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Traveling to more than one destination can make packing seem even more challenging than normal. Oddly enough, if you’re packing for one destination you have a bit more freedom with how much you pack. If you’re packing for several destinations, however, packing light is a must. Follow these packing tips to determine the best packing strategy for your next trip!
Packing for Trips with One vs. Multiple Destinations
If your traveling to one destination
If you have a trip planned and you’ll be staying at one hotel the entire time, it doesn’t really matter how much you pack. Baggage fees aside, you could pack as much as Paris Hilton and not feel the negative effects of overpacking.
Sure there will probably be tons of stuff you might not wear but it’s not the end of the world. While I’m not suggesting you overpack, your decision to pack less is more a practicality than a necessity.
Travelers that might find themselves in this situation are those that are:
• Visiting family
• Staying at one resort or all inclusive
• Studying abroad
• Working abroad
• Moving abroad
• Using porter services exclusively
You should always follow these capsule wardrobe guidelines to help you make the most of your travel clothing no matter the size of your suitcase.
For a packing list that offers a generous quantity of clothing, I recommend TFG’s Maximista. It’s great for travelers that don’t want to pack too light or women that tend to overpack.
If you’re traveling to multiple destinations
Ironically, travelers going to multiple destinations often times feel that they have to pack more clothing because they are going to more places.
In reality, if you have more than one stop you should try to pack as light as possible.
Whether you have a 12 month or 12 day trip planned, travel consisting of numerous stops and accommodation options means that you will constantly be on the go. This is just one of the many reasons to travel carry-on only.
Keep these things in mind:
- Constantly moving around a large or overweight bag becomes draining and can put a damper on your trip.
- If you’re in a new city every few days, no one will notice if you repeat the same clothing items (which you shouldn’t have to if you follow these capsule wardrobe guidelines).
- Not all destinations have nicely paved streets and sidewalks. A big, heavy bag will be inconvenient and cumbersome in these situations.
- If you’re taking public transportation such as buses or trains you’ll have to drag your bag around stations with crowds of people, long flights of stairs, potentially broken escalators, and other physical obstacles.
- Constantly rifling through a bunch of things you don’t need can be an unnecessary frustration and waste of time. If you have your travel outfits carefully planned out you won’t need to pack things you don’t need.
It’s essential to pack strategically for trips with multiple destinations. Use these tips and get it right, every time: 10 STEP GUIDE FOR TRIPS WITH MULTIPLE DESTINATIONS.
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What are your top packing tips for trips to more than one destination?
Please read these posts for more packing tips:
• How to Pack for Long Term Travel
• How to Choose a Suitcase
• Round the World Packing List
• TFG’s 4 Universal Packing Lists
I found your advice to be extremely helpful on my recent 2 week trip to Spain and Morocco. I am a frequent traveler, usually making a trip somewhere at least once a month. I have traveled to Asia, Europe, South America and many destinations in the US. I finally bought and used the packing cubes for our last trip and found them to be very useful, the only problem that I found is that my clothes did wrinkle a little more than if they are just in the suitcase, but having everything organized made up for the wrinkling. Most of the wrinkles hung out when hanging my clothes in the bathroom during a shower. I have been using a carry-on sized LLBean rolling duffel for the past 6 years, but recently the airlines have changed their carry-on size allowances so I am switching to a Tumi carry-on. If you ever find yourself in need of the opinion of an older person (I’m 55) please let me know. I have a blog for our charity, projectforavillage.org, so I am sort-of new to the world of blogging and websites, but can offer my opinion on what works for my type of travel. I have stayed at the Ritz Carlton in China on the same trip that I stayed in a home in rural Nepal, and packed a very small amount of clothing for this 2 week trip. I had emailed you about bringing a chambray dress to Spain and Morocco, and your advice was great. I ended up not bringing it as the temps were very high and my new way of packing is “when in doubt, leave it out.” Thanks again for your great website.
Kathy Perez-Silva
Hi Kathy, thanks for your feedback! I am always happy to accept tips for women of all ages and I know there are many readers that would really appreciate your tips. Here’s some info about where to submit your tips: https://travelfashiongirl.com/contribution-guidelines/
Thanks again!