deferry

Right now I am trying to figure out what to pack, so far my list looks like this:

-2 pairs of jeans
-light pants
-2 pairs of shorts
-2 tops
-3 t-shirts
-dress/nice top for going out
- summer dress + leggings (in case it gets cold)
-2 longsleeves
-thin scarf
-underwear, socks
-sandals
-chucks
-ballet flats

-raincoat? Leather jacket? Hoodie?
considering the fact that I am only going to france and it’s mid-summer I am really not sure what to take. I guess I might leave the raincoat out.. the hoodie is nice for snuggling up in trains, but not appropriate for going out etc so maybe the leather jacket would be better. I can’t decide!

-toiletries
-towel (is it necessary to buy a special travel towel or will a regular one do just fine?)
-sink stopper, detergent, clothesline, cotton bag for dirty laundry
-sleepsheet (I thought about buying one of those cotton inlets for sleeping bags ..or should I just make one myself?)

-daybag
-cell phone, mp3 player, camera, adapter, charger etc
-journal, pens
-notebook with the addresses of hostels, internet cafés etc
-set of cutlery
-small lock

is there anything I forgot? Things I should leave out? I'd be glad about any suggestions. :D

deferry

ohh..and I am heading to France btw. (end of August/September)

joe7f

That looks pretty good. I would advise against a towel. I usually tie a shamwow to my bag so it can air out.

I would advise that you only take comfortable dresses. The weather should be very nice and if you get cold you have leggings and a jacket. Jeans are tough to wash in sinks (btw, a sink stopper is a good idea!).

Since you are of the fairer gender, I highly highly recommend that you grab your bag and walk a mile and half (about 2.5km) with it. Go into your town, ride whatever transit is nearby (shuttles, buses, trains etc) and see how comfortable you feel. If it sucks, cut down the packing list a bit.

Welcome to the boards

--Joey

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Dig

I would also exchange the jeans for khaki pants because they are lighter weight and dry faster.

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agriadam

I'm going to disagree with the khakis over jeans. You can wear jeans alot with out them looking dirty. If you stain khakis that's it they're stained, jeans will hide it better. Jeans are going to be hardier than khakis. And jeans won't appear as wrinkled after pulling them out of your bag. just my two cents. The rest of the list looks pretty good. Late September nights in northern france are going to be chilly and the early august days are going to be Hot, so I think you have a pretty good list.

Good Luck and Safe Travels

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deferry

thanks a lot for the advice that was really helpful!
I'll definitely do the walking thing... or i might hate myself the whole month for packing too much.
And I think I am taking the jeans anyway. I don't like khakis that much. In addition jeans also look nice when you are going out..and they're really comfy. I get your point though ;D

travelpunk

Overall, pretty good shape with that list! I'd only change/add a couple of things.

I traveled for 3 weeks last year and had one pair of jeans and one pair of khakis (dockers, I think).

You said that you're taking "light pants" anyways, so I would take only one pair of jeans and one pair of lighter pants.

You'll have a summer dress in your rotation, so you'll wear each on the average of twice a week, not to mention the shorts you'll be rotating in there as well.

At the end of the day, the main rule will come down to (for me anyways)- Take enough underwear and socks to last the week (7-10 days worth). Won't take up much room in your backpack either.

Because, if you only brought one pair of jeans to wear, you'll be fine wearing those daily as long as you have fresh underwear and socks to use each day.

Drop the leather jacket, Fonzie. You most likely won't need it.

Rain jacket might be of little use, and you can always pick up a cheap one there (or a cheap umbrella).

I take about a dozen of those plastic grocery bags and pull them out to separate stuff in my backpack. Dirty clothes in one, socks in another, underwear has it's own bag, shoes and sandals has one, etc... Just easier to manage the contents of my backpack with them.

I usually bring a pillow case too. I just lay it over the pillows before I go to bed. Makes me feel at home when I'm sleeping=). Also, it doubles up as a bag for dirty clothes when you need to take a trip to the laundry mat.

You should have some extra space in your backpack before you leave, this way you'll have some room to do a little shopping in France. ie...a new Frech cut leather jacket to impress your friends when you get back home! They will be jealous!

Good walking shoes/trainers, but if you're taking new ones, break them in before you go!

Cutlery- you might get that confiscated at the airport. They took my brank new little swiss army knife given to me as a gift. Buy one in France- if you really need it.

Get a small little LED flashlight for when you need to rummage through your daypack/backpack at night in the hostel, or for reading/planning the next day/when you're putting entries into your journal in the dark. Comes in reeeeal handy.

Some ziplock bags to separate stuff in your daypack.

Make a little bag with stuff like bandaids for blisters, eyedrops (so when you wake up from your slumber on the plane, you'll have something to relieve the eye dryness/crunchiness, antihistamines (for allergies), aspirin, aloe vera, etc...

I'm addicted to Blistex which is about $2 each in the US. In Madrid it is 5 euros (about $7) each little tube and it's made differently and doesn't work as well as the one found in the US. For me anyways.

Definitely do as joey said and do some full on dress rehearsals in your town before you go. Real life fire drills to get a good feeling. Go up and down stair cases (you'll be doing this a lot at metros, stations, and hostels) and some hills too.

Keep us in the loop with your travels! Welcome aboard and good luck!

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deferry

Wow this is incredible, thank you for this long and detailed answer!
And yeah I guess you are right…I won’t need that leather jacket (at least not often enough to carry it around all the time) and I definitely won’t bring the second pair of jeans.. the thought of washing them annoys me already

The pillow case is a neat idea. I thought about bringing an extra cotton bag for laundry but this is even better.

Nooooo. I won’t (!!) go shopping in France. Haha
But I am pretty sure I won’t be able to resist. I just love buying things abroad it always reminds me of the places I went to.

I was rather thinking about plastic spoons to eat yoghurts and stuff like that and maybe a small knife. Since I am going by train that shouldn’t be a problem. Sorry about your knife, though, that sucks… especially since it was a gift.

Sure will do! This site is amazing. It totally got me into the mood to start travelling and the information is extremely helpful.

ChasinJason1313

Wow Tony, sounds like you've travelled before. But you stepped on my "set of cutlery????" joke.

Anyway, most of my points have already been said except for two things: How long are you travelling for? Cuz if it's gonna be for awhile you might want to take clothes that you're okay with losing, it's amazing how much battery clothes take on long backpacking trips. After 3 months I threw everything away. 2nd, when I went I took those pants that zip off (I think they have girl versions) to shorts and were made of some pretty durable stuff, Colombia they were I believe, and that helped with my style choices and saved space. I also, if possible would pack stuff that looks okay, or even cooler, when it's wrinkled, cuz it's gonnna be wrinkled.

Oh, and you're definitely gonna want to have a pocketknife, you'll use it 100times more often than you think you will so make sure its SHARP!

Have good times!

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maniladsouza

It's really a good thing to take care of small things before leaving home and also its beneficial to prepare for a trip before in advance which makes your trip a successful trip.

maniladsouza

One most important thing, your all documents which are necessary during your traveling trip, keep them in a secure place and bring copies of them with you always.

TheWills

I know the godfather has touched up on it already, but I cant stress enough to BRING A PILLOWCASE!

This will soon become the most cherished piece of possession you have lol.
Like he said it doubles as a dirty laundry bag, and you can lay it across dicey looking pillows as well as your gonna find tons of other uses for it like tying it up to block out street light shinning right on the spot you rest your head and about 100 other things lol.

Otherwise your kit looks good, just bring stuff for nice warm summer weather and a couple long sleeves or hoodies for night when it gets a little cool.

Also one more thing, always always always underpack, if you have a 80 leter pack only fill it to 70 or so. your gonna be picking up stuff along the way so you gotta have room for it and mailing everything home can be costly.
have fun :D

lisatr12

Try to find Wi-Fi passwords from the internet for airports, cafes, bars etc. I will help a lot.

Annieg

Interesting. Is it fairly easy to come by that info? It seems like it would be somewhat difficult but I do get the practicality of it.

travelpunk

Here's a constantly updated world map of free wifi passwords at airports and lounges around the world.

https://foxnomad.com/2016/04/26/map-...ted-regularly/

Usually at any bar or cafe you can get free wifi (including Mcdonalds and Starbucks worldwide). Either connect automatically or ask the cashier/barista/waiter for the password.

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