Travel Packing Tips
Why travel with a backpack?
The best piece of advice I can give anyone is pack what you actually need and not what you think you need. For our style of travel we use backpacks. We both have backpacking bags- one 80 litre bag and one 55 litre bag. We are used to the idea of backpacking, but when we looked at carry on size requirements we were shocked to find both of our bags were too big. Mine way too big and hers just a smidge.
After way, way too much research we both bought backpacks. I purchased an Osprey Farpoint 40 and she bought a Deuter Transit 40. These were one of the best purchases we have done.
Erin uses her REI Flash 18L backpack as a daybag and airplane personal item. She left her larger carry-on backpack in a locker at the Munich Central Train Station for this nine hour layover.
I could talk for a long period of time about the pros of using a backpack. I will try to tell you what I like. It limits the amount of stuff I can bring and keeps me in check. Easily carried with you everywhere and easy to move with, especially when moving on stairs. If you don’t have a place to stay yet then it will not be very difficult to bring the bag with you everywhere. Something we like to do is to lock all of our stuff away at the place we are staying and then bring the bag with us everywhere as a day bag with a few small items.
I do not have to deal with checking luggage and “praying” it makes it to the airport. They do regularly get lost and even though the airlines do their best to make it up to you it just is not enough. Imagine not having anything and then having to purchase new items. You will usually be compensated, but that just sounds like a hassle. If I need to make a quick connection it also helps to have all of my stuff on me.
Packing Tips
- Pants 1 pair
- Wash Clothes
- Good Travel Clothes
- Shoes 1 pair
- Hygiene is Everywhere
- Know the Weather
You do not need to bring a large wardrobe. You do not need to bring a different pair of pants to wear everyday. I have found pants to take up a lot of space in a bag and this is especially true for men’s. For 10 days in Ireland I wore 1 pair of pants. I did not even need to wash them one time and at the end of the trip they passed the “Bachelor Sniff.” Erin usually brings a couple but still you do not need a ton of pants. Also, you can wash them……that brings me to my next tip.
I know you’re on vacation and washing clothes can be a hassle, but if you’re willing to wash clothes one or two times then you’re going to be able to reduce your clothing needs by half if not less. Although pants might… not need washed, underwear, socks, and shirts will. You can use a bar of soap, shampoo, or do some research to find out what else you can use. Throw them in the sink, let them soak, use a little elbow grease rubbing them together, and you’re done. Hang dry them overnight and in the morning you’re ready. This whole process gets made better if you buy the right clothes and on to the next tip.
If you’re washing your clothes and/or possibly wearing them for more than a day then chances are you should try to have good clothing. I hope most of us have heard of Merino Wool socks. If you have not look them up. They are really good for all conditions, don’t take on odor as easy as other socks, and they dry quickly when washed. Perfect for travel.
Sweat Wicking athletic shirts are a must. Any shirt you might see some douchebag wearing at the gym actually works out great for travel as well. They are good for multi-day use as long as you’re not too rough on them, they wash easily, and they dry quickly.
Outdoor pants found at any outdoor store should do great for traveling. They are meant to be worn for multi-day trips without a wash and intended to take a beating. You can find them in light weight or rugged can deal with anything. I prefer the latter and deal with the small added weight. Also a good pair of jeans would do great. I personally try to have a pair of pants which are not too tight or restrictive. You will be doing everything in this pair.
I know for some women out there and likely even some men you are going to NEED multiple pairs of shoes. This is simply untrue. Most people pack multiple shoes just in case they are going out and need them. They rarely use them and even when they do it was not needed. Find one pair of shoes preferably light weight and make sure it works for everything. Trail running shoes that are not flashy as to draw unwanted attention would be great. I would focus on very subtle normal colors.
Oh and if you’re doing the hostel thing then likely you’re bringing some sandal/shower shoes. Something to put on your feet when you take a shower in a semi public place. These can very easily double as your plane shoes, beach shoes, nighttime shoes, and whatever else you may want shoes.
Believe it or not you can buy all the hygiene items in Mexico, South America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Soap is just soap. You don’t need to pack a ton of hygiene items and if you run out you can buy some there.
Oh and the Wal Mart Hygiene travel section is pretty awesome. They have a bunch of stuff TSA ready in nice little packages so you can save yourself some time and hassle.
Understand the weather of the place you are going. A raincoat and an umbrella can make a huge difference when you go to a place like Ireland in the Rainy season which I think is all of the time. If you are leaving Denver in the winter and going to Cancun you might be tempted to have a bulky coat, but it will be useless to you in Mexico. A light jacket will do fine in either of these places depending on the time of year.
When going somewhere potentially cold I use layers. Some type of baselayer, a puffy jacket, and a rain shell can get me through almost anything.
Pause
Take a moment and compare the items before this point and afterwards. You will find that you don’t really need anything past this point. Believe it or not, you can find people who do world travel without any type of bag at all.
I will now be going into the extra category as I would like to fondly refer to it. These are items I bring and some ideas of how or why I use them.
Packing Extras
- Power Adapter
- Power Bank
Most countries outside of the US have different outlets than we do. Get a universal power adapter so you can charge items such as your phone in any location. I advise getting one with multiple usb ports.
This tip is more for for someone such as myself who has multiple electronic devices they want to bring. I usually bring a Gopro (+3 batteries), Olympus Camera, and my phone. Sometimes I bring a travel laptop and usually I have a traveling partner with similar needs. Also I don’t know if I am always going to have access to a power source at the end of every night.
So that is where a power bank comes into play. I have an Anker 26800. I can charge this thing fast as I can charge it with two separate cords and I can charge three different devices using it if I want to. I top it off whenever I can and use it on the go. It has been a great tool to have and is worth the weight. If you have similar travel needs to me it is worth getting one.
- Books
- Tour Guidebook
- Photo/Video
I still like to bring a book sometimes even though audio book or nook on the phone works just fine. It is good to have something to read while you wait at an airport, train station, bus station, or even when you are waiting in line at some sites.
This is an item you can also just get on your phone, but I still prefer to have the book in my hand. Feels better and looks better. I prefer Rick Steves, but there is a bunch more you can check out.
This is an understandably important part. Even if you’re not trying to become the next instagram or youtube famous person you might want to take a bunch of videos and/or photos. I can tell you from personal experience it is really nice to be able to go back and look at everything I have done and seen. I suspect this will be even more important to myself 20 years from now.
I have multiple gopro cameras I like to use and am always flirting with the idea of getting some type of fancy DSLR or Mirrorless camera. They are bulky, cost a lot, and I fear I will break them. For now though I will stick with my Olympus indestructible camera and my phone. These days phones can do great videos and great photos. As time goes on, I feel like a phone is all you’re going to need.
Final Packing Tips
- Phone Stuff
- Final Tip - Do not overstress or overthink your packing!
First off we all know you can do everything on your phone. Books are great especially when waiting, but they can be heavy and take up a lot of space. If you have a kindle or nook then just suck it up and download the phone app. You will save a lot of space and still have the book you want.
Getting an international plan with your phone carrier is the easy thing to do, but not the cheap option. It also usually not worth it. Purchasing a sim card for your phone is not hard to do in other countries, but if you are willing to plan ahead you can get a sim card from amazon for the specific country you’re going to. This option is usually cheaper and it has worked for me so far.
Almost anything you can do on a laptop you can do on a phone. So if you have a video app such as Vuhdo, Amazon Video, Hulu, or Netflix and you want to have it for the plane ride (which is a great way to get through a long one) then just get it on your phone. Most of those places have started to let you download videos so even if you do not have service plan ahead and you’re good. These things are great for the long plane rides crossing the ocean.
If you’re a writer of any kind or simply like to write then a phone may be a turn off as it does not provide a good typing platform unless you’re a teenage girl. In this case you can always look into portable bluetooth keyboards. I first learned of this by listening to a Tim Ferriss podcast about traveling and found it to be a great idea.
Download maps, Download maps, and Download maps before you go. I cannot say that enough. If you know you’re going to Amsterdam on a layover, London on a layover, and landing in Cork, Ireland such as we did then download the maps of those areas before you go. Google works great, but there are other apps such as Citymapper that people love to use. Even if you do not have good phone service you will likely be able to use the GPS on your phone.
Download your own tour guides and tour guide books onto your phone before going. TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet, and Rick Steves all have their own products you can download prior to going to help yourself out. Rick Steves will even have specific museums they will walk you through. The choice used to be pay a tour guide way too much to walk around at the pace of the slowest people in your group or walk around reading stuff and hoping to get something out of it. Now you can just download a podcast like thing from Rick Steves, walk into the Rome Coliseum and boom you have your own personal tour guide for free without the hassle. Oh and they aren’t going to guilt you into tips either so that is a win for Erin and I.
Anything you need can be purchased where you are going. You can buy basic clothing and warm weather clothing if you mess up.
Nine hour layover in Munich, Germany? Not a problem with easy to carry luggage.
