Not sure what to pack in a carry-on? This practical carry-on packing list covers clothes, toiletries, valuables, electronics and the airport rules worth knowing.
Packing a carry-on always starts with optimism. You tell yourself you’re going to be ruthless this time, lay out a few sensible outfits and somehow end up staring at an open suitcase wondering whether three pairs of shoes are excessive for four days.
They probably are.
A useful carry-on packing list isn’t really about travelling with as little as humanly possible. It’s about knowing what deserves the limited space you have, what can stay home and, more importantly, what should never leave your possession once you get to the airport.
That last part is worth figuring out before anything else. Passports, medication, money, electronics, jewellery, keys and anything particularly valuable or difficult to replace belong with you, not in a checked suitcase. Air Canada specifically advises passengers to carry medications, cash, laptops, cameras, jewellery and other high-value items in their cabin baggage rather than checking them.
My rule would go one step further: if something is extremely expensive, irreplaceable or sentimental and you don’t actually need it on the trip, consider not bringing it at all. If you do bring it, keep it in your personal item or carry-on. And if an airline ever asks you to check that larger carry-on at the airport, take your valuables out before handing it over.
Losing a pair of jeans is annoying. Losing your passport, prescription medication and favourite jewellery is an entirely different vacation.
What actually belongs in your carry-on
Once the important things are handled, clothes usually take up most of the conversation — and most of the suitcase.
The easiest mistake is packing outfits instead of packing a wardrobe. Seven days away doesn’t necessarily require seven different tops, seven different bottoms and a collection of shoes for hypothetical situations that probably aren’t going to happen.
Choose clothes that work with each other. If you’re away for roughly five to seven days, four or five tops, a couple of bottoms, underwear and socks, sleepwear, a sweater or layer and one slightly nicer option will cover a surprising amount of ground. Adjust that for the destination, obviously. A week in Miami and a week in London in November are not remotely the same packing exercise.
Shoes are where I would be particularly unforgiving. Wear the bulky pair while you’re travelling and try to put only one additional pair in the suitcase unless the trip genuinely requires something else. Shoes take up an absurd amount of space and are often the first thing we overpack.
The same logic applies to all those “maybe” items. Maybe you’ll suddenly want to work out every morning. Maybe you’ll need formalwear. Maybe you’ll read three hardcover books. Maybe the hotel will inexplicably require six different jackets.
Pack for the trip you’re actually taking.
One thing I would make room for, particularly when checking another suitcase, is a change of clothes. Checked luggage can be delayed, so having clean underwear, a top and whatever else you would need to get through the first day can turn a baggage problem into an inconvenience rather than a crisis.
Packing cubes are optional. They’re great if you like things organized, especially when you’re moving between hotels, but they don’t magically create space. If the zipper on your suitcase is fighting for its life, the cubes have not saved you.
The airport rules worth knowing
Toiletries are where packing stops being personal preference and airport security gets involved.
For passengers departing from Canada, CATSA currently limits ordinary liquids, aerosols and gels in carry-on baggage to containers of 100 mL or 100 g or less. Those containers need to fit inside one clear, closed and resealable plastic bag with a capacity of no more than 1 litre.
The size of the container matters, not how much product remains inside. Your nearly empty 200 mL bottle of cleanser is still a 200 mL container.
That rule catches more than shampoo and conditioner. Creams, toothpaste, perfume, liquid makeup and similar products can all fall into the liquids-and-gels category, so decanting favourites into smaller containers can save you from having to throw something out at security.
Medication is an important exception. CATSA says prescription and essential non-prescription medications can be brought through the checkpoint and that medically necessary liquids are exempt from the ordinary 100 mL restriction, although you should declare them for screening and keep them accessible.
There is another airport rule worth remembering because it is easy to get backwards: power banks and spare lithium batteries belong in your carry-on, not buried in checked luggage. CATSA’s current battery guidance tells travellers to keep batteries and battery-powered devices in cabin baggage and to check with their airline for restrictions based on battery type and capacity.
So your phone charger, power bank and headphones can come with you. Your laptop and tablet can too. Whether you actually need to bring the laptop on vacation is between you and your inability to stop checking email.
Baggage allowance itself is a separate issue from security. What an airline permits as a carry-on or personal item can depend on the carrier, route and fare you’ve purchased, so don’t buy a suitcase because someone on TikTok said it was “airline approved.” Check your own booking. Air Canada’s current rules, for example, differ depending on fare type and enforce maximum cabin-bag dimensions.
If you’re flying internationally, check the security requirements for the airport you’re departing from as well. Canadian screening rules aren’t automatically the rules everywhere else.
Before you zip the bag
The final test isn’t whether you managed to get everything inside. It’s whether what you packed makes sense once you’re actually travelling.
Your passport should be somewhere you can reach without opening a suitcase on the airport floor. The same goes for your wallet, medication and phone charger. Anything valuable should stay with you. If you’re carrying jewellery or expensive electronics, don’t bury them in a bag you’re willing to hand over at the gate.
Bring an empty water bottle if you use one, headphones, a few snacks and whatever makes flying more comfortable for you. For a long flight, maybe that’s an eye mask or compression socks. For a two-hour flight, you probably don’t need to build a small survival kit beneath the seat.
Before leaving, this is the carry-on packing checklist I’d actually run through:
- Passport or required ID
- Wallet, cards and any necessary cash
- Travel documents
- Prescription and essential medication
- Phone and charger
- Power bank
- Headphones
- Laptop, tablet or camera only if you’ll use them
- Jewellery and valuables you have decided to bring
- Enough clothes for the trip without packing a completely separate outfit for every day
- Underwear, socks and sleepwear
- One useful outer layer
- Shoes you can actually wear with multiple outfits
- Toiletries in permitted travel sizes
- Toothbrush and grooming essentials
- Travel adapter if your destination requires one
- Empty reusable water bottle
- A few snacks
- Sunglasses and destination-specific essentials
- A clean change of clothes if you’re checking another suitcase
Then look at whatever is still sitting beside the suitcase.
That third pair of shoes can probably stay home.
The best carry-on isn’t the smallest bag or the one packed with military precision. It is the one that gets you through the trip without constantly realizing you’ve packed things you don’t need and checked things you absolutely should have kept with you.
Keep the irreplaceable stuff close, know the airport rules before you leave and give yourself enough room that you aren’t sitting on your suitcase trying to close it at six in the morning.
That’s really it.
