Trans Siberian Railway Packing List: How I Personally Packed
I don’t know if this is necessarily the right or wrong way to pack for a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway, but here’s what *my* Trans Siberian Railway packing list looked like. (And I can attest to the fact that it worked for me!) I started in St. Petersburg on September 22nd and got to Beijing on October 23rd. (I mention the dates because the season/weather obviously played a part in what I packed 😊).
Overview
This is how I begin the packing process for ANY trip I go on. I lay everything out on my bed so I can SEE it.
Some side notes:
- I always put my socks and undies in a plastic bag so they’re easy to find/don’t go missing in my backpack.
- The only reason I brought a skirt with me was because one of my travel compadres and I were going to be arriving in London (where our whole group was meeting up) a day before the other two and we talked about maybe seeing a play in the West End. (Which we DID, and it was AMAZING).
- As for pants, I ended up bringing two pairs of jeans and two pairs of quick dry outdoor pants from REI and that worked out PERFECTLY for me. I’m most comfortable wearing jeans in cities and outdoor pants (or whatever they’re called 🤷♀️😄) in nature. (Like on a week long excursion through the Gobi Desert).
- A workout outfit, swimsuit, and flip flops come with me on EVERY trip. They don’t take up much room in my bag and I’d rather have them with me than not JUST in case I need them…
- NOT pictured here (because I bought it in Moscow) is a puffy down jacket. A tour guide told us it had already started to snow in Siberia and we FREAKED out! Haha. The down jacket I bought may seriously be one the BEST purchases I’ve EVER made for my travels. If stuffs into a tiny little pouch (so it doesn’t take up much room in my backpack), it’s SUUUUUPER warm, AND it fits perfectly underneath the warm jacket I had already brought with me. Down jackets. 👍 I’m a believer. 🙌
Layer 1
When I’m ready to start putting everything in my bag I begin with my comfy shoes and they go in the bottom of my backpack inside a plastic bag.
Layer 2
This is what goes in next, also in a plastic bag. (Maybe I should look into packing cubes? 🤔) I put the cold weather clothes in a plastic bag at the bottom of my backpack because I knew I wouldn’t need them right away. (So they didn’t need to be easily accessible quite yet).
Layer 3
Pants go in next.
Layer 4
Followed by shirts on top of the pants.
Layer 5
PJs go in on top of the shirts and I always squish my bag of socks & undies down the right side of my backpack.
Layer 6
Next I start filling in the space around my clothes.
Side note:
- Yes I usually pack a hair straightener on my trips. Don’t judge me. 🙈😄 I have naturally wavy (aka naturally wild) hair and sometimes (even when I’m traveling) it needs to be tamed! 😉(Whether or not I’m actually able to USE my straightener depends on where I am in the world and whether or not there’s actually electricity).
Layer 7
Next come the toiletry and makeup bags.
Layer 8
Followed by my Lonely Planet guide and bag of necessary electronics.
Layer 9
On top goes my warm jacket (so it’s easily accessible).
Layer 10
And in the top pouch goes some extra supplies I like to have handy.
And that’s it for my backpack!
I also always travel with a messenger style bag that I keep my valuables in and the things I want to have the most easily accessible. Here’s what that bag looks like:
Cross Body Bag
Some side notes:
- This is the first trip that I brought an iPad with me. And the only reason I did was so I could work on this blog. (Which proved to be mostly IMPOSSIBLE with the wonky wifi we had everywhere we went 😐) Other than when we were traveling from destination to destination I more often than not put my iPad in my backpack and left it at our hostels.
- Yes, I always have two cameras in my bag. 😳 (Three if you want to count my phone which is always either inside this bag or a jacket pocket). My big camera (that’s what I call it) and my water camera. I’ve said it before but I really mean it when I say I’m CRAZY about my pictures. If it’s raining and I don’t want to pull out my big camera but I also don’t want to miss out on pictures I use my water camera. If I’m in a situation where taking pictures on my big camera would be difficult and something smaller that can hang from my wrist would be easier (like when I’m riding a bike, horse, or camel for examples) I use my water camera. 🤷♀️ It’s what works for me. 😉
- Inside my wallet I always keep two external batteries for charging my phone. I don’t use them super often, but I also don’t like the thought of being stranded somewhere because my phone is dead and I can’t use the GPS to navigate myself home. I also always keep my passport (IN A PLASTIC BAGGY) with me inside my wallet. ALWAYS keep your passport in a plastic baggy. It’s really annoying to have to explain to EVERY customs officer in EVERY country EVERY time for the next few YEARS that the reason your passport has a teeny tiny bit of water damage at the bottom of the picture page is because a bottle of bug spray leaked in your bag on a trip through India and caught the corner of your passport. 🤦♀️ Do yourself a favor. KEEP YOUR PASSPORT IN A PLASTIC BAGGY. (And far away from spillable liquids 😳)
The final result. (This was my “right before I walk out the door” selfie). 😉
And I think that’s everything! I hope this Trans Siberian Railway packing list gives you an idea of what and how to pack for your own version of this trip. (And I hope you have the best time, too! 😊) Happy packing and safe travels friends.
CE
