How we can travel anywhere with only carry-on luggage.
We get asked all the time for tips and tricks on how to travel for weeks or even months with just our backpacks. Well, on the painfully long set of flights to Hoi An, Vietnam, I decided to whip out the laptop, sip on my free glass of wine and start typing up to you the secrets on how we travel anywhere with only carry-on luggage. Yes, you heard that right, carry-on. We each have one pack in the overhead bin and one under the seat. That’s it.
And one golden rule that’s worth mentioning upfront before you start getting into the details of our packing lists is that we don’t pack anything that isn’t going to be used. We don’t throw in any “just in case” items except for maybe band-aids, first aid cream and Advil. If we find ourselves without something we need, we buy it on the fly.
There will be some notable differences depending on if we are going on an urban trip or more of a hiking adventure but for the sake of this article, I’m going to focus on our urban-centric trips:
Backpacks
This is definitely the most important piece of the puzzle. We both have Osprey Farpoint 55 backpacks. They are not only the correct size to stuff into the overhead bins of an airplane but they come with a detachable day pack that fits nicely under an airplane seat. Then, when we arrive at our destination, we have the option to zip the packs back together and carry everything on our back. Hands-free is the way to go with everything these days, right?
The Osprey Farpoint 55 shoulder and waist straps are very comfortable and can be easily zipped up into the back of the pack so you can carry it around like a normal suitcase. This also comes in handy when traveling by air since it makes the pack appear smaller. Fully stuff, it’s maybe an inch or so longer than the required maximum carry on luggage length but we’ve never been stopped and never had an issue placing it in the overhead bins.
We also try to avoid checking luggage whenever possible since we had one of our bags go missing for 3 weeks. Thankfully it did return home but with a bit of exterior damage and no apology whatsoever from WOW Airlines. Which brings up another great point about the Osprey packs. They have a lifetime guarantee and will repair or replace your pack. You only have to pay the shipping.
Hiking Boots and Sandals Only
Whether it’s putting on the miles exploring a new city, a new hiking trail or taking a leisurely stroll to a nearby coffee shop, hiking boots or sandals have done the trick. Being fashionable and bringing a different pair of shoes to match outfits takes up really valuable space in our packs.
I know many people have said “well but I pack my shoes full of smaller items so it doesn’t waste as much space.” But they take up more space than you realize. Shoes don’t smoosh (technical term) like clothes will and do cause wasted/awkward fit issues in our pack.
In many places around the world like Europe and Singapore, we are able to spend a reasonably small amount of money for train/subway tickets and get within walking distance of any place we were trying to go. So as long as we have comfy footwear, we’re good. Unless we are in extremely hot climates, you will probably find us in our hiking boots every day. I currently wear Merrill Hiking Boots and Mark is in Salomon Hiking Shoes.
Packing Cubes
I never really understood packing cubes until we bought them. Now we will never go back! No only does it help you compress a lot of clothing into smaller spaces but it’s just faster to dig out any item you need without having to unravel and then subsequently repack every individual item. And one cube for each of us is always packed for everything we need to use the bathroom/shower. So if we are in a shared facility, it’s easy to keep all of our items together for a quick turn around.
Ladies…Minimal Makeup and Hair Products
For Mark, he simply needs a travel bottle of hair gel (lucky….) and if he runs out, we just go buy more.
I know some of you out there are really good with makeup and have an extensive routine you can’t live without and for that I can offer no advice. 🙂 I bring almost no makeup along on any of our trips. I don’t have any super creative tricks for bringing an arsenal of contouring creams, eye shadows and lip liners. I’m not out to impress anyone when we travel and I certainly don’t want to spend added time in front of the mirror getting ready in the morning when I could be out exploring. So my focus is bringing items to protect my skin. A travel size of my favorite face wash, a face lotion for dealing with dry skin and a liquid foundation with a good SPF to protect my skin.
For my hair, I make sure to pack a cute, comfy headband, a couple hair ties and a small bottle of frizz control argan oil.
Buy Toiletries on the Go
Airbnbs, hotels and some hostels will usually provide complimentary toiletries like shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. And if not, almost anywhere you go in the world is going to have a pharmacy where you can buy any items you need. Usually we will start any trip with a half used travel tube of toothpaste or shampoo to finish it up, get us through the first night or two and then just buy more as we need it. That avoids us having to deal with a lot of liquids going through airport security too.
Find Lodging that offers (or is close to) laundry services
This one is definitely another key point in how we keep our packing to a minimum. For any trips longer than 7 days, we pack around 4-5 outfits in our bags and plan to wash clothes every 3-4 days. Hotels will typically have a laundry service and Airbnb.com actually has a search filter on their website where you can find places for rent that have washer/dryers available to guests.
Keep in mind when searching in foreign countries, many of them don’t have dryers. In Europe, for example, I filter the search by places that at least have a washer because most likely they will not have a dryer but will provide a drying rack. Plus we aren’t against washing our own clothes by hand like we did on the Camino de Santiago.
Layered and Convertible Clothing
All of the clothing we pack works together in some fashion. Tank tops and long sleeves that can be worn separate or together for cooler temperatures. Neutral colored pants that work with every top so we don’t have to think about being coordinated. Our favorite travel pants are convertible and can be zipped apart at the knee to quickly become shorts.
Hat, Sunglasses, Light Weather-Resistant Jacket
We each always pack some type of hat/visor for sun protection along with a cheap pair of sunglasses. Something we won’t be heartbroken over losing, scratching, sitting on, etc.
To combat any wet weather conditions we end up in, we have lightweight weather resistant jackets that are actually a size too big so that if needed, we can drape them over our packs and bodies to keep all of our stuff protected from getting wet. Figured out this little trick on the fly while backpacking in Prague.
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