Travel Packing Like A Pro: Simple Hacks For Smart Adventurers

Travel packing really doesn’t have to be that complicated. It is true that most people eventually figure things out on their own. However, just a few simple habits can save you a lot of trouble and save a lot of headaches. To be honest, you learn this stuff by trial and error but taking note of these hacks can save you learning the hard way.

You Probably Need Less Than You Think

Here’s a secret old hands know about. The less you need, the longer your trip is. Huh? In fact, if you go for a week, you probably need to pack for each day. But, for any vacation that is longer than a week, only five days’ worth of clothes is enough. The idea of doing laundry is almost inevitable, and therefore five sets of clothes give you plenty to deal with.

Obviously, that depends where you are going. If you are on a remote mountain tour and there aren’t many laundries around, then you have to come up with a solution for that. On the other hand, if you visit cities, then it is perfectly fine to wear the same clothes twice or thrice. No one is actually looking at you and counting how many times you wear the same outfit.

Always Have a Backup Plan

If your luggage ever gets lost just once, you’ll definitely become a carry-on person for life. After all, even a short layover can cause your suitcase to take a different route from you. After a couple of days living without your belongings, you will either start traveling with just a carry-on bag or make your layovers much longer. Both are good options.

Packing for cold weather is a completely different story. Get rid of the idea of heavy and bulky sweaters and instead opt for lighter layers that you can mix, match, and wear again. Not only do they take up very little space, but they also allow you to adjust easily when you go from the warmth of indoors to the chill of outdoors.

Create Space on the Trip

Here’s an interesting tip: Travel with older clothing that you are fine with throwing away or leaving behind. Use them during your trip and after that simply leave them behind. Not only does it immediately make room for the stuff that you bought on your travels, but your bag is lighter for the trip back.

Being a good packer isn’t about taking everything with you. As you become more experienced at travel packing, you will discover that it becomes more important to easily find anything within a matter of seconds. This is the point at which packing cubes or simple plastic folders for your documents serve as great helpers, especially if you have a tight itinerary.

Get Yourself Organized

Packing cubes make it easy to separate your items: one for t-shirts, one for toiletries, one for hiking gear, etc. Besides keeping everything in order, it also allows you to solve the problem of separating clean clothes from dirty ones without any hassle. Additionally, it means you won’t have to completely ransack your suitcase whenever you arrive at a new hotel.

The focus of travel should be the experience and not the burden of dragging your entire closet all over the world. Essentially, packing with a bit of thinking ahead and having a system for your things turns it into a seamless and effortless first step. Travel packing really shouldn’t become a hectic chore that ruins the main event, which is the experience.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below, if you have any top travel packing tips, and come back here often for all your travel news and updates.