from home; rental masks leak and fog. A rash vest or thin wetsuit top protects against sun and stings. Fins and wetsuits are easy to rent. If you snorkel, Smartraveller notes that Thailand now requires snorkellers to wear a life vest and bans touching or feeding marine life ¹. The snorkelling guide covers the rest.
• Trekking. Light hiking shoes or trail runners with good grip, broken in before you arrive, a 15 to 25 litre day pack, a refillable water bottle and a head torch. Long, light trousers help with leeches and scratches in the rainy season. The trekking guide has the route detail.
• Motorbikes. Your full home motorcycle licence and an International Driving Permit that includes the motorcycle category, not a car licence. Thai law requires a helmet for rider and passenger, but Smartraveller notes that hire shops and motorbike taxis rarely provide them, so you may need to shop around ¹. Many long-term riders bring or buy a decent one. Closed shoes, a long-sleeved top and sunglasses or clear glasses for night riding are the rest. Everything else is in the renting a motorbike guide.
• Water days. A dry bag, 10 to 20 litres, for phones and passports on longtails, kayaks and ferries. Cheap and sold everywhere, but bring one if you want a reliable seal.

Health kit and medicines

Bring your own prescription medicines, enough for the whole trip plus a few days, in their original packaging, with a copy of the prescription or a doctor’s letter. The UK government’s Thailand advice notes that the legal status and regulation of some medicines can be different in other countries, so check yours before you travel ². Smartraveller advises getting medical advice before buying medicine in Thailand, and warns that travellers have been arrested for carrying medicine bought without a prescription from a Thai pharmacy ¹.

A small first aid kit should cover the realistic problems: plasters and blister dressings, antiseptic, a few sterile dressings and tape for scrapes from reef, rock and road, oral rehydration sachets, and the painkillers you normally use. Coral and gravel cuts get infected fast in the heat, so clean them properly the same day.

Repellent matters more than people think. The World Health Organization notes that the mosquitoes that spread dengue are active during the day, and recommends repellents containing DEET, picaridin or IR3535, alongside clothes that cover as much skin as possible ³. You can buy repellent in Thai towns, but if you are fussy about the active ingredient, bring a bottle. The dengue and mosquito guide explains the seasons and symptoms.

Sun protection is the last of the big three: a hat, sunglasses, a high-factor sunscreen and a rash vest for the water. Heat is a real risk on treks and long rides, and the heat and sun safety guide covers how it catches people out.

Documents and money

Carry your passport, and keep paper and digital copies of it, your insurance policy, your licence and IDP, and your dive certification. Never hand over your physical passport as a rental deposit; the UK government warns that motorcycle and jet ski rental businesses may keep passports against claimed damage ⁴. A photocopy and a cash deposit are the normal alternatives.

Write your insurer’s 24-hour assistance number somewhere that is not your phone. The UK government advises buying travel insurance as soon as possible after booking and checking the exclusion clauses for the activities you plan ⁵; the detail that matters for diving, riding and trekking is in the travel insurance for adventure guide. Take a bank card from a second account in case one is blocked or lost, and keep some cash for national park fees and small island shops.

What to buy there, and what to leave at home

Buy the cheap, bulky and replaceable things in Thailand; leave behind anything that is illegal there or that you would be heartbroken to lose.

Easy to buy locally: light clothes, sarongs, flip-flops, basic toiletries, ponchos, dry bags, cheap sunglasses and phone SIM cards. Sunscreen and repellent are widely sold, though on small islands prices can be higher and choice limited, so arrive with a starter supply.

Leave at home:

• Vapes and e-cigarettes. Smartraveller is unambiguous: e-cigarettes, vaporisers and refills are illegal in Thailand, even for personal use, with fines and imprisonment among the penalties ¹.
• Expensive jewellery and anything irreplaceable. Saltwater, sand and longtail boats are hard on both.
• Too many shoes. Two pairs, three at most.
• Heavy cotton jeans. Hot, slow to dry, and you will not wear them.

The things I always forgot

A head torch, a spare charging cable, a universal plug adaptor and a padlock for hostel lockers are the four small things I bought again in Thailand more times than I like to admit. Add earplugs for night buses and thin-walled guesthouses, a small roll of duct tape for fixing everything from a sandal to a dry bag, and a reusable water bottle for the refill stations many guesthouses keep. None of it is exciting. All of it saves you a trip to a convenience store at eleven at night.

If this is your first active trip, pair this list with the planning shapes in the first-time adventure guide, and remember the simple test: if you would not carry it up a pier ladder onto a ferry, you probably do not need it.

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General information, not legal or medical advice. Rules on medicines and banned items change; check current official advice and your own medicines before you travel, and confirm your insurance covers the activities you plan.