Pack Lightly
Travel prepared. Not overpacked.
Country guides with real budget numbers, tested routes, and specific advice for 30+ Asian destinations. No fluff, no paywalls.
Complete per country
Visa, packing, transport, diving, itineraries, budget, city guides, and activities. One hub covers everything.
Always free
Every guide, tool, and checklist. No premium tier, no login wall. Spend that money on the trip.
Current for 2026
Visa rules, prices, and transport options checked and updated. Specific amounts with year, not vague ranges.
Tools that save time
Trip planner spreadsheets, packing list generators, and prep checklists. Built for actual trips, not just reading.
Explore Asia
Each country card opens the full guide — visa, budget, routes, packing, and 100+ pages of detail
All destinations
Click a pin for the full country guide
Browse by region
East Asia
Central Asia
More regions coming
Every country.
Every angle.
Pick a country and get a complete hub: visa requirements, what to pack, how to get around, the best diving spots, tested itineraries, transport breakdowns, and budget numbers in USD.
Then go deeper. Every major city, every worthwhile activity, every comparison — with prices, opinions, and zero filler. Thailand alone has 150+ pages.
Start with Thailand
A trip planner that does the math for you
Route planning, daily expense tracking, budget dashboard with live charts, seasonal packing list, prep checklist, and a destination guide — all in one Google Sheets template. Enter your dates and budget. The formulas handle the rest.
Thailand version live. More countries follow. Free — no signup, no catch.
Get the free templatePacking list generator — knows what your trip needs
Select a destination, travel dates, trip type, and activities. The tool checks the local climate for your exact travel month and builds a categorized checklist with quantities adjusted to how long you’re going.
Rainy season in Thailand adds waterproof gear and quick-dry extras. Spring in Japan adds layers for temperature swings. A diving trip adds reef gear. Every list is different because every trip is.
Which tool do I need?
Match your planning stage to the right tool.
Why this site exists
Three trips across Asia. Eleven months total. The same frustration every time: visa rules that turned out to be wrong, budget estimates without a year attached, packing lists clearly written by someone who never left their desk.
Pack Lightly started because that information gap shouldn’t exist. One site where every country guide has what you actually need before you fly: costs in USD with the year, routes that work in practice, and honest opinions about what’s worth your time and what isn’t.
Everything stays free. The trip is where your money should go.
— Wouter
See what traveling Asia looks like
Highlights from a month in Malaysia — temples, food, islands, and jungle
Subscribe on YouTube for destination breakdowns
Latest guides
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Taipei vs Kaohsiung
Night markets, temples, and transit compared. North vs south for a first Taiwan visit.
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Tashkent vs Samarkand
Soviet-modern capital vs Silk Road architecture. Transport, food, costs, and the better base.
Read the comparison →Helped you plan a trip?
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Leave a reviewFrequently asked
How many countries does Pack Lightly cover?
30 countries across Asia and the Middle East, with 3,000+ published pages. Each country has a complete hub with 25+ topics — from visa and packing to city guides and diving spots. Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Oceania are in active development.
Is all the content really free?
Yes — every guide, every tool, every checklist. No paywalls, no premium tier, no login required. Pack Lightly earns through affiliate links to booking platforms like Booking.com, GetYourGuide, and 12Go Asia. That keeps the advice independent.
How does the trip planner work?
The Pack Lightly Trip Planner is a free 9-tab Google Sheets template. Enter your travel dates and budget — formulas calculate your daily budget, track expenses against it, and show live charts on a dashboard. It includes route planning with auto-filling dates, a seasonal packing list, a prep checklist covering visa, vaccines, banking, and apps, plus a destination guide with opinionated picks per city. Thailand is the first version. Make a copy, fill in your details, done.
How does the packing list generator work?
Select your destination, travel dates, trip type (city, beach, backpacking, etc.), and planned activities (hiking, diving, temples). The tool checks the local climate for your travel month, identifies the season, and generates a categorized checklist with quantities adjusted to trip length. Season-specific gear gets added automatically. The list is exportable as PDF and shareable via URL — free, no account needed.
How current is the information?
All guides are reviewed and updated for 2026. Visa rules, entry fees, transport prices, and seasonal data include the year they were verified. When something changes mid-year — and visa rules do — the page gets updated and the “last updated” date reflects that. Outdated travel advice costs real money. That’s why every price includes a year.
Pack Lightly in your language
Travel guides available in five languages across dedicated domains. Same depth, same quality — in the language you’re most comfortable with.