I travel a lot for work, and I’m happy with my packing method. I bring one backpack and a purse, never check a bag, and typically choose the cheapest ticket even if it only includes an under-seat personal item (for example, on United this usually saves you $100 per trip). I don’t like waiting for checked bags, and you can cut timing closer if your stuff just stays with you. I find a backpack easier to handle than a wheeled suitcase.
Obviously other people have other methods they prefer; this is just outlining my favorite method. I’m on the small end of adults, so my clothes aren’t that big and I don’t really need the under-seat space for my feet. But in a pinch, my family has used this method with 5 of us and 5 backpacks, no carry-on. More from the One Bag people on Reddit.
Backpack
This backpack is one I’ve been pretty happy with. Many airlines say 14 x 18 x 8 in for underseat bags, but I’ve never had someone call me on a backpack that was a little bigger. They seem to just check that you’re carrying only one bag and that it could plausibly fit under a seat.
I prefer any color other than black so I’m less likely to mix it up with someone else’s black backpack.
Second bag
If I get a ticket that only comes with an under-seat bag, I want a thin packable bag that can go inside my backpack for the actual flight. If I can put the backpack in an overhead bin, I use this as my under-seat bag. I made one that was exactly how I wanted it, but a tote bag or things sold as “packable daypack” work.
For most of the trip, I’m using my small bag as a purse for things I want easy access to, and the backpack for the rest. For actually getting onto a plane, I combine them into the backpack. Jacket gets tied around waist if it won’t fit. Once I’m on the plane, half the time I need to keep it all actually under the seat, and the other half there’s room to separate the two bags and put one in the overhead bin.
What I pack
- Warm layer like a fleece jacket. I want this for the plane even if not at my destination, because I get cold trying to sleep on a plane.
- Packable puffer jacket: mine comes with an attached bag you can stuff it into so it gets very small. Thanks to the person who lent me hers in Australia; I was converted.
- One pair of pants, and I wear the other. For conference trips I usually bring one pair of black pants and one pair of jeans.
- Enough tops for every day; I might wash some in the sink if it’s a long trip.
- One or two cardigans or sweaters.
- Ziploc bag with travel size of liquids/gels. They rarely check the size of your plastic bag or whether you’ve got all your liquids inside it (UK airports seem most likely to care about the size of the bag). Hotels nearly always have shampoo but don’t always have conditioner.
- 7-day medication box; it is very easy to forget to take your meds while traveling, and this helps me know whether I’ve missed a day.
- Toiletries bag with other stuff like toothbrush, hair brush, toothbrush, sleep eyemask, etc.
- One bag to contain all my cables / chargers / power adapters / headphones
- Water bottle
- Snacks that can get squashed, like nuts and granola bars
Other people’s example packing lists.
Electronics
- Laptop charger just used for travel, so I’m not looking for it at the last minute before departing or after getting home.
- Some kind of small power bank. I don’t aim to power my laptop with it, but do aim to be able to charge my phone if I end up stuck somewhere. I find the airplane seat outlets don’t work maybe a quarter of the time, so I don’t want to rely on this.
- I have power adapters for the countries I visit most often, and one clunkier multicountry that works almost anywhere.
- Cables that go with whatever chargers you’re bringing, which might not be the same as what you typically use.
- Cable with a USB-A end (the big old rectangle kind), even if I don’t normally use that, because many planes have this as a charging option.
- I’m based in the US and have an Android phone, so Google Fi is a good phone plan for me. Service just works anywhere in the world; it’s great.
- I like having a watch that can go over a week on one charge, in my case a Fitbit Inspire 3. I charge it before the trip and it just works for like 9 days.
More optional
- Extra gallon-size ziploc for things that spill, wet swimsuit, etc.
- I get cold while sleeping. Americans aren’t used to hot water bottles, but they are good if your feet get cold at night. Sometimes I bring a hot water bottle, and there’s typically some kind of kettle or coffee maker in a hotel room that can fill it. I’ve also used a single-walled metal water bottle for this; the nicer insulated ones hold heat too well for this.
Things I don’t usually bring
- Enough liquids that I’d need to check a bag.
- Foreign cash. In Western Europe, you can pay for everything with tap-to-pay on your phone. I only bring cash if planning to go to e.g. hole-in-the-wall places or countries where vendors are less likely to take credit cards. I do bring my bank card for if my phone dies or I want to get cash at an ATM.
- A full coat if I’m going someplace where I won’t need the coat; I’d rather do 30 minutes of Boston winter without my coat than lug it around for a week.
- Extra shoes. I might wear sturdier shoes on the plane and pack flats if I need to look fancy at some point during the trip. Women’s shoes are often uncomfortable for travel and conferences; ask an LLM or the internet for recommendations on comfortable conference shoes. I like the Ecco Bluma flats I got secondhand; I literally climbed a small mountain in them the day after a wedding when I hadn’t brought other shoes.
Streamlining packing
Ideally my travel stuff is in as few places as possible (mostly a dresser drawer) so I’m not checking lots of different rooms while packing.
- Sleep mask
- Travel size toiletries
- Bag of chargers and adapters
- Duplicate of hairbrush, toothbrush, and makeup so I don’t have to pack them at the last minute
- Medication holder with a few of things that I or other people often need.
Jet lag
I like these pieces from Helen Toner and Lincoln Quirk (both more experienced than I am with seriously long flights.)
If traveling eastward:
- On the day I arrive, I stay awake until reasonable local bedtime (at least 8 pm), even if I’m tired from an overnight flight. Napping at this point will mess you up.
- I use melatonin to get sleepy at the right time; I continue using it each night for at least 3 nights. Helen: “It works much better in this context than other drugs that make you sleepy (or awake), since it is literally the chemical that signals to your circadian clock that night is falling, rather than meddling with your wakefulness by hotwiring some other system.”
Dosage between 0.5 and 5 mg is similarly effective. It’s hard to find tablets less than 1 mg; I get the gummy kind and break them into pieces. - Set an alarm if you need to do something in the morning, even if you think you won’t possibly sleep that late. I surprised myself by sleeping through the first few hours of a conference, because my body clock was set to sleep late.
- In the morning, spend some time outdoors / in daylight if possible. Sunlight is much brighter than indoor light and helps set your internal clock to know when morning is.
- I use caffeine as usual in the morning / early afternoon after arriving.
If traveling westward:
- Again, stay awake until a reasonable local bedtime (for me, at least 8 pm).
- I do find it’s fine to nap on the plane westward, as long as it’s before mid-afternoon in the time you’re trying to adjust to.
- Your body will want to wake up too early in the morning. If possible, stay in a dark environment until some reasonable waking hour (for me, 6 am) to give your body cues about when nighttime is. If I’m awake and bored, I might listen to podcasts in the dark.
- I’m not sure it helps very much, but I use slow-release melatonin upon return to try to sleep longer.
My favorite bag
This is probably overkill, but I made my ideal travel daypack because I couldn’t find what I wanted at a price I liked.
- Not bulky, so I can cram it inside my backpack when needed
- Few pockets, so I’m not looking for my passport in 9 different places
- Straps to use as a backpack if it’s my only bag, or as a shoulder bag if I’m also carrying a larger backpack
- Room to hold my laptop, a jacket, and a water bottle — what I want during the day at a conference.
Previously: Travel with one adult and one baby (yes I do check a bag in that case).