Contents of Post
For the last five to ten years, I have almost constantly been travelling. From my moves to other countries, and the trips I have taken between, you could almost say that I’ve been nomadic! In that time, my travel packing list for warm weather has shrunk astronomically.
Before I decided on actually writing this post for you guys, I decided to do a bit of research to see if it was even needed. My lord, is it ever. I searched up “Travel packing list” and pulled up the first 20 options. After wading through a sea of open tabs, I had found less than a handful of usable, much less helpful, lists. The rest of them made me feel like I was getting ready to move! Not go on a trip. Lisa and I actually sat here for almost 20 minutes as I read off every item on one of the website’s lists. That’s ridiculous!
With that, it was decided. I had to write this so that hopefully people can get access to information that didn’t include packing their whole house or travelling with 72 bags. That would get painful fast! I get bothered if I have to bring a suitcase as well as my regular bag. I’m definitely no Paris Hilton.
So then that begs the question. What should you pack?
As little as possible
No, seriously, I’m not kidding. I know you’re rushing down to the comment section to say “But Jenson I’m packing for a long trip. I might even be gone over a year!”
That’s all the more reason to pack as light as possible. You don’t want to be lugging two or more bags with you for the next year. Especially not if you’re going all over the world. Your poor back!
Most of the places you will go will probably have a place to do laundry. Whether that is somewhere in town, or directly at the place you’re staying is in question, but it’s somewhere. That’s why I normally pack as if I am going for about seven to ten days. That way I can pack light but still have options for if anything gets dirty.
Luckily I picked the perfect time because as I write this I am starting to pack for my trip to Croatia for a few months. Here is what I’m bringing.
Take a second to check out some of our tips for travelling in China.
Clothes
- 5-6 T-shirts
- 1-2 Long sleeve shirts
- 1 Pair of Jeans (Heavier and an absolute pain when wet, but I tend to wear them a lot. You could switch out for different long pants)
- 1 Belt (Which I’ll almost always be wearing, so it doesn’t even touch the bag)
- 3 Pairs of shorts (one of which will double as swimwear for me)
- 7 Pairs of underwear
- 9 Pairs of socks (I tend to lose some or end up with nasty holes)
- 1 pair of multifunctional shoes (I am a huge advocate of Tropicfeel. They make amazing shoes for travellers)
- 1 Pair of sandals (Some showers in hostels can be pretty gross)
These aren’t overly necessary, but if I’m travelling around Europe they can definitely come in handy. I won’t be bringing these to Croatia this time
- A pair of nice dress socks
- 1 nice dressy-ish shirt
- 1 pair of nice shoes (Can be dress shoes, but they usually tend to be too heavy for me)
- Raincoat (I don’t normally take these, but in places, such as Hallstatt, it is necessary.)
Toiletries
- 1 Bamboo or wooden toothbrush
- 1 travel tube of toothpaste (When I need more, I’ll buy some locally)
- Deodorant
- 1 Travel Bottle of all-natural Shampoo (I am considering switching to the no-poo method so this might be taken out soon)
- 1 Travel Bottle of all-natural conditioner (Long hair, do care, but also same as above)
- A small towel (microfiber towels dry really quickly and are super nifty)
Miscellaneous, but Necessary
- Lifestraw (water filter)
- Lock (Absolute necessity. Especially if you’re staying in a hostel)
- 5 hair ties (I have long hair, but you can also use these for a lot of other things. Get creative)
- 5 FFP2 equivalent Masks (Welcome to post-pandemic travel!)
- Flashlight (Never know when this will come in handy. May be replaced with a camera light soon)
- Sunglasses
Medical Necessities
- Moleskin/Blister aids
- Band-aids
- Hydrocortisone cream (Useful for bug bites or poison ivy-like things)
- Antibacterial cream
- Ibuprofen
- Hand sanitizer
Gear
I want to preface this section with: this is what I bring. You most likely won’t lug around all the stuff I do in this section.
- Smartphone
- Laptop (currently saving up to upgrade.)
- GoPro and accessories
- Power bank
- Digital storage (SD, micro SDs and external hard drives)
- Universal power adapter/converter (This will be necessary for everyone)
- Travel power bar (Not necessary for most, but I need those USB slots and extra plugs)
- Camera/s (I have two DSLRs that I will switch between. I rarely take both. Those are the Nikon Coolpix B700 and the Canon EOS 600D, which is no longer available)
- Microphones (Currently using Rode Wireless Go II with Lavaliers and the Rode video micro)
- Headphones
Must-Have Apps and Tools
- Maps.me ( Best map for travelling. Can always be used offline and has great crowdsourced info)
- NordVPN
- Rome2Rio (My go-to for getting from one place to another)
- Reddit (r/backpacking and r/travel are chock-full of great info)
- TripAdvisor
- Booking.com
- Hostelworld
- Agoda (Best for Southeast Asia, but has been growing in the west)
All three of the last ones cater to different types, so it is good to have all three as you might find better options on one or another.
Other Practical Items (Not Necessary)
- Travel clothesline (In Asia laundromats are dirt cheap, but in places like Europe it’s cheaper to wash your clothes in the sink and hang them to dry. Gotta stick to the budget!)
- Universal sink plug
- Sleeping bag liner (For when your hostel is kinda just ew)
- A nice Sarong (not necessary and you can buy it on the road, but can come in handy)
- A book
- Pacsafe bag protector
- Waterproof matches (you never know when these might come in handy)
For the most part, anything that you need or forget you can usually buy wherever you are going fairly easily. However, you shouldn’t forget to bring the absolute necessities such as your wallet, passport, medications, etc. It would be fairly hard to go without those.
Fairly recently, I switched my backpack of choice to the Tropicfeel Shell. This is one of the most versatile backpacks I have ever seen. The thing that absolutely sold me on it was the fact that it can adjust anywhere from a 22-litre to a 40-litre and has an amazing wardrobe system. All while being weatherproof.
Now, I must stress that this is my travel packing list for a warm climate. I highly recommend that you keep your trip planning to one climate type. The last thing you want to do is lug around a heavy coat in southern India because earlier in your trip you were in Nepal. Here is one for cold climates as well as one my wife made for women.
Also, not everything on this list will work for you, and that’s fine. There is no “perfect” way to pack. You might add and subtract some stuff. Over time, I do as well, and that’s ok. This is just the list that works for me and my way of travelling.
However, if there’s one thing you remember, please let it be this. Pack light. Make a list of what you want to take and downsize by at least half. Remember anything you bring you will have to carry.
So travel safe. Travel long. Travel authentically and travel nomadically.
What would, or wouldn’t, you put on your ultimate travel packing list and why? Let us know in the comments below.
One Response