Packing Guide

A typical case scenario for my trips involve over-packing. It is inspired from the saying, “That it is better to be over prepared than under prepared”. However this is a bad habit when it comes to travelling with luggage as this reduces your mobility and can be troublesome navigating internally with a country.

So after 3 decades of packing experience, the best way to construct your packing is to categorize the different areas and make an excel check list. Cross reference this over the weather conditions, events, people you know, and the holiday type, and you have optimized your resources to some extent.

So let’s list all the important variables:

Weather: Hot, cold, rain, sun, snow, humidity, windy.

Holiday type: City, beach, mountains, skiing, hiking, caves, Adventure, wildlife.

Events: Red carpet, fancy dinner and drinks, clubbing, cocktails, wedding, parties.

People you know: Friends, family, strangers, work colleagues, Industry associates, media/press contacts.

The above should keep most people up all night thinking about what to pack but hopefully this helps.

Section 1: Electronics

Mandatory requirements for any trip is your phone & phone charger. Everything else is a choice based on where you going. Most items will not be even necessary.

• Laptop +Laptop charger vs Ipad which connects to the same iphone charger
• GoPro camera + charger + accessories vs Iphone/Android camera functionality
• SLR camera + charger + lenses vs Iphone/Android camera functionality
• Electronic toothbrush + charger vs regular toothbrush
• Hair straightener vs Hair Curler vs Blow Dryer
• USB battery pack

I have on one occasion carry about 6kg of videography/photography on a 4 day hike that was a very bad idea. So always calculate your travel routes and how much mobility is needed. Most hotels have blow dryers and ladies can book a hairdresser in the local city if additional styling is needed. Holiday type & Events is the main categories here for helping decide what really is needed.

Section 2: Medical Kit

The mandatory requirements for this varies from nothing much except for a mosquito repellent if it is a city break to location specific needs. So most cities or beach holidays have medical centers/pharmacies close by so it is all good. However if you going to a more isolated location or adventurous holiday then the following is recommended:

• First aid kit (Usual start up kit will suffice for most adventures)
• Additional painkillers (like Ibuprofen, paracetamol), charcoal tablets, antiseptic cream, band aids, hand sanitizer, Bandages, deep heat spray etc.

Holiday type decides if you need a medical kit or not.

Section 3: Vanity Kit

The mandatory requirements here are the tooth brush, tooth paste, face wash & cream, perfume. Additionally ladies need all the mandatory make up accessories, and hair washing & styling products.

There is no choice here really as most of the stuff you will need at some stage but the trick is to downsize. Most department stores sell travel size plastic bottles and containers. These are perfect to fill up your shampoo, conditioner, hair mask etc. they are all under 100ml so easy for hand luggage as well. You can also pick up hair product samples, make up samples, and men’s grooming samples from department stores so this makes it easy to travel with.

Section 4: Clothes

This is that section where all 4 categories collide & explode, creating this dark cloud from all the smoke and debris. It creates unnecessary stress, confusion, and drama. If you are a man, think twice before passing any answers or Judgment to your significant other regarding packing in this section.

So best way to navigate the packing here is the following questions:

• 1. How many days/nights are you away?
• 2. How many locations are you covering during your stay?
• 3. How many events are you attending?
• 4. How many outfits/dresses can I reuse in different events/locations?
• 5. Am I going to a country where I need to cover up because of Cultural/religious set up?
• 6. Do I need to really impress somebody?
• 7. Will they have laundry service at the location?

So let’s say for example two couples are going to a wedding in Girona next to Barcelona. The holiday is for 1 week with 3 days in Barcelona, 3 days in Girona and then the final night back in Barcelona before flying out. All friends and family will be in attendance from the Girona part of the vacation. So automatically you have this plan:

• 1. You need your one main wedding outfit
• 2. You can use the same long dress, short dress and Bikinis in both locations and no one will really know except for the travelling group of 4. So this reduces your packing of clothes by 50%. Mix and match of trousers/Shirts or Skirts or pants with Blouses is the key here.
• 3. Hotel in Girona will press the dress and suit for the wedding, do laundry from the few days before.
• 4. The chances of you meeting some random strangers from Girona and Barcelona in your same clothes are quite rare so don’t worry.

Section 5: Shoes

The weather is the main factor here and flip flops/ runners are usually the front runners for summer, big ass snow boots for winter. All other shoes should be matched accordingly to the outfits planning from section 4. Remember the shoes are easier to match and if all else fails go with black.

Section 6: Shopping Space

The chances of you buying something is quite high if you are on a city break or beach holiday so do make some space for buying new gear. Often all you need is your passport and credit card for a trip, the rest can be optional as you can buy it when away.