Tips & Tricks for Packing for a Long Trip

I’ve lived out of a backpack for two 6-month stints, and I am by no means an expert, but I think I have a good grasp on where to start when beginning to pack. For me, opening up my expansive closet and trying to pick from my assorted items of clothing is both tedious and overwhelming. The first time I sat down to pack, I had thoughts like “where do I even begin?”, “how I am going to do this?”, “how do I know what I will need?”. So where did I start? I closed the closet doors and sat down away from my clothing to begin making a list of the things that I thought I needed to bring with me. From there, I moved to the bedroom and began pulling items out of the closet, trying them on, and determining if I wanted to be stuck with that one garment for the next however-many-months. Once I had settled on the things I thought I wanted to bring, I did a test pack in my backpack, only to find that it was already too full. From there, I began comparing and contrasting my items, thinking to myself “what items are similar enough that one could go?”, tossing those aside and keeping the rest. The end result is a full backpack with minimal amounts of things in it that will leave you feeling less than confident in your decision-making skills. Don’t second-guess what you’ve chosen; once you’re on the road, you’ll understand that people could care less what you’re wearing.

A few helpful tips and tricks to begin that packing process are as follows:

1. Never leave with your backpack completely full. It is inevitable that you will end up with a free souvenir shirt from whatever extreme activity you may choose to do or cool hostel you stay at or epic partying event you attend. Leave room for these things.
2. Bring a variety of styles; you don’t need more than one of something, except underwear and socks. By this, I mean bring 1 t-shirt, 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of capris, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of hiking shorts, etc. If you are going to double up on something, make sure it is a different color. You don’t need 3 white t-shirts. You just don’t.
3. Pack a variety of items that will match with each other. I try to avoid bringing a lot of colorful stuff that doesn’t match. When I think about my clothing, I try to pick my most practical and generic items that will match with each other. A little splash of color is great every now and then, but limiting yourself to all colorful clothing items that perhaps you won’t wear together is something I try to avoid.
4. Bring clothing you already know you like. When you only have 3 shirts or 2 pairs of pants for an extended period of time, you tend to get sick of those items. Knowing that you like them and they are comfortable before you go always make for a more positive travel experience. I have bought items specifically for travelling, only to find that they don’t fit me the way that I want or I don’t really like them as much as I thought I would.
5. Don’t bring anything that you would be heartbroken to lose or get stolen. It’s not worth the extra stress to worry about an item of clothing on top of already worrying about your passport, your person, and your other truly valuable items. Leave the valuable clothing at home.
6. Don’t bringing anything that is delicate or has special washing instructions. There are many places where you can do your own laundry, but in most cases you give your clothing to a hostel or a laundry mat, trusting they are going to take care of your stuff. Specific water temperatures, hanging to dry, hand washing, and items that could run color into your other items is not ideal for a long term backpacking trip.
7. Regardless of where you are going, bring flip-flops. Hostel dorms can be gross, and hostel showers are often gross, so having flip-flops is always nice. There is nothing worse than having to throw runners on to run to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
8. You don’t need more than 4 pairs of shoes; flip-flops, runners or hiking boots, walking sandals, and perhaps a pair of sneakers. Ladies, you won’t be wearing heels while backpacking. Men, you won’t be wearing dress shoes while backpacking. Leave the clunky boots and heeled shoes at home – you won’t need them.
9. Bring a travel lock, if not multiple travel locks. In my experience, travel locks break, so it’s nice to have more than one. Even if you don’t care about your clothing, your shoes, your toiletries, etc., it is nice to have your money, credit cards, and passport locked up. Most hostels provide some sort of locker to secure your stuff, and although most people in hostels have no interest in ruining your trip, it never hurts to lock up your most important possessions.
10. Never travel without a headlamp, an eye mask, earplugs, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and traveler’s diarrhea medication. Outside of the clothing on your pack, a credit card, and your passport, these are the things that I absolutely would not leave the country without. Oh, and don’t forget a good book and a journal to capture your memories along the way!

Need more packing tips? Check out Ryan and I’s podcast, The World Wanderers, here.