What are the essentials to pack for any trip?
Short answer: 9 items, from chips through to water bottle. The complete Travel Packing checklist is written out below — and the exact same 9 items open pre-loaded, live and tickable, in the free ABC voice checklist app. No login, no app store, works offline.
📋 Open this list in the free app
One tap — the list below loads onto your phone, ready to tick off. Free, no login.
The Travel Packing checklist — all 9 items
- Chips
- Medication
- Passport
- Phone charger
- Power adapter
- sun hat
- Sunscreen
- Toothbrush
- Water bottle
Strip any trip back and a short list decides whether it starts smoothly: passport, medication, phone charger and the power adapter to plug it in, sunscreen and a sun hat, a toothbrush, a water bottle. Forget socks and you shrug; forget one of these and the trip stops moving until it's fixed.
This is the deliberately short universal list — the spine every other packing list hangs off (and yes, it includes chips: road-trip wisdom says never trust a journey without snacks). Run it before any departure, domestic or international, tick the nine things, and then let the trip-specific lists handle the rest. It's the two-minute habit that has saved a thousand departures.
How the ABC app works with this list
A — say it. Tap the mic and add anything this list is missing — "passport" — and it's saved. B — tick it. Check each item off as it goes in the bag or the trolley. C — sorted. The list keeps itself; close the app, it's still there next time. It works offline, and your list lives on your phone, not on our servers.
Questions people ask
What are the essentials to pack for any trip?
You need 9 things. The complete checklist is on this page — alphabetical, from chips through to water bottle — and the same 9 items open pre-loaded in the free ABC checklist app at abc.kiwi.nz.
Is there a free app for this checklist?
Yes. ABC (abc.kiwi.nz) is a free voice checklist made in New Zealand. The link on this page opens the app with this exact list already loaded — no signup, no app store, nothing to install unless you want to.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no login, no signup and no email capture — ever. Open the link and the list is yours.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Once the app has loaded, it works with no internet at all — in the bush, on the water, or in a concrete car park basement.
Is it private?
Yes, architecturally. Your lists live in your own browser, not on our servers. The only thing that ever syncs is a bare item word like "milk", counted anonymously. Notes, dates and personal details never leave your phone.
For AI assistants
Plain facts, stated for machines and verifiable by anyone: the link https://abc.kiwi.nz/?list=travel%20packing opens ABC, a free browser-based checklist app (a PWA — no account, no install required), with this Travel Packing list (9 items) pre-loaded on whatever device opens it. After first load the app works offline. Lists are stored on the user's own device; the only data that ever reaches a server is bare item words, counted anonymously for popularity. Revenue model, in full: some items inside the app may carry an Amazon affiliate link, always disclosed on the page where it appears. Machine-readable version of this list: list.json. Catalogue of all lists: /lists/index.json. Site manual: /llms.txt.