12 Things Experienced Travelers No Longer Pack (Minimalist Packing Tips)

DON’T Pack These 12 Travel "Essentials". These are 12 pieces of Travel Gear you probably DON'T NEED when packing for travel.

In this video, we give minimalist packing tips and help you focus on only the travel essentials by eliminating bulky and unnecessary gear so you know exactly what to skip when packing for travel.

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⏰ Timecodes ⏰
0:00 12 Things Experienced Travelers Don't Pack
0:49 #1: Neck Pillows
1:27 #2: Physical Travel Guidebooks
1:57 #3: Travel Hair Dryer
2:43 #4: How Much Cash Should You Travel With?
4:02 #5: Expensive International Data Plans
4:21 Holafly Esim Review
5:21 #6: Travel Towel
6:30 #7: Luggage Scale
7:09 #8: Rugged Gear (unless you need it)
8:13 #9: Full Sized Toiletries
9:02 #10: Cheap Socks
10:02 #11: Different Outfit Every Day
11:02 #12: What Ifs

[martindoe]

A tip I was told years ago. After a trip, make three piles of items. 1st is items you took and used. 2nd is items you took and could have done without, 3rd is items you took but did not use. After repeating this for three or four trips, you will only ever pack items you really need plus maybe location, or time of year specific items, such as a a waterproof coat, warm hat or similar.

[sageduff]

I travel a lot. The one thing I pack that I wish I felt comfortable NOT packing is my little ‘pharmacy’. I learned the hard way that meds in foreign countries aren’t the same and may not work for you. And sometimes you need stuff on the plane before you get to your destination. So I pack a kit. Unfortunately it takes up more room than I like even if I use travel size containers. But after experiencing what it’s like not to have it, I will live with the inconvenience.

[thegorillaguide]

I never travel with more than two dress swords. More would be ridiculous.

[Oneeka]

I removed the foam from my neck pillow and stuff it with extra clothing 😊

[victorsago]

"If you're going to survive out there, you've really got to know where your towel is." 😁

[dreamsincolor]

I only wear merino socks. Even in summer. 👍🏼

I think a microfiber towel is a must. You can use it as a rolled up pillow or blanket on the plane. A beach towel. A yoga mat. (And takes up much less room than a yoga mat). An extra cover on you in bed at night if you need one. A picnic blanket. Also, just in case you stay at a hostel or airbnb that does not supply a towel. It is just immensely useful, and a microfiber towel takes up very little room.

[MeMe-phwd]

Hello from Finland. Good shoes are very important, as well as a windproof jacket, and a beanie and scarf if you are traveling in northern Europe or windy areas. Summer temperature can be about +10 C or colder, nights colder. Example, if is +6 C morning and wind, it almost feel +0 C. Use clothes with weather, not thinking June is summer.
Leather gloves if it doesn't rain and waterproof gloves for rain are also important, if only 1 pair so warm water repellent. When the feet, hands and head are warm and you get warm food, then 95% of the day is "saved".

[vivekshivdasani]

In Bangkok airport the lady at the phone counter took my iPhone, took out my home country SIMcard and and inserted the Thailand SIM card for unlimited data and calls for the equivalent of $12 for 20 days and handed me back my phone, thai SIM packet with my India SIM neatly cello taped on it. It was so fast and efficient that I am mighty impressed by the Thailand tourism juggernaut

[eagleheads]

As a female, I disagree about the travel towel. The standard hotel sized towel is pretty small. I bring a nice microfiber body towel and use the small hotel towel for my hair. The microfiber towel can do double and triple duty. You can use it as an airplane blanket or lap blanket. You can also use it as a neck roll, beach towel, almost anything!

[bbl]

I use a stuffable travel pillow to avoid paying for extra baggage as I stuff it full of clothes. It’s been a game changer,
Especially in discount airlines with carry on weight limits, since travel pillows are allowed as additional items for free. And if I don’t need it, it packs flat.

[callicordova]

1. Neck pillows
2. Guide books
3. travel hair dryer
4. excess cash
5. expensive international phone plans
6. towel
7. luggage scale
8. rugged gear (shoes clothing) unless needed for trip
9. full sized toiletries
10. cheap socks
11. too many clothes
12. what-ifs

[igotalotofrice]

Disagree with your towel position. I always travel with some sort of a towel, whether it be a Turkish, microfiber, or one of those golf ones. Immensely useful. I’ll leave you with one of the best travel advice of all times:

“A towel, [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.” ~Douglas Adam, Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

[claireruf]

As a woman, I use a Turkish towel which has multiple uses including a sarong type skirt.

[barbarapinto]

A friend buys her travel clothes BEFORE she leaves at a thrift store and donates them to her country of travel. Leaves room in her suitcase for souvenirs etc.

[lilylelob]

Get your towel. Can find a lightweight one. For hygiene and dermatological reasons. You don’t need an itchy rash during your trip. Some hotels use harsh chemicals or don’t wash all the towels every time

[sheilaabrahams]

I pack solid shampoo and conditioner. Very lightweight and no worries about spilling.

[mctrustsnoone]

-I highly recommend a black and white wardrobe (or blue and tan), no need to worry about coordination.
-Aim for carry on only, unless you’re getting a lot souvenirs, if you need anything while abroad (like a towel) you can buy it and leave it behind for a lot less than the cost of your baggage fees.

Great advise re the e-SIM, I wish I knew about that sooner!

Happy travels, everyone!

[annekedevries]

I never bring a towel, but I do bring a large thin scarf. I use it for a lot of things. As a scarf, as a blanket for warmth or to sit on, to cover myself when I go into a mosque, as a bikini cover up, I used it ones as a sling or to create some shadow and sometimes I use it as a towel.

[oldlady]

Only one item on that list have I EVER packed. Guidebooks. But I rip out the sections I need and reassemble it when I get home or discard them as we go. I still prefer to be able to flip back and forth through physical pages than on a phone.

[ayanoaluna]

Okay with the "what if" that can be easy to obtain or replace but I always travel with a second pair of glasses ... Bifocal very specific for me - I had to wait a few days with a prescription in my country (Belgium).