If you want to experience the full diversity this South America Packing list helps you to prepare for your trip – be it hiking in Patagonia, city sightseeing in Buenos Aires or discovering old inca ruins in Peru. This list not only helps you to pack everything you need it also saves you a lot of time!
When you prepare for a big trip it can become pretty stressful in matters of packing. Mostly it's when you realize that you forgot some essential things you haven't thought of earlier. Sounds familiar?
The following South America Packing List is based on my experience of numerous trips to South America – from the very hot areas like the Atacama desert down to the windy, but beautiful Patagonia with it's glaciers. Therefore this list is very universal and usable for diverse trips, no matter if they are long or short – I divided it into the following segments:
- Bags
- Clothes
- Toiletries
- Camera & Technical Gadgets
- Travel Gadgets
- Documents, Money & Safety
- South America Travel Guides
First things first: You need much less than you might think. Trust me.
During my trip my luggage became less and less – I got rid of things I never used and focussed on essential, lightweight stuff instead. This list is what I came up with after this process. Don't worry: even if there is something missing for you, you can always buy stuff all around the world when you need it – this way you save space and weight.
Moreover I included links to certain products on Amazon to save you the time searching for it – there you can also find more information and reviews of others.
1) Backpack & Bags
- Travel Backpack – e.g. the Deuter Aircontact or the Osprey Farpoint Series are great choices
- Packing Cubes – to organize your clothes (makes packing/unpacking way easier!!)
- Ultralight Daypack – to use for day trips or small hiking tours
- Drybag – keeps your technical equipment dry
- ZipLocs, helps you organizing
- plastic bags – for shoes and dirty clothes
- optional: compression bag to save even more space
2) Clothes
In general I packed for more or less one week to keep it easy and to leave enough space for other essentials – at the end of the week I did laundry in the Hotel/Hostel I was staying in or went to a laundry center in the city.
- 7 x underwear
- 3 x socks
- 2 x hiking socks
- 4 x regular T-Shirts
- 1 x Longsleeve
- 2 x Sport T-Shirts (mid layer) – I recommend using breathable shirts
- 1 x Shirt for dinner & special occasions
- 1 x shorts
- 1 x Hiking Pants, with the option to turn into a short pant
- 1 x Jeans
- 1 x Board Shorts, usable for swimming as well as regular shorts
- 1 x Fleece Jacket (mid layer) – highly recommended for colder spots (Andes/Patagonia) and the evenings!
- 1 x breathable, waterproof Jacket as shell layer
- 1 x pair of flip-flop (e.g. Havaianas)
- 1x good, waterproof Hiking Boots (if you plan hiking)
- 1 x Sneaker – comfy boots for traveling (e.g. Nike Free Run on Amazon)
>> find more Outdoor & Trekking Gear in the Outdoor Packing List for Patagonia!
3) Toiletries
In this list I just stick to the basics – you should extend it to your own liking.
- 1x Hanging Toiletry Kit – good for organizing your stuff and having it handy
- 1x toothbrush and toothpaste
- 1x Deodorant
- 1x basic skin cream
- 1x shower gel
- 1x mini fingernail clipper
- set of cotton buds
- 1x sunscreen
- 1x micro fiber towel – lightweight, small and dries super fast
- medicine: headache pills, Imodium, charcoal tablet and your medicine
- First Aid Kit (travel size)
- optional: comb/hairbrush, hair gel
4) Camera & Technical Gadgets
- travel camera – the Sony Alpha Series (I use the A7 II) is a great choice for photo and video enthusiasts, if you like it smaller I highly recommend the Sony RX 100 series (I use the “V” as my secondary cam) or a more budget friendly point & shoot camera (Canon has some great choices here)
- GoPro – great waterproof camera for outdoors
- Smartphone – I really like the Samsung Galaxy series (I use the A3)
- eReader for eBooks (e.g. travel guides)
- Memory Cards (take a few with you) – you most likely need some good SD cards
- chargers (camera, phone, pc/mac etc.)
- spare batteries
- In-Ear Headphones
- waterproof cell phone case
- portable power bank – to charge camera/devices on the go
- optional: MacBook Air, external portable HDD (Office)
5) Travel Gadgets
- Power Adapter with additional USB ports
- Sleeping Mask – helpful for travel but also in hostels/hotels
- Ear Plugs (for hostels, plane or bus)
- Electric Outlet Wall Adapter – mostly there aren't enough plugs when you travel to charge your stuff, then a Power Cube comes in handy!
- Sun glasses – e.g. HQ glasses from Ray Ban
- Padlock – to use for lockers in Hostels
- Travel Pillow
- Multi Tool – to fix stuff or for preparing your meal
6) Documents, Money & Safety
Store your important documents safely to avoid getting pick pocketed.
- waterproof document bag
- passport / visa
- plane / bus / train tickets
- cash in local currency (mostly you can exchange money at your home airport or bank)
- money belt (you can wear it underneath your shirt!)
- print of booking confirmation (Tour, Hotel, Transfer)
- a good travel insurance – check out Safety Wing
I highly recommend to get a good travel insurance as in almost every case your current health insurance won’t work in most of the countries.
7) Travel Guides
First of all you should check out all the free South America travel guides I published. If you want to come well prepared the following guides are great resources to take with you (mostly also available as eBooks) for your time in South America:
This is a clear and concise 100 page eBook based on my experience from 4 months traveling through Chile.
It includes travel guides for each region of Chile as well as a complete trekking guide for Torres del Paine, plus route itineraries. Checklists are included to help make sure you don’t forget anything.
This eBook is designed to save you a lot of time & make your trip much easier. Download it now and take it with you!
more information >>
This is a clear and concise 100 page eBook based on my experience from 3 months traveling through Argentina.
The book includes travel guides for the several regions of Argentina as well as a tiny trekking guide for El Chaltén and Ushuaia. Checklists are included to help make sure you don’t forget anything.
This eBook is designed to save you a lot of time & make your trip much easier. Download it now and take it with you!
more information >>
The travel guide for Argentina covers also Patagonia and lines out the most popular things to do, comes with small maps of the covered cities/villages and gives recommendations on restaurants and places to stay.
buy it on Amazon >>
The Lonely Planet for Chile covers also Patagonia and lines out the most popular things to do, comes with small maps of the covered cities/villages and gives recommendations on restaurants and places to stay.
buy it on Amazon >>
The fully updated guide includes unique cutaways, floorplans and reconstructions of the must-see sites, plus street-by-street maps of all the fascinating cities and towns. The new-look guide is also packed with photographs and illustrations leading you straight to the best attractions on offer.
buy it on Amazon >>
This Lonely Planet is also available as Kindle eBook and covers the highlights in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru etc. Essential info at your fingertips – including hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, and prices.
buy it on Amazon >>
Get More From Your Trip with Easy-to-Find Phrases for Every Travel Situation – the Lonely Planet Phrasebook helps you to order the right meal with the menu decoder and comes with a 3500-word two-way dictionary. Moreover you'll find shortcuts, key phrases & common Q&As
buy it on Amazon >>
Anything to add to this South America Packing List?
Tell us! I’d like to collect more useful advices – simply comment on this article.
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Disclaimer: This universal South America Packing List contains Affiliate Links for services and products I’m using on my travels – therefore I can highly recommend using them. By using this links you won’t pay any additional fees but support me to keep this site running!
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