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I usually pack all my camera gear as tightly as possible into a single large camera bag and carry it on board as hand luggage. This not only ensures I can keep my eye on it but also avoids the problem of excess baggage, as my camera gear invariably weighs at least twice as much as my personal luggage. I also stuff one or two smaller, lightweight camera bags full of socks and so on and check these in as hold baggage. This allows me, on arrival, to carry a smaller, selective amount of equipment on a daily basis as needed.
Never be tempted to take a new piece of equipment without trying it out quite thoroughly first. One advantage of using very familiar equipment is that if anything does go wrong with it you are much more likely to detect it promptly. The sound of a camera firing or the feel of its winding mechanism can indicate if it has developed a fault if you are well accustomed to its normal function. Even an accessory, like a new tripod or flash gun, can be found to have awkward or unsuitable features when put to hard use on location and this could be very irritating and limiting if you were forced to use it every day for several weeks.
Medium format is, undoubtedly, heavier and bulkier to carry, more expensive to buy and feed with film and tends to be rather slower in use as well as being less suitable for candid or reportage photography. However, the larger image provides a significant advance in reproduction quality and can be an advantage when photographs are taken for stock or photo library use. It's my normal choice if shooting landscapes is the main priority and I'll be travelling in my own car.
Choice of lenses depends partly upon the nature of the trip and your own particular interests and aims. These days, for 35mm, a zoom lens will cover a wide range of focal lengths and any reduction in image quality over a prime lens is not likely to be noticeable in all but laboratory conditions, providing you choose a good quality one and with not more than about a three to one range.
As I am usually shooting on colour transparency film a filter kit is vital. I always have a set of warm-ups from 81A to 81EF, a polariser (I carry two as insurance) a couple of neutral graduates and, if I'm likely to be shooting interiors, I take tungsten and fluorescent converters.
For this reason, it's now necessary to carry film as hand luggage, and with enough for, say, a three-week trip this can be a bulky problem. I remove the film from all packaging and rubber band it together in bundles of seven rolls. In the case of 35mm I retract all but the smallest amount of leader to avoid damage. I then place these bundles in clear plastic bags and, on reaching the X-ray machine, ask very politely and humbly for a hand search. This is unlikely to be granted in the UK but most foreign airports I've encountered have been quite obliging if I pick a moment when they're not too busy. A few passes through an X-ray machine will do no harm to all but the very fastest films but it makes good sense to avoid it when you can.
Non-photographic items I like to have with me include my Swiss Army knife (the corkscrew's essential) a couple of jewellers screwdrivers, a small spanner for A periodic check of equipment is a good habit to adopt. As well as keeping lens and filter surfaces clean (spirit-moistened tissues sold in small sachets are ideal for this) make sure your camera's interior is free from dust and grit. I once had some badly scratched film after returning from a desert trip through lack of sufficient care. A useful tip when you spend time in sandy, dusty or damp conditions, such as by the sea for instance, is to keep your equipment in individual plastic bags inside your camera bag until actually needed.
Do make sure your insurance cover is sound for the trip you are making. Often the standard all-risks element of a normal household policy is not adequate and it's generally much better to have specialist photo-equipment cover.
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One of the greatest pleasures I experience when travelling is that of looking for and taking photographs. But I have to say that I don't get very much pleasure from travelling with a camera outfit. When travelling in my own car, in the UK and Western Europe, there is the chore of having to lug everything into the hotel every night and, these days, travelling by air is hampered by new, very stringent restrictions on hand luggage and the problems of security checks. For these reasons, I find it necessary to be pretty organised and selective if carrying my equipment is not going to start spoiling the fun of travelling. 
I would be very reluctant to take a camera on an important assignment abroad unless I have been using it over a period of time. Even then, I'll usually run a test roll through it beforehand. Sometimes I've been obliged to take a relatively new piece of equipment as a back-up but hope that I do not have to depend upon it.
The question of camera types is largely one of personal taste, budget and the main purpose of the photography. Travel by any means other than one's own car means that weight and bulk are usually an important consideration. There's no doubt that the 35mm format offers the best compromise between size, weight, cost and image quality and that the SLR variety provides the most flexible and adaptable system. Rangefinder cameras, like the Leica, can have advantages where discretion is required since they are quieter in operation but they have a more limited range of lenses and cannot be used so readily for subjects like close-ups. The effect of filters are also much easier to control and judge when an SLR camera is used.
Whatever system you choose, if a trip is important to you in photographic terms then it is vital to carry at least two camera bodies. Apart from the consideration of possible breakdowns, additional bodies will allow you to be loaded with two or more film types - fast, slow, colour negative, transparency, tungsten, daylight or black and white, and so on. Adopting a belt and braces philosophy, it is also a good idea to carry a separate exposure meter in addition to those built into the cameras.
I find a shift lens very useful as I often shoot architectural subjects and I have a 17-35 mm zoom which is ideal for interiors. I normally carry a 1.4x converter to extend my 70-200 mm zoom but if I'm likely to have the opportunity for wildlife photography I take my 100-400mm zoom. However, even this can be limiting for serious animal and bird photography and a 600mm will provide better opportunities. I always put an extension ring in my bag for close focussing if needed.
In the past I've usually placed my film stock in my hold baggage. I was told once, off the record, by an airline official that this was never X-rayed, except in very rare instances. This has now changed quite dramatically and cases destined for the aircraft's hold are now subjected randomly to high-level scanning. The equipment employed for this uses a mixture of crisscross X-ray beams and something similar to the CAT scans used by hospitals. It's positively dangerous to film. In recent tests carried out by the US Federal Aviation Administration it was shown to damage all the colour films subjected to it.
The one thing I would never contemplate leaving behind is a tripod. When using a slow film like Velvia a polariser and a small aperture for good depth of field, I often need shutter speeds as slow as an 1/8 or 1/4 sec, even in bright sunlight. I also like to shoot pictures at unsocial hours, such as before dawn and at twilight, and at these times an exposure of several seconds is quite often needed. I carry a small torch to help me see the camera settings for occasions like these. Don't be tempted to save on weight on your tripod as a flimsy, lightweight one will be little help and can also spoil the pleasure of picture taking. When shooting on 35mm I carry a flash gun but tend only to use it occasionally for fill in.
tightening the tripod legs, spare tripod screws, rubber bands, blue tack, self-adhesive labels, a waterproof pen for marking exposed films and a stout black plastic bag for storing them. I also sometimes take a small tape recorder for note taking. It's vital with modern equipment to have a good supply of batteries, especially when travelling off the beaten track. Bear in mind too that batteries have a much more limited life when used in extremes of temperature.
It's a good idea to check the film gate occasionally as a trapped hair or fibre in or near the film plane can spoil a lot of shots. Check too if the shutter is firing correctly and the aperture is stopping down as it should to the preset aperture. If you are using more than one camera it's useful to cross check the exposure meters now and again, if only to reassure yourself that all is in order.
It's a very good idea to list everything you are carrying, with the serial numbers, and keep it, in duplicate, inside your passport. This is invaluable if you suffer a loss or theft and it can also sometimes help with over-zealous customs or security officers.