Top 5 Travel Tips // A Minimalist, Budget-Friendly Perspective

Traveling is one of my favorite things to do. I love the adventure, the unknown, and the opportunity to experience something new. I'm the type of traveler that prefers a vacation off the beaten path as opposed to the more touristy options.

Vacations can get bogged down by all the details, the prep work, and of coarse coming home and adjusting back into the day to day life. This is my least favorite part of going on vacation, although I must admit, I do enjoy packing a suitcase... I'm not sure why, but I think it's because there's something exciting about figuring out what to bring on a vacation... what you'll be wearing when you make all those fun memories... Yes some of you are probably thinking, "wow, she's definitely a girl," but I guess the reason I love packing a suitcase is because it's almost like a puzzle... How to bring the least amount of items that will meet all of my vacation needs.

Vacation after vacation and trip after trip... throw a husband into the mix and a year later a child, I now have streamlined the prep work and packing experience to the EXTREME!  Below are my Top 5 travel tips that will minimize the prep work so I can focus on the fun of going on vacation.

1. LESS IS MORE

The biggest mistake anyone can make on a vacation is bringing too much stuff. I know most would probably think the answer would be the opposite... "the worst mistake would be not bringing enough," but hear me out for a minute. When you bring along too much stuff on a vacation, there's more to keep track of, more unnecessary choices, if flying then more to check in and/ or carry on the plane, less space in the car for comfortable riding, more opportunity to lose items, less room in your suitcase for souvenirs,  and the list goes on. Most of the trips I've gone on where I've packed too much stuff I end up not using half of the items and it becomes an unnecessary in my vacation experience. 

Here's a rule of thumb to encourage the "less is more" mentality when packing...

-Lay all the clothing you plan on packing out on your bed. 

-Now take 1/3 of the clothes and put it back in your closet and dresser drawers

-Also simplify your toiletry items... traveling with someone? Take one soap, one shampoo and one conditioner. If you're staying at a family or a friend's house, more than likely they will have those items so why bring them along? 

Worse case scenario you'll have to buy or borrow something... this has only happened to me a few times, but not enough to pack the entire closet plus the kitchen sink!

2. SIMPLIFY YOUR FOOTWARE

This may be an issue more for the ladies, but shoes can take up way too much room in the suitcase. Yes, for some, it can be tempting to bring every type of sandal, shoe, boot you own, but it's not worth it and no one is going to remember you by your shoes. My advice is keep practical in mind. What shoes you bring will greatly depend on the type of vacation you're going on as well as the kinds of activities you will be doing, not to mention the weather. When I travel I limit myself to two pairs... Yes TWO! The pair I'm wearing and one pair in my suitcase. I also try to pack versatile shoes for example, a simple black pair of flip-flops can be used on the beach or with a casual outfit, yet if I want to dress up for an evening on the town, I can wear them with a cute dress and they'll look just fine. 

3. PACK VERSATILE ITEMS

The space in your suitcase should be viewed as prime real estate... beach front property. The items you place in that suitcase should not only have a specific purpose, but should be multi functional. My favorite items to bring along are items that accomplish more than one task. For example, unless you're needing to do some work while on vacation, bring one piece of technology. For me this is my phone... pretty much everything I can do on a tablet I can do on my phone, and if I'm going on vacation I'm usually not interested in working so why bring the laptop. I'm a firm believer in using very little technology while on vacation anyways because we need a break from that too.

 When you're choosing outfits to bring pack items that mix and match with other items in your suitcase. For example, pack a shirt that goes with multiple bottoms. pack one jacket/cardigan that matches all outfits... that way you only need to bring one. 

4. PACK AN ACTIVITY BAG

If there are little ones in the family, a packback/activity bag is a must. Whenever my daughter and I go anywhere I make sure she always has her backpack. Inside I keep an extra outfit, baby wipes, a snack, a few quiet activities such as coloring and books, and her water bottle is always in the side pocket. We really like these ones and you can find her backpack here. Having a backpack filled with essentials is a huge help for moms and kiddos whether you're road tripping, flying, or just running errands around town. 

When going on a trip, especially a long road trip or flight, I will pack an activities bag too. What activities are put in the bag will depend on what your family's interests are and so on, but usually I include something for the whole family. For our daughter her activities include crafts, games, music, and fun snacks she doesn't usually get at home. I will also include a movie on the tablet if we bring it, but I only pull the movie out as a last resort and most of the time I don't have to use it. I think kids need to learn to entertain themselves and movies often hinder them from doing so. For myself I will include a book, magazine, notebook, and pen and for my husband, he enjoys using the tablet if we bring it along and Sudoku puzzles. 

Have fun putting together the activities bag! surprise your family members with something special and unexpected! Again how much and what you put into the bag will greatly depend on what kind of trip you're taking and what your family enjoys. 

5. WHEN POSSIBLE PACK/BUY YOUR OWN FOOD

Packing your own food saves huge amounts of money while on vacation. No matter what kind of vacation I go on I find a way to make this happen. Now please don't mistake me, one of my favorite parts of going on a trip is experiencing the food, especially if I'm visiting a different country where the culture and the cuisine are different. One of the biggest expenses on a vacation is food and I find anywhere I can cut costs I jump on it. For example if we are flying, I pack all of our snacks and food for our flying trip. I've even packed a whole lunch! As long as there are no liquids... food can make it through TSA. If we are taking a road trip I do the same thing. The last road trip we took I packed a lunch and we stopped at a coffee shop, bought our drinks, and then ate our lunch at the cafe. If I'm staying at a hotel I try to get a room with a mini fridge... that way I can stop at a grocery store if need be and keep things for lunches, snacks, and if the hotel doesn't provide breakfast, then breakfast too.
For our honeymoon we drove to New York City, spent a few days there, and then caught a cruise to the Caribbean. For the first part of the trip in the Big Apple I packed a cooler that we kept in the hotel room since there was no mini fridge. We kept things cold by getting ice from the ice machine. The hotel also didn't have a free breakfast included so I packed things for breakfast, lunches, and snacks. For anyone reading this whose been to NYC knows the city is expensive, especially when it comes to food. When we would head into the city for the day I used a small messenger bag as a purse and I would pack two sandwiches and two protein bars with a bottle of water. When we were in the city we only had to buy one meal and usually in the afternoon we'd stop at a cafe for coffees and a snack. Once we got on the cruise meals were included so there was no worries there.

Packing food does take some practice, but once you see how much is saves, you'll be glad you joined the club!

LET'S TAKE ON THE ADVENTURE!

Wherever your travels take you I hope these tips will make your vacation experience less stressful so you can focus on the fun. Make those great memories without being bogged down by details and unnecessary things.

DO YOU HAVE ANY HELPFUL VACATION TIPS? SHARE BELOW!

Happy traveling...Keep it fun...Keep it safe...Make those memories.