Everybody over-packs on their first long trip, posts a photograph of what they sent home in month two, and never does it again. The way to skip that step is to accept the principle up front: almost everything is available almost everywhere, and usually cheaper. You are not packing for a year. You are packing for the first two weeks, after which you will know what you actually use.
The bag
40 to 45 litres is the sweet spot for most people, and it is not a coincidence — it is the largest that reliably passes as carry-on with the major airlines, which saves both fees and waiting.
Backpack or wheels is a genuine question and depends on where you are going. Wheeled bags are better on pavements, airports and Europe. Backpacks are better on unmade roads, stairs, sand and buses with roof racks. Hybrid wheeled bags with harnesses do both jobs adequately and neither well.
A front-opening bag, which unzips like a suitcase rather than loading from the top, is worth more than any other single feature. Top-loaders mean unpacking everything to find one thing.
A small daypack, 15–20 litres, packable or separate.
Whatever you choose: you should be able to walk 20 minutes with it comfortably, uphill, in heat. If you cannot, it is too heavy, and no amount of organisation fixes that.
The clothing list
For a trip of any length, in warm climates with some cool:
- 3–4 T-shirts or tops
- 1 long-sleeved shirt, which doubles as sun protection and as the thing you wear into a temple or a restaurant
- 1 pair of trousers that look acceptable in a city
- 1 pair of shorts or a skirt
- 1 lightweight, quick-drying towel
- 5–7 pairs of underwear and socks
- 1 fleece or light insulating layer
- 1 waterproof shell, properly waterproof rather than showerproof
- 1 pair of walking shoes you have already broken in
- 1 pair of sandals or flip-flops, which are also shower shoes
- Swimwear
- A scarf or sarong, which is a towel, a blanket, a head covering, a curtain and a bag
That is it. You will wash things. Laundry costs very little across most of the world and is often done by weight in a day.
Add for cold or altitude: thermal base layers, a hat, gloves, and a proper insulated jacket — which is worth buying at home, because the fake ones sold on trekking streets in Kathmandu and Cusco are not warm.
Add for conservative countries and religious sites: clothing that covers shoulders and knees, and for women, something that can cover the head.
What to buy there instead
Toiletries. Sun cream — though it is expensive and often whitening in much of Asia, so bring one bottle. Insect repellent. Cheap clothing. Towels. Anything bulky.
Electronics
- Phone, unlocked, with offline maps downloaded
- A universal adapter with USB ports
- A power bank — on long bus days it is the difference between having a phone and not
- A charging cable per device, plus one spare, because cables fail constantly
- Headphones
- A laptop or tablet only if you will actually work on it. Most people carry one for a year and use it for films.
A head torch is worth more than most electronics: power cuts, dormitories, night buses, unlit paths, and 4am starts for sunrise or a pass.
Documents and money
- Passport with at least six months’ validity and several blank pages
- Photocopies and photographs of the passport, visas, insurance and vaccination records, stored offline and in cloud storage
- Two bank cards on different networks, kept in different places. One card and one wallet is one theft away from a crisis.
- A small emergency cash reserve in US dollars or euros, kept separately
The security items worth carrying
A padlock for hostel lockers. A doorstop wedge if you are travelling alone and staying in cheap rooms. A cable lock to attach a bag to a luggage rack on an overnight train.
Money belts are largely obsolete and mark you out. Splitting cards and cash between two or three places achieves the same thing.
The medical kit
Small: rehydration salts, painkillers, antihistamines, plasters, blister treatment, antiseptic, any prescription medication in its original labelled packaging with a doctor’s letter, and a course of antibiotics if your travel clinic recommends one for the region.
Rehydration salts are the single most useful item on that list and almost nobody packs them.
The test
Pack the bag, then take out three things you would not miss, and repeat once. Then walk around the block with it.
Everything you send home in month two was in the bag because you imagined a version of the trip that did not happen.