10 Pre Travel tips you need if you want to travel light
Packing for a long trip is one of the most exciting and most stressful things to do before taking off. That’s why we wrote down the following tips to sum up what we take with us and what is important.
Travel light! It is not nice to carry endless items with you that you will most likely never need. So try to cut out as much as possible. Every time we start a new trip we pack less than in the previous one. This time we are traveling with only hand luggage for 3 months. No liquids over 100ml and no more than 10kg per person. It’s hard to imagine how little you need to get far!
$€£¥. Find out what currencies you will need. Try to get a picture of the value of different currencies. From my experience, I (Matias) would say it is cheapest to get the money from the ATMs in your destinations. But for example, when crossing borders you might need US dollars for the visa. So then it is much cheaper to have it in your hands already before arriving at the border.
Warm clothing. Even when you are packing light and going to the tropics it is good to have something warm with you. Usually, we both have one pair of long pants and one thin sweater. For us, these have been most needed in Asia’s well-air-conditioned (cold) busses, early morning travels, high mountains and windy scooter rides.
Take needle and thread with you. Usually, I (Tabea) don’t take my favorite clothes with me when backpacking. Some of my clothes I might even leave behind and some of them might break during traveling. But with a small sewing kit, it is super easy to fix a broken bikini, dress, or your boyfriend’s underwear. ;)
Sarong. This magic maker is a thin towel that you can buy from every market in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (maybe even more places). It saves you from carrying a big heavy towel around and it dries super fast.
Passport pictures. When you enter to certain countries you need them for your visa on arrival. Take them with you so you don’t have to pay unnecessarily for those at the border.
Few copies of your passport. Sometimes when you rent a scooter or check in to some guesthouses it’s fine to leave a copy of your passport. It feels better than leaving your actual passport behind and you don’t have to pay them for printing a copy. Also in an emergency of a lost passport, a copy is useful.
Pharmacy on the go! This one should be pretty clear but in case you haven’t considered it yet – painkillers, plasters, and a bandage. Remember you can restore your pharmacy on the road. Favorites in our travel pharmacy: Bachblüten, lavender essential oil and tigerbalm.
Bin bags. In Asia rain might sometimes come and surprise you. If your backpack does not have a rain cover just pack a big bin bag with you. You can easily put your backpack into the bin bag and it will protect your backpack from any water. Saved our stuff already a few times!
Relaxing activities. When you finally arrive at your destination and you lay in your hammock or at the beach, have some chillaxing activities to do. For us, that includes: playing cards, books, headphones, Yatzy, a mask + snorkel, and a diary.
Hopefully, you can use some of our tips to travel safely.
Tabea and Matias
