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What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On

Before leaving on our trip around the world I remember stressing out over what to pack.  How the heck were we going to pack our lives into a carry-on backpack to travel for months!?  How many outfits and shoes would we take? What would we have to leave behind?  It was perhaps the most difficult part about planning a trip around the world.

With anxiety building up, I started reading different recommendations from blog posts and eventually started to purchase items on Amazon.

Since most people recommended staying under a 50 liter backpack, we ordered the Osprey Farpoint 40 to avoid any issues.  Our goal was to save money by only taking a carry-on and we didn’t want to pay more or run into problems, such as a lost bag with checked-in luggage.  Now the issue would be fitting everything into it when most airlines only allow 7 kilos.

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On
Smaller hiking backpack.

Once the backpack and gear started to arrive, we quickly realized the amount of space for our clothes would be quite small.  I thought I would never be able to do this!  I was sure I’d have a crying session while complaining to Juan I need an extra backpack.

Fast forward a few months and we’re so glad to have brought a carry-on and less things.  Actually, there are times we want to have even less.  Yes, this girl who was worried about shoes and outfits (although I’m not too into fashion) has learned to live with very little.

We no longer have to plan outfits and it feels really good!  We repeat our clothes over and over and no one cares!  Not the people working at the hotels, not the travelers you run into over and over again, nor the people following your social media accounts.   If you are worried about what clothes to pack, don’t.  Worry instead about the important items that will help you most as you travel the world.

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On
Shot with Go Pro

Below is what we packed in our carry-on for our trip around the world (Asia for now).  All these item have been extremely useful.  I can say we did pretty well.  We only sent one thing back home which wasn’t useful, but purchased 3 items we wish we had purchased back home. One tip?  Try to get the most lightweight products and clothes you can!  Every ounce counts!

Hope this list helps you plan your next big trip! The item pictures are clickable in case you want more information on them.

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On

The benefit of traveling as a couple is that we can split our gear between two backpacks.  Those traveling solo may have to go with less clothes or less gear, so pick and choose your items more carefully.  The majority of the items listed here though should fit into one backpack.  Here are the essential items to pack:

Gear

Osprey Backpack

With so many options out there, this was probably the hardest decision, picking the right backpack. I watched many YouTube reviews, read many blog posts, and finally invested in a 40L Osprey.  This back pack has been incredibly useful while traveling through the islands of Thailand and other parts of Asia.

The price was high, but we needed a sturdy backpack with comfort for our backs. Best decision we made! The backpack has a life time warranty, opens up like a suitcase, is sturdy, and comfortable. The size is perfect for a carry-on, therefore we never pay extra to check in our luggage.  Also, we’re glad we opted for a backpack instead of a luggage piece.  It’s much easier to move around with it.

Packing Cubes

We didn’t understand why people needed these until we purchased them! Happy we decided to buy them. They help us avoid messy backpacks and everything is much easier to find! We keep clothes in two of them, and use the small ones for electronics and toiletries. They also help compress everything! Do yourself a favor and get these!

Small Backpack

We forgot to pack ours and we were so bummed about it. We had one large enough to hold our laptop and it came with us on all our trips we took before.  It was small, lightweight, and rolled up nicely if not in use. We haven’t found a good quality one we like, just a simple one from Thailand.  So we recommend this one below instead or even smaller one that can be used as a hand piece for flights.

TSA Lock Cable

A thief will steal and break these off your backpack if they want to, but it’s an extra step and bigger effort than if you didn’t have one.  We always use it to lock up our backpacks when we leave them behind in the hotel. This prevented a hotel staff member we caught in action from easily stealing something from it.  And funny enough, it prevented a monkey from stealing things from our friend’s backpack when it broke into their room!

Electronics

Converter & Adapter

This is our most used item! The electric outlets are different in every country and this converter comes with three different plugs. The station also comes with 3 electric outlets on its surface and 4 USB outlets on the side. Many guesthouses and hotels we have stayed at lack outlets, and this has been a life saver everywhere! It does add weight to our backpack, but this is the best purchase we made for this trip.  Perhaps you can find a smaller one, but this one has been great for us as a couple carrying lots of technology and other gear.

Portable charger

Another item we use a lot! The worst thing that can happen to you is run out of battery on your phone when you need your hotel’s name and address when arriving at an airport!

Tablet

Although I love books, there’s simply no space for them in our backpack. Instead we brought our kindle along. We download books from Amazon, listen to music, use apps, and watch movies on Netflix.  Very handy indeed!

Splitter & Earphones

Music and movies will keep you entertained on those long bus, boat, and air plane rides. Most people recommend noise cancelling ones, but we’ve been okay with regular cheap ones.   You will especially need them when your hotel is next to a busy street or next to a bar playing loud music all night.   We also recommend a splitter in case you want to watch movies with your partner.

 

Phone & Chargers

This is obvious.  I’m sure most of you reading this will take a phone but I still wanted to list it.  I have a and Samsung Galaxy S7 and Juan the Galaxy S6.  Many of our pictures are from our phone since we don’t always whip out our camera.  The S7 takes great pictures! One of the most annoying parts of packing for us, is the bunch of cords that come along with all our electronics.  It’s space we hate giving up, but you must plan accordingly.

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On
Taken with the S7

Photography Gear

Camera

We’re not expert photographers, but wanted a quality camera without the weight and easy to use. We have the Olympus Pen E PL 7. It’s a mirrorless camera that functions like a DSLR, but smaller and quality almost as good. It has the ability to change lenses depending on your photography needs. I carry 2 extra batteries for it. What I like in particular is it has integrated Wi-Fi that connects to your phone so you can quickly transfer pictures through the Olympus App.  It also allows us to use it as a control when we set up the tripod.

GoPro Hero 6

We left home without a GoPro and it was our biggest regret.   Do yourself a favor and buy one. In Asia you’ll spend a lot of time at the beach swimming and snorkeling. We ended up purchasing one in Thailand on Phi Phi Island, for a higher price. Although Thailand is a great place to purchase electronics, we would have preferred to buy one for an even lower price in the U.S and with a longer warranty. The quality of the 6 is incredible and there is no need for a waterproof case like before.

Laptop

A laptop is not necessary if you don’t plan to blog, a tablet will work fine. However, if you are hoping to start a blog, a lightweight laptop is your best choice. Ours is quite heavy but we couldn’t invest in a new one before leaving, so we won’t recommend ours to you.  But a popular choice for bloggers is the Mac Book Air because of how lightweight it is.

External Hard Drive

This is a must! You’ll be taking a lot of pictures. Actually, we have two of them with us. A 2TB and a 1TB. We protect ours with a hard case cover. They are very sensitive, so do guard them with extreme caution. One of ours suffered a fall and we lost all our pictures from the last 8 countries. That was a sad day! We had made the mistake of not backing up our pictures on another method too.

So, we recommend investing in a program like Dropbox or something similar as a 2nd way to back up. As a third way to back up, you can open a private Facebook group and upload them all there (a friend who was traveling shared this tip with us). They’ll lose quality, but if you happen to lose, damage, or get it stolen, you’ll be happy your pictures still exist somewhere!  You can also save them on your computer, but do save them elsewhere in case something ever goes wrong!
AmazonBasics External Hard Drive Case

SD card and USB drives

Get the largest SD cards possible. This way you avoid them getting full in the middle of a cool activity. Carry extras just in case. Carry at least one USB for cases of printing and data transfers.
Gorilla Pod

We use this one when we want pictures together and no one is around. This one is small, sturdy, and the legs wrap themselves tightly around anything. Love its flexibity.
Lightweight Tripod

We didn’t have space in our luggage for this, but we bought a cheap one at a beach in Boracay. It weighs almost nothing, and we use it occasionally to take pictures together. This isn’t the biggest necessity, so if you are worried about space, opt for the gorilla pod instead. If you are into photography, it’s best you take a good quality one.
Waterproof Case

If you don’t have a water camera, these will work well for taking underwater pictures.  You don’t get the best quality pictures, but you do get to keep the memories. We kept ours around after purchasing our GoPro in case it’s a rainy day and we want to have our phones out.

Other Gear and Necessities

The following gear are all items we use and love.  We listed them here because they aren’t necessities for everyone and you can definitely do without them.  For us, these items have served us well and they’ll be staying with us for a long time!

Mini Hair Straightener

For all you ladies out there who have wild hair, or simply want your hair to look good and stylish, this mini straighter is a saver!  It doesn’t have the quality of the Chi I have back home, nor does it straighten as quick as I’d like it to, but it does the job.  It’s compact, lightweight, and converts to the correct electricity which is super important with this item.

Drybag

We’ve actually pulled this dry bag out quite a lot during our trip.  We swam through a cave in Khao Sak National Park and carried our cameras, phones, and money in it.  We have used it to go island hopping in many places in Thailand, protects our things from rain, and more.   Sometimes, we haven’t trusted leaving our things on the beach while swimming, so we take our stuff into the ocean with this.  Ours is small, only a 5L.  But it fits enough things inside and packs flat in our backpack.

Luggage Scale

This has come in handy before flying!  When we are over the limit in our carry-on, we’ll take some stuff out and put it in our hand bag since they’re most likely to check the carry-on and not the hand luggage.  We’ve also used it to know when we need to get rid of stuff.

Passport Covers

Though not the most necessary item, they help protect our passport from wear and tear. Opt for one with a button, it’ll protect it better.   These are some cute travel themed passport you could get.

Sarong

We bought this sarong I’m wearing in Thailand and it worked great for three things: beach blanket, cover up for the beach and temples, and as a blanket at cold airports and planes.

You can get this cute sarong before leaving if you prefer.

Towel

We originally left home without a towel. We figured it’d be a hassle to dry when switching hotels. And it’s true, it’s not always convenient. If you don’t feel great about shared towels definitely purchase your own before, or buy cheap ones in each country.  We now keep one for Juan and I to share and use it when a hotel has questionable towels or when we go to the beach.  Microfiber towels dry much faster than cotton ones.

Head Lamp

Super handy to have. The power went out at a hotel once and we went on some cave adventures and dark roads.

Clothing & Shoes

We’ll be honest, we are a bit over-packed in this department.  Thankfully our carry on backpack’s weight has only been checked once and they let us through a few kilos over. We truly do try to be at weight-limit but it’s a bit hard sometimes.

That said, most of your kilos will be your electronics.  Once you weigh your electronics, you’ll know how much space you have for clothes.  You’ll find out it’s not a lot!

It’s difficult to plan long-term outfits that mix and match.  The truth is, we didn’t really plan this whole mix and match thing well but we do recommend you aim for that.

Many of our purchases include cheap shorts and cheap dresses purchased in the markets of Asia.  When we have over used it, we get rid of it and buy new cheap clothes.  We don’t have all your answers on what to pack because it also depends on your taste and travel style, but we will share what we recommend you carry from our travel experience.

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On
This jacket is warm, takes up little space, and is lightweight.

Shoes

We each have 3 lightweight pairs and that’s already a lot of shoes for a round the world trip.  We had the hardest time deciding which ones to take and in the end had to leave our stylish ones behind and opted for comfort.  Today we each carry lightweight sandals, lightweight sneakers, and the must have flip-flips.  When boarding an airplane or bus, we wear our sneakers and pack the sandals and flip-flops.

  • Walking/Sandals: I got myself black Skechers Sandals that I love and have endured tons of walking.  They are comfortable, a little bit stylish, and have great quality.  Juan has hiking sandals too.  Both are lightweight and good quality.
  • Lightweight Sneakers: We both have a pair of NIKE shoes to use for those workouts or long days of exploring. I absolutely love mine, so I linked them.
  • Flip-flops: A must for the beach or for those showers you don’t want to step barefoot in.

*Substitute hiking sandals for hiking boots for cold weather.

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On
Wearing a dress from the street market and my hiking sandals.

Tops

  • 1 Light Jacket (ladies you can add a light cardigan)
  • At least 3-4 neutral colored shirts
  • 1 tank top
  • Ladies: 2-3 dresses (different lengths)

*Substitute light jacket for thick warm jacket for cold weather, and dresses for thermal clothes)

Bottom

  • 1 pair of skinny jeans
  • 1 light pants (could be leggings)
  • 2-3 shorts
  • ladies 1-2 long skirts
  • 1 workout pants/shorts

Most posts you read will tell you not to pack jeans because of their weight, but if jeans have always been part of your style don’t hold back.  Take them!  Make sure the rest of your clothes is light weight and wrinkle-free material though.  We wore our jeans a lot throughout Beijing and Singapore.

*Substitute shorts and skirts for warm pants/leggings)

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On

Undergarment

  • 1-2 socks (they can be hand washed if needed)
  • 1-2 bras (ladies)
  • 1 sports bra (ladies)
  • 5-7 underwear/briefs/boxers
  • 1-2 bikinis (so one can dry while use the other one)

The amount of underwear might sound excessive but we like to have one for each day in case we don’t get around to doing laundry or to hand-washing them-which will happen a lot!  Oh, and in case you didn’t know, laundry is very cheap everywhere!

Other items:

  • Small scarf: Beardown Arizona Haven’t used it much, but we carry our college pride everywhere!
  • baseball cap: Wildcat For Life Maybe you can show your college pride too?

Toiletries & More

We didn’t leave with toiletries. They are easily accessible everywhere. We purchase shampoo, toothpaste, lotion, gel, deodorant, sunscreen, and mosquito repellent at our destination. Many hotels give you cotton swabs, combs, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes.

However, we did pack the following:

  • razors and 2 extra blades: hard to find good ones
  • mini emergency kit few band-aids and cream
  • Eyebrow pluck, nail cutter, nail file, tiny scissors (The scissors were only confiscated in Singapore, but we bought a new one because most countries won’t care)
  • hair ties and bobby pins
  • Make up-Ladies, you’ll most likely stop using it.  I now mostly wear mascara and eyeliner.
  • Earplugs: for those noisy accommodations
  • Eye Mask:  For sleeping on the bus or plane
  • safety pins
What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On
Didn’t bring this packpack, but we use it back home for hiking and roadtrips.

Medication

We weren’t planning on taking any medication with us but decided to leave prepared instead.  Here’s what we brought and has been useful for us.  Make sure you only take medication and vitamins that are appropriate for you.

  • Tylenol: Headaches, Migraines and other pain might arise suddenly.  We only use them if the pain is intolerable.
  • Anti-Diarrheal Pills: Food poisoning can happen at any time.
  • Daily Vitamins: We were taking them before leaving so decided to bring our huge 3 month supply bottle from Costco to finish them.
  • Magnesium:  These pills help a ton with constipation and has tons of other benefits.  We had a big supply and brought it with us.
  • Prescribed medication: Juan used to have issues with flying and in the past with anxiety.  He was prescribed some before leaving in case he needs it and hasn’t.  He made sure to bring the prescription.  If you have any type of prescribed medication, bring the prescription with you.

Jewelry

The less you have, the better. Throughout Asia you’ll find very cheap jewelry to wear. We do however have our FitBit Trackers and track our daily steps, brought my Jord Watch in case I want to dress up, and we have our weddings rings which we don’t always wear.

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On
Brought this Jord Watch and this dress in case I want to dress up.

The Most Random Things We Packed

Couldn’t have done this list without sharing two of the most random and possibly unnecessary things we packed depending on how you see it.

  • Whistle: Juan thinks I’m silly for this but hey, it might save us from getting lost in the middle of the jungle!
  • Vitamin E: Had a bottle and brought it along.  We use it for our wrinkles. Gotta look young as long as we can.  Haha! Just kidding, we’ve probably used it 4 times yet it’s been everywhere with us.

What We Wished We Packed

Drone

We left our DJI Phantom 4 back home because it wouldn’t fit in our carry-on. This whole time though, we’ve been wishing for a DJI Mavic PRO for its small size and good quality.  We can’t make that investment now, but if you are able to, do get one.  Your photography will be much more fun and it’s so small to carry.  Just make sure to check country restrictions when using one.
GO PRO

We ended up buying one on the road as mentioned earlier.  Take one if you can!

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On
One of our Drone shots back home.

So, what will you pack?

It isn’t easy to decide what to pack for a trip around the world in one carry-on.  It’s impossible to have the perfect list.  No matter how long you’re on the road, you’ll need different things along the way and you’ll want to get rid of others.  Weather plays a major role and so does your personality and needs.

The great thing is that everything is easily available everywhere.  We do recommend getting big electronic purchases from your home.  If you forget or need something, it’s easy to find it almost anywhere you go.  So pack what you think you’ll need and try not to over stress like I once did.  Don’t over pack either, or at least try not to!

Are you planning a trip around the world?  Or have you before?  Share with us what else you packed or want to pack.

Have fun and enjoy the beautiful journey around the world!

If this post was helpful to you or you simply enjoyed it, please press the share buttons!  You can also follow our travel journey on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.  

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On

What to Pack for a Trip Around the World in One Carry-On

    California Globetrotter

Comments (59)

The camera that you have interest me to get one. Do you find if there is any difference from the latest iphone or samsung phone? Wanted to get one of the camera and hope you can advise me a little from your experience using that camera, is it heavy etc.

Hey, the Olympus Pen is perfect for us. It’s bigger than a Point-and-Shoot camera and much smaller than DSLR, so it’s not heavy at all. We don’t have extra lenses so it keeps the weight down, but it’s nice it comes with options to purchase some. However, I can’t help much with the phone question. We have never owned an Iphone because we’ve always been happy with our Samsung phone. The picture quality on the 7 is great though! It has extra settings that mimic those of a dslr camera. The 6 not so much. My brother in law recently bought the Pixel phone, and his camera takes great pictures too. It’s one we want to look into. Hope that helps a little.

Thanks so much for this AMAZING, easy to read article. I loved all of your detail and ideas! Thanks for sharing 🙂

Glad you enjoyed. Hope it helps plan your trip!😊

Great tips! I get nervous about doing carry-on just for a weekend away so I’m super impressed with what you can fit in for long-term travel!

I rarely traveled with just a carry-on before embarking on this trip, so I know what you mean. It’s crazy how we are able to do it now!

The longest trip we’ve done is a 9 week one and even for that, my first thought was that we’d struggle with luggage but actually, we did just fine with limited space, and in that case a lot of it was camera gear as we were on safari for half that time! You really learn to focus on the essentials that you’ve listed, though as I’ve never been into fashion that side was easier for me!

It’s so true! You do learn to focus on having necessities first and clothes really isn’t the most important. Safari! Nice, we dream of going on one someday!

How long did you travel for? I’ve done 2 RTW trips but my longest was only 2.5 months. Obviously, I only wished I actually stopped at every country. Haha. Great list and tips on what to pack. I don’t know about you, but it was a lot easier to pack for trips in one carry-on back in the days when we didn’t have to take a bunch of electronics with us but an analog phone. Now, I couldn’t anymore – with only 10kg allowance for carry-on, all these metal pieces just pile up and start weighing heavily. Ugh.

We’ve been on the road for 5 months now and have a few to go. That’s awesome you’ve gone on two! 2.5 months sounds like a little, but it’s a lot. We did so much in two months, so I’m sure you did too. Yes! Really our backpack weight is from our electronics most of all. Life was so simple before haha! I rarely catch flights that allow 10kg. I must be booking the wrong airlines haha!

This is a great list of items. Even though I have free checked luggage on my long haul on my next trip, packing less will save hassle. So this post will help me in doing so. I do have a luggage scale which is great! And thank you for the dry bar and waterproof case suggestions. I was looking for one!

Isn’t it the best to get free checked in luggage? But it’s true, sometimes it’s just best to travel with a carry-on and avoid the hassle of checking in or the fear of your luggage not arriving!

Thanks for this great blog post! I just made myself some notes for my next trip 🙂

Glad it helped!

Great suggestions on items to pack for your adventures. I found a few items that I forgot to add to my lists like the drone and GoPro. Thanks for sharing! #TheWeeklyPostcard

Nice! Will you be going on a trip soon? The GoPro is so convenient, glad you are adding it. And the Drone, well that is just fun to have. Enjoy!

Whoa that’s impressive! I think I’d die with just a backpack, but if it meant traveling the world luggage free and without the hassle of checking in your luggage or fear of your luggage getting lost, I would do it! We talk about doing it often, perhaps one day we will! Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard!

I thought I would die too! I couldn’t convince my husband for us to take one check-in to share aside from our backpack haha. It’s been super convenient this way though and wouldn’t do it any other way for long term. So definitely try it once you decide to travel full time.

I wish I can plan a trip around the world soon. When I do, I will print your list because is so good. 🙂

Hope to helps! You’ll enjoy your trip!

thanks for this beneficial article

I can’t imagine how you can be happy with so few things. I am referring to clothes. I like to change often when I travel because I can’t wash my clothes. I also need at least two pairs of shoes. If I don’t alternate my shoes, I develop blisters. I can travel with one carryon if I only travel for a week to 10 days, but beyond that there’s no way. I admire you for being able to travel so light. For me this doesn’t work too well. #TheWeeklyPostcard

Haha, I didn’t think it was possible but I did it all for traveling full time and saving money. I get you though, it’s definitely hard. And I do complain about my clothes sometimes haha!

Very informative post! I wish I could travel with just a backpack. I’m trying to become minimalist as well, but I always overpack.

Its definitely hard at first. But after realizing the convenience, it gets easier.

Wow, that’s actually a LOT what you pack! haha.. We’ve become quite minimalist when we moved to France in 2003. We moved so often, and had such a small studio everywhere we went to that we ended up having just 2-3 pants and less than 10 shirts per person. So even now that we’re back in Luxembourg and have settled down in a rather huge apartment, we don’t own much. When we travel, we never bring a camera nor laptop, no tablet (don’t have one), no earphones (we prefer to talk instead of listening to music haha..), no watch and no jewelry (never wear these things, except for our wedding ring). So basically just an iPhone and one charger. As for toiletries, we always use what we get in the hotels. 😀 PS: Why do you need a hair straightener for? I’m sure you look good too without straightening your hair! LOL

Haha, I’m still learning to become more minimilast. Today I got rid of two dresses because I just shouldn’t carry so much. 😂 How do you do it with no camera? I always want to take pictures of everything. I di being my laptop because I’m blogging, but when I’m back home I won’t take it on my trips. I haven’t given my hair straightener much use, but my hair is pretty wild, frizzy, curly and thick. I do like it that way, but I’ve always been so used to styling it. I do need to learn from you though and maybe carry even less. 😊

Great post. Very helpful. I found certain things not on my list which will be very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

Glad it’s helpful. Happy travels!

Love the items that you packed along.I carry one fourth of what you packed…

You’re the minimalist expert! Wish I could pack even less. I think guys pack way less, which is good for me that my husband packed less so he add some of my stuff to his backpack 🤣

Abhinav Singh

Tomorrow I am leaving for a month long trip which will involve traveling to many places. I will use this guide to pack. Most important for me are the chargers and the electronics. I am also thinking of buying packing cubes to organize my stuff.

The packing cubes are very worth it! Hope you have fun on your trip.

Interesting article! I always wonder what globetrotters bring on their adventures around the world – thanks for shedding some light on this issue 🙂 I guess the mirrorless camera triumphs over the DSLR when it comes to size and weight – I’m using a mirrorless too! 🙂

It’s hard to pack it all but it works. Definitely, the mirrorless camera was a great choice for us.

I find packing always one of the toughest things to do in regards to planning for a trip, but I can imagine even more so when doing an around the world trip! Sounds like y’all are pro’s at packing. When I travel I’ve learned to always bring a small fold-up backpack, travel towel, and packing cubes.

Still learning to pack less, which isn’t easy. The small back up is defintely a must so I see why you always take it.

Omg I can’t even imagine what it’s like to pack for a world trip! For me it’s always hard to balance between comfortable and practical but also beautiful and stylish… so I end up packing more than I actually need…

Haha! Comfortable, practical, beautiful, and stylish=goals! Hard to get all them. I’ve always been an ocerpacker, so I have no idea how I’ve survived 😂

We once travelled around the world for nine months with a two year old and a six year old. I was absolutely brutal with what we packed. I knew we just couldn’t carry a lot of stuff and still look after the kids. Twenty-five years later I wish I still had that kind of packing discipline.

That’s so awesome you traveled with your kids for so long and so minimally! I want to do that the day I have kids. Haha, hey, you’re now allowed to pack more if it’s just you and your partner!

Hey, cool article. I’d love to be able to travel just with a carry on however I usually have camping gear with me and i’m yet to find a decent tent I could fit into a carry on!

That would definitely be hard! I don’t think I’ve seen one that fits either.

This is definitely my dream and goal for the next couple years so this post was helpful! I would have such a hard time narrowing down clothes and shoes! But great recommendations.

You’ll have such a great time when you go on your trip. I think shoes is harder, but definitely opt for comfort.

Wow! Fantastic info all in one place – definitely saving this. I don’t plan on traveling around the world at this point but you never know. And all good things to know for shorter travel.

Yes, we’ve used all these too for short trips too. Glad they’ll help.

This article is very helpful! It perfectly helps people like me. I am going to start a South America trip next year!:)

Glad it’s useful! Have fun in South America.

What a great article! I carry most of these items, and have just bought a drone – just waiting for it to arrive and use it, cannot wait!!! Also have used the absolute hell out of the luggage scale, it has come in handy big time especially flying cheap airlines where you’ll have to pay extra when your bag is like a kilo over!

Thanks! Woohoo! You’ll have tons of fun with your drone! Haha, we’ve been lucky with carry-on but we always check before with the scale. It’s hard to be within limit.

Such great advice – I keep meaning to get myself an external hard drive to save back ups for all my photos and documents and such. Its on the To Do List! I’d also add a good book – I cant quite get to grips with e-readers, I like real paper 😀

Do it! It’s the worst when you lose all your documents and photos. I know what you mean. I love paper books so much more because I like hightlighting and going back pages. So as soon as I’m back home, I’ll be going back to paper. (Although I do save money buying on kindle).

We would be at a loss if were required to pack for a trip around the world. Would not know what to pack and what to leave. It is amazing how you were able to pack everything into a backpack. We need to take a leaf or two from you guys.

It was definitely hard at first, but it gets easier with time. Happy travels!

Thanks for this detailed post! I do travel carry-on only, and I’m always looking for new tips to do it better! Last year we had to deal with a weight limit (Air Berlin), and that was REALLY difficult. I was a pound over, but no one ever weighed our bags, as it turned out. I hope never to lug around a big suitcase again!

I wish they didn’t care for a pound over. Luckily we haven’t had any issues yet!

It’s a good list to carry around the world trip. I am very much impressed with your photography gear.

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