How to pack your suitcase for any trip

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As someone who now packs like a pro, I used to be truly awful at it.

It’s the sort of thing that would take me hours, and I would always forget something.

I also struggled to decide on what to take with me. 

It meant spending ages emptying the contents of my wardrobe onto my bed, and then putting it all back.

But having been a travel writer for over a decade, I’ve got things down to a well-rehearsed routine.

You kinda have to if you do upwards of 15 trips a year, some lasting three or four weeks.

So if you find packing a struggle, here’s how to pack for any trip.

Have a packing list

The easiest way to speed up your packing process is to have a decent packing list to hand.

It helps you to quickly check what you need to take, and what’s missing.

I use mine for every trip. It includes break out sections for different types of trips, and for warm and cool weather destinations.

Whittle down your luggage

I hate carrying stuff when I’m travelling so I try to pack as light as possible.

For a three-week trip to somewhere hot and sunny like Vietnam, my luggage will generally weigh around 15kg, the suitcase included.

I’m certainly not doing it backpacker style – I’m always travelling for work so I need to strike a balance between the essentials and the luxuries.

That means I’ll take something more casual for day-time activities, and a more dressy outfit for each night. But I’ll mix and match, rather than take two outfits for each day.

For footwear, I’ll wear trainers for the flight and take a pair of smart shoes and a pair of sandals.

Basically, whittling down your luggage is all about figuring out what you actually need and not just packing absolutely everything “just in case”.

For a hot country I’d take an outfit a day, especially if I can’t get laundry done in between, but for cooler climates I would condense that down.

Do you need three pairs of jeans for example if you already have two pairs of shorts packed?

If you regularly overpack, it can be helpful to pre-plan your outfits.

Get a travel go bag

My travel go bag is a game changer for me. It’s something I always keep ready, that I can just toss into a suitcase along with the rest of my stuff.

It’s filled with toiletries – a pared down selection of what I use at home – and every item is under 100ml so I can take it through airport security without repacking.

To make things lighter, I also save products that are almost empty to put in my go bag. Half a tube of toothpaste? Perfect. 

If you look through my travel bag essentials list, you may notice that I don’t have any makeup in this kit.

That’s because I always pack it on the day. 

I do this because my makeup routine is always the same, but the skincare and hair products I use for travelling always change.

So before I head out, I will do my makeup as usual. And as I finish using each item, I will put it in the makeup bag.

There are four things I keep in my makeup bag all the time:

• Eyebrow brush and pencil
• Face powder compact and brush
• Tweezers
• Nail clippers.

Even if I forget everything else, these four things will help me look relatively put together.

Fold, don’t roll

Some travel experts will tell you to roll your clothes up.

I’m not convinced this will actually save you much space. It certainly doesn’t stop your stuff from getting wrinkly – trust me, I’ve tried.

It also doesn’t work so well for bulkier items like jeans and jumpers; they just end up being huge lumps.

The only thing I will roll is underwear; there’s not enough fabric for them to sit up properly, so rolling helps them to stay in one place.

My preferred method is folding, and Marie Kondo does it best.

The key is to flatten down the item with your hand after each fold to help the folds stay neat.

I also use packing cubes because they help to compress the items and save space.

Use packing cubes

I’ve used packing cubes for years and they really help speed up the packing process for me. As an added bonus, they also keep my luggage tidy.

In case you didn’t know, packing cubes are basically zippable fabric bags that become cubes (or cuboids) when fully filled.

What makes them brilliant is that they help group things together – tops in one, dresses in another etc – and they compress the items to save you space.

There are plenty to choose from but after trawling through the online reviews, I bought a pack of four Amazon Basics* ones.

They were certainly not the cheapest ones out there, but having purchased Amazon Basics stuff before, I trusted the quality (and the return policy).

The version I got was a pack of four different sizes: large, medium, small and slim.

I always use the slim one for underwear and socks, and occasionally swimsuits.

The small one I actually rarely use. If I’m packing for a long trip and need all four cubes, I’ll use it for jeans and shorts, or t-shirts and tops.

The medium and large are what I use most often.

These I’ll fill with larger items, like dresses and jeans, and fill in the gaps with my t-shirts.

Across the top, I’ll sometimes stick in a hoodie or a jacket.

It’s worth bearing in mind that you won’t be able to compress a full packing cube very much.

I often have to bring things back from my trips – usually leaflets and papers, but sometimes souvenirs – so I always leave some extra space in my luggage.

Go for an expandable suitcase

Every single one of my suitcases are expandable, even the ones I use as a cabin bag.

Try as I might, worn clothes don’t seem to fold down quite as neatly as the freshly laundered ones I pack on the way out.

This luggage expansion is my backup plan, especially if I need to bring anything unexpected back.

For cabin luggage or shorter trips, I have the Samsonite Proxis expandable cabin spinner*.

It’s lightweight, durable and offers great capacity, although it’s not that great with packing cubes.

For long haul trips, I have the Briggs & Riley ZDX medium expandable spinner*, which to be honest I sometimes struggle to fill up because there’s so much space inside.

Take a foldable bag

Having a foldable bag in your luggage can be super helpful.

It can be used for dirty laundry during your stay, and as a backup if you go over your weight allowance and need to take stuff as carry on.

It can also come in handy if you’ve bought a souvenir that’s too delicate for checked luggage but too bulky for your handbag.

I got the ECOHUB cabin bag* for a trip to Australia – I needed a soft-sided bag for a regional flight where I had to leave my main luggage – and couldn’t recommend it enough.

It has a huge capacity, is surprisingly sturdy and is made from a waterproof fabric.

It also has side pockets and inner pockets that are great for stashing documents and water bottles.

Plus, it’s just the right size for an underseat bag for easyJet so I could easily use it for other trips too.

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