Consult your itinerary and visit the websites of the hotels where you’ll be staying.
Pack a swimsuit, walking shoes, workout gear if at all possible. You may tell yourself you’ll want to rest but you actually might feel better if you move on your down time or at the very least treat yourself to a half hour in the hotel steam room, sauna, whirlpool, etc.
Most hotel mini bars have mini fridges and if you’re clever enough you can use them to stock your own water, fruit cups, etc.
Find out if there’s a pharmacy, convenience store, etc near your hotels–you never know when you’re going to need something.
If you have an old ratty t-shirt you like to sleep in that you’ve been contemplating throwing away–don’t. Save it and pack it on your tour. That way when it gets dirty you can throw it away on the road and haul around as little dirty laundry as possible.
About halfway through your tour you’ll probably have an assortment of dirty clothes, books you’ve read, clothes that aren’t weather-appropriate for the last half of your tour, etc. Don’t be afraid to ask the hotel to ship those things home for you. Most will gladly do it and charge it to your room.
The liquid restrictions for carry-ons are a pain these days, but many things now come in non-liquid forms. Like little wet wipe-type things that remove fingernail polish or even shampoo and toothpaste. Consider those options when trying to pack enough liquids for a week inside a little plastic bag.
I did it with one pair of flats, one pair of heels, and one pair of walking shoes for working out and at no point have I wished I’d brought more shoes.
Invest in one of those inflatable pillows for the plane. I don’t care if you’re someone who never sleeps on planes–after a week of being at the airport every day before 6:30 you’d be surprised how good it feels to lay your head down and doze.
If you have a favorite type of pen pack them.
Media escorts are awesome. Trust them. And always consult them about pick-up/travel times. Many times they know better how long it will take to get from point A to point B.
Pack at least two things that, no matter what, will not require any ironing. You don’t ever want to count on having a couple of hours at the hotel. In fact you should probably get up each morning as if you might not see a hotel room again for a very long time.
Familiarize yourself with all the airline websites and plan on printing off your boarding passes at the hotel the night before whenever possible. It’s one less thing to hassle with in the mornings.
Eat a fruit and/or vegetable at every meal.
Take lots of vitamins. Also handwipes/purel, etc. Tour is a very easy time to get sick and you have to fight it will all your might.
Get business cards from everyone you might want to send a thank you card to later. It makes tracking down names and addresses that much easier.
Sleep every chance you get. Eat every chance you get.
Pack at least a few snacks for emergencies. I highly recommend almonds and rice krispy treats.
Make sure you’re drinking enough water and aren’t living on coffee and soft drinks even though they’re very easy to pick up at the airport snack bar instead.