When I recently mentioned to someone that I packed a carry-on suitcase for a 5 country, 3+ week trip, they were incredulous. But it’s true! I spent nearly a month in Spain, Morocco, Italy, France and Hungary with just a backpack and a carry-on sized rolling suitcase. Here are my must-haves for efficient packing and the lessons I learned from my most recent trip about packing even more efficiently.
Fun walking shoes
Something with personality and pizzazz that will support your feet and keep blisters at bay. On travel days, be careful with flip-flips, thongs, slides, or mules – basically anything your foot could slip out of. You don’t want to fall out of a shoe while you’re hauling bags around! Shoes that I have and recommend are Avarcas Pons, Keds, and anything ZeroGrand by Cole Haan.
Moisturizers
Whenever I travel my skin goes HAYWIRE. To keep that in check I like to bring a good moisturizer, a moisturizing spray, AND a moisturizing mask to cover my bases. They obviously have to be travel-sized, but this way you can also distribute the products between your bags to make sure one is always handy.
Convertible bag
I don’t remember how much I paid for this Fila bag, $45 maybe? But however much it was I wore it so often the cost per wear couldn’t have been more than a nickel. Similar to the cute walking shoes, you’re going for something both fashionable and functional. Having a bag you can wear multiple ways helps you adapt to whatever other loads you’re carrying – whether it’s a travel day, a sightseeing day, etc.
Layerable tops
This includes tanks, tees and sweaters. If you can’t fit something over it or under it, don’t bring it. No dolman sleeves, off-shoulder tops, weirdly placed ruffles, etc.
A bathing suit
You never know when there will be a bathhouse, a hot tub, etc.
A few fun pieces
Make sure they’re versatile! I made the mistake of bringing an off-shoulder dress with me to Seville, which I didn’t feel appropriate wearing in Tangier, and then it was too chilly to wear in Milan/Paris/Budapest. Plus an off-shoulder top is NOT layerable.
One DON’T
Don’t bring fantasy clothes – the clothes you never wear in your normal life but that you swear you’ll wear on vacation. You won’t. You’ll wear what’s easy and familiar because everything else will be unfamiliar. You’ll be excited to be in a new place and won’t want to fuss over your outfit. Trust me on this. Plus, you’ll want to save that space for souvenirs!
A few more things
There is a trade-off: you probably won’t look Instagram-ready at all times. Efficient packing means everything has to work for multiple occasions and multiple climates. That said, I could have done a better job of packing cute AND versatile dresses on this particular trip.
If you’re traveling after attending a wedding, consider mailing your wedding outfit back home; or if you were a bridesmaid, try to give your dress away. I arranged it with our riad in Tangier to donate my dress to a local women’s center. That frees up space and means you aren’t traveling with anything too nice or precious.
I know fancy rolling suitcases are a thing right now, but consider using a duffel bag or a backpack. Depending on the terrain you’re covering, you can be more agile and less visibly a tourist. I love my LeSportSac and MZ Wallace duffels, and I would love to see those brands make a trekking backpack.
I hope my suggestions for efficient packing help you on your next long trip. Have any questions or other suggestions to add? Sound off in the comments below!
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