Solo Backpacking Packing List: Here’s What to Bring For Your Trip Abroad

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Wondering what to pack for an indefinitely long solo backpacking trip can be a bit of a logistical challenge. Before we set off on this grand adventure, we tend to overthink and generally take much more than we actually need.

If it’s your first time embarking on a solo travel adventure and you’re wondering what on Earth you should bring, then don’t stress, I’ve got you covered! This guide will walk you through everything you need to pack to ensure smooth sailing abroad.

Preparing for Your Solo Backpacking Trip

I’ve taken three significant solo backpacking trips in my life. My first trip was around South America, and lasted for about a year. My second trip was in Southeast Asia and the Americas, which lasted around 5 years. My current trip, in South America and South Asia, has been going for about a year.

By this point, I feel like I’ve gotten the travel setup down. Every time I leave my homeland, I have a very similar setup (which you can see in the photos above). And, if you’re paying attention, you probably notice that it’s not a whole lot. No suitcases, nothing I need to lug along with me. Just a trusty backpack and a couple of extras.

Here’s the thing.

We tend to think that we need to take a whole lot with us to cover every possible situation we can find ourselves in. During my time doing the whole solo backpacking thing, I’ve realized that preparing for every situation is a massive mistake.

You can always buy more clothes and stock up (often for a much cheaper price than back home), but what you’ve got, you’re stuck with. While on the road, you’re not going to have every creature comfort, and that’s okay! A little innovation goes a long way, and you realize that most of the stuff you think you need… You don’t.

So that brings me to the first point.

Pack Light!

You don’t need to take a whole lot when you’re traveling solo. Something I’ve learned very well since I started traveling solo, is that it’s always best to lean towards packing too light rather than too heavy.

You need to remember that you’re going to be carrying everything with you. Yes, mostly you will drop your luggage off when you check in, but think about commuting to new cities, relocating to new hostels, taking long bus rides, planes, and public transportation.

With that said, you also don’t want to bring a suitcase for long trips. Carrying a suitcase as a backpacker just isn’t practical, plus, there’s a reason long-term travelers have been coined backpackers.

Especially if you’re planning on moving around a lot, you want to be able to distribute that weight on your shoulders, chest, and hips. A good travel backpack with comfortable straps will make a world of difference.

What to Think About When Packing

Although the setup is generally similar, you will want to modify it depending on how you see your trip unfolding. If you plan on spending most of your time in Europe or the Arctic regions, where it gets chilly, it’s going to be a different setup from if you plan most of your time in Southeast Asia.

Generally, you want to try and make sure the items you bring are as compact and lightweight as possible. Bringing bulky, heavy items is a no-go unless you really need them. For example, if you’re doing a 3-month cross-country hiking trip, bringing things like a sleeping bag, tent, and cooking gear is essential. For the standard traveler, not so much.

I carry one large woolen jacket around with me, which certainly isn’t convenient. I do because I love the jacket, and we’ve had some memories together! But it comes as a sacrifice, taking up a lot of room in my backpack, which could be used for other things.

So just be mindful of what you’re taking and how much room everything takes up. As said before, the smaller, lighter, and more compact your items are, the better. Therefore, when buying stuff to prepare for your solo backpacking trip, keep that in mind!

What to Pack for a Solo Backpacking Trip

Now let’s get to the meat of the article. In this section, I’m going to list out everything that I take with me when I travel abroad. In the picture above, I laid out everything that I took for the trip I’m currently on (over a year now). Doesn’t look like much, but as I said, you don’t need all that much!

Below, I will write out everything that I take with me when backpacking solo.

Backpacks

When I travel, I take several bags with me. I have my main backpack, which is 70 liters and comes with a day pack attachment, a normal backpack which I usually strap to the front of my body, and a handbag (what I use for day outings, general use).

When I started traveling, I just had my main backpack, which is still going strong today! But I’ve found that having an extra bag where I keep all my valuables and electronics just makes sense. Besides, the small daypack that attaches to the big backpack counts as one to me.

• 80-liter travel backpack with small daypack attachment: The main backpack. This is where I store all of my clothes, which pretty much take up all the space. I keep socks and underwear in the smaller daypack, while the rest of the clothes are in the main bag.
  
• Regular backpack: This is where I keep everything that isn’t my clothes. Laptop, documents folder, cables, coffee maker, toiletries bag, passport, and all the little bits and pieces I’ve picked up along the way
  
• Handbag / small day bag: What I use just when walking around cities, going out. A general-use bag that I keep my phone, wallet, keys, water bottle, and some extras in.

Quality is absolutely something you don’t want to skip on here. I’ve had old trusty here since the very beginning, and he still has shown no signs of wear. You would be very surprised after knowing what sorts of adventures he’s been dragged into.

You can get travel backpacks for $100 – $150, but if you plan on traveling long-term, investing in a good backpack is worth the money. The quality, comfort, design, and durability all play a big role in the quality of your travels. I suggest getting Osprey Aether, which is top tier and very modern. You can check it out here.

Clothes

The bulk of what you carry will be your clothes. Unfortunately, no way around this one; you need clean clothes. Generally speaking, women tend to wear more clothes than men.

I know this is a massive stereotype, but while a man can wear the same sweat-stained singlet for a month, women tend to have higher hygiene standards (sorry guys, I call it like I see it… and experience it).

With that said, whether you’re male or female, you can live comfortably with surprisingly few clothes. Traveling isn’t a fashion parade, and you’ll need to get used to rotating the same clothes and making some sacrifices in terms of diversity. But traveling for long periods is doable with a limited wardrobe (or none at all!).

Here’s the clothes I bring when I’m backpacking the world:

• 6 – 8 t-shirts
• 3 shirts
• 2 – 3 singlets
• 1 – 2 pairs of Jeans
• 1 – 2 pairs of pants
• 2 pairs of shorts
• Swimming trunks
• Scarf
• Pijama pants / comfortable indoor pants
• Lightweight gloves
• Beanie
• 8 pairs of underwear
• 10 pairs of socks
• 1 light jacket or jumper
• 1 medium jacket or jumper
• 1 heavy jacket
• Pair of thermals (top and bottom)
• Towel (a small, compact towel is better)
• A pair of casual shoes
• A pair of flip-flops
• A Pair of Runners or Sneakers
• A pair of formal shoes

The Essentials

Carrying a passport holder like the one in the picture is a game-changer. This is great to store your passport to keep it safe, while also providing a space to store extra debit cards, important cards, and extra cash.

I also carry all of my important documents with me. My passport, of course, but also my birth certificate, degree, and other original documents. I carry these because I’m a nomad, I have nowhere to leave my stuff, so I need to take everything. If you have somewhere in your home country to store your original documents, such as with your parents, it may be a better option.

• Laptop
• Phone
• Wallet
• 3 – 5 Debit cards
• Keys
• Passport
• Passport holder (buy here)
• Important documents (birth certificate, degree, police clearances for work, etc.)
• Presentation folder with physical copies of all important documents (buy here)
• USB drive with backup documents
• Portable SSD (digital storage and backup for my laptop). Buy here.
• Earphones
• Pen (handy for airports, filling out documents, etc.)
• Lighter or fire starter
• Cables
• Power adapter (buy here)

I suggest buying an RFID Passport Holder, which is a great case to store passports, cards, documents, boarding passes, and all of those things securely.

Toiletries with Toiletries Bag

I carry a little toiletries bag to keep everything organized, and it works a charm! Having a bag like this is the best way to keep everything together, and just to make life a whole lot easier. I also highly suggest getting a soap holder like the one in the picture. You can thank me later…

• Toiletries bag (buy here)
• Soap holder
• 1 or 2 bars of soap
• Toothbrush & toothpaste
• Electric shaver
• Small hairbrush/comb
• Floss
• Small shampoo and conditioner bottles
• Deodorant
• Spare hair ties

Additional Items to Pack (Not Essential, but Helpful!)

• Some small photos: Sometimes you need to present a small photo for a visa, or other official documents you might need to get overseas. It’s always handy to carry some of these photos (see image above).
• Kindle or a small book: Books are great for travel, but strong contenders for the worst travel items because they’re so bulky. This is why I suggest digitizing and centralizing your books onto a Kindle. Buy one here.
• Camera: I carry a GoPro to take high-quality video footage, but if you have no need, it’s not necessary. Phone video/camera quality should suffice for most things. You can get one here.
• Journal: Nice for keeping notes, you will probably make use of it. Buy here.
• Coffee Maker: I carry an AeroPress with me, which is a small portable coffee maker. Such a good investment, I use it all the time! Buy one here, or check out my article about making coffee on the go!
• Thermas/water bottle: Recent addition to my collection, but don’t know how I lived without it. Buy one here.
• Padlock and key: Can be handy if you plan on storing your luggage in lockers, otherwise it’s probably not necessary
• Cable holder: A little cable holder can be a handy addition to keep all of your cables tidy and organized. Buy here.
• First-aid kit: During my first trip, I carried around a little first-aid kit, which was convenient, lightweight, and didn’t take up much space. However, I never used it, so I decided to leave it behind on the preceding trips.
• Personal accessories (necklaces, wrist bands, etc.): You tend to pick these sorts of things up while you’re going, just gotta remember that they’ll follow you around like a bad smell.
• Mini flashlight: Phone light usually does the trick, but nice to have a small light anyway.

Solo backpacking packing tips

Here we’ll go through some handy backpacking preparation tips to make your life just that much easier.

• Lay everything out before packing: It helps to keep things organized.
• Weigh your pack before leaving: Your primary luggage/backpack should be less than 23kg.
• Ditch the extras: Do you really need that big bottle of shampoo, or can you go with something smaller and replenish on the way?
• Don’t overprepare: Half the stuff you bring, you will never use, and it becomes excess. Therefore, if you don’t know whether you will need something, you probably won’t.
• Bring an abundance of Bank cards: Believe me, you can’t have too many!
• Keep your cards in different locations: I’ve been caught in situations where I had no ATM cards or ways to access cash more times than I would like to count. Now I make sure I carry plenty of cards (at least 4), and separate them in different bags. Therefore, if I lose a bag or something gets stolen, I always back backups.
• Be mindful of what you can take on a plane: It’s also important to think about what you can bring on a plane, because some items may be confiscated if they’re banned flight items. This can sometimes include liquids, such as shampoo