Packing for 30 Day (long) Trips
John waiting for a train in Italia with some luggage. Guess what belongs to who? Never mind, don't.
October 5, 2013: Get married at the most beautiful wedding of your life in Colorado. Check.
October 6, 2013: Wake up, repack your wedding bags, go the airport, and fly to Iceland to start your 30 day honeymoon in France, Monaco, Italy, Belgium, Vatican City (the smallest country), and Iceland.
John is a seasoned 30 day average explorer. Guess which bag is his? Yep, the backpacking bag. Sarah is a newlywed who traveled to a different state for her wedding so had to pack for a week of wedding festivities and remember honeymoon attire; she wants to impress her husband during their honeymoon AND look cute in photos. She clearly brought the cute backpack and GIANT bag (with wheels!). After lugging this bag up and down both metro and hostel stairs, and down the streets of Paris, Nice, Pisa, Florence, Venice, Rome, Verona, Chambery, Belgium, and Reykjavik, Sarah may have come to the conclusion that there has got to be a smarter way to do this.
The best way to advise you on your packing is to split this up, so you can hear it from both of us. Here is what personal experiences have taught us:
John's Practical Packing Advice:
This move would be hard with a rolly bag--always be prepared to jump!
First things first, you need to keep a close eye on your spouse's packing so you can make sure you can carry that bag as well as your own. That will inform you on how much you can bring. Remember you're carrying for two...(kidding...sort of)
The real first thing is to pack waaaaayyy before the day you leave. I always pack a couple of times. Ridiculous, I know, but it really does help.
Like father, like son. John got tons of experience packing for all of the 14ers he did with his dad!
Pack for only five days, not the actual length of the trip, but be extra hygienic and pack 7 days of underwear and socks. Two pants and one pair of shorts always helps since you aren't always sure what the weather will be like.
I find it helpful to have a large backpack. While it depends on where you are going, you will probably have to go up and down stairs without elevators or escalators, and it’s just easier to have the weight on your back. It is especially helpful when you travel with your wife so that you can carry her bag up and down the stairs to get onto the metro.
Get a smaller bag that fits inside your backpack. Yes, that's right, inside your other bag so that you can use that for necessary items for the plane, train, and subway..wait not the subway..it's best to not have a bag at all on the subway.
Note the small backpack straps--a small pack makes it that much easier to enjoy Belgium fries! Even fry guy agrees.
Big thing that I have learned is to get a kindle or tablet where you can buy and read your books online. It’s not fun to carry a ton of bulky books after you have read them.
A personal preference: drop your luggage off as quick as you can after you find the hotel/hostel/airbnb/rental. Then you’ll be more free to explore, and won’t have to worry about the large arrows over you and your bag saying “TOURIST.”
One word of caution, don’t bring new shoes that you haven't tested out. I bought shoes for my month long backpacking trip in Europe and thought they were comfortable before the trip. Walking miles upon miles on hard cobblestone felt horrible on my feet, so I basically wore my sandals the rest of the trip.
Here's John exploring without a backpack. See how "weight-less" he appears?
One last thing: don’t bring a ton of bug spray when you travel. I was really worried about malaria before going to Africa for a month, so I bought three of the highest DEET bug sprays and put them into three Ziploc bags. After traveling for a day and a half, I finally got my backpack at the baggage claim. I arrived excitedly at my hotel, and opened my bag... and immediately smelled bug spray. Not a good sign. The bug spray exploded in my bag and melted through the Ziploc bags. Luckily, it only ruined two shirts and I was able to get through without those shirts. Best part--I actually never even saw a mosquito when I was in Uganda. Make sure your items won't explode in your bag and always Ziploc your shampoo, toothpaste, and soap so that it doesn't get everywhere.
John got it all wrong: he didn't have to worry about mosquitoes in Uganda, just grasshoppers!
Sarah's Amateur Packing Advice
Finding something to wear has plagued Sarah for a long time. Exhibit A.
1st: Listen to your experienced travel partner/spouse/friend/parent--anyone who has traveled for a long length of time! John tried to warn me, but I swore I would have no problem at all lugging my bag around. I was strong, after all. WRONG. Even rolling that monstrous bag was exhausting, let alone using stairs. I also did not wear EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. I packed, no, STUFFED into that bag.
What did I learn? First, pay attention to season. For us, it was hard because part of our honeymoon would be in Iceland (in November), and part would be in Europe (in October). We would probably have been smarter to leave some things--like HUGE jackets--in a locker rental in the Iceland airport since we had a layover there. Then pick it up for the last leg of our honeymoon when we had a rental car. I also learned that having my entire shoe collection doesn't do much unless I'm going to be in a shoe photo-shoot. That opportunity never presented itself.
I wasn't joking. How embarrassing. When I can drive somewhere, you bet all my shoes come with me! (Let's pretend it's endearing)
If I were to redo this honeymoon in the same season, I would bring a backpacking bag and little roll bag (that I can lift...in fact, John should probably test this by making me do reps with it).
For specific items, this is how I, a curly-haired Italian who likes leggings and skirts would pack. You know how Meghan Trainor is "All about the Bass"? I'm "All about the Layers":
Ok, I'm exhausted. I feel like I just packed all of that. Please remember, I, Sarah, am a work in process when it comes to packing. I'm learning, and I hope I get to prove what I've learned for long trips soon!
We hope our trial and error lessons helped, or just made you laugh. Have something to add? A comment, a suggestion, or want us to come pack for you? Let us know! We're off to go pack for a day in the sun--don't worry, John's packing that.
Chasing Time Zones,
J&S