At my recent Boldly Go: a workshop for women who dream of travelling solo workshop, a participant asked me how big my bag was for a year-long trip, and what was in it.
For my year-long trip through fourteen countries, I decided that my primary bag would be a backpack. I decided on a backpack over a suitcase or roller-bag for two reasons.
First, I like the convenience of a backpack when taking public transit and staying in hostels (many of which do not have elevators). Second, I hoped that having to physically carry everything would stop me from accumulating too much stuff along the way. (It did.)
After shopping around and trying out a bunch of bags, I settled on an Osprey Viva 50. This bag was about as large as I was willing to carry, fit my body well, and is small enough to take as a carry-on if the top and bottom compartments are empty.
I also invested in a couple of Eagle Creek Packing Cubes to help keep my backpack organized, which I highly recommend no matter what kind of luggage you’re using.
My packing list needed to supply me for several climates, for a year-long trip. I started my trip in New Zealand in spring (lots of rain and cooler temperatures), to the beaches and temples of Thailand (hot and humid), to the higher altitudes of Nepal’s mountains (cold and dusty), to the scorching heat of Vietnam in the summertime.
If you’re only going to one climate, you will need less than this. Make sure you do your research and tailor your bag to what you’re need for your destination(s), and make sure to include any extra equipment for special activities.
Here’s what was in my bag:
ESSENTIALS & TECHNOLOGY (I kept most of this stuff in a small backpack I used as my “purse”)
- Passport
- Photocopy of my passport
- Driver’s License
- Health card & printed proof of insurance
- Paper copies of accommodations bookings and plane tickets for the first leg of my journey
- Paper copy of proof of vaccinations
- Paper copy of emergency contact information, local emergency numbers, and my Embassy’s contact information
- Money & credit card (I also carried a small amount of extra cash in USD for emergencies or if my cards ever stopped working)
- Phone & charging cord
- iPad & charging cord
- Camera & charging cord (I use a small mirrorless camera instead of my phone for photos)
- Earbuds
- International power adapter (plug converter)
CLOTHING (I did laundry about once a week as I travelled)
- Shirts (3 t-shirts, 1 tank top, 1 loose long-sleeve)
- Shorts (2 pairs)
- Pants (1 pair of cargo/hiking pants, 1 pair loose drawstring pants, 2 pair leggings)
- Dress (1 that’s easy to dress down and dress up)
- Bathing suit (2 mix-and-match bikinis)
- Scarf (1 big enough to keep you warm or cover your shoulders in a temple)
- Pyjamas (I brought 1 big loose shirt)
- Underwear (8 pairs)
- Socks (7 pairs)
- Bras (2 sports bras, 1 nice one)
- Light-weight rain jacket (1 that rolls up small)
- Sweater (1 lightweight that rolls up small)
- Belt (1 for the shorts and pants that need it)
- Hat (1 ball cap)
- Sunglasses (1 pair, cheap)
SHOES
- Blundstones (rain-proof and substitute for full-fledged hiking boots)
- Walking sandals
- Running shoes
- Flip-flops (good for the beach and also public showers)
TOILETRIES
- Toothbrush & toothpaste
- Shampoo & conditioner (full-size)
- Bar of soap & a razor
- Basic make-up (bb cream, powder, mascara, eyeliner, lip balm)
- Q-tips and cotton pads
- Prescription medication & vitamins
- Sunscreen & mosquito repellent (full-size)
- Hair brush (travel-size) & a few hair elastics
- Small hand sanitizer & travel package of wet wipes
- A package of tissues (doubles as toilet paper in a pinch)
- Condoms and sample packets of lube (safety first!)
- Basic first aid items: tweezers, band-aids, alcohol swabs, latex gloves
- Basic medications: Advil, cold & sinus, anti-diarrheals, anti-allergy, bismuth tablets, yeast infection meds (I like to start with these basics and replenish at local pharmacies as I go)
- Tiny sewing kit: a needle, spool of thread, tiny scissors
- A full-sized towel & face cloth
MISCELLANEOUS
- Small roll of duct tape (handy for so many things)
- A book or two, plus a Lonely Planet Travel Guide for my first destination
- Combination lock
- Door stop
- Journal & pen
- Water bottle & carabiner
THINGS NOT TO PACK
- A sleeping bag or any bedding (most hostels & hotels ban using personal bedding due to the increase in bed bugs, only bring your own bedding if you’re planning to camp or go somewhere bedding isn’t provided)
- Too many multiples of clothing – if you do laundry once per week, you don’t need a lot of anything other than underwear and socks to get you through
- A hair dryer, as most hostels, hotels or AirBNBs will provide one
- Anything that requires batteries – invest in electronics that are USB-rechargeable
- Anything that’s too nice to ruin, or that you can’t afford to lose
If you’re wondering after looking at this list…yes, I did fit all of this in a backpack. That’s why the travel cubes were super helpful to keep things compressed and organized.
Two hot tips for packing lightly
#1 Remember that if you need it to survive, locals will need it too
It’s important to remember that it’s better to bring less stuff to begin with because you can buy almost anything you need as you go. In addition to what I brought with me from home, I also had to shop for supplies along the way. I bought:
- Walking Sandals when the strap on mine broke irreparably
- A knock-off North Face rain jacket and some leggings to stay warm in Nepal
- A new shirt in Thailand when one I brought started to look way too grimy
- Shorts in Taiwan when mine got holes in the crotch from walking so much
- A few long-sleeved tunics in Malaysia when I needed to dress modestly for a class I was teaching
- A kaftan which I then used as a towel, scarf, bathing-suit cover-up, loungewear and pyjamas
#2 Leave things behind, or mail them home
Travelling long-term meant that sometimes I accumulated more stuff than I wanted to carry around.
Sometimes this meant leaving things behind or gifting them to other travellers when I no longer needed them (for example, a book I’d finished reading or a coat I no longer needed.)
But I also mailed several packages home along the way that included souvenirs I’d bought and clothes that I wanted to keep. The international postal service can take a while (I actually beat one package home that I’d mailed months before) but it’s pretty effective and I never had anything get lost.
The Travel Binder 