India Packing List

The short version.

Most of an India packing list writes itself once you know the region and the month, and this page will not pad itself out with the parts you already know. What it will do is cover the items where India differs from expectation, and two of those are ordinary objects that are illegal to bring.

The device rule, which is the one to read twice.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office safety advice states that it is illegal to possess and operate satellite phones and GPS devices in India without a license, and that this applies even if you are only transiting through India. It adds that the rule may cover other satellite-enabled devices including handheld or cycling GPS units, that you can be fined or arrested and the item confiscated, and that a number of British nationals have been arrested or detained for exactly this.

Read what that covers. A satellite messenger of the kind hikers carry, a bike computer with its own receiver, a tracker in a bag: these are unremarkable objects in most of the world and they are the subject of this rule. The transit clause is the part people miss, because a passenger changing planes has not, in their own mind, entered the country. Leave them at home.

Phones and tablets with ordinary location services are not what this is about. If you are unsure about a specific device, the answer is to ask before you fly rather than at the carousel.

Vapes.

The same advice states that vapes and related products are banned in India, that you cannot buy them there and cannot bring them into the country. That is a wider statement than the import restrictions some neighboring countries publish, and it is worth being clear about, because a device that is merely restricted next door is prohibited here.

Clothes, and the reason behind them.

The practical rule for most of India is to cover shoulders and knees, and to have something that covers the head available. This is not about propriety in the abstract. It is about being able to walk into any place of worship you pass without planning for it, and India has a great many of them. A light scarf does more work than any other single item in the bag.

Shoes that come off and go back on without sitting down are the other item worth choosing deliberately. Footwear is removed at temples, at mosques, at gurdwaras and often at the door of a home. Laces make that a chore several times a day; slip-ons make it nothing. Socks are worth having for stone courtyards that get hot.

Beyond that the list follows the season. Layers for anywhere at altitude, where the swing between the sun and the shade is larger than the day's range. Something genuinely rainproof for monsoon regions, rather than a jacket that gives up in an hour. Sun protection everywhere, and more of it than seems necessary in the north in winter, where the light is low and the exposure is not.

The health items.

The health advice recommends seeking advice at least 8 weeks before a trip, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that travelers going to certain areas of India take prescription medicine to prevent malaria. Anything prescribed as a result of that conversation belongs in your hand luggage in its original packaging with the prescription. Insect repellent is worth packing rather than buying, because you will want it from the first evening. The health section of the travel safety guide in this cluster covers the rest.

Documents.

Your passport needs at least 6 months of validity beyond your arrival date and at least 2 blank pages. Carry a copy of it and of your visa separately from the originals. If you plan to drive, the safety advice states that a 1949 version of the international driving permit is the one India recognizes, which is not the version most countries issue by default, so ask for it specifically.

How to settle it.

Pack for the region and the month, not for the country. Take the scarf and the slip-on shoes whatever the season. Leave the satellite messenger and the vape at home. And if a device is a borderline case, ask us before you fly rather than finding out at the border.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: gives the police helpline in India as 100 and the national emergency number as 112, with a women helpline on 1091, records that vapes and related products are banned, that possession of illegal drugs carries a minimum sentence of 6 months for small amounts and that you could be detained for several years while your case is processed, that it is illegal to possess and operate satellite phones and GPS devices in India without a license even if you are only transiting through India, that British women have been victims of sexual assault and that travelers should avoid isolated areas including beaches when alone at any time of day, that alcohol is illegal in Bihar, Gujarat, Mizoram, Nagaland and Lakshadweep with a prison sentence of 5 to 10 years and that some states sell 30-day alcohol permits, that a 1949 version of the international driving permit is needed, and that there are no commercial mountain rescue services operating above 3,000m. Accessed 22 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: states that you must have a visa to visit India unless you are an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder, that a passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the date you arrive and have at least 2 blank pages, that an e-arrival card is completed online up to 72 hours before arrival and is not a visa, that accommodation providers must register foreign guests with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office, that a stay of more than 180 days without an OCI card must be registered within 14 days of arrival, that a special exit permit takes between 5 and 15 working days, that amounts above 5,000 US dollars in notes or 10,000 US dollars in notes and travelers checks combined must be declared, and that permits for restricted areas should be applied for 3 months before arrival. Accessed 22 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: advises seeking advice at least 8 weeks before a trip, names dengue and malaria in India, records severe air pollution as a major health hazard especially during the winter months from October to February with north Indian cities most affected, and gives 112 as the number to dial for an ambulance. Accessed 22 September 2026.