Advice for new traveler

Bring only carry-on luggage, if at all possible. That means only bringing little bottles of shampoo, toothpaste, etc. and buying larger bottles when you travel. As for the multi-purpose knife, buy it when you get to your destination.

The first two backpacking trips I took (6 weeks in Europe and 6 weeks in China) I brought full hiking packs. I then realised that I hated the added stress of (1) airplanes losing my bags (2) waiting for my luggage at luggage pickup (3) being separated from my luggage on buses (4) having to shove my luggage into teeny lockers at the hostel, etc. I have since traveled only with a carry on and my travels have been simpler and less stressful.

Rick Steves has a pretty good packing list here. I use the eBag weekender convertable carryon tls and it serves my needs perfectly.

I like to travel light and spend 99% of my time in towns and cities. Obviously if your planning on doing lots of camping this would change things.

I have never packed or needed: duct tape, corkscrew (http://internationaljettrash.com/2010/11/five-ways-to-open-wine-without-a-corkscrew-video-tutorials/), cutlery, needle and thread. Things like this are nearly always provided in a hostel and if you are in a town/city easy and cheap to pick up should you need them. (I nearly always forget to pack a towel just pick up a cheap one along the way)

I wouldn't take a laptop/ipad because most hostels provide computers with internet and I would spend too much time worrying about losing it. I've also seen people who take their laptop and spend more time on facebook and watching films than actually in the places they are supposed to be visiting.

While I think an entire first aid kit is a little over the top. A few plasters, some anticeptic cream and painkilles are worth taking.

Personally I think your attitude will have a far greater impact on the trip than what you pack. If you go out looking to have a good time, with an open mind and are interested in sampling a new countries culture you will have a good time regardless of if you packed a swiss army knife or not.

Halve your clothing & double your money!!!!

Just remember to bring your passport and a card to access money. Don't stress too much about what you need to bring. The places you are travelling to are all well stocked, and a trip to the store to buy some items you have missed can be an experience in itself.

I think good, broken in shoes are the most important item. You will be walking day after day.

A small wallet for the money that you need for one day, all other valuables like passport, credit card, debit card, health insurance, big money...put them into your money belt.

You can scan important documents like passport and upload those scans to the internet (for instance Google docs). That way you have always a copy 'accessible'.

A small compass can be handy too, even if you visit only cities, you often don't know anymore where north is once you get out of the subway station.

A small notebook for writing down what you have seen today.

Some people like to sudoku when they are waiting at the airport or train station. You will be often tired so choose sudoku's that are a little bit too easy under normal circumstances.

An alternative to using a compass when coming out of a subway - use the sun, it's easy enough if you know what time it is. The sun will always rise in the East and set in the West. At it's pinnacle (around noon) it will south if you're in the Northern Hemisphere or north if you're in the Southern Hemisphere. The only problem, really is if you find yourself on the equator on one of the 2 equinox days when the sun will be directly above you. But the chances of you finding yourself in that situation are fairly low.

Of course after dark this won't work and don't ask me about navigating by stars coz I haven't sussed that one out.

Use the sun....well I'm here in the Netherlands and there is no sun to be seen, it is so cloudy, this summer is really, really horrible. I hope things will be better in Paris when I visit Paris early september for a short holiday.

I would rather take a small compass with me than duct tape. Yes, I know that duct tape is a religious thingy for some but not for me.

Edited by: wateenmooiedag

No need to take offense wateenmooledag, by all means bring a compass if you want, I was just giving an alternative technique to working out directions - and you're right that on some very grey days it can be hard to tell where the sun actually is.

As for duct-tape, I wouldn't call it a religious thingy, I've just found it useful on many an occasion.

I'm not offended, just a bit disappointed in the Dutch weather this summer.

Discovery channel's mythbusters have shown that duct tape is something religious to some.

Edited by: wateenmooiedag