Sometimes people ask how I travel for several days, weeks, or even a month with nothing more than one backpack. In this post I explain my methodology.
Hint: it involves laundry.
Traveling with minimal luggage isn’t something I ever set out to do because it was “trendy” or whatever. Like many people I kept bringing more and more stuff, eventually getting a suitcase with wheels. Rolling luggage is one of those ideas that seems smart until you’ve had the distinct displeasure of dragging it along a cobblestone street.
At some point while lugging a heavy suitcase it hit me: no matter how many clothes I packed, I’d wind up needing to do laundry anyway. No matter how many toiletries I packed, I’d wind up running out of something and need to buy more.
Then there are the issues of paying for checked luggage, keeping track of your bags, being able to lift them up a flight of stairs or two, etc.
At some point you have to stop and ask: do I really need all this stuff?
As professional travel guide Rick Steves once said, “Remember, in your travels you’ll meet two kinds of tourists — those who pack light and those who wish they had.” So if you don’t want to take my word for it, take his. And while you’re at it, his guide on traveling with one bag is an excellent place to start.
When deciding what to pack you can think of it like two lists: stuff that goes in your bag, and stuff you can get at your destination. Sunscreen is a good example of the latter. I try to pack only toiletries I might need right away when I reach my destination. The rest I can buy once I’ve unpacked.
That’s another advantage of a travel backpack; it can double as a shopping bag.
While I own a reusable water bottle and take it with me when going out locally, I don’t think it makes much sense to bring all that extra weight on an airplane. Instead I’ll buy a bottle of water at my destination and refill it as needed.
Now about your limited clothes. There are two things to research before your trip: the laundry situation and the weather report. This should give you an idea as to what types of clothes make sense and how long you can go between washes.
On Airbnb you can filter listings by which ones have laundry. Sometimes this may be in-unit, other times there’s a laundry room on site. Hotels are a different matter as they often have a wash and fold service with outrageous prices. In that case you can either hand wash your clothes in the sink/shower, or find a laundromat nearby.
Laundry protip: If you need quarters and the banks are closed, look for one of those arcade bars in the area. They always have change machines.
In the photos above you can see how I packed my backpack for the trip to Los Angeles. Aside from shirts, socks, and underpants I also brought swim trunks (which I didn’t end up even using) as well as my laptop, some chargers, cables, toiletries, and medications.
My current travel backpack is an Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Pack. Let me briefly explain how I use this bag. Clothes go in the central area. I have two Ziplock bags, one for toiletries and one for chargers and cables. Both of those go in the front pocket, which is only accessible via the central area and have their own zipper and mesh pocket. The laptop, a MacBook Air, goes into the laptop pocket in the back. There’s also a “secret” pocket where I keep an AirTag.
Fully packed there was room to spare. Which is fine, the goal isn’t to cram as much stuff in there as possible, though it also means a slightly smaller backpack would have worked just as well.
Now you might ask, what about destination weddings? Won’t I need formal attire? Well first of all, no, it would be ridiculous to expect a dress code at a destination wedding. But if you do find yourself in a situation where you happen to need clothing for a specific occasion I would bet there’s a place to rent it. Same goes for most types of sports equipment, etc.
In summary the general strategy is — not a one-size-fits-all solution, more like a general guide — when in doubt, leave it out.
