Since I decided to go solo to Italy this September and only take a carry on backpack, I’ve been obsessing over capsule wardrobe travel lists and packing lists on pinterest. I’ve looked at so many and gotten so many good ideas (who knew brown sandals were more versatile than black??).
But a lot of the packing light or capsule wardrobe lists are missing some key travel items (plug adapters, travel clotheslines and travel towels are some examples) and the full packing lists just don’t seem like they’d fit in my planned 46L carry-on (which just fits in the plane’s overhead bins).
So, here is my full list, which should all fit in my carry-on backpack and another smaller purse backpack!
I’ve linked a few of my favourite products that are still available. I’m not compensated for these links and I’ve paid for all the products myself, they are just products I love using and want to recommend.
Clothes
In an Eagle Creek Clean Dirty medium-sized packing cube, I have all the clothes for the trip, except underwear-type clothes. During travel days (on the plane and trains), I’ll be wearing a black and silver sleeveless blouse over a black tank top and black yoga pants (plus one of the bras I’ll be bringing, underwear, and compression socks). I’ll also be wearing my grey hoodie, which is kind of old but so comfy and has amazing internal pockets perfect for my passport and boarding passes. Because I’m going to an area specifically to hike and be active, I’ll be bringing a couple of hiking outfits – a purple athletic tank, a grey athletic tank, a black tank coverup, and a pair of hiking shorts. I’ll also be bringing a couple of sightseeing outfits, too, for the rest of the trip – a blue and white nice t-shirt, a nicer black sleeveless tank, a purple sweater, a red and black tunic dress, capri leggings, grey-beige capris, and black nice-ish pants. I’ll be able to mix and match most of the tops and bottoms to get a few different outfits.
In an Eagle Creek Clean Dirty small-sized packing cube, I’ll bring my other clothes – four pairs of underwear, four pairs casual socks, one pair dress socks, my second bra, my swimsuit, and a pyjama top and bottoms. I love the clean dirty packing cubes because I don’t need a laundry bag, I can just put the dirty or worn clothes on the other side and they’re kept separate from the clean ones and it doesn’t take more space in the bag.
I didn’t bring a jacket because I was travelling during warm weather and I didn’t expect much rain, but I did bring one of those dollar-store ponchos just in case.
Toiletries
I have a toiletry bag very similar to this one (except not waterproof), which is great because it hangs or sits on a bathroom shelf, but is not so great because it is huge and always ends up half empty. I often stuff my med kit and laundry kit in it to make it more full. I carry everything in my toiletry bag: dental care, face care, body care, hair care, and makeup.
For toiletries I only bring as much as I need for the days of the trip, so if it’s something I use once a day I’ll pack only 10 in a smaller container, rather than bring the original full container – even if it’s non-liquid or lighter than limits.
For dental care, I’ll bring a toothbrush, 25X Lush toothpaste tablets, 10X Lush solid mouthwash tablets, and dental floss.
For face care, I’ll bring my usual face wash plus a new solid face wash I’m trying out. I’ll also bring SPF 15 face moisturizer, a small spray bottle with toner, 10X organic cotton rounds, and a small bottle of argan oil which I can use for face or body or hair moisturizing.
I’m always torn about bringing makeup for trips – I hardly wear it so I’m never sure if I’ll need it while travelling. I’ll bring the basics this trip for days I feel like looking a little nicer – a small bottle of foundation and a makeup sponge, 2X samples of primer I got for free with purchases at Sephora, eye shadow and a foam applicator, tinted lip gloss and my favourite vegan lip balm. Instead of liquid makeup remover, I’ll bring a few makeup remover wipes so they won’t count towards my liquid limit.
I’m of course bringing deodorant, shower soap, shave lotion, a razor and SPF 30 sunscreen. I have these great microfibre facecloths I’ll bring in a plastic bag – one for washing my face, the other for my body, but I’ll also be bringing a small pack of deodorizing wipes for days I want to hike in the morning and sightsee in the afternoon. I’ll also bring a solid body lotion bar and Lush Ultrabalm (discontinued in Canada but I still have some) which is a great all purpose balm for my psoriasis, super dry skin, or scratches. I bring glass cleaner wipes when I’m travelling because they are great for my glasses and sunglasses but also my phone screen and phone camera. I’ll bring a small pair of nail scissors, tweezers, a mini nail file, and a cuticle stick, too. I’ll bring my turkish towel for when I need an extra bath towel and to use at the beach or as a coverup.
My hair is always hard to manage, but I still pare down my hair stuff when travelling. This trip I’ll bring a small brush and comb, plus a shampoo bar, a 90mL bottle of conditioner, some leave-in conditioner lotion, 5X elastics, and 2X headbands. I’ll rely on hair dryers in my accommodations or let my hair dry naturally, and I won’t straighten it at all during the trip.
Shoes and Accessories
I have a hard time narrowing down my shoes when I pack light – I’m not a shoe person at all, but I still can’t seem to travel with less than five or six pairs. I wanted to bring five this trip but I managed to pare it down to four: I’ll wear my black Vans sneakers on the plane and use them for most sightseeing, and I’ll also have my brand new Merrell hiking shoes, old comfy flip flops i can wear in a shower or at the beach, and brown strappy sandals that can be dressed up or down.
I love bringing scarves to dress up outfits, provide colour, and make it look like I’m not wearing the same thing in every photo. I’ll be bringing a beige (synthetic) pashmina I’ve had forever and I can wear as a blanket on the plane, plus a teal scarf and a white pashmina. I’m also packing a Buff scarf to wear as a headband or a scarf on cool nights. I rarely wear jewelry when I’m not working, but I’ll likely bring one pendant necklace and one pair of earrings to dress up an outfit in case I need to.
I also plan to bring a few other miscellaneous accessories like my prescription sunglasses, a small wallet with my travel insurance info and Canadians abroad info and my essential cards, a hidden wallet, and of course… my passport.
Essentials
I always carry a med kit with eye drops, bandaids, blister pads, gauze pads and sterile tape, alcohol and bug-bite wipes, polysporin (which i put in the clear 1L bag along with all the other liquids mentioned until i get to my first accommodation), pepto bismol pills, allergy pills, ibuprofen pills, a headache essential oil roller, and safety pins. I used to carry all this stuff in a spare toiletry bag, but for this trip i decided to invest in a water resistant high-visibility med kit bag. I bring my prescription inhaler and ear planes, too – air pressure discomfort relieving earplugs that I wear during takeoff and landing. I carry a couple packages of tissues and some hand sanitizer, too.
I also bring a small laundry kit so i can wash my clothes during the trip. My partner is a find-a-laundromat kind of person, so that’s what i do when i’m travelling with them; but i’m a wash-in-the-sink kind of person so when i’m travelling alone i bring a sink plug, a packable clothesline, and dry laundry soap (this time i’m bringing Travelon laundry sheets – in the past i’ve also brought Nellie’s laundry pods and just emptied them in the sink).
I’ll bring a variety of other travel accessories in a small bag in my purse- just my inflatable travel pillow, wired earbuds to use with the plane entertainment centre, a sleep mask, some mint gum, sleep earplugs, a few metres duct tape wrapped around a pencil (a tip I found from this blog post at Her Packing List), a headlamp, a regular luggage lock and my Pacsafe retractable luggage lock. I always carry a retractable luggage lock now – it is amazing for securing your backpack on trains when you have to use the washroom or want to wander.
My two main travel essentials are my travel yoga mat and my water bottle. I’ll be bringing my yoga mat towel with grips, which is very similar to this one, because I can use it as a shower towel when the hotel ones aren’t large enough and the grips make it work even on tile floors. I’ll also bring my water bottle, an older Camelbak fitted with my LifeStraw water filter adapter. I usually bring a travel coffee mug, but I won’t this time since I doubt I’ll be getting takeaway coffee anywhere in Italy.
Electronics
I’ll be working a few hours here and there throughout the trip, so I’ll be bringing my laptop, charger, and bluetooth mouse. I’ll also be bringing my iPhone (of course) and charger, and in a small electronics bag – my fitbit and charger, a tzumi backup battery and charging cable (both chargers plug into the wall part of my phone charger since it’s USB – so convenient!!), plus two Apple Euro plug adapters. I plan on getting a European sim card for my phone, so I’ll also be bringing a little plastic container to keep my Canadian sim card safe. For headphones, I’ll have my bluetooth over ear headphones to listen to music and to block out travel noise – they use the same charging cable as my backup battery so I’ll only need the one cable!
Snacks and drinks
I’m bringing enough snacks for the flight over (in case there is a problem with my pre-ordered vegan meal) and to “top-up” my meals over there. For the flight back, I’ll pick up something at one of the vegan grocery stores or natural markets.
So far I have packed three CLIF’s Nut Butter Filled Bars in the chocolate hazelnut flavor and three small containers of homemade trail mix for the flight and for the long walking days. I also have a bag each of crunchy roasted chick peas and dry roasted edamame to add to salads and soups for extra protein and fibre and four baggies of homemade instant oatmeal and six Starbucks Via italian roast for those days when I don’t feel like venturing out for breakfast. I’m also bringing six each of Ener-C vitamin C add to water packets in lemon-lime and herbal tea bags like chai roiboos for high-energy days when I need a refreshing drink.
I’ll also have a spork for those grocery store takeaway meals I know I’ll be picking up for suppers and a couple bag clips for opened packages of snacks! Half the snack will be in my purse for easy access during the flight, and half will be in the backpack.
Other Stuff
I have a daypack sized backpack in the carry on. I plan on keeping my carry-on backpack in my room and day tripping with my backpack or my purse. I’ll have a folding grocery bag for groceries and if I go to the beach and I’ll likely carry a travel dry bag for my bathing suit.
I’ll bring a paperback book for days when I can’t read on my phone. If I finish it during the trip I’ll leave it at a free library somewhere on my travels.
I also journal on my trips so I bring a mesh bag with my current travel journal, a black pen, a few coloured pens, a pencil and eraser, and some adhesive dots to stick tickets and other mementos in my journal.
It seems sometimes like I bring a lot of stuff travelling, but I rarely bring an item I don’t use at least a few times. I also reuse the same packing list for each trip and just make adjustments to it based on what I didn’t need or missed, and weather forecasts, and planned activities. For this trip I am borrowing my partner’s backpack as mine broke on my last trip, but they are very similar sizes.
I wanted to outline my entire packing list to show it really can be done in a carry-on with everything you need! I hope this encourages someone to pack a little lighter on their next trip. Bon voyage!
Do you have your own packing list? What are your must have packing items? Comment below!