One travel technique that has worked very well for me takes place the day before my trip: using a pre-travel prep-and-packing checklist. I created this checklist about 15 years ago and still refine it occasionally. This list has three sections:
A) Preparation tasks: Like printing essential travel documents, saving a backup to my mobile phone, buying foreign currency, activating data roaming, etc.
B) Packing list: Mine currently has about 30 or so items, covering everything from the very basics, like toothbrush and toothpaste, to the often-overlooked, like reusable ziplock bags, microfibre cloths, etc.
C) Last minute checks: These are final tasks to complete just before leaving home. This includes double-checking that passports are packed, non-essential electrical appliances and lamps are switched off, balcony doors are locked, wet waste has been properly disposed of, etc.
By the time I step into a taxi or train to the airport, I can fully focus on the journey ahead rather than worrying about forgotten items. After all, this checklist has served me well for the past 15 years. Every item is checked off before I leave home, so as soon as I get into a taxi or train, I can relax, knowing that nothing has been forgotten.
Now I only pack the very basics, medication, laptop and chargers toiletries for shaving etc and a few clothes. Anything else I will most likely purchase or won’t need at all. I avoid checking bags, just a small carryon and my backpack.
To me the more important items are travel requirements, road conditions, directions, etc.
I have a corollary: when I head out of my apartment/hotel/whatever, I assume I could be gone for a night or two -- you never know what will happen! This doesn't mean you need to lug around a bunch of stuff, but just enough basics to make it so you can easily say YES! at forks in the road that might require you to walk too far to get home that day, or stay overnight on a boat, or be out very late with a new group of friends. A toothbrush, change of underwear, and warm cost-thing, sunscreen, etc. Optionality is easy to prepare.
If I stay at a hotel instead of an airbnb I will not bring my toiletries.
I’ll ask the front desk and so far 100% of the time the hotels I’ve stayed at will have a shaving kit and a toothbrush and toothpaste.
I don’t live a minimalist lifestyle by any means, but when I travel with family, friends or solo I try to pack as little as possible. Sometimes no carry on, just a small backpack for a quick trip
I've started to prefer small checked bags over large carryons. Boarding a plane is more pleasant when you don't need overhead space for you bags. And you don't need special travel versions of stuff to get around carryon restrictions.
The backpack should also be small. I find 20 L the ideal size, but your needs may be different. If your backpack is too large, you'll be taking more unnecessary stuff with you everywhere at the destination.
The one thing you _need_ to pack, apart from visa docs required for travel, is a credit/debit card. Anything you’ve missed can be purchased on location.
Traveling to rural Vietnam looked daunting and dangerous for people from the EU, but once there me and the friend realized all the worrying and excessive preparation was for naught. We still forgot some things, an hour or two spent at the local shops and the problem was resolved. All you need is an accepted way to pay and you could get out of almost any reasonable situation.
Now would it be cost effective? Surprisingly sometimes yes, but even if not it could give you some more stories to tell. Part of the fun of traveling is the stories you tell afterwards, and no good story starts with “everything went according to plan”.
My father once told me that as long as you have your passport, wallet and the name and address of where you're going everything else will work out fine. That advice has treated me well.
My counter to that is that, once you get out of major cities, even in the UK, there may be very few opportunities to pick up things including pretty routine first aid supplies. You probably also don't want to spend the first half-day of your vacation doing routine shopping.
So, yes, you can often pick things up but don't count on it. If you're adaptable, you can probably manage (perhaps outside of some things like medicines) but you're not necessarily just walking into a store and laying down your credit card.
Do you mind sharing these checklists? I’d love to throw them into my Obsidian notes for the next time I travel. I do it infrequently but it’s always stressful because it’s to visit family internationally.
Make a checklist. Go on trip. Refine checklist by adding things you forgot and removing things you didn't need. Iterating on the checklist is key.
Mine is pretty short because it's only about the non-routine stuff:
- passport + passport card + visa
- make travel notifications for credit cards (seems less needed these days)
- chargers + outlet adapters
- download maps for areas in Organic Maps, bookmark important places (don't trust Google Maps' offline maps)
- write down confirmation/reservation numbers and important phone numbers
- remove pocket knife from carry-on
- headphones + earplugs + eyeshade
- spare glasses (even an old pair works. yes in Asia you can get new glasses in less than an hour)
- do you need swimwear, sunscreen, or a headlamp?
- lacrosse ball to roll out knots (very personal, but 10hr flights in a cramped economy seat can put a strain on one's back, esp as one gets older)
Again, this is my personal "perennial" travel checklist. It's written from my experiences of having a girlfriend break my glasses while needing to drive the next morning, and forgetting headphones for overnight bus rides.
Similar to susam, I've also started keeping another trip-specific checklist (e.g. any items my in-laws want from America, or bring 98% DEET for SE Asia). These get deleted after the trip.
With the prices of electricity these days I turn off everything by remote control per room each time I leave the house for work etc. Not even extension cord lights are left on, only the very bare necessities - fridge etc remain on.
I have a spreadsheet that I clone and edit each time I go on a trip. So if I go camping, skiing, to the beach, etc, I can look at my old checklists, find a similar one, then clone it and tweak it for my upcoming trip.
Agree. I have everything on it after one memorable trip where I forgot to pack any socks.
The pre-trip to-do list is also really useful - e.g. all the things that need charging before I go.
My list has subsections for specialised trips such as camping, wildlife experiences etc. On one camping trip I inventoried everything that came out of my car when I got back. This spotted a couple of things that I probably wouldn't have remembered for the next trip. Over the years I created a box full of tent-things that I can just lift into the car when I load up.
It's not perfect because every trip is often a bit different but compartmentalizing stuff that usually goes together (OK, I don't need my UK plug adapter if I'm going to California) helps a lot without having a checklist of every item. You want your essentials first aid kit, your standard chargers kit, your misc travel kit... goes a long way.
Depends on where you are going. We did a trip to India and we got charged several fees when withdrawing from State Bank of India. It would have been even higher if we had allowed State Bank of India to the currency conversion. Do your research before heading to a different country.
>Crash a wedding. You are not a nuisance; you are the celebrity guest! ... They will usually feel honored. You can offer the newlyweds a small token gift of cash if you want. You will be obliged to dance. Take photos of them; they will take photos of you. It will make your day and theirs. (I’ve crashed a wedding in most of the countries I have visited.)
That will only work if a white tourist wedding crashes in a poor country. That will not work if I (as a brown-colored southeast asian) do it.
Yeah, a few of these items sound a lot like "white tourist in poor country".
Like the one about asking the taxi driver to drive you to his mom, like holy cow that's creepy. Imagine asking an American Uber driver "hey drive me to your mom's" and see how they'd respond.
It doesn't even have to be the US, that already wouldn't go well in Eastern Europe. Such things can be seen as extremely disrespectful and are a sure way to get a punch in your face in some places.
Lots of these tips seem like what you'd hear from someone regularly traveling someplace like Egypt, where the taxi drivers will openly tell you about their life/family/etc.
I travel alone as a woman a lot, and while it's not as dangerous as many people fear, I'd never ask a taxi driver to take me to (potentially) his private residence in a random neighborhood in an unfamiliar city.
some are entirely incorrect. Lack of hygiene is a real problem in tropical countries. Pretending that all food everywhere is equal is some crazy level of white, sheltered nonsense.
I would never recommend that anyone eat anything uncooked in a country like India. You are asking for digestive woes.
I can't even imagine having this sort of attitude where you think that your presence is like a "celebrity guest" for strangers and and will be "making their day." You. Complete strangers.
Like, how does one have such an inflated sense of importance? And feel absolutely no shame in writing it out for the world to see.
It depends on the place. I've definitely been to a couple places where people were very excited to meet me (a large white man), practice their limited English, parade me around to their friends, and ask me about where I live.
I was constantly expecting them to want something from me in return, but it never happened. Actually they would often insist on giving me things. This has happened to me probably four distinct times. It's obviously more likely to happen in small towns that don't get a lot of tourists, and also more likely to happen in countries without white people.
I imagine this might not generalize to people of all races. It also helps to have an outgoing personality.
Of course, in tourist hotspots people are probably vaguely annoyed by your presence (or specifically and intensely annoyed, like in Barcelona apparently) and will either ignore you or try to sell you things.
tbf there are certain parts of the world where if you're young and white and friendly you absolutely do get the celebrity treatment, including wedding invitations[1] and especially a lot of photo requests. There are also parts of the world and families where a foreign guest unknown to most people there would be extremely awkward even if they had a genuine connection with one of the party.
I'd have gone to the wedding of the daughter of the Indian chap who sat next to me on a bus for a couple of hours the day before if there hadn't been logistical issues, because the invitation was genuine and I'd have been able to have proper conversations with the wedding party and feel like I was there for more than just free food and music. I don't think he needed me to make his day though :)
Yeah, while I did like the Laser-Back strategy of going to the most remote location first and meandering back to the departure city, reading the names at the bottom shows only one phenotype of person wrote/edited this.
>In many parts of the world today motorcycles play the role of cars. That means you can hire a moto-taxi to take you on the back seat, or to summon a moto-taxi with an uber-like app, or to take a motorcycle tour with a guide doing the driving. In areas where motorcycles dominate they will be ten times more efficient than slowly going by car.
I would be extremely wary about this. You are so much more vulnerable on a bike. And you won't even be wearing proper protective equipment. Even if they lend you a helmet, it is unlikely to fit properly and don't know how many times it has been dropped or involved in a crash. Also the most common injuries to motorcyclists are to the legs, and I doubt they will be lending you boots or biking trousers.
2 years ago when backpacking in East Africa, I went from "there is no way I'm ever doing this" to taking nothing but those moto-taxis ("boda bodas") even for 40 minute inter-city rides with a 12KG backpack on my back. No helmets to speak of. Except maybe in Rwanda.
Part of the learning experience of such travel, is to see firsthand how the locals of these places perceive the risk. How they manage risk in general, and what is the "value of a human life" for them as compared to our western perceptions.
There is no "the locals" usually. It sounds a bit condescending, like the article. If people look different than you it doesn't mean they are all the same. People have different life situations. Maybe even in your home country too.
If you go somewhere on a moto taxi in Bangkok all those taxis and fancy SUVs you see are not silly foreigners who are scared of motobikes, they are also locals who manage risk.
The combination of poor road safety, lack of protective equipment and lesser health care if anything goes wrong does not make it an attractive option for me. Each to their own, I guess.
Context: I used to have a motorbike. I always wore full protective equipment. Full face helmet, leather, gloves and boots. But I realize that is less practical in a hot climate.
> Part of the learning experience of such travel, is to see firsthand how the locals of these places perceive the risk.
Sorry, but this is a just financial decision by locals and not a philosophical treatise on the value of life. Once people have enough money, they'll opt to take the car-taxi, doubly-so if their child is coming along. It's fun for backpackers and I'm glad it got you out of your comfort zone.
The entire 50 years is showing here. Seems like some of these tips are good, and some are awful because they're outdated. Don't crash random weddings if you're not able to pay your way out of trouble. Sketchy plans do result in kidnappings. Truly professional tour guides are wonderful assets that will 10X both your trip and your knowledge in any city.
True. Had a friend head to Central America to surf (I don't recall which country). The first cab he hailed took him to an alley where others were waiting and he was robbed of his passport, cash.
End of trip.
Please don't interpret this as my painting the whole of Central America as dangerous. This is anecdotal but perhaps a cautionary tale? I suspect if he had not grabbed a cab but rather found a bus or some other sort of mass transportation his whole trip could have turned out wonderfully.
Catching a cab from the airport in a new country after a flight is a pretty common thing to do no matter where you're going. Depending on flight length you might well be too tired to really navigate public transport in a new city in a foreign language.
Nope nope nope, With a decent head on your shoulders you can safely do all kinds of unusual that idiots would otherwise end up very troubled by. I've known plenty of people that get themselves into trouble through foolishness and folly, while more wise operators finds only un-regrets. Like how in the winter some people freeze to death and some people ski, you know?
I travel 300+ days a year for work. For two years I didn’t have a place to live because I was traveling so much. I’ve been doing this for 7 years now.
1) use uber, unless public transport works well(Nordic countries, Switzerland).
2) lock everything expensive up in the hotel safety box, otherwise eventually your shit will get stolen
3) have multiple methods of payment with you, leave one on the hotel.
4) I travel mostly with my wife who does not travel light. Most of the advice in the linked article is really general lifestyle advice. I have 100 kilos of luggage in my hotel apartment. If there’s a will, there is a way.
>lock everything expensive up in the hotel safety box, otherwise eventually your shit will get stolen
Depending upon where I am, I have mixed feelings about this. In many hundreds of days of travel, I guess I've been lucky enough not to have valuables stolen, but then I take some care not to leave them in plain sight. On the other hand, I'm positive I would forget something in a hotel safe as I have in a hotel closet.
We did a very interesting tour inside a Swedish iron mine. It is a shame more big factories and industrial sites don't do tours. I'm sure a tour of massive mining quarry would be much more interesting than the standard tourist attractions.
Regarding the “recharge” vs “engage” trips: If you’re restless like me then you’ll probably feel most recharged after a trip that fully engaged you. Because you can’t think about work when you’re busy navigating your way through a rural and foreign land, speaking with strangers, and straining to learn just enough of a new language to get around.
The “laser-back” tip is 100% on point. I came to know this intuitively but I’ve never seen it put into words. One caveat I’d add there is: if it takes >20 hours to get to your first destination, give yourself time and permission to just chill on the first full day there.
Also I want to strongly endorse the “carry-on only” tip. More than that, I suggest backpack only. Your options and opportunities for spontaneity increase significantly when you can just swing a backpack ever your shoulder and go. It also forces you to live with less, at least for a time, which in turn teaches you that actually you don’t need all that much to get by. Then you return home and question why you need a closet full of clothes.
-For long flights with a stopover (e.g. Europe to NZ) you can stay in a transit hotel in the airport terminal. This means you don't have to go through immigration, security etc. So much easier than having to travel out to a hotel.
-I have found Airalo to be quite good for local data esims.
I agree in general. Underwear and socks are always in one packing cube and I carry a lightweight mesh laundry pag.
In addition, I have a few small kits I pretty much always carry in addition to my document folder. Need to replenish (and cull) from time to time but it makes the checklist a whole lot simpler for most trips.
Readit News
A) Preparation tasks: Like printing essential travel documents, saving a backup to my mobile phone, buying foreign currency, activating data roaming, etc.
B) Packing list: Mine currently has about 30 or so items, covering everything from the very basics, like toothbrush and toothpaste, to the often-overlooked, like reusable ziplock bags, microfibre cloths, etc.
C) Last minute checks: These are final tasks to complete just before leaving home. This includes double-checking that passports are packed, non-essential electrical appliances and lamps are switched off, balcony doors are locked, wet waste has been properly disposed of, etc.
By the time I step into a taxi or train to the airport, I can fully focus on the journey ahead rather than worrying about forgotten items. After all, this checklist has served me well for the past 15 years. Every item is checked off before I leave home, so as soon as I get into a taxi or train, I can relax, knowing that nothing has been forgotten.
Now I only pack the very basics, medication, laptop and chargers toiletries for shaving etc and a few clothes. Anything else I will most likely purchase or won’t need at all. I avoid checking bags, just a small carryon and my backpack.
To me the more important items are travel requirements, road conditions, directions, etc.
If I stay at a hotel instead of an airbnb I will not bring my toiletries.
I’ll ask the front desk and so far 100% of the time the hotels I’ve stayed at will have a shaving kit and a toothbrush and toothpaste.
I don’t live a minimalist lifestyle by any means, but when I travel with family, friends or solo I try to pack as little as possible. Sometimes no carry on, just a small backpack for a quick trip
The backpack should also be small. I find 20 L the ideal size, but your needs may be different. If your backpack is too large, you'll be taking more unnecessary stuff with you everywhere at the destination.
Traveling to rural Vietnam looked daunting and dangerous for people from the EU, but once there me and the friend realized all the worrying and excessive preparation was for naught. We still forgot some things, an hour or two spent at the local shops and the problem was resolved. All you need is an accepted way to pay and you could get out of almost any reasonable situation.
Now would it be cost effective? Surprisingly sometimes yes, but even if not it could give you some more stories to tell. Part of the fun of traveling is the stories you tell afterwards, and no good story starts with “everything went according to plan”.
So, yes, you can often pick things up but don't count on it. If you're adaptable, you can probably manage (perhaps outside of some things like medicines) but you're not necessarily just walking into a store and laying down your credit card.
Only other thing I would like to add is CASH.
Not a lot, just enough to keep you afloat when your credit card is not cooperating.
You may end up in a place that only accepts cash and there's no atm nearby or these that are available won't accept your card for some reason.
And it doesn't have to a remote place like Laos or Bali. This happens in places like Berlin.
I really don't want to lose hours of my vacation shopping for stuff I forgot.
Vacation hours are precious. It's not about the cost of the goods you're buying, it's about the unique experiences you could have been having instead.
Shopping is not what I go to foreign countries to do. Well, except for supermarkets -- discovering new fruits and veggies is fun.
China is an absolute unbelievable pain due to being largely WeChat payment based now and there's a lot of restrictions on who can set this up.
https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/16u03k4/how_the_hell...
Good luck buying a head torch when you find yourself arriving at a deserted campsite in the middle of nowhere just as it is getting dark.
Or your prescription meds in a country where things aren't available over the counter.
Mine is pretty short because it's only about the non-routine stuff:
- passport + passport card + visa
- make travel notifications for credit cards (seems less needed these days)
- chargers + outlet adapters
- download maps for areas in Organic Maps, bookmark important places (don't trust Google Maps' offline maps)
- write down confirmation/reservation numbers and important phone numbers
- remove pocket knife from carry-on
- headphones + earplugs + eyeshade
- spare glasses (even an old pair works. yes in Asia you can get new glasses in less than an hour)
- do you need swimwear, sunscreen, or a headlamp?
- lacrosse ball to roll out knots (very personal, but 10hr flights in a cramped economy seat can put a strain on one's back, esp as one gets older)
Again, this is my personal "perennial" travel checklist. It's written from my experiences of having a girlfriend break my glasses while needing to drive the next morning, and forgetting headphones for overnight bus rides.
Similar to susam, I've also started keeping another trip-specific checklist (e.g. any items my in-laws want from America, or bring 98% DEET for SE Asia). These get deleted after the trip.
“I’m going to be on a plane for 14 hours,”
“I need to get ready for bed at night,”
“I am going to walk through the city”
or “I am doing a wilderness hike.”
I only say that because everyone’s checklist is very different and I think it can be too easy to overpack.
The pre-trip to-do list is also really useful - e.g. all the things that need charging before I go.
My list has subsections for specialised trips such as camping, wildlife experiences etc. On one camping trip I inventoried everything that came out of my car when I got back. This spotted a couple of things that I probably wouldn't have remembered for the next trip. Over the years I created a box full of tent-things that I can just lift into the car when I load up.
It works really well and the lists are significantly different.
That will only work if a white tourist wedding crashes in a poor country. That will not work if I (as a brown-colored southeast asian) do it.
Like the one about asking the taxi driver to drive you to his mom, like holy cow that's creepy. Imagine asking an American Uber driver "hey drive me to your mom's" and see how they'd respond.
Lots of these tips seem like what you'd hear from someone regularly traveling someplace like Egypt, where the taxi drivers will openly tell you about their life/family/etc.
I travel alone as a woman a lot, and while it's not as dangerous as many people fear, I'd never ask a taxi driver to take me to (potentially) his private residence in a random neighborhood in an unfamiliar city.
I would never recommend that anyone eat anything uncooked in a country like India. You are asking for digestive woes.
Much of this "list" is BS.
Like, how does one have such an inflated sense of importance? And feel absolutely no shame in writing it out for the world to see.
Delusions of grandeur.
I was constantly expecting them to want something from me in return, but it never happened. Actually they would often insist on giving me things. This has happened to me probably four distinct times. It's obviously more likely to happen in small towns that don't get a lot of tourists, and also more likely to happen in countries without white people.
I imagine this might not generalize to people of all races. It also helps to have an outgoing personality.
Of course, in tourist hotspots people are probably vaguely annoyed by your presence (or specifically and intensely annoyed, like in Barcelona apparently) and will either ignore you or try to sell you things.
I'd have gone to the wedding of the daughter of the Indian chap who sat next to me on a bus for a couple of hours the day before if there hadn't been logistical issues, because the invitation was genuine and I'd have been able to have proper conversations with the wedding party and feel like I was there for more than just free food and music. I don't think he needed me to make his day though :)
>In many parts of the world today motorcycles play the role of cars. That means you can hire a moto-taxi to take you on the back seat, or to summon a moto-taxi with an uber-like app, or to take a motorcycle tour with a guide doing the driving. In areas where motorcycles dominate they will be ten times more efficient than slowly going by car.
I would be extremely wary about this. You are so much more vulnerable on a bike. And you won't even be wearing proper protective equipment. Even if they lend you a helmet, it is unlikely to fit properly and don't know how many times it has been dropped or involved in a crash. Also the most common injuries to motorcyclists are to the legs, and I doubt they will be lending you boots or biking trousers.
No thanks!
Part of the learning experience of such travel, is to see firsthand how the locals of these places perceive the risk. How they manage risk in general, and what is the "value of a human life" for them as compared to our western perceptions.
If you go somewhere on a moto taxi in Bangkok all those taxis and fancy SUVs you see are not silly foreigners who are scared of motobikes, they are also locals who manage risk.
Context: I used to have a motorbike. I always wore full protective equipment. Full face helmet, leather, gloves and boots. But I realize that is less practical in a hot climate.
Those that do so are simply stupid. It's 2025. Helmets are such a ridiculously high cost/benefit ratio.
It's like not using a seatbelt, or smoking cigarettes. Totally insane, knowing what we now know.
Doesn't matter if it "isn't done here". TBIs work the same in Bangkok as Boston.
Sorry, but this is a just financial decision by locals and not a philosophical treatise on the value of life. Once people have enough money, they'll opt to take the car-taxi, doubly-so if their child is coming along. It's fun for backpackers and I'm glad it got you out of your comfort zone.
End of trip.
Please don't interpret this as my painting the whole of Central America as dangerous. This is anecdotal but perhaps a cautionary tale? I suspect if he had not grabbed a cab but rather found a bus or some other sort of mass transportation his whole trip could have turned out wonderfully.
Catching a cab from the airport in a new country after a flight is a pretty common thing to do no matter where you're going. Depending on flight length you might well be too tired to really navigate public transport in a new city in a foreign language.
There's not a lot to learn from that.
1) use uber, unless public transport works well(Nordic countries, Switzerland).
2) lock everything expensive up in the hotel safety box, otherwise eventually your shit will get stolen
3) have multiple methods of payment with you, leave one on the hotel.
4) I travel mostly with my wife who does not travel light. Most of the advice in the linked article is really general lifestyle advice. I have 100 kilos of luggage in my hotel apartment. If there’s a will, there is a way.
Depending upon where I am, I have mixed feelings about this. In many hundreds of days of travel, I guess I've been lucky enough not to have valuables stolen, but then I take some care not to leave them in plain sight. On the other hand, I'm positive I would forget something in a hotel safe as I have in a hotel closet.
Yes, I'm glad I did some factory tours in Japan, they were really interesting!
Link is to archive.org since JETRO seem to have taken down the site during the pandemic and not put it back up again: https://web.archive.org/web/20190407170023/jetro.go.jp/en/in...
Regarding the “recharge” vs “engage” trips: If you’re restless like me then you’ll probably feel most recharged after a trip that fully engaged you. Because you can’t think about work when you’re busy navigating your way through a rural and foreign land, speaking with strangers, and straining to learn just enough of a new language to get around.
The “laser-back” tip is 100% on point. I came to know this intuitively but I’ve never seen it put into words. One caveat I’d add there is: if it takes >20 hours to get to your first destination, give yourself time and permission to just chill on the first full day there.
Also I want to strongly endorse the “carry-on only” tip. More than that, I suggest backpack only. Your options and opportunities for spontaneity increase significantly when you can just swing a backpack ever your shoulder and go. It also forces you to live with less, at least for a time, which in turn teaches you that actually you don’t need all that much to get by. Then you return home and question why you need a closet full of clothes.
-Have a checklist, so you don't forget stuff.
-Packing cubes make packing a bag much easier.
-For long flights with a stopover (e.g. Europe to NZ) you can stay in a transit hotel in the airport terminal. This means you don't have to go through immigration, security etc. So much easier than having to travel out to a hotel.
-I have found Airalo to be quite good for local data esims.
I agree in general. Underwear and socks are always in one packing cube and I carry a lightweight mesh laundry pag.
In addition, I have a few small kits I pretty much always carry in addition to my document folder. Need to replenish (and cull) from time to time but it makes the checklist a whole lot simpler for most trips.