9 Smart Ways To Travel Light - NBAM Travel Tips

No matter how fun & exciting the VACATION may sound, most of us dread the thought of luggage packing. Backpack or Suitcase, only Stylish outfits or simple Basics, what to pack and what not, Huh!! Not long ago, I used to pack extra unnecessary things in my travel bag for each trip but with time I have learned to travel with minimum stuff 😊. So today, I am going to talk about 9 smart ways to travel light, some luggage packing tips, as well as would share how I usually pack my travel bag with all of you. Read, follow and gear up for your coming vacay peeps 😍!

Do not SELECT your travel bag according to the duration of your stay:

It’s me who would think, “The longer the trip, the larger should be the travel bag”. As a result, every time I used to invest all my energy in packing and pulling the bag all the way. A long trip, say more than a week, doesn’t mean you have to take a big bag similarly a short trip doesn’t mean you leave the house only with a backpack!! Experts always advise to make your carry-on bag as your travel partner for any duration as much as possible and I couldn’t agree more! It’s even easy to carry, walk and explore the travel destination with a single carry-on bag if you don’t have that opportunity to keep it in a hotel room. Moreover, a small bag means you are going to travel light, right 😉.

Weather Call:

I cannot stress this enough! Before you pack your bag and choose your outfits, first thing first, check the weather condition at your travel destination. Once you get that info, you can easily pack your suitcase according to the climate of your destination. In this way, you can decide super fast- if the weather is warm, you can avoid sweaters, jackets and pack light summer outfits and vice versa! 

Pack outfits according to the Travel destination & Type of Vacation:

Related to the second point, here comes our next packing mantra. It’s a no-brainer; we should pack our bag according to the purpose of our travel! If it’s a beach vacation, you can pack light clothes mainly swimsuits, flowy dresses whereas mountain calls for comfy sweat-shirts or casual outfits. Likewise, if your travelling is office related then your travel bag must be filled with a mix of formal & casual outfits! Moreover, you have to be cautious with the places which are more conservative in nature, such as in Malaysia or specifically in Asia, while visiting the temples and other religious historic places, you have to wear modest outfits. Hence check these points prior to packing your luggage! 

 

Go minimal:

Absolutely! To travel feather-light, it’s the prime thing to consider while packing your travel bag. Being an absent-minded person, I make sure to prepare a list of essential items (like clothing/electronics/toiletries) I'll need on that trip prior to packing my luggage. I'd suggest, make your packing list in advance and take only necessary functional items that will suffice your purpose for the concerned vacation. 

Packing Cubes or Roll up - Roll on:

To make your travel bag lighter yet super organized, here comes the most appreciated travel organizer -The Packing Cubes. I never knew the power of these organizers until I started using them recently! However, if you do not have access to these packing cubes, then you can certainly follow Rolling Method where you need to roll your clothes in a manner that it would take up minimal space in your bag thus providing enough room for other stuff as well. Apart from these, you can also try Compression Air Tight Bags to save space while travelling.

Make Cotton/Silk/Synthetic fabrics as your travel BFF:

Travel experts swear by this and why not? The lighter the fabric, it’s more comfortable to wear, wash, dry and pack! Therefore, try to take soft cotton, rayon and silk fabric clothes for humid places and woollen materials for travelling around cold regions. Best part, they resist wrinkling!! 

Shoes Toes:

The shoes like flip flops, sandals or pumps which are lightweight, you can easily throw them in your bag whereas boots or high heels will take up a lot of space. Hence if they’re needed, better you wear them during your journey allowing your travel bag to breathe. Keep your dirty shoes wrapped in a shower cap to prevent them from staining your clothes. I personally prefer comfortable flat shoes (sneakers/pumps/sandals) over heels for travelling. You can literally do anything from running to hiking wearing flat shoes!

 

Travel Toiletries:

It’s the biggest challenge for us-skincare & makeup enthusiasts, I reckon. I do not prefer using hotel toiletries especially hair products. So I pour my shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and other liquid or cream stuff in small travel-sized containers like these. 

Then I keep this toiletry bag with my small makeup bag inside my checked-in baggage, not the carry-on bag. Regarding makeup, try to take only the essential items or small multifunctional products that’ll save up space and suffice the purpose too!  

Now, if you are keen on travelling with carry-on luggage only, then do check with your local airport security guidelines because the restriction rules may vary. In most of the countries, you cannot take liquids or gels more than 100ml per container in your carry-on bag and those containers should be inside a transparent, 1litre ziplock bag (TSA 3-1-1 liquids rule).

 

Pack your stuff according to the mode of transport:

Well, it’s not that always everyone travels via flights! There are other modes of transportation also like cars, trains or buses. For the short trips to Goa & Hyderabad, we chose bus journey over train and again for Macau, we took Turbojet Ferry over flight so I packed my luggage accordingly and travelled with a carry-on bag for flexibility. When you’re travelling by your personal car, you can take as many bags as you want to your travel destination. But when it comes to bus or train, you don’t have that luxury. Moreover, smart travelling means you have to go minimal and light, no matter wherever or which transport you choose to travel. 

In addition to these points-

➤ One thing I would like to share here for the 'First Time Air Travellers', if you are bringing your power bank, hard disk or anything loaded with a battery, please keep them in your handbag or carry-on. 

➤ After the travel tickets & hotel booking get confirmed, the first thing hubby & I do is to plan an itinerary for the trip like which activities to do, places to see according to the duration of our stay. This is possibly the best idea I believe as it helps reduce over packing & keeps everything organized!! Nowadays, you can get free online Itinerary planner, download or take printouts for an easy & stress-free trip.

➤Always take an extra cloth/ziptop bag for wrapping up dirty or unwashed clothes while returning from the trip (in case you couldn’t wash or dry clean them).

➤If you aren’t obsessed with your own personal care stuff, go easy then. You can get almost everything at your travel destination, so take only necessary stuff to save bag space for attractive travel souvenirs. 

➤Make sure the luggage you’re planning to pick for travel is of good quality, lightweight and versatile!

UPDATE 2020: To read the latest travel guides, tips and hotel reviews, kindly visit our new website Everything Enchanting. Check out our YouTube channel (ana everythingenchanting) as well 😊

So these are some basic yet smart travel packing tips that I have learned over the years and follow them every time I travel. Hope you find this post useful and travel light like a Pro next time 😊. 

See you soon 💗 

(Image Source: Here)

You May Also Like To Read: 
1. My Top Travel Essentials For A Beach Vacation.
2. A Visit To North Goa Day3 - Goa Travelogue
3. Macau Travelogue

Do You Have Any Other Travel Packing Hacks For Travelling Light? If Yes, Please Do Share With Us In The Comment Section Below.