Probably the area where most people differ and many people overthink, is what travel gear to take and when to take it i.e. if you are planning different trips. There is however no need to splash out on unnecessary things and all budgets are workable.
So, what’s first, decide and understand what type of travelling you will be doing and what type of traveller you are e.g. if you are planning on going from one hotel to the next, going on fully organised and guided trips/tours, if you intend on travelling with the bare minimum avoiding hotels and stay off the beaten track, or anywhere between these opposites, you should pack accordingly. So, decide how you plan to travel and what type of traveller you are – neither is wrong or right, just different and therefore requires different planning and mindset. If you’re not sure look at the many various travel blogs/sites out there (I’ve read loads, my favourite is www.nomadicmatt.com – find one that fits with you), read as bigger variety as possible and keep your budget in mind too.
I do believe there are some fundamental basics to follow about what gear no matter what traveller you are, or want to be:
- Whatever you pack you will need to carry – do not over pack. This at first is easier said than done, the more you travel the better you become at it. Most people will pack too much no matter what you think or told. Just remember, what you pack you must carry.
- For most things you buy you should always test them as robustly as possible before going travelling, try not take something with you you’ve never used/tried e.g. shoes, equipment etc.
- Don’t over plan, rather have a general idea of where &/or what you want to do – most plans never run seamlessly
- Don’t try to buy the most expensive equipment/things you can find (unless you are going to the Arctic etc.), if you are just travelling/backpacking – things will get lost, damaged etc. and if you’ve broken the bank in buy stuff you have less to use on your travels. The most expensive is not always the best.
- Not all your stuff/equipment needs to go with you on every trip (similar to point 1). g. Taking your raincoat if you are going to a place where it hardly rains – but “what if it rains”…..it’s not the end of the world
- Unless you plan to go to an extremely remote location you can buy anything required/forgotten anywhere around the world – quite often even more appropriate for where you are compared to what you can get at home (no matter where you call home)
- There are lots of fancy “must have” gadgets out there. Don’t get caught out, many of them are useless, expensive and totally unnecessary
- Finally……get out there and start exploring, the sooner you start travelling the sooner you learn……and it’s really not complicated
If you’d like to read about my thoughts, experiences and stories here is the link to the blog page. Alternatively, I have also included separate postings on my Facebook page just with the photos – Facebook Batnomad
