The Ultimate
Travel Packing List

Or, The Art of Leaving Things Behind

Deciding what to take has always been one of my main problems - but only at the start of a trip.

The more I travel, the lighter the backpack gets! On one lengthy trip, I started with 25 kilos (55 lb) and ended up with 11 kg (24 lb) a year later.

So why not get it right the first time? I still remember giving away a brand new shoulder strap for my backpack (expensive), a portable hair dryer (not very useful in a mud hut) and a travel iron (what was I thinking?) on the first leg of my three-year trip.

I learned my lesson and began to prepare my own packing checklist. My friends have been adding to it and stealing it from me whenever they can, so I'd like to share what has now become the collective wisdom of a large-ish group with you.

Of course, a lot will depend on the type of backpack you take and how long your trip is... but if you're going for a few months or longer, this list should work for you. This is a list for warm climates in relatively inhabited areas - colder climates or extreme locations require a more technical approach.

And remember - pack each 'set' of belongings (washing, reading, first aid etc) in a separate ziplock or vaccum bag. It'll make things so much easier to find inside your backpack.

The Ultimate Travel Packing List

Backpack

Day Pack (can be cloth, to carry your guidebook and glasses - your papers should always stay in your travel money belt or neck pouch). Attach velcro to it: you'll hear it if someone dips in.

Travel Packing List: Travel Documents

• Passport
• Plane or train tickets and passes
• Student card
• Health insurance card
• International Travel Visa
• Extra photos for visas along the way
• Money, travelers checks, credit cards, debit cards, prepaid credit cards
• Certificate for international travel vaccinations
• Guidebook
• Phrase book
• Map
• International driver's licence (you never know when you might have to share the driving)
• Emergency phone numbers, including embassy contacts in each country, and next of kin contacts
• Photocopies of all important papers (and keep them separate from the papers themselves!)
• A postcard of your home town and a couple of family photos
• Travel money belt, of course
• Phone card
• Everything on this first aid kit checklist

Travel Packing List: Clothes

• 2 pair quick-drying underwear, usually a cotton-synthetic mix but heavier on the cotton (wash one pair each night)
• 2 bras (sports bras usually breathe better)
• Bathing suit, although this can be eliminated if you can bathe in a sarong
• Wrinkle-free washable pants/trousers (with a zipper to turn them into shorts) and with plenty of pockets - no jeans! they stay wet forever
• Wrinkle-free washable skirt, the longer the better (my friend Gigi swears by the Macabi skirts that turn into pants - I have yet to try one but they sound great)
• 1 T-shirt
• 2 wrinkle-free washable blouses (one short and one long sleeves)
• 2 pair socks (get special walking socks, not cotton ones! 1 light, 1 heavy)
• 1 pair Teva type sandals (for beach, town and shower)
• 1 pair hiking boots/walking shoes (hang the hiking shoes on the outside of your backpack with a climbing carabiner when you're wearing the sandals)
• Sarong (you can buy this somewhere along the way as you travel - it makes a great bathrobe)
• Photographer's vest with pockets - as a journalist this was useful for fishing out pens and notebooks
• Lightweight fleece jacket, can also be used as a pillow
• Large plastic poncho (to fit over both you and backpack when it rains) and to use as a groundsheet when it's wet outside
• Decorative scarf (to dress up your travel clothes) - it's the one fashion item I allow myself
• Headband or bandanna - essential for keeping cool (just wet it and wear it around your neck) and great as a washcloth, support for sprains, face mask to filter out pollution
• Hat or cap against the sun (this is where I have to be truthful: I love my Tilley hat!)
• Collapsible trekking pole(s) - good for warding off dogs and unwelcome suitors, not to mention walking through mountainous areas

Travel Packing List: Personal items

• Reading book - only one, you'll trade it along the way
• Nail clippers
• Dettol soap - gets the smell off your Tevas
• Small bottle of antibacterial soap - when the toilet is dirty and there's no water
• Small tube of moisturizing cream or lotion
• Razor for legs and underarms - or you could just let it all grow as you travel!
• Comb or brush
• Toothpaste, toothbrush and dental floss (not only for your teeth - you can slice soft food with it, sew with it, use it to lock things and as a clothesline)
• Viscose fast-drying lightweight towel
• Deodorant stick (no spray)
• Talcum powder (for heat rash)
• Hair clip or barrette (if long hair)
• Tampons or hygienic pads (if you chop off a piece of tampon and pull it apart, it can be used as kindling - it's an excellent fire starter)
• Baby shampoo (a small bottle - you'll find this absolutely everywhere - in a pinch you can wash your body and your clothes with it)
• Inflatable sleeping pillow or neck pillow if sleeping on your fleece jacket is just too much of a hardship
• Eye mask and ear plugs (for loud nights in backpack hostels)
• Eyeglasses, contact lenses and supplies
• Sunglasses (cheap ones - you'll have to replace them often as they're a favorite of pickpocketers)
• Wristwatch with alarm function

Travel Packing List: A Bit of Everything

• Mosquito tent, my number 1 essential if you're traveling anywhere tropical (treat it with pyrethrin before you go)
• Multitool/Swiss Army knife - it's listed in the first aid kit checklist but important enough to mention twice!
• Ziplock bags
• Water purifier/filter/pills
• Whistle - keep it on you when you're walking alone
• Bungie cord and hooks
• 3 meters of paracord
• 2 carabiners (one small, one large) - you can use them to attach your backpack to railings
• 2 safety pins
• Small mirror (can also be used to attract attention)
• Mini-sewing kit (with needle large enough to thread through dental floss)
• Rubber bands
• Rubber doorstop (thanks to Susan Marthaler for this one!) for hotel room safety
• Sleeping sheet for the floor of your mosquito tent
• Small plastic magnifying glass or magnifying plastic sheet (credit card size)
• Mosquito repellent (check out the slow release type for longer protection)
• Flashlight or headlamp (headlamp is particularly useful when walking outside to go to the bathroom at night)
• Deck of cards for those interminable border crossing waits
• Tin mug (you can eat out of it and use it for sponge baths or to rinse your hair)
• Small candle and waterproof matches/fire steel/lighter
• Sheet of tin or aliminium foil, folded
• Roll of densely packed toilet paper (or a small pack of tissues)
• Space or emergency blanket
• Universal sink plug
• Compass
• A length of duct/duck tape (rolled up tightly)
• Eating utensils (I like those new 'sporks' - half spoon, half fork)
• PLB - personal locator beacon: press a button anywhere in the world and an emergency signal goes out - this is purely optional unless you're heading into what's left of the uncharted world

Travel Packing List: Technical Stuff

• Plug adapter
• Pens
• Short-wave radio (and spare batteries)
• USB key (keep a double of your important papers on it, and use it rather than a laptop - you can slot a USB into just about any computer nowadays)
• Magic marker
• Travel journal or notebook
• Glue stick (to stick cards and other interesting things into your journal or notebook)
• Digital camera, batteries, charger, spare memory cards - this depends on what you need them for. If you're a pro, take everything, but if you're not, go lightly on the photo gear
• Music (iPod or MP3 player) - although some people feel this cuts you off from meeting people - your call (I don't usually carry one)
• Cellphone - these have become so easy to travel with there's no point in leaving them behind
• And if you're working along the way, business cards with your email and Skype addresses, and a lightweight laptop

This is my gold standard travel packing list, and there shouldn't be too much missing on it. Whatever you can leave behind, though, do! The lighter your backpack, the better off you'll be.

A final word, if I may: none of this is very green! I was appalled while packing for Panama recently to generate an entire garbage bag full of useless packaging that can't be recycled because most of it is plastic. I won't even mention how much pollution I spewed into the atmosphere shopping for this stuff... There must be a greener way to travel.

My excess packaging for Panama
Photo: Anne E. Sterck