Traveling light has many benefits so we generally travel with just carry-on suitcase and personal item (a backpack). Every item we bring has to earn it’s way into our luggage, so here’s a list of what we typically bring:
- On my person:
- Cash wallet
- Cards wallet (usually with just primary travel credit card, and ATM card if travelling in cash-centric country, copy of passport, insurance card, and Driver’s license if I am using a car. I have photos of all of these things on my Google Drive too)
- Running hat. Lightweight, easy to wash.
- Phone
- Slip on walking shoes (easier to go through security)
- Eddie Bauer trousers (see below)
- Polo shirt (see below)
- Dark Gray webbing belt with plastic buckle (no metal through Airport security)
- In the carry-on
- Packing cubes for clothes
- Lightweight, wrinkle resistant clothes.
- Eddie Bauer Horizon Guide Chino Pants and shorts. (versitile: work well for all activities, from hiking to attending church)
- polyester/spandex t-shirts, golf polo shirts.
- Underwear (your choice, but thin so they dry quickly after a wash)
- Packable rain shell (for cold weather, layer a shirt, fleece and rain shell)
- Hiking shoes, sandals in a shoe bag. The bag keeps most of the sand and dirt from leaking onto everything else.
- Laundry bag
- Sink stopper/ laundry soap sheets/travel clothes line
- Reusable shopping bags.
- Packable backpack
- Extra gallon ziplock bags
- Small knife sharpener (AirBnB knives are usually dull)
- Travel umbrella (some people skip this and just buy one if needed, in country)
- Wide brimmed hat if I expect to spend a lot of time in the sun.
- Electric shaver
- hand-held scale to weigh luggage
- In the backpack
- Lightweight jacket
- snacks
- Toiletry bag (normal stuff), including Lush bar shampoo, ear plugs
- Medical kit (in a second toiletry bag)
- Pill box. Medicines you might need.
- Pill ziplock bags for daily medicines
- Sewing kit
- travel scissors
- sunscreen, insect repellant
- Electronics bag (cords, backup battery, earbuds etc.)
- Travel plug adapter with one or more USB-C ports.
- Lightweight computer (Dell XPS13) and power block
- Kindle Reader
- 24-ounce water bottle (1 liter bottles seem too big)
- Passport
- Sunglasses and case (so they don’t get crushed)
- back-up credit/debit cards, other currencies, driver’s license.
- Backup phone
- International Driver’s Permit
Our Luggage
There is no standard across all airlines for carry-on baggage. Here is an article from TravelPro about size/weight. US airlines generally allow the larger 22″ x 15″x 10″ bags. Some regional airlines in the world have smaller size limits and enforce carry on weight limits.
We travel with the larger (US standard) cary-ons as we need the space. No problems ever on domestic airlines. For non-US carriers outside the US, bag size hasn’t been questioned so far. However some airlines are stringent on carry-on bag weight, with limits as low as 10 kg (22 pounds).
In Dubai, Uzbekistan Airways ground staff actually pulled me out of line at boarding and weighed my carry-on AND backpack together and wanted $100 for being overweight (the bags, not me). That was probably a scam which we talked our way out of.
Susie uses the TravelPro Elite soft-sided carry-on. Very sturdy with great wheels. May last a lifetime. Dave uses “The Bigger Cary-On” clamshell from Away. Lightweight, items more accessible when open, larger usable volume.
More gear advice:
- If we are going to be in-country but not using planes, we sometime buy a decent paring knife, as the AirBnB knives are usually dull. Also helps to cut an apple or other food we may buy when out and about.
- Hiking poles are a no-no for carry-on luggage. If we plan to hike and want poles, we just buy them in-country, then give them to another hiker in need at the end. The smiling recipient is well worth the price of the poles.
- If there is a weight restriction on carry-ons and we think we may be over the limit, then we shuffle things around to put most of the heavy things in one carry-on and then check that bag. Better to check one bag than to be overweight and need to gate-check two carry-ons.
- We use the packable backpack for day excursions. Holds water bottles, jackets, umbrellas, snacks. Also useful to augment the reusable shopping bags to carry heavy items home from the grocery store. In many countries it is expected that you use reusable bags. In many places we have stayed, we had to purchase drinking water for the apartment. Much easier to carry 10 liters of water in a backpack than in a hand-held bag.
- I keep card wallet in the leg zipper pocket of the Eddie Bauer pants. I keep the cash wallet in my front pocket. If I am pick pocketed or threatened, then I give up the cash wallet. I may lose some cash, but not the hard-to-replace documents.
- When we are staying at a hotel or AirBnB, I keep my passport and back-up cards in a secure location in our lodging when we are out for the day. Having a paper copy of the passport on my person, and a photo on my phone seems sufficient.
- I bring a backup phone, in case we lose or break one while traveling. I can move the eSIM or physical SIM to the backup phone, recover the apps and other status from the cloud backup of the original phone, and we can keep going. We actually did this when living on St Kitts and Susie broke her phone.
- We no longer travel with a separate camera. We have good phones, at least one of which has an optical zoom. That meets our needs. And by all means, do take a lot of photos. That, and whatever you write about your travels will will be invaluable when you try to recall your travel experiences.