So, how does one plan and pack for 3 months on the road? How can you forecast what you will need and what you can do without? The answer lies with a LOT of research, trial and error and practice packs!
Firstly, I knew I wanted ONLY carry ons as I hate checking bags (just too much risk, especially with as much travel as I wanted to do). Secondly, I tried to choose countries and routes that were somewhat similar in terms of terrain and temperature for my travel plan. I knew I was not going to be hiking Patagonia, and would likely be doing some combo light hiking, walking and water activities, in mild to warmer locations. When I travel, I like doing adventure activities such as hang gliding, rafting, climbing, and such so I needed to pack to allow for those activities as sometimes gear in foreign countries can be expensive if you have to buy it there.
Shoes: for me these were the hardest to factor in, but finally decided on a pair of super comfy Hoka brand trail running shoes that could double as walking, exercise and hiking shoes. I love my workout Hoka shoes and the Speedgoat 5’s were perfect. My second pair needed to be sandals as I love wearing flip flops, but also needed a casual shoe that would let me feet breathe while still looking somewhat cute for a night around town. My Sorel Explorer Blitz in green / black (I know, green??) actually were the perfect fit, feel and surprisingly looked decently cute on my feet!
Clothes: I tried to stick to things in mostly one color that I could easily layer. Tops: From my recent trip to Bolivia I already knew my Kuhl stretch rain jacket would be a perfect layer and light jacket, along with my Alo yoga layering long sleeve t-shirt, a light grey sweater and a hoodie sport long sleeve pullover would suffice for the long sleeve activities and walks about town. Other tops included: 1 t-shirt, 2 ‘dressy’ tops, and 4 tank tops. Bottoms: Bolivia also served me well for choosing my pants which included a stretch pair of lightweight water resistant Marmot pants and Kuhl boot cut yoga pants. For this trip, I also invested in a pair of stretchy black jeans – sticking with the all black theme. I also packed 1 skirt, 4 pairs of shorts (2 regular and 2 workout/water shorts). Dresses: 2 sundresses, 1 long dress (for conservative countries) and 1 coverup.
Other odds and ends included: 10 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of socks, 1 rash guard, 2 swimsuits, a money hider, money belt, regular belt, dry bar shampoo and conditioner (I tried them out months before I left), 1 large scarf, gloves, 1 headband, a small stuff sack, large microfiber towel, headlamp, laptop, extra battery, charger, converter, sleep mask, combo straightener and curling iron, inflatable travel pillow, makeup, toiletries and headphones (both wireless and wired).
Yes! It all fit in my two bags! I did have to swap some things out a few trial times, and try everything on multiple times, but this is what it looks like all packed in – I only used one compression sack for my bulkier clothes, the rest I used color coded bands to pack similar items together around the bag. This method seems to work best for fitting what I need rather than multiple compression bags, which took up more room than my method. My larger bag fits nicely in (so far) all airline carry on overheads with my smaller bag under my seat. Will my shoulders survive the trip? Check out my next post to see….!
