Packing for your trip

What to take with you on a trip depends on many factors such as for how long you are staying at your destination, what kind of weather you are expecting abroad, the purpose of your trip, and how much traveling you will be doing. Packing light gives you the flexibility to move freely on your trip. Packing heavy, on the other hand, may become much more of concern to you than the actual items you have taken with you. If you have to rush to catch a train or need to walk, you may not be able to do that comfortably, if you have heavy, for instance. So it makes sense to carry only with you what you need and you will actually use. Here some guidelines to packing:

• Take with you your favorite, comfortable, and needed shoes, and clothes.
• Your shoes should be comfortable- particularly if you will be doing any long walking.
• Avoid packing items you rarely wear or you don’t anticipate using. Chances are such items will remain at bottom of your suitcase
• If you know laundry service is good at your destination, you may consider taking with you expensive clothes that require dry cleaning. Otherwise, it makes sense to take with you cloths that are not too much of concern when it comes to washing.
• Choose cloths based on washability and lightness. You want clothes that will stay wrinkle-free, wash easily, easy to carry, and take less amount of space.
• Take with you jewelry, belts, etc. that don’t take too much of space and that you can easily change from day to day. You may want to leave expensive jewelry behind in a safety deposit box.
• Take with you nay essential toiletries if you know your favorite brand cannot be easily found in the destination country.
• Take a city or country map, or download and save images of a local map to your mobile/computing device.
• If you are traveling in winter, make sure to take appropriate outdoor clothing. For warm climates, light and loose-fitting clothing is probably the best.
• Examine your luggage to be certain it is suitable for your trip. You may sure your luggage has wheels and in goof working condition.
• If you are traveling with multiple check-in luggages, pack your clothing in all luggages in case one or more luggages are lost or delayed. (One time I received one of my luggages 16 days after landing in India. Luckily, I had carried my clothes in both checked-in luggages.)
• Make sure you watch the weight of carry-on bag(s) because heavy bags will require extra strength to carry and will require more space to fit in tightly spaces.
• Put liquids (shampoo, cosmetics, etc.) in plastic bags – specifically designed for carrying liquids.
• Place any of your extra pair of shoes in a plastic bag.
• Make sure to mark your suitcase with a distinctive way such as tie a piece of cloth or colorful tape. This will avoid any confusion over your bag with others.

Here are some items that should not be in your checked luggage:

• Cash, checks, traveler’s checks, jewelry or other expensive valuables
• Documents
• Medication
• Eye glasses
• Cameras, laptops, and other devices
• Cigarette lightness or matches
• Other items as dictate by your airline

In your carry-on bag, consider taking:

• Documents
• Cameras and other gadgets
• Skin moisturizers, tooth paste, tooth brush, and other bodily essentials
• For infants or toddlers changing bags and essentials
• Eye shade, travel alarm clock, and medications.