The point of traveling isn’t about carrying as much useless stuff around you as you can, but about having just enough items to feel comfortable and have fun. The importance of packing light cannot be overemphasized, and there’s nothing worse than dragging an oversized baggage around with you all day. The best international travel site will always tell you to pack wisely. Nobody will ever brag about how much stuff he/she managed to stuff in their bags, but about how much fun they had. Modern age travel is all about dynamism, and ingenuity.
Recommended Read: Packing List & Tips for an Overseas Trip
#1 Traveling Overseas; Regulations and Rules
If you are planning on flying, you probably know that international airports regulations force us to downsize our pack rat tendencies. Here are a few unusual tricks that will help you to not only maintain the weight below limitations, but also bring stuff you buy along the way, home. They should work regardless of the fact that you are traveling for a year or a week.
Remember that packing light isn’t only about saving time and money, but also about the way you travel. If you want to feel comfortable and liberated when traveling overseas, you will refrain from pouring your entire closet in it. In case you are really missing something, you can purchase it abroad. Please not that very destination is different, and will require special preparation (be sure to also check out traveling south America tips and traveling Australia Tips)
#2 What to Take When Traveling Abroad: Unusual Advice
The biggest question is how is it possible to fit a whole trip’s worth in one, small suitcase or bag? The answer is as simple as it may sound: by giving up on all the things that are useless when traveling. Frugal thinking is the best idea. Instead of packing for the worst case scenario, one should think about the best-case scenario.
- Only Bring One Pair of Jeans: All the denim lovers out there will probably be appalled by this idea. Is it even possible to make do with only one pair? The answer is yes, as long as you go for a pair that looks elegant enough for evenings, and is also comfortable enough for casual walks. For special occasions you can use a dress and accessories.
- Nalgene and Small Bottles: Instead of carrying the entire shampoo or shower cream lotion with you, you can repack them in smaller bottles. Alternatively, small items can also be neatly packed in nalgene and waterproof containers.
- Plastic Bags: have been used since the dawn of time. They are excellent not only for saving room, but also for protecting against leaking, or containing dirty clothes. Inventive travelers can even transform them into rudimentary umbrellas. We recommend that you use ziplocked bags for this purpose. Chances are that you will be asked to unpack at customs, but instead of rummaging through your stuff, all you need to do is share the contents of your small, neatly packed up luggage.
- Tuck Small Things Into the Shoes: The space in the shoes is often not used. What better way to tuck away your underwear and socks if not here? Not only will you save space, but nobody but you will know where they are. This is less effective when you travel abroad alone.
- Compress Bulky Clothes: If you are prepared to make a small investment, you can squeeze the air out of bulky clothes with a compression sack that you can purchase from the supermarket. This can be extremely useful if you are trying not to exceed the weight limit at the airport.
- Split of Clothes When Traveling with Others: Even when you do all you can for safe travel abroad, unexpected problems may appear. One of them would be having your luggage lost. To avoid catastrophes you can split up your stuff with friends. So if someone loses their luggage they will still have clean clothes available upon arrival.
- Using Purses for Clothes Stuffing: For some unknown reason, it seems that bags are easier to pack when they are rolled, not folded. If you roll tissue on paper, your stuff will get wrinkled.
- Stick to One Neutral Color Scheme to reduce the need for useless accessories, shoes and other clothing items. You could also use tops that work with multiple outfits.
- Wear Your Jacket on the Plane: one of the best ways to outsmart the system is by wearing your jacket before you embark on your flight. Not only are jackets large, but they are also not suitable for packing (most of them get wrinkles).
- Ditch the Hair-drier: What is the point in taking a hair drier if you are going to stay in a 3-4 star hotel? Be aware that not all diffuser attachments fit on the packing list.
These are the main things that you should consider when traveling overseas with light baggage. If there are things that you should never forget to include, they represent paper-work (the VISA, credit card numbers, travel insurance, foreign currency and , passport).
Optional Packing List:
- A multi-tool for peeling fruit and opening bottles.
- A quick-dry campaign towel for long rides.
- Medications, hat and sunglasses for the summer.
- Converters, foreign currency, a money belt and an inflatable travel pillow.
We hope that these tricks will make packing easier, and we really hope that you will be able to cut down on the amount of useless stuff that you are taking with you abroad.
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