subject: Packing for Vacation tips [print this page] Packing for Vacation tips Packing for Vacation tips
Packing for a vacation is every-one's nightmare, although many of us love to travel, very few of us love to pack! Packing usually comes at a bad day too - people often finish work one day and fly the next, or even later that night!
Top Tips to Pack: What to Take
Clothing
Choose clothes appropriate for the climate. If you are going somewhere warm and leaving a cold climate consider leaving a set of warm clothes in the car if you are leaving it at the airport, or with friends if you are being collected.
Stick with one basic colour scheme preferably a dark one which won't show marks and wrinkles so much.
Make clothing items do double duty, men's shorts can be double as swimming trunks, a woman's tankini top can be an evening top. A shirt can layer over a dress in place of a jacket.
Take multiple thinner items which can be layered instead of one bulky heavier piece. Thermal underwear is fantastic for cooler climates.
A sarong can be the most useful item you take doubling as a skirt, dress, shawl, beach towel, top sheet and a tablecloth. You can even use it as a bag in a pinch!
Shoes are always difficult: heavy and bulky. Try to wear your heaviest/bulkiest pair on the plane. I try to limit myself to 3 pairs: a pair comfortable for walking extended distances, a pair of sandals or flip flops and a dresser pair for evening!
What Not to Pack!
Anything you are taking "just in case". If you happen to get a last minute invite to the Queen's Garden Party in England ladies will need a hat - take the opportunity to go shopping!
A cellphone unless you know it work at your destination and you know what the roaming charges are.
Anything electronic unless you are sure you can plug them in / charge them at your destination.
Anything you are sentimentally attached to or is particularly jewellery - you may have it stolen but far more likely you may just misplace it or leave it behind.
How to Pack your Bags
Before you start lay everything out on a spare bed or other space so that you can see it all. Now might be a good time to reassess what you actually need to take!
Start collecting items a few days early - particularly if you are taking out of season clothing this is easy to do. If you are taking items you are regularly wearing it will remind you to add them to the pile as you launder them and to stop you accidentally wearing them before departure! Remember that what you are wearing on departure day is included in the pile too!
Tips for Packing a Backpack
To get the correct weight distribution heavier items should be near your back and higher in the pack.
Use plastic bags or packing cubes to keep similar items together.
Pack electronic and breakables near the centre padding them with clothing. Putting small items inside socks can work.
Packing a suitcase
Place heaviest items at the bottom, especially for pull along bags this adds stability.
Pack fragile items towards the centre.
Fold similar clothes together e.g. all trousers, all shirts folded together to minimise creasing and pack efficiently
