In 2013 I was preparing my travel to South America. It was my first big solo-trip in another continent as a backpacker.
I did not have so much experience of what I would be needing, when and where. Besides I was about to travel for I did not know how long (supposedly months) and I was trying to prepare a relatively comfortable pilgrimage 🙂
Result: I staffed my 80 L backpack the more I could ending up having to bear a very burdensome load and almost no space left for extras.
The picture became clearer later when I was trudging for 20-30 Km per day (not always with my backpack luckily) and I could hardly buy souvenirs to keep during the trip.
“The lesson I then learnt is that it is always better to carry the basic clothes (better if worn-out) and purchase beautiful souvenirs along the way to nicely enrich your assortment and bring back your memories”
Regardless you wish to follow or not this piece of advice, we have built up a list of items you might be finding helpful to have during your trip (you may still survive without, but they can make your life easier) :
- 2 Backpacks: the first one quite small of 30 L max for valuable stuff and hikes; the second one of 60 or 80 L according to your weight and height.
- Mountain boots for trekking.
- Headlamp for night trekkings.
- Small flashlight for camping. Remember that in many places electricity is still an optional : )
- First-aid kit with essential medicines and tools. Although the common medicines may be purchased almost everywhere, you might have problems in finding pharmacies in some places.
- Bubbled envelope for your laptop or tablet.
- Soft plastic case to protect stuff against the rain.
- Waterproof raincoat against rain but also sun and its harmful radiations.
- Small microfiber towel.
- Flip-flops for shower and beach (this you can also buy on the spot if you prefer).
- For girls: headscarf in the Islamic countries.
- Plastic folder for the important documents.
- Little purse for coins and notes.
- Waterproof trekking trousers.
- USB phone charger to be able to charge your phone battery using the laptop or other similar sources.
- Solar or electric battery charger to cope with long absence of power supply.
- Used, worn-out clothes you can throw away along the trip if needed.
This does not pretend to be an exhaustive list but just a kind of input for you to checklist. Indeed, the only real essential point is always keeping the passport and the visa at close reach. The rest is simply optional 🙂
