What to Take With You?
Just to give you an idea of what you can take with you on your travels, here’s a list of basic travel equipment and other items you can find online that many people use for solo travel.
Contents
1. Backpacks
Probably the most iconic travel item that represents backpackers and solo travel enthusiasts around the world.
Easy to carry and take anywhere you go. Every traveler should have a backpack on their solo travel journey.
When choosing what type of backpack to use, I usually go for any backpack that has multiple pockets (at least three or four) and a laptop sleeve. Having multiple pockets on a backpack just makes it easier to be organized.
2. Luggage/Duffel Bags
For solo travel, I recommend not bringing large pieces of luggage or other large bags that you have to check in with the airline.
It just adds extra costs to your plane ticket and is sort of unnecessary as far as solo travel goes.
If you’re traveling solo, a backpack and small to medium luggage or duffel bag (small enough to fit in the overhead bin in a plane) are more than enough for one person.
Just like in the backpack section, getting something cheaper may be ok for your first solo travel experience, but if you want more reassurance, getting a higher-quality item may be the better investment.
Rolling Luggage
Rolling luggage has its conveniences but also has some drawbacks. Rolling luggage is great if you really don’t want to carry more than a backpack.
The other advantage with typical rolling luggage is that hard-cover luggage offers more protection for all your items.
The drawback with rolling luggage is that if you roll it onto a rough street or path, you may end up damaging the wheels. In which case, you would have to carry it anyway.
Not to mention some surfaces will make it almost impossible to roll your luggage around with you.
Duffel Bags
Duffel bags are easier to carry around due to having an adjustable strap to sling over your shoulder/back.
They can also be stored much easier than luggage due to being made of softer material.
Of course, the drawback to being made of softer material is that it offers less protection for your items, and since a duffel bag has no wheels, you’ll have to carry it everywhere you go.
3. Clothing
For clothing, it would really just depend on your goals and destination. I planned on traveling for an extended amount of time.
If you’re planning on doing the same, I would try to bring clothing for all types of weather.
Some people like to buy these things at their destination, but it’s always good to be prepared.
I also tried to account for other situations like daily activities, nightlife, and other social gatherings.
I know that not everyone is interested in the same things while traveling.
Some people may only want to travel purely for sightseeing, hiking, or other similar reasons.
I wanted to travel to experience all aspects of what a specific destination had to offer.
So packing other clothing for more than just hiking and sightseeing was something I wanted to account for.
So with that said, here’s my list! (I’m a guy, so this list is based off that perspective, but I’m pretty sure anyone can get some ideas of what to bring from this list.).
Clothing List:
- 8 basic t-shirts
- 2 cold/rainy weather clothing, 1 jacket, 1 hoodie
- 4 styles of pants, 1 hiking/ 2 casual/ 1 business casual (nice pair of pants)
- 4 soft knit/swimming trunks, 2 soft knit, 2 swimming trunks
- 2 tank tops
- 2 business casual type shirts
- 2 pairs of shoes, 1 hiking, 1 casual (I opted to buy other types of footwear at the destination if I needed it)
- All my underwear and socks. Which was something like 7 pieces of underwear and maybe 8 or 10 pairs of socks (I like my socks). Thankfully, underwear and socks can fit even the smallest pockets.
Your list will probably look different than mine depending on what your goals are. I just found this list to be a good general outline of what type of clothing to bring on an extended solo trip.
4. Tech Items
There’s all kinds of tech items to consider taking with you while traveling.
When I left the country for the first time, the only tech items that I brought with me were a laptop and a smart phone.
Other people may want to bring things like cameras, tablets, e-readers, and even extra screens for their laptops.
If you’re not sure what type of tech items to bring and want some ideas, here’s a list of tech items that people usually take with them on their travels.
Laptops
Probably one of the most popular tech items that people take on their travels.
There’s so many choices when it comes to laptops that it can be overwhelming trying to choose the right one.
Especially if you like to do a lot of research, it’s easy to find yourself getting lost in hardware specs and the seemingly endless amount of technical terms.
From my experience, a good basic laptop to bring for traveling is a 14-15in laptop (standard screen size) with about 16-32GB of RAM.
RAM stands for random-access memory. It’s basically what makes your laptop load applications/files on your laptop faster.
It also lets you open and run multiple apps on your computer at the same time without your laptop slowing down.
16-32GB RAM is a good amount of RAM. Anything lower than 16, and you might experience slower than normal speeds.
Tablets/E-Readers
Tablets and E-readers are perfect for people who travel and only like doing things like browsing the web, using apps or reading E-books.
Although they won’t have the same features that laptops have, they’re perfect for the “non-tech” person who still wants to be connected to the internet.
E-Reader
E-readers are basically what their name suggests. They’re tablets designed mostly for reading.
If you consider yourself an avid reader, this would be the perfect thing to bring with you on your travels.
E-readers can store whole libraries of books, pdf documents, magazines, etc. You can also borrow books from libraries and subscribe to magazines.
E-readers use what’s called E-ink, which mimics the look of real paper and ink. This puts less of a strain on your eyes than a normal screen would.
E-readers also have a longer lasting battery life than tablets, so if you consider yourself a bookworm, this might be the perfect thing to take with you.
The only downside with e-readers is that all the other capabilities and apps that a tablet has either won’t work on an e-reader or just won’t work as well.
Other Tech Related Items
I listed the most basic tech items that I’ve seen people bring on their travels. Below are other tech-related items people might take on their travels.
List:
- Video Cameras
- Drones
- Portable screens
- Portable battery/power banks
- Smartwatches
- Game systems
- Universal power outlet adapter
- Drawing tablets
- Headphones/earbuds
5. Miscellaneous/Other Useful Items
This list of items are items that were either useful to me on my own trip or would have been useful if I had brought them with me.
Some items on this list aren’t allowed on a plane but would be easy to come by once you get to your destination.
Other Items To Take With You:
- First aid kit/medicine
- document holder/something to protect your documents
- Pens/markers
- Ziploc bags
- Face masks
- Water bottle/thermos
- Camping equipment
- Portable clothes line
- Swiss army knife or small tools
- Flashlight
- Lighter
- Utensils
- Hats
- Sunglasses
- Gloves
- Personal hygiene items
Other Items?
That’s about most of the items I either brought with me or thought of bringing with me on my travels.
My goal with this list was to give people an idea of what items to take with them.
I also wanted to share some advice and information that could be useful for someone considering solo travel for the first time.
Want to know more about solo travel? Browse through the blog at Traks&Paks.
