Welcome to Day 2 of 30 Days to Packing a Better Bag.
Before you start planning your trip, picking destinations, and deciding what to pack, you first have to define your trip style. It will factor into everything that you do, from your budget to your itinerary.
What types of activities do you enjoy?
How much money are you prepared to spend?
Who are you traveling with?
All of these questions must first be answered.
Get the Companion Workbook!
This workbook is your dedicated space to work out each day of the 30 Days to Packing a Better Bag series. It’s available as both an editable and printable PDF as well as a Google Doc version.
What’s your budget?
Are you staying in luxury hotels or saving on hostels?
This will determine whether you need to bring your own towels, hairdryer, and sheets.
Do you prefer to keep it thrifty, enjoying as many free activities as possible or do you splurge for unique experiences?
If you’ll be going scuba diving, you’ll need to pack your certification book and dive log. If you’re trying to save money, you might want to bring items to help you cook meals.
What are your interests?
Your interests will determine what type of itinerary to create and thereby what you need to pack. Which of these categories do you fall into?
Culture Vulture: You enjoy soaking up music and the arts of your destination, spending the afternoon wandering museums and looking for local bookstores. Pack books on the art and architecture of the places you’ll be visiting.
Adventure Junkie: You thrive off of adrenaline, whether it be bungy jumping or rock climbing at your location of choice. Pack the phone number of your travel insurance provider!
List Checker: You want to see all the “top” sites in each city, from the Eiffel Tower to the Spanish Steps. Pack some comfortable walking shoes.
Nature Nut: Your biggest goal for the day is to make it outside, and potentially somewhere far, far away. You love hiking and camping, so you better pack a compass and some hiking boots.
Party Girl: When others are going to bed, you’re waking up and getting to know a city by its nightlife, from the pub crawls to the wine tastings. Pack some aspirin.
Beach Bum: You want nothing more than to soak up some rays while getting a golden tan. You live for the ocean and the sound of crashing waves. Pack a bikini, a versatile sarong, and some sunscreen.
Foodie Finder: You live for the authentic cuisine of every culture and want to know where the locals eat. Download a language app before you leave so you’ll know what you’re eating, whether it be haggis or fried cockroaches. And make sure your travel medical kit is packed in case you over-indulge or eat something that doesn’t agree with you.
What’s your itinerary?
As a traveler, it is absolutely possible to pick the right itinerary and travel in nothing but summer and warm weather. As a packer, that generally means you can carry less and leave the bulky clothes at home.
If you’re traveling to cold countries for a large portion of your trip, you will probably have to pack more of that bigger and heavier clothing.
You must take the weather and trip length into consideration when packing because, as we said on Day 1: Packing Better, What Does It Mean? packing better is also about packing smarter and being better prepared.
Other things to consider
Who are you traveling with?
Your travel companions may influence what you end up doing. Or, if you’re doing something that requires some specialty gear, like camping gear, you and your travel companions can share the weight of this.
What are your travel goals?
There are so many different reasons to travel. Relaxation, to explore a new culture, for adventure. Determining your travel goals will help you nail your travel style
Reflect on past experiences.
What did you like and what did you not like about your last trip? Maybe you hated visiting museums, but you loved spending time in nature. Maybe you never spent any time in your fancy hotel room and rather spent your time walking around the town taking in all the sites. What did you enjoy the most?
Take Action: Define Your Trip Style
- Write down what destinations you’ll be visiting with the average weather for the time you’ll be there.
- Make a list of big activities you plan to do on your trip (climb a mountain, scuba dive, ski, etc.).
- Plan your budget in advance.
- Note your overall trip style, such as whether or not you’ll be hosteling, Couchsurfing, or indulging in lavish hotels. People on a budget also tend to do more walking, which means good walking shoes are a must.
Keep this page for future reference.
If you’re currently planning a trip, what is your trip style? What interests are you into? Let us know in the comments below.
- PREVIOUS – Day 1: Define What Packing Better Means to You
- NEXT – Day 3: Research Airlines So You Can Pack Correctly for Your Trip
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I’m definitely a list checker and a culture vulture…and I stay in hostels and private apartments whenever possible. My next trip involves staying with a friend, then at a hostel, then a couple cheap hotels, then at an apartment, then at a bit of a fancier hotel…in November, going as far north as Ireland and as far south as Naples.
I know some of the family I’m meeting later in the trip want to eat at some nice places, so I’ve got to have comfortable shoes, easy layers, and something that can be dressed up at night, haha! It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but one I look forward to!
We like your attitude, Sarah! Who doesn’t love a good challenge? 🙂
Honestly I feel like I am a mix of all of these, uh oh! Mostly adventure junkie, list checker & foodie finder though 🙂 x
Haha, maybe we should create another category?
The hard thing about packing for the trip I’m currently on is I don’t have any idea where I’m going next!
It’s hard to pack for every temperature and activity out there! I think I’m just going to end up storing extra items at friend’s homes or, worst comes to worst, I’ll have to get rid of it.
I think I’m a cross between a list checker and a culture vulture. And I learned my lesson about comfortable walking shoes the hard way on my last trip. I was so concerned about being fashionable that I took boots I’d never before wore for more than a few hours and walked all over the city in them. I had to run to a drug store to buy gel inserts and bandaids on the first day!
I’m always fond of traveling but I never been able to master the arts of packing! Shoot me already. Haha. On my recent trip, I packed for budget hotels and I ended up staying at 5 stars hotels!! Kick me!! Oh help me with this already. I’m a mix of everything listed here. I fall for each categories and it’s really hard for me to pack appropriately. Help me big time please.
I am definitely the beach bum and the foodie finder… I’m traveling on a budget, but still staying in urban areas. I love this website! It has answered so many travel questions, and has also inspired me with lots of ideas!