Top Travel Tips to Avoid Last Minute Packing
Perhaps the most dreaded task of any holiday is packing. Packing for a trip is tedious and often stressful, as you sort through your belongings trying to decide what you will and won’t need, what you can leave behind or buy at your destination, and what is an absolute necessity. This stress leads many to wait until the last minute to pack. However, while booking a last minute hotel can sometimes reap financial benefit, last minute packing results in no benefits at all.
Tips for Organised Packing
One way to prevent last minute luggage-stuffing is to make a list. Well before you are scheduled to depart on your trip, start making lists of everything you know you’ll need to take. Be sure to factor in the weather at your destination. You might need more clothes to dress in layers, or lighter-weight clothes for excursions at the beach. Also don’t forget to consider fancy dress if you’re likely to make an outing where it is required.
When making your list, start with the basics–underwear, toiletries, shoes–and progress to specialised items such as phone chargers or books to read on the plane. Those items you won’t need in the days leading up to the trip can be packed well ahead of time. For example, set aside the number of pairs of underwear you’ll need and pack them right away. As departure day nears, pack things like those phone chargers. The night before, toss in toiletries and medication.
If you travel often, you can set up a generalised list. After all, you’ll be taking many of the same items each time you travel, so a ready-made list will save time and stress. Even when your plans include last minute hotels and other money-saving preparations, you can start packing well ahead of time.
Special Tips for Airline Travel
New safety requirements for airline travel require certain items to be packed in special containers, or to be confined to checked luggage only. Planning ahead for these regulations will also help speed your packing, as well as facilitating a quick passage through airport security lines.
While you’re making your packing lists, look over other elements of your trip. Double check last minute hotel bookings, airline reservations, car rental, or anything else you’ll need at your destination. Once your packing is underway, reservations are made and last minute hotels are booked, you’ll be ready to enjoy that long-awaited holiday.
Roo Sadegi is a travel writer based in London’s East End, although he spends much of his time travelling around Europe’s travel hotspots.