Packing for a full year abroad–or any long-term trip–can be tricky. You have to somehow predict everything you might need for the next month, three months, year, or longer! Not only that, but you need to be able to transport all these items wherever the heck you’re going. It can definitely be stressful trying to figure out what you can comfortably bring and what you actually need to bring.
Whether you are a digital nomad or just doing a long-term year abroad focused on solely traveling, the packing list below would be very similar. We’re going to break down all the items we brought, why we brought them, and all the related tips we’ve learned. Our packing needs may differ from yours; and for that matter, Katarina’s packing needs differ from mine. So we’ll indicate below things that we believe would be necessary for most people versus things that may be more person-specific. Plus some stuff that we definitely don’t need, but we brought because, as Marie Kondo would say, it brings us joy. 🙂
To illustrate just how much we bring around, we’ve put EVERYTHING we use for our long-term travel packing. Much of this changes when we do shorter trips ( like 1-2 weeks), but a lot of the same philosophies apply. Anything that’s marked as a “Nice to have” is something we probably wouldn’t take on a shorter trip.
Packing Assumptions
Packing Philosophy
Our overall packing philosphy is that we try to bring the minimal amount of items we need. But we’re also not packing to move from place to place every few days. We’re spending more time in places, often 2, 3, 4 weeks or more, usually situated in one city at a time. Sometimes when we stay somewhere for 4 weeks, we might take a couple of weekend trips. For example, during our stay in Cusco, we had an Airbnb apartment for 4 weeks. That was our homebase, but we still took a short weekend trip up to Aguas Calientes to see Machu Picchu. During that short 2-day trip, we took only our carry-on backpacks and left the rest of ours stuff at “home” in Cusco. That’s just to give you an idea of how we like to explore a place. That’s what we did staying in Plovdiv as well when we wanted to spend a night at a winery and exploring some nearby Thracian ruins plus a cool small town.
During a year abroad, we packed with this in mind. We have focused on setting up home bases and exploring from there. If we were backpacking or traveling every few days to 1 week, we’d pack a lot less and lot lighter. Probably we would focus on going carry-on only.
In addition, we try to leave room in our inventory to buy things abroad for the year as we need them during our travels. That means some items, especially toiletries, are bought on the fly as needed instead of stocking up on them.
Same with clothes. We always figure we can buy more clothes when something wears out (hello holes in the socks!), or if something breaks (whoops, I cracked my sunglasses exploring a fortified church in Romania with an exceptionally short ceiling. True story).
We have found that there are clothes or items you might think, “I might need this. Or I might need it like 1-5% of the time”. Those are the kinds of things we’ve either had to ship at home, leave somewhere or donate because it honestly wasn’t worth the trouble.
Activities
We planned our packing list based on the activities we usually enjoy during travel. For example, we really enjoy exploring cities on foot and going on day hikes. We’re not big on overnight camping (except when we hiked Volcano Fuego in Guatemala), and usually don’t do any sports where we need to bring our own specialized gear. So while we like snorkeling and I SCUBA, we don’t carry that equipment around because it would take way too much room when we’re in Novi Sad (not a lot of SCUBA) or Mexico City. Even when we did more snorkeling in Montenegro, we could easily rent or borrow gear.
We also really enjoy (amateur) photography, so that takes up a significant amount of our year abroad packing inventory. We love food (eating it, going to restaurants, and cooking) too but we usually don’t take too much to cook with. We rely on our Airbnbs or Booking.com places to have the relevant make food.
We also aren’t golfers and our philosophy on ski equipment is that same as for SCUBA. So hopefully this gives you an idea of what kind of activities we’re packing for.
Besides tourist activities, we also had to pack knowing we’d go to some semi-formal/business casual events throughout the year. And heck, sometimes we like to look nice instead of just wearing our athletic tourist active wear.
Baggage
For this list, we’re packing both a checked in bag (going into the plane’s hold) and a carry on bag (going with us on the plane). You can see a more in-depth review of the baggage we use here. But to summarize shortly, we chose the largest and lightest check-in bag that would fit on the most airlines (they can have some strict dimension and weight limits). Plus we each use a 42-45L backpack as our carry on. Finally, we have smaller daypack backpacks (an Osprey Qasar for me and an Eddy Bauer packable backpack for Katarina) that we can either strap onto our carry ons or pack inside them if we want to reduce the number of bags we’re carrying around. Otherwise, those daypacks function as our laptop bag/personal bag to go under the seat on planes.
Climate
We’ve been traveling in varied climates, but generally focusing on places where the lowest temperatures we’re dealing with our ~50 degrees F. So our gear and clothes are geared toward warmer (or mild) climates. We are prepared for rain too. Part of our travel will involve going to Europe in the middle of winter for Christmas Market fun. But since we’re only going to be in Europe for a max of about three weeks in winter, we did not pack winter coats (pretty useless for most of our destinations). Our plan is to buy winter coats (probably something affordable from H&M or Uniqlo), then donate them. We are planning to meet up with family around Christmas too so we might end up sending the coats home with them if possible.
Work
For your year abroad or long-term traveling, you may not need to pack with the same work needs in mind. You might not be working at all. In that case, feel free to totally ignore those suggestions. However, I spend a good 50+ hours per week working on my books each week. If I don’t have a decent work station setup, then I definitely feel it. Gotta keep that posture up! And if I’m spending that much time working while traveling, I want to make sure a pack the right stuff to make my work a little more comfortable. Katarina’s got less work needs than me, so her packing list on that front is a little shorter.
Clothing
I’ve indicated the number of items that each of us packed by writing Tony, Katarina, or Each if we started with the same amount. I’ve also indicted Not Necessary to items we bring mostly for fun or comfort, but are not at all necessary for the trip. Our clothes are designed to get us through at least two-ish weeks without having to do laundry and while maintaining our normal activities.
I’m (Tony) also an avid runner. So my athletic clothes tend to get smelly much faster and I’ve got to bring a little extra in that regard. I usually hit the gym or run 5-6 days per week, doing most of my runs outside regardless of weather. Hence the extra athletic shirts. I prefer to have more athletic clothes for that reason but it may not be necessary depending on what you like to do!
Shirts and Tops
Casual T-Shirts (Tony: 8; Katarina: 8) – We each default to t-shirts for our daily wear. I’ve really, really enjoyed the magic of self-unsmelling merino wool t-shirts, so I might bring fewer t-shirts in the future and just focus on merino shirts.
Athletic Wear T-Shirts (Tony: 6) – I wear athletic shirts when we’re hanging at home, running, working out, or hiking, so I tend to go through these frequently. And admittedly, I sweat through these a lot on my long runs.
Long Sleeve Athletic Shirts (Tony: 1; Katarina: 2) – Good for layering up and for hiking.
Button-Downs (Tony: 4) – We’ve had weddings, nice dinners, and theater events we’ve attended where I need to wear nicer clothers. So I’ve got two long-sleeve button downs and two short-sleeve ones depending on the climate. Not necessary if you’re not planning on too many semi-formal/business casual events. Honestly, I could get away with one long-sleeve and one short-sleeve and be good.
Dress Tops (Katarina: 2) – Same comments for Katarina’s wardrobe. The nice thing is her dress tops take up way less volume and weight than mine, so she could fit more if necessary. Dresses and skirts (below) tend to be very nice for slipping between casual and semi-formal-ish events as well.
Sweatshirts/Hoodies/Zip-Up Long-Sleeves (Tony: 3; Katarina: 2) – Again, these our comfy layering clothes for cold planes, hiking up mountains, or running in harsh weather. Definitely want some good layers when traveling!
Sweater (Tony: 1; Katarina: 2) – We don’t use them much, but it’s the nicer way to layer up. Again, definitely not necessary.
Sports Coat (Tony: 1) – Another item that is not necessary but it came in handy for several events so far. And actually, I picked this up in Paris, so I didn’t even start the trip with it.
Rain Coat (1 each) – We needed this on many of our hikes, including those outside of Plovdiv and hiking Fuego Volcano. Highly recommended because traveling, hiking, or walking through a city soaking wet just isn’t fun.
Compressible Down Coat (1 each) – Another awesome layering tool that is also easy to pack. These are great because of how little room they take up and how well they layer.
Dresses and Skirts
Dress (Katarina: 2) – Katarina has one dress that works great for more formal-leaning events and another that is more casual. The great thing is how small these pack up and how easy is to dress up or dress them down.
Skirt (Katarina: 2) – Same comment as above. Also very versatile with all the tops she has to create a bunch of extra outfits that can look nice or casual.
Pants
Hiking pants (Tony: 1) – Tony has a pair of hiking pants that can be passed off as more casual pants as well. Definitely useful for our hiking adventures of course, as well as comfortable pants for plane rides.
Jeans (Tony: 2; Katarina: 3) – Jeans are our staple pants and really don’t need too much explaining. This is our go-to casual wear pants, but they are also the heaviest thing we’re bringing. So depending on the climate and activities you plan on, you may not need or want as many jeans. Hiking pants and athletic pants are almost always better in terms of weight, comfort, and ease of cleaning/drying.
Casual Pants (Tony: 1) – I brought a pair of black pants that fit and wear like jeans. I can dress them up or wear them casually. Are they the best dress pants in the world? Nah, but I wanted them for as many uses as possible, so this got us through weddings and nice dinners and just when I feel like wearing black pants.
Shorts (Each 2) – Again, we each brought two pairs of (non-athletic) casual shorts.
Athletic shorts (Each 2) – Another thing that I use frequently for working out and hiking in warmer climates. Same for Katarina. Works for PJs in a pinch too and I always appreciate some fast-drying, quality clothes.
Running shorts (Tony: 1) – I brought along one pair of running shorts that get worn and washed a lot. They’ve really withstood the test of time considering
Leggings (Katarina: 2) – Instead of hiking pants, Katarina religiously wears leggings. HOWEVER, this is not always appropriate depending on where you’re going. More conservative cultures definitely look down on this, leggings may invite unwanted attention, or may prohibit you from entering certain attractions, so you’re going to want to make sure you’ve got pants or long skirts to cover up as appropriate. Just make sure you read up on proper attire depending on where you’re heading. (This goes for shorts too)
Swimming trunks/suit (Each 1) – We love hot springs, beaches, pools, and water activities, so swimming trunks and suits are a necessity. It’s obviously dependent on what you plan to do, and these are items that are easy to pick up if needed.
Comfy sweats (Each 1) – When we’re bumming around at home, we love to wear some comfier pants. It’s not necessary of course, but it’s a creature comfort. If we were on a one- or two-week trip, we wouldn’t take it. But when working and living abroad, we like ’em.
Pajamas (Each 1) – Again, totally depends on how you like to sleep. Packing some PJs is something we pretty much always do.
Undergarments
Socks (Tony: 10; Katarina: 12) – You got to wear these so you don’t have smelly feet. As always, we’re big fans of wool socks. Whether it’s for running or hiking, they’re magic compared to most synthetics and cotton varieties.
Underpants (Tony: 12; Katarina: 12) – Self-explanatory. And did I mention wool again? Yeah, it’s helpful here too.
Bras (Katarina: 3) – Katarina brings a couple casual ones and a sports bra. No surprises here.
Shoes
Hiking shoes (Each 1) – Hiking shoes are of course an obvious advantage when going hiking. But they are your prototypical travel shoe. good hiking shoes feel good on your feet, keep you walking all day, and can be versatile for walking both in nature and in the city. These are usually what we wear on the plane too.
Running shoes/tennis shoes (Each 1) – We each have a pair of running/tennis shoes we use as our secondary walking and athletic activity shoes. Both for working out and casual days, these shoes are daily drivers for us.
Flats (Katarina: 1) – Not Necessary but they pack down small and they look better when dressing up than trying to pull off Nikes wearing a little black dress.
Desert boots (Tony: 1) – Not Necessary but also Tony’s versatile dress shoe. Can be worn casually with jeans or you can get away with wearing nicer outfits.
Flip-flops (Each 1) – If you’re going to hot springs, pools, beaches, hostels, or shower gyms, flip-flops are go to. We each have a pair of Havianas we’ve had for a few years that hold up well and are super thin for packing.
Casual walking/packable shoes (Each 1) – Not Necessary but hey, sometimes we want to be a little more fashionable. Kind of. Tony has a pair of SUAVS shoes and Katarina has a pair of versatile, classic white Nikes that work for jeans, skirts, or shorts. Again, name of the game for us is versatility, picking shoes that can look okay with multiple styles.
Accessories
Baseball hat – Obviously we want to keep the sun out of our eyes and these ones in particularly are lightweight and packable.
Thin stocking cap – Again just another layering option to keep your head warm, but doesn’t take up much space. Also not necessary since we don’t use them that much and probably aren’t necessary for most of the climates/places we’ve been visiting. Plus, easy to pick these up on the cheap.
Scarf – A scarf is a nice idea to obviously keep your neck warm, great for layering, but the right one can double as a light blanket or keep you warm on the planes.
Belts – Got to help keep those pants up, right?
Hairties – Maintaining the long hair takes something to keep it in line.
Other
Toiletries
Deodorant – We start off our trips with one stick each. Easy enough to find these abroad, so unless you have a prescription strength one, you don’t necessarily need to stock up on this unless you’re going somewhere pretty remote.
Contact Lens Solution – We have to bring this of course for our contacts. Again, we don’t stock up. You’ll find it pretty much everywhere, so no need to burden yourself with more than one bottle. At most, maybe you have one larger bottle for your check-in baggage and one TSA-safe, plane-size for your carry on.
Toothbrush – Keep your smile fresh with a toothbrush. You can find all styles and softnesses abroad, so don’t overpack.
Floss – Same comment as above!
Nail clippers – Got to keep our talons and claws at an acceptable length.
Hand sanitizer – Traveling and touching all the surfaces hundreds of other snotty people have touched can be gross. Plus, we have definitely been to places where there is no soap or even no sinks at a bathroom. So always good to have on hand.
Hair product – Again, easy to stock up on gels, shaping creams, etc abroad.
Makeup – You’d be surprised how easy it is to find most bigname brands pretty much all over the world, so bring what you need and no more. Stock up later if you’re cool with it.
Toothpaste – Hopefully you’re getting the theme here about stocking up.
Razors – You know what I’m going to say!
Makeup Wipes – Always good to have on hand to freshen the face and remove the makeup.
Dude Wipes/small pack of wet wipes – We have been in enough situations where we needed TP in the bathroom, like on our bus trip in Peru… and there was none. So we always have this in our day bags.
For the Eyes
Eyeglasses – We each have two pairs of glasses. This is one place where we need the extra. Because if my glasses broke, I wouldn’t be able to see my hand in front of my face. Fortunately, I mostly wear contacts and always have those on hand, but I admit I like having the backup glasses. Katarina wears her glasses way more (pretty much every day), so she has a backup as well.
Sunglasses – One pair of polarized sunglasses each to protect our eyes on the water and when we’re hiking at higher altitudes. You can always easily replace these if necessary.
Contact Lenses – We’ve packed about a year-s worth of contact lenses for our year abroad. Although we’ve found this is relatively easy to replace as well, hence why we keep updated contact lens prescriptions on hand.
Medicine
We aren’t medical professionals of course so this isn’t advice. Merely what we pack for our needs. For most other meds, we rely on local pharmacies which have not let us down.
Epipen – Katarina is allergic to tree nuts so we always have two epipens with us while traveling. One at home; one in her purse or day bag. Absolutely make sure you have one if you’ve got allergies.
Migraine meds – Tony regularly gets migraines so he makes sure to have the migraine meds he knows works for him on hand.
General pain relievers – Ibuprofen is our go-to for general pain relief and the regular headaches Tony also gets.
Antidiarrheals – Another one that we will always carry with us? Why you might ask? How about the time we had bad watermelon in Uganda? Or when we had some bad sandwiches in Guatemala? Or the traitorous empanadas in Peru? Foodborne sicknesses are mostly avoidable with the right precautions, but they can hit. And it’s good to be prepared when they do.
First-Aid Kit – A small kit to deal with scratches, light wounds, bug bites, and all those other incidental minor injuries. We’ve certainly had our fair share of scrapes to deal with. We’ve used most of the items in here. You don’t need a fancy little kit like this, but many of the items are very useful to have on hand, especially if you like outdoor activities.
Electronics
Macbook Pro – I use this for all my writing needs, plus photography and video editing. I love the battery life on this. It’s been fantastic for long flights, longer layovers, and intermittent access to outlets when traveling.
Macbook Air – Katarina uses a Macbook Air which is more than sufficient for her writing and research work. Again, digging the battery life.
Magic keyboard – I love this keyboard because of how light it is and it gives me a full-sized keyboard when I setup my temporary home office wherever we call home. You can always get the version without the number pad. Even easier to pack. The full-size one does fit into my Cotopaxi carry-on backpack, by the way. Not necessary for most people, but for me, it is so I can have a more ergonomic setup.
Apple Magic Mouse – Again, I like it. Works seamlessly with my Macbook and it’s lightweight. I feel fancy when I get to pull this out for my temporary home office. Not necessary for most people, but again, I need it for my temporary office setups.
Earbuds – We like our music and audiobooks. Katarina commonly uses her Pixel Buds A-Series and I use my Apple AirPods Pro. The noise-cancellation is nice (although there are definitely much better ones if noise cancellation is a priority, especially for plane travel).
Cellphones – We love our Pixel 6s for travel. First of all, Google Fi is great for travel if you’re looking for service provider conducive to traveling. The battery life has been good on our Pixels and we love the cameras on them. Probably the standout feature and a major reason we went with them.
Portable chargers – When you’re out and about all day, these are definitely lifesavers. Especially if you need to recharge your camera or phone after heavily using it all day and you don’t have access to an outlet. Super useful on long hikes!
Universal Power Adapter – Again, absolutely necessary for traveling. It helps having ones that you can attach your USB and USB-C cords to make things extra easy.
USB/USB-C Cords – Just make sure you have the right cords to charge your devices. Pretty self-explanatory.
USB-C Card Adapter – Not necessary unless you’re doing photography and want to transfer your photos from your SD cards to your computer. Pretty straightforward. Just make sure you’ve got the right cards and slots. But don’t cheap out here. I had some “free” card adapters that corrupted my SD cards. They were reparable thankfully but it’s not worth risking. Lesson learned.
Nikon Z 6II – I love this mirrorless camera and can definitely recommend it. But you don’t need to go full-frame or mirrorless right off the bat. I started off with a D3500 kit. If you’re shopping for your first camera, there are better resources than me, but I’ve been happy with the cameras I used. Not necessary if you’re not trying to take pro shots or not big into photography.
NIkkor 24- 200 mm lens – I’m not a professional, so I don’t need the full kit most “real” photographers might bring. I wanted to capture as many scenarios as possible with one lens, and this covers about 95% of the shots I want to take. I’ve loved this for its versatility. Also not necessary if you don’t have a camera, right?
GoPro Hero 9 – Again, I’m not an expert on GoPros or other sports cameras, but mine have withstood the test of swimming with sea lions in Lima, cliff jumping in Montenegro, and white water rafting the Nile. And I liked the pictures and videos I got with it. Another not necessary but fun for us.
Camera batteries – Extra batteries for the cameras of course! Not necessary without cameras.
SD/micro SD Cards – And you got to store those pictures on something! Of course not necessary if you’re not taking photographs.
Portable HardDrive – To backup my photos and important files, I bring around a portable hard-drive. Just another way to backup my writing documents as well. Not necessary unless you need it for work or photos.
Nintendo Switch – Definitely not necessary, but when we’re living and working abroad, there are plenty of nights where we just want to chill in our apartment. Being a tourist takes its toll and gets exhausting. We also like to make places fee like home. Which for me, the Nintendo Switch is a portable guilty pleasure.
Nintendo Switch Lite – Katarina has a Switch lite which takes up even less space and weight. Super nice for traveling and an alternative for mindless entertainment.
Amazon Firestick – Again, not necessary. But when we’re living abroad (not just traveling), this is nice to plug into any TV at our apartment or AirBNB. Automatically getting all our streaming services just by connecting to wifi is super convenient.
Kindle Paperwhite – Instead of taking a bunch of books, all I have to do is take this. It’s been super useful given how many books we tear through. Not necessary since you can even download a Kindle app for your phone. But it’s nice to read on this instead of a phone.
Mini-straightener – Works for Katarina’s hair dressing needs while abroad while taking up a little bit less space! It’s obviously more convenient and quicker if you’ve got the room for a bigger one, which is totally possible. Again, not necessary depending on your beauty needs.
Electric hair trimmer – I picked this up during COVID lockdown when barbershops closed around us. Katarina and I got good at giving me haircuts from Youtube (“good” being relative here). So it maybe is not necessary for you, but it’s part of my grooming kit.
Chargers – Goes without saying that you need chargers for you phones, computers, cameras, or whatever other electronics you’re bringing.
Documents
We also keep digital versions of all these documents available in case the worst happens and we lose them somehow.
Passport – Got to have this!
Driver’s License – And good to have this as a secondary ID or to rent vehicles abroad.
Travel Driver’s License – I haven’t really needed in this in all places I’ve gone, but it’s worth having just in case. Sometimes places (like Santorini) will require it to rent specific vehicles, so dropping by a AAA and picking one up is worth it.
Vaccine Cards – Depending on where you’re going, you might need vaccine cards ranging from Yellow Fever to COVID-19. Check travel regulations before you go and make sure you’re prepared.
Copies of health insurance and travel insurance – We keep printed copies of our travel insurance and health insurance information so we’ve got it at the ready.
Copies of Contact Lens Prescription – In case we need to get new lenses.
Fitness Gear
Resistance band kit – Depending on the length of stay or where we’re staying, gyms aren’t always accessible. I really like this resistance band kit for getting a full body workout on when I can’t lift weights. This might be not necessary depending on your fitness needs and/or wants.
Phone armband – Great for running and hiking. But not necessary if you’re not.
Running belt – Not necessary but I like this obviously to keep my keys, cash, and credit cards in. Especially if I’m wearing stuff that don’t have socks. And instead of a crossbody travel belt to stash your goods to protect them from pickpockets, you could use this under your shirt too.
Packing Gear
Compressible packing cubes – These help us so much to make space when packing and organize our clothes. Makes packing and unpacking our suitcases easy when we’re bopping between places as well.
Electronics organizer – Not necessary but it’s something I use because I’ve got so many cords and little electronics. It’s nice to keep them all in one place.
Camera protector pad – Now if you’ve got a lot of camera gear, this isn’t sufficient probably, but it’s enough to help keep my camera safe when stuffing it in my daybag. Plus it takes up less space than some of the bigger camera bags.
Toiletry bag – Again, helps keep all our toiletries in place and kind of something you can’t live without unless you just toss your stuff everywhere in your bag.
Passport protector – Not necessary but we like to keep our passports safe and pack all our vaccine stuff in one nice protector.
Miscellaneous
Notebook and pens – Not necessary unless you’re into journaling or writing like me. But it’s a nice way to work when I can’t grab my computer and to keep mementos of your journey.
Agenda – Not necessary but helps us keep important dates and business items on track. Yes, there are digital options, but I just like checking things off a list with a pen.
Roost Laptop Stand – Absolutely important if you want good ergonomics and you want a lightweight office setup but not necessary if you’re not going to spend a bunch of time on the computer. Between this and my Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse, I have a very lightweight office setup that saves me from hunching over when I spend a straight 8-10 hours writing. I tried metal stands which I liked as well, but they’re just too heavy for traveling. I know this looks pricey too, but I’ve found, when putting my stuff through the abuse of travel, sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
Lens and general cleaning kit for camera – Got to keep the camera pretty. Not necessary if you’re not bringing a camera of course.
TSA travel locks – When throwing our things under a crowded bus or when we have to pack our carry-on bags, it’s nice to have the extra security. Plus we’ve used these at gyms and changing rooms when necessary.
Microfiber towel – Amazingly useful. We use it for normal towel activities of course. But they double as blankets to keep warm and for picnics too. They dry super fast and you can just shake sand right off them. I highly, highly recommend them.
Ear plugs – You never know when you’ll be next to a crying baby for eight hours on a plane or a bus. Or when your hotel ends up being right next to a construction site. They pack small so not a problem to keep with you.
Water Bottle – Packable water bottles are a great way to save on waste and make sure you’ve always got something to drink.
Laundry bag – Very lightweight. Nice to bring things to the beach and of course hold all our laundry. Not necessary for most trips but highly recommended for a long one like ours.
Reusable grocery bags – Similarly useful like the laundry bag. We bought some of these in Guatemala and have used them for months. Easy to cart your groceries, especially when most places charge for plastic bags nowadays.
Things we didn’t need
Big metal laptop stand – I originally brought a heavy, metal laptop stand that I loved having on my desk at home. But honestly, while it was half the price of my Roost, it was just too heavy and took up too much space. I really like it; it just isn’t worth lugging around.
Too many clothes – We both initially packed way too many clothes. We had probably like three weeks’ worth of clothes we packed and honestly we just didn’t need it. Plus sometimes we like to buy clothes abroad, and if your suitcase is already stuffed, you can’t do that! We downsized by focusing on what we wear the most plus getting things like athletic tops and Merino wool shirts that can be easily washed and/or reworn to eliminate the number of clothes we need.
Too many toiletries – We brought a full ensemble of shampoo, conditioner, and contact lens solution. Liquid take up a lot of weight. It just wasn’t worth it, because, as I mentioned above, it’s easy enough to pick up new stuff abroad.
Extra swimsuits – Initially we brought a couple swimsuits each. But unless we’re spending a week on the beach, we found we really didn’t need multiple suits. Worst case scenario, we figure, is we buy a suit if necessary.
Souvenirs
We don’t buy many souvenirs. Most of the things we do buy abroad are consumables. Wine, hair products, skin pampering stuff… things that we use up before we travel, or things we don’t have to hold onto as we travel from place to place for a whole year. If we do buy souvenirs, we try to make sure they’re light and packable. Jewelry for Katarina usually and sometimes paperback book or notebook for me. For shorter trips, we usually bring an extra compact duffle bag that we can use as a carry on when we check our other suitcases. We use that duffle bag solely for hauling back any goods we bought, and you can read more on that here. We also made sure when we packed our bags for our long-term traveling, we had plenty of extra room in case we picked up goods we we go.
So fortunately for us, when we began our round-the-world working trip, we had planned to visit family about three-and-a-half months in. That gave us a chance to drop off souvenirs, items we didn’t need, and replace some of our bulkier clothes with more compact stuff (like my Merino wool t-shirts). But learn from us: you’re probably better off taking less stuff and planning to buy what you need when you find out you need it!