First of all, using one bag was one of the best decisions I've ever made and I will strive to do the same thing for all future trips. I spent about 4 months volunteering with Workaway and 2 months being a tourist. Visited Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Costa Rica. Here are my takeaways:
Highly recommended
- Hip straps for backpack
- Packing cubes
- Good watch (illuminated face, alarm + waterproof, but cheap enough that you're not a target)
- Wired headphones (I also brought wireless, but wired headphones are great for in-flight entertainment)
- Ereader (my battery lasts for over a month. I brought >40 books with me and read all of them)
- 4 each underwear, shirts, pairs of socks (I found 3 was too few)
- Powerbank (saved my ass on numerous occasions)
- Stuffsack (put my jacket/rainjacket in this. Helped make packing easier)
- Warm clothing (spent 70% of my trip at high altitudes. Needed down jacket + light jacket + warm hat)
- Earplugs
- Buy a SIM card (ask for data only. Very cheap, now my first priority whenever I land in a new country)
- Emergency cash (turns out Isla Isabela in the Galapagos has no ATM's. Who knew?)
- Daypack (easy to find super light super packable ones. So helpful on daytrips)
- Bring some photos on your phone of your home, family, interesting hobbies, your art etc.
- Put podcasts/music/episodes of Netflix on your phone
- Uber app (very useful. I'd never used it before and it saved my ass in Bogota)
- maps.me app (download relevant maps ahead of time. Really good for trails in particular)
- hostelworld app (most hostels won't show up on it, but still useful)
- Mini combination lock (nice in hostels, don't want to worry about losing the key)
- Light pants with zippered pockets (good for reducing pickpocketing)
Things I'd advise against
- Sleeping bag (I was told I'd need one. I gave it away after a month)
- Physical books (use an ereader. Only exception for me was Spanish Harry Potter, 'cause I could write translations in the margins)
- Sink stopper (I generally washed clothes either in a dedicated laundry sink or in a machine)
- Electrical adapters (Hostels in Peru generally had outlets that worked fine with "American" USB adaptors)
- Jeans (rarely used mine. Next time I'll use a different type of long pants)
- Malaria medication (doctor tried to convince me to use it 24/7. Never touched it. Only needed in DEEP jungle)
Things I'll try next time
- Special bottle for shampoo (my bottle leaked)
- Super light rainjacket (didn't use my normal rainjacket much, would have been nice to save some space)
- Laundry bag
- Lighter sandals (Chacos were good, but I didn't use them much so light flip flops might be better)
- Sleep mask
- USB wall adaptor with 2 USB ports (instead of two separate adapters. Every bit helps)
- Metal water bottle (this way you can pour freshly boiled water directly into the bottle)
- GoPro
- Neck pillow? (good for those long bus rides)
Other thoughts
- I took my nice iphone, and it worked out because I had tons of audiobooks, music, storage for photos etc. However, I met many people who had their phones stolen within their first week of travel. I was paranoid and careful and it paid off, but those other people would have been better off bringing an older/disposable phone.
- I'd like to get laser eye surgery before I go traveling again. Contact lenses are a hassle and require a lot of accessories. Side note: I used non-potable water all the time to wash my hands prior to touching my contact lenses and never had an issue.
- I found it super useful to have my important information memorized: my passport number in particular had to be written down a lot.
- Repackaging medications - 4 boxes worth of antibiotics (for traveler's sickness) could fit in one box. Also, I might get some flak for this, but I put all my melotonin/gravol/ibuprofin in one pill bottle to save space and have no regrets.
- Check ALL expiry dates. I checked my passport and credit card but forgot to check my debit card.
- I like getting souvenirs to remember my trips but don't like having a lot of crap lying around my house. My solution? Turn all of my souvenirs into Christmas ornaments. I absolutely love this method. I find that every cheap souvenir I get brings me a disproportionate amount of joy, and every year I can bring them out of the box and remember the trips I've been on.
- I volunteered with Workaway, and it was a great way to save money, learn Spanish, meet cool people, and see a different side of each country. I hear WOOF is another good option.
- I put in some extra money for the Minaal 2.0 backpack and was really, really happy with it. Also, I think if you can afford it merino wool is worth it - sometimes washing clothes is impossible for a few days and every little bit of non-stinkyness helps.
Here is my packing list for future trips:
Packing
- Backpack with hip straps (Minaal Carry-on 2.0)
- Packing cubes (Minaal)
- Daypack (ultra light, ultra foldable)
- Stuffsack
Clothing
- 2x T-shirts (merino wool)
- 2x Long-sleeve shirts (sun-resistant)
- 4x Underwear (merino)
- 4x Socks (merino eg. Darn Tough)
- 2x Pants (eg synthetics with zipper + Wildebeest Blaine woven outdoor pants or Baubax?))
- Long underwear
- Bathing suit
- Sun hat
- Warm hat
- Light jacket (Baubax?)
- Down jacket
- Rainjacket
- Shoes
- Flip flops
Toiletries
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Dental floss
- Towel (eg Syourself microfibre)
- Earplugs
- Sleep mask
- Nail clipper (lightweight, Victorianox?)
- Tweezers
- Shampoo
- Bottle for shampoo (eg gotoob)
- *Contact lens case
- *Contact lens solution
- *Contact lens soap
- *Contact lens eyedrops
- *Spare contact lenses
- *Spare glasses
- Sunscreen (SPF 50-70)
- Hand sanitizer
- Bug repellent
- Deodorant
- Electric razor
- Electric razor charging cable
- Hand soap
- Polysporin
- Bandaids
- Gravol
- Ibuprofen
- Melatonin
- Azithromycin (for traveler's sickness)
Electronics
- Phone
- Phone cable
- Wired headphones
- Wireless headphones
- Charging cable for headphones
- Power bank
- Charging cable for powerbank
- USB wall converter(s)
- Ereader
- USB stick
- Watch (with alarm and illuminated display)
- Headlamp
- Extra batteries for headlamp
- GoPro
Other
- Passport
- Credit card(s) (recommended Visa + Mastercard)
- Driver’s licence
- Travel insurance
- Yellow fever card
- Printed copy of all of the above
- Check expiry dates of all of the above
- Emergency cash
- Money clip
- Poi
- Ballpoint pen
- Sharpie pen
- Notebook (optional)
- Water bottle (metal)
- Laundry bag
- Mini combination lock
- Neck pillow?
Software/Downloads
- Spotify - download everything
- Netflix - download
- Podcasts
- Maps.me - download country maps
- Uber - set up account beforehand
- Photos of home
Submitted May 05, 2019 at 01:12AM by ITinkerThereforeIAm http://bit.ly/2vDI7xq
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