When I did my first long-term travel experience of 7 months, I was in the mindset of “getting away from it all”, indefinitely. As such, I basically packed and brought an entire house with me. I had a suit, 3 jackets, 5 or 6 sweaters, and even small memorabilia objects.
Granted, there was a particular “baggage” I was carrying with me also on the emotional level, but even if I had simply planned to go on vacation for some time, I’m sure that I would have brought with me way too many things, as I did in my previous travels.
During that world trip I took dozens of flights, always paying extra for the checked-in suitcase. I carried around that baggage which limited the things I could do and moving from one place to another needed to be planned. I needed to use taxis, or find hotels near metro stations. I had to time the check out from hotels with the flight departure times, so I wouldn’t spend multiple hours in a city lugging this thing around. It was also partly the reason why I did so many road trips, just to have a place to put my big, largely unused suitcase, and then move around with more freedom.
When I was in Mexico, I went to the island of Holbox, where I left my car to take a ferry and brought with me only a small backpack. When I arrived there, since it was the rainy season, the whole island was completely flooded. To move anywhere, I would need to walk in knee-deep, flooded streets filled with mud. I lost both of my flip-flops, devoured by the gluttonous wet sand. After a week, I checked out of the hotel, went to the beach, then chilled in the small town, and only late in the evening took the ferry back. Despite returning barefoot with all my clothes covered in mud, the lightness of my luggage was a relief. More than that, it was intoxicating.
Through the course of other travels my approach has transformed a lot and became more and more minimalist. I think they have improved dramatically. I certainly don’t need any more of those half-days to move from one place to another and just go around and stop when needed. Experience has made me trim the fat and I can wander around and enjoy more the destination, and most importantly the journey.
Baggage that weighs on the soul
I personally think that overpacking is a major, if not the biggest contributing factor, to travel burnout, as I mentioned in this article.
I still experience travel fatigue, but long trips are definitely easier now. Not only because I am more used to it. Not just because I can see the signs of burnout and manage it before. Travel literally weighs less on me now.
But there are mental biases against light packing. Much like when I started hiking the first times, I would take too many things with me. It’s as if the mind suffers from letting go and tries to cling to too many things, making excuses that at some point a specific item will surely be needed. These thoughts are normal. It’s one of the things that makes us human: our capacity to predict, to envision and live potential future situations and account for them. We are evolutionary hard-wired towards it.
So a common mistake is to have the “preparing for everything” behavior and “what if” mentality. What if there are no towels? Let’s add also a hair drier. What if I get sick with 7 different illnesses for two week straight? I definitely need to take with me an entire pharmacy. What if the wind blows away my hat? Better bring three of them just in case.
Needless to say that this has to be fought against.
- One way of doing so is to embrace the possibility of not being fully prepared, or rather, perfectly outfitted. What I mean is that no matter how much you pack for hiking, for example, you will never have all the necessary equipment that you would have back home. No matter how many nice clothes you take with you to go to the theater, job interviews, or gala events, you will never be as sharp-looking as back home.
- Another way is to understand that if you have the enormous privilege to travel, then it means you also have the privilege to manage unexpected situations through money. An umbrella is just an umbrella and can be bought on the spot, and then given away, or in the worst case, if not possible and albeit not eco-friendly, thrown away.
Creating the perfect bag
Ok so hopefully I have convinced you and maybe even converted into an ultralight packing zealot. What next? What is the perfect packing list? What is the right amount of stuff to bring? There are innumerable websites on this topic (and I myself have built an automated, AI-powered packing list system that you can find here at the Portal).
But these are tools. They only create lists. And much like with any other tool, you first need to know how to use them, and know what you want to achieve. It is therefore more important to have the correct approach and mentality first and this is what this post is all about.
A good rule of thumb is to aim to keep 20-25% of your bag empty. It seems a waste, but more often than not, it will not actually happen with the last items you will put in. Also, having potential space will allow you to repack things more comfortably without having to spend half hour perfectly organizing everything. And you will be able to take home souvenirs.
Preparing for the journey
There are two main factors to account for when preparing and packing for a trip: the duration, and the diversity of environments.
Trip length is inversely proportional to bag size
When considering the length of the trip, ironically the longer the trip the less items you need when it comes to clothing. It might make sense to bring 7 pairs of socks for a week away, but you can’t bring 30 pairs for a month. You will have to do laundry, and therefore, frankly you ultimately need only 2 of each.
Nowadays, one of the items which occupies most space in my luggage is laundry material. I have a plastic bag (the Scrubba bucket that can be found on Amazon). Laundry powder or even liquid tablets. I tried also dried leaves of soap which use up much less space. This is not absolutely necessary. There are tons of travelers that wash their stuff in the good old hotel bathroom sink, but I find this to be more hygienic and efficient. Also having items purposefully made for this, means that I have “laundry days” (which is basically every day) and this gives a routine that reminds me of “home”. As mentioned in this other article on travel fatigue, having these “home” routines helps a lot in managing and limiting the onset of travel burnout.
Different types of destinations and activities
The hardest thing to do is to pack when expecting to traverse vastly different areas, especially weather-wise, but also from the point of view of activities that one wants to do, so this is the biggest factor. After all, if you intend to go out in nature, but also go to a nice club in a large city, you will (hopefully) have two completely different sets of gear to take with you.
When I travel far away I tend to group countries, in the sense “well since I’m here and relatively close, might as well go there”. But this often leads to me flying from Singapore to say, Australia. The US to Mexico. Needless to say that these regions have vastly different climates, if not entirely opposite seasons.
In this case layering is your friend: one sweater and a good wind jacket should be more than enough to get you through winter climates when your undergarments are layered.
If you instead plan to go to a specific destination, make sure to have a clear understanding of the general weather and the probability of variable weather. Sure, everywhere can rain, but bringing an umbrella seems like overkill to me.
For more information on this be sure to check out this article on the different climate regions that contains a comprehensive guide of the different regions, seasons and best times to visit.
The optimization loop
I come from a software engineering background, and we are creatures that iterate. Everything is a loop. You start and make something work..more or less…somehow. Then you refine. Then you refine again. Again and again (until someone stops you).
So my advice is to take your time and don’t pack in a hurry. Do it at least a day before. I prefer two days before and when I wake up after having slept on it I’m usually able to look at the things I packed with a different perspective, and optimize further.
If this is your first (long or short) trip, try to pack even earlier and live off your bag. This will make you understand what items you really need. This is especially true for toiletries, and will help you modify your beauty and hygiene routine to account for the fewer items.
Backpack or suitcase?
Here is where the arguments can spiral out of control in online discussions and personal opinions.
I personally prefer a backpack since I have been on too many cobblestone roads or sandy destinations that made me hate suitcases on wheels. However it does come with it’s drawbacks, for example they less durable, easier to deform, and clearly more prone to getting wet compared to a hard shell suitcase. Also, you might get some looks when checking in luxury hotels or walking in nice restaurants, since by definition, you look like a backpacker.
Regardless of your choice, the luggage should be lightweight to begin with. Aim for something between the 30-40L capacity. Anything larger will not only weigh more but will give much more space, which you will inevitably fill up with more stuff.
If going for hard case, also here the smaller the better, and ideally with 360 degree spin wheels.
Clothes
Chances are clothes will account for the majority of your luggage. This is where the iterative loop really shines and allows you to select the clothes that are most versatile and multi-purpose, as opposed to that single cute item that you will probably wear only once.
First and foremost, think in layers, e.g. a shirt can be a base layer in cold climates and a complete top in warmer climates.
Look for clothes with good fibers, that are breathable, have good resistance and that can dry quickly. This is especially important when doing laundry. Nothing is worse than humid, semi-clean clothes, packed tight in your bag that stink up all your other items.
You don’t know how to fold clothes
Regardless of how many clothes you bring (more on this later), learn to fold your clothes properly. Either with proper folding like in clothes shops (where they become nice little squares), or even better army rolling your clothes. For both, tutorials can be easily googled. If done properly, you will not even need packing cubes as your clothes will have minimal volume and maximum density/compression. Your own little neutron stars.
You should aim to have 1 item for each kind of situation, meaning 1 pullover or sweater, 1 pair of shoes, 1 pair of sandals or flip-flops, 1 pair of trousers, 1 pair of short pants, etc. Sure, you will always look the same, but as is the case with beauty products, that is hardly a problem when traveling.
Tip
Wear the set of more comfortable and warmer clothes (meaning heavier and bulkier) on the plane. Long flights are cold in any case and it will help a lot in reducing the weight of the bag during check-in weight controls.
You can find more info on the specific items in this article on Surviving long flights
Downside to this is that you will look slightly ridiculous if you don’t change before getting out of the airport when you arrive at your tropical paradise beach destination.
Toiletries
Toiletries are the first and easiest thing to trim down and if you aim to bring only a carry-on (as you should!) it is actually straightforward as you cannot bring full bottles containing more than 100ml liquids and can bring a maximum of 1 liter overall.
What to bring depends on you. For some people, having that refreshing and moisturizing wash is important after long flights and at the end of the day, others are fine with just a toothbrush. Learn what it is you really really need. In general the idea is that you will have to modify your beauty and hygiene routine but clearly not remove it entirely. As such, beauty products are the majority of items that should be trimmed down. Dozens of different masks and lotions are unnecessary. Bring only enough and remember the rule that you will never look as good as back home, so just enjoy your trip.
Tip
If you know exactly where you are staying, you can considerably reduce toiletries. In Japan for example, all hotels have an amenity bar in the lobby where you can find all possible free products, from the obvious toothbrush to hair bands and cleansing foams. In general luxury hotels will provide most of the things you need.
Pharmacy items and first aid
Some pharmacy items to bring together with toiletries are fine, and actually very important as they are by definition emergency items; a complete first aid kit is probably exaggerated.
There is no need to bring the whole box of dozens of painkillers, headache pills, etc., and taking just a few of each is more than enough. I would recommend just a couple (literally 2 of each) band-aids, anti-hemorrage for nose bleeding, immediate anti-dhiarrea medication, and ibuprofen pills for the sudden migraine.
Also here remember that unless you are going to a very remote destination, you can find everything at local drug stores.
Shoes
This, together with electronics, might be the item that contributes most to space and weight. I have grown accustomed to taking with me only 1 pair of shoes and 1 sandals/flip-flops, and recently I have started to buy the pair of shoes when I begin the trip. I depart with the most terrible pair I have and then buy a brand new fresh and comfortable pair of sneakers, which will be my travel companions until the end of that trip.
Sports shoes allow you to walk in cities, do some light hiking in nature, and look good even in nicer hotels and restaurants. In the past I brought another pair of low top light shoes (i.e. Converse). Three pairs is the absolute maximum in my opinion, and with 3 pairs (meaning 2 in the bag), you are probably over any carry-on weight and size limit. For women, try to avoid bringing heels or wedges. As for the case of toiletries and beauty products, this is a chance to enjoy being away from home so also here sneakers or flats are preferable.
Electronics
Everyone always brings multiple devices with them. I for one, being the nomad laptop, have almost half of everything I bring made up of electronics.
The recommendation here is to minimize the amount of cables, converters, and power sockets. It is better to invest in a high power quickcharge power supply than to bring 3 smaller ones for all the phones, ebook readers, etc. For example, I have an (admittedly huge and heavy) power socket with 2 usb-c 120W outlets, and a 40W usb-2 outlet. and extremely short usb cables. When I connect it it uses up the power of a small desktop computer but charges everything immediately. All in all it occupies very little space.
Same for hard drives. Avoid taking full blown external hard drives and use cloud backup. At most SD cards for pictures.
When it comes to the main device, bring your lightest laptop with you, but do not forget about durability since that poor thing will inevitably take a beating. Try to keep it simple (i.e. don’t bring your 3kg gaming laptop with you). Check out this article on the best devices for travel.
Also, I know a flipping through paper pages of a physical book is unbeatable, but leave the heavy books at home and take with you an e-book reader.
If you, like me, like to take footage with drones, you will know how much space these items can occupy. I use the dji mavic mini 2 which has the benefit of requiring less or sometimes no permission/registration since it weighs under 250g. Most importantly do your research and check if you can actually fly a drone in your destination.
Same argument goes for the camera. Unless you are a professional photographer I would say to avoid bringing tripods or dozens of lenses. Try to find an all purpose decent camera.
Other packing tips
- Packing cubes: Many people swear by them, others do not see what all the fuss is about. I personally use them for the added organization that they provide. In case of longer trips to destinations that have wildly different climates, the compression packing cubes can also come in handy and let you pack tightly that heavy sweater (or bathing suit) that you will not use for the next foreseeable future. They can also be used for holding your laundry/dirty clothes.
- Plastic and ziplock bags are lifesavers. They can help with dirty laundry, toiletries, or anything really. Here I actually may have a hoarding issue since every time I get back I always have more bags than when I started.
- If you want to go full blown ultralight, the reddit sub /onebag contains a slew of useful tips on how to optimize to carry only a single small bag (beware: some of the tips may seem exaggerated like shaving off handles of razors and toothbrushes, creating rain jackets from bags, etc. Also be sure to never state that a single brand of a bag is the best or you will start a flame war).
- I like to bring with me a small portable scale. It is not necessary since I do not buy souvenirs and once I weigh the bag at home, it remains at that weight for the entire trip, but I like to check the weight before flights and move things between my carryon and personal item. Flights in Asia are notorious for having low carry-on weight limits (usually 7kg), and I have been on flights with limits of 5kg (those flights are where I basically wear all my clothes when I show myself at check-in).
- Some people swear by having a carabiner, and use it for anything and everything, from hanging an extra jacket, sandals, water bottles, or hanging the bag itself in hotels/hostels. But realistically, most people will get one, attach it to their bags, and forget about as it stays there forever with no use.
- For families with small children, it may be tempting to bring all the possible toys and comforts that you have at home. Needless to say, don’t.
- When it comes to road trips, packing can be slightly different since you have the benefit of the car and can take more with you. Also this different kind of traveling has its own requirements. See this article on Road trip packing for more information.
