So packing tips, there are alot of angles here from what not to bring, what you need and also recommending items that you should buy yourself. I think the logical thing is to tell you how I go about packing and throw some tips in and then recommend some items.
So to start off, on my very first big trip which was around a year i did not take the world. I took a 66L bag and to be honest, I didn’t need it. Each time I go away I seem to go with less and less to the point of going away for months with half of that. For example I went away for weeks to the south of Spain with a tiny backpack of like 20L. It’s totally doable and I will tell you why.
Lots of people fall into the trap of taking everything and i mean everything they think they are going to need, DONT. There are some occasions depending on the trip that you might need certain things but going backpacking especially, take as little as possible.
To start with you can easily clean your clothes each week, doing laundry in places like Asia and South America is so easy and cheap to do, also in hot countries you can do your own and its going to dry in record time on the rooftop of your hostel for example.
So lets start simple. I do the following: enough t shirts, pants and socks for 1 week. This is no more than 7. I will take 1 pair of trousers/jeans. I find jeans are best because you can use them on a motorbike but also to go out if going somewhere decent or you are just cold. I then take 2 tops, 1 thicker than the other. Clothes wise that is about it. Don’t complicate it, I say this as you can grab extras and what I’d consider consumables such as rain coats, extra t shirts/shirts etc. Also you are going backpacking, not for a week to a 5 star hotel. The chances are you are going somewhere warm I’d guess. Swimming trunks/suits, sun cream, deodorants, creams etc etc are all purchased super cheap and just grab them as you need them. One tip I would give is taking a little sack like a hessian back for laundry so you can chuck dirty stuff in there and hand it over to laundry services which again are super easy and cheap. I’ve even had people come up to me when sunbathing saying I will take the laundry and bring it back here later or tmrws for as little as $2.
Medication can be a side issue but i can say with certainty i’ve never had an issue, i have severe eczema and initially i worried about certain creams that i can’t live without. Well don’t worry if you have it too or other issues similar, in Asia for example so many things can be purchased straight over the counter. Equally be careful if you are taking anything medication wise because the country you go to or land in could have strict rules about certain products, always always check first.
If you move on to colder climates then just grab some extras when in the country, trust me you will thank me for these tips. Go light, go far.
Little extras – headphones,metal water bottle to prevent plastic waste, small cosmetic containers if you need to take something specific, im talking 100ml max, travel plug can be helpful but again one can be picked up most places you are going, unless its remote. Oh the other thing i’d recommend and you can see the link below for the exact one i have is a micro towel with a little zippy pocket in for change at the beach.
To summarize, take just enough clothes for the first week, don’t take all your cosmetics as they can be picked up super cheap in your location of choice. One set of footwear, towel and at a push one thing for swimming in. Don’t forget your travel cards, see the article i wrote about that very thing below. If you aren’t going to need it in the first few days/ week it does need to come along.
My recommended items to make life brighter
Backpack
Towel
Headphones