Travel
Ask The Experts: Ultimate Travel Packing Tips
Love to travel but kind of hate packing for a trip? We ask seasoned travel bloggers to share their secrets for seeing the world with limited suitcase space
Packing for a trip can be challenging at the best of times, but even more so when you’ve got special activities and unique climates to consider, or are perhaps planning for an Instagram pic session at your destination. Especially now that checked baggage fees are no longer the price of doing business with a low-cost carrier, and are instead becoming the norm across the airline industry. Yikes. But don’t fret (yet): these 7 travel bloggers and influencers are here to show you how to maximise suitcase space and minimise stress.
Select A Base Colour Palette
Annette White of Bucket List Journey
“When packing clothing, I first pick a three-colour palette, like black, beige and red. Then, I take a look at the weather and planned activities in my destination. Afterwards, I select only clothes from my closet that would fit the colour scheme, weather and activities. Lastly, I make sure that each piece of clothing can be a part of two to three different outfits. This helps with packing less, but still having a variety of outfits to choose from.”
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Use Packing Cubes
Josh McNair of California Through My Lens
“I recommend that you invest in packing cubes. I used to travel without them, but after getting some on a whim, they are now one of my favourite travel items. You can split all your clothes into different cubes, and it makes it easy to pack and to keep everything organised on longer trips. Plus, I always bring an extra one for dirty clothes so that they can have their own compartment away from the rest of the things I brought.”
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Make An Itemised Packing List
Paul Healey of Anywhere We Roam
“One of the most important packing tips we always follow is to have a list of everything we need when we travel. That way we don’t risk leaving things behind, and we’re less likely to over pack unnecessary items. Packing cubes are a great idea to maximise space in your suitcase, and they also come in handy for storing cables and chargers. Our final tip would be to always leave space in your luggage so you can unpack and pack up again quickly. The last thing you want to do is play a game of Tetris every time you need to get everything back in your bag.”
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Consider Snail-Mailing Non-Essentials
Maddy Relph, Model and Travel Instagrammer
“If I’m travelling for a long period of time and feel that I have exhausted some clothing or there is a change in season, I simply snail-mail some items home (leaving room for extra shopping goodies). Packing and travelling with a film point-and-shoot camera is super fun, developing the film at the end of your trip and solidifying those key memories. I also can’t go anywhere without an eye mask and ear plugs, they’re essential for noisy flights and central bustling hotels!”
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Build Your Outfits Prior To Travelling
Nadine Sykora of Hey Nadine
“If you’re struggling to figure out how much of each item of clothing to bring, just pack in outfits. Plan a week of outfits, some for warm days, some for cooler, lay them out, then try and remove items by reusing items for multiple outfits. Pack a wrinkle-release spray if you are worried about wrinkles. These work great! Or steam your clothes in the shower. Always pack a small waterproof bag for wet swimwear. For colder climates, the key is to think in layers. Try to avoid packing bulky sweaters, and instead wear layers such as a long-sleeve thermal and a medium-weight sweater on top with a good jacket as your outer layer.”
Travel Extra-Light
Olly Gaspar of We Seek Travel
“My goal was always to pack and travel as light as possible. However, after four years on the road, my bags seem to add on a few pounds every year. That said, for shorter trips, the biggest mistake I see travellers make is packing too many outfits. I still only carry five t-shirts, three pairs of shorts and one pair of jeans. For longer trips or for those looking to pursue a life on the road, I recommend reading my digital nomad packing list for a few tips!”
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Focus On The Big Picture
Erik Gauger of Notes from the Road
“There is a lot of travel packing advice out there, and a lot of it is advice that says, ‘I have this neat little packing tip, do the same thing.’ But everybody has different packing needs, and I think it’s more helpful to focus on the bigger picture. When you get good at the bigger picture of packing, it becomes easier to pack for very specific situations. Here are some of my top packing tips:
1. Never pack the night before. Rather, always work on your packing system, and perfect it over time. I lay out everything I plan to pack next to my suitcase weeks in advance.
2. Take your travel gear on a stroll around your own city. Practice. Familiarity with your gear matters.
3. Divide your cash and itinerary paperwork into three distinct locations. I print three copies of my passport on three sheets of paper, and then print my complete itinerary on the other side. I then split my cash into three and fold it inside these sheets of paper. One is in my wallet, one is in my camera daypack, and one is in my carry-on. On top of this, I keep a fourth copy of my itinerary on a Google Doc, which I can access at any time from my phone. This is the copy I actually use.
4. Collect organisational Items: I keep a set of drawers in my travel shelf dedicated to random, small items that help with packing for travel. I collect small jewellery bags, freezer bags, rubber bands and other small organisational tools.
5. Learn the magic of technical fabrics, and limit your use of fabrics like cotton.
6. Practice layering when you are not travelling. Layers are the key to happy travel. Understanding how different layers go together means you can travel through just about any temperature with very few clothes. I always keep a hat in the pocket of a lightweight jacket.
7. Skip the stuff the travel industry tries to sell you. You don’t need to dress like an elderly birdwatcher on safari. You can skip the money belt and the passport protector and all those organisational tools that end up weighing you down.
8. Everybody says: go light, which is true. But consider packing like a wilderness backpacker, who endeavours to shed weight wherever possible. Buy a kitchen scale and a pack weigher, and learn the weight of everything you own that you might consider travelling with. I actually keep a spreadsheet that shows how many pounds and ounces every item I might carry with me weighs. I always know the weight of every item. This is especially important when you are carrying weight on your back. I know exactly how many pounds on my back starts to feel uncomfortable.
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Pack For A Minimalist
Caroline and Craig Makepeace of Y Travel
1. Pack. Then reduce by a third. Then reduce by another third. You need far less than you think.
2. Use packing cells and label them. They help keep your suitcase from exploding out onto the sidewalk.
3. Pack a shawl or sarong. They can serve multiple purposes and save on packing other things – like a beach towel.
4. Avoid traveling to destinations with a wide range of climate swings. My biggest packing nightmare is packing for a trip that will take me from freezing to hot in a couple of days. You will have to pack too much to accommodate. If you can’t avoid it, pack thin layers.
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Ditch The Bottles
Alex Reynolds of Lost With Purpose
Save space—and the risk of something exploding in your bag!—by traveling with shampoo and conditioner bars rather than bottled products. The bars are small, lightweight, and reduce your plastic consumption. What’s not to like?
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