What Not to Pack on an International Vacation

What things aren’t worth packing on an international vacation?

We all know that items like a passport, medication, a hat, and some good walking shoes are important items for international vacations, but sometimes you can go overboard packing.

Do you really need an extra pair of walking shoes? How many pairs of undergarments do you really need for a week in the mountains? Sure, there are lots of “must haves” when it comes to packing for an international vacation.

But if you’re tossing all your gear in the trunk of your car and taking off for a road trip across your home country, by all means, “when in doubt, pack it.”

However, if you’re getting on an international flight and traveling tens of thousands of miles to your destination, you might want to examine your suitcase for extra things you probably won’t need.

Let’s take a look at some of the things you might pack and never need while traveling on the other side of the planet.

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Don’t Pack All Your Shoes for an International Vacation

One item I believe you should pack sparingly is an extra pair of shoes (or two). While you’re always advised to have shoes that are appropriate for the conditions in which you’re traveling, having an extra pair of shoes is usually just a waste of space and weight in your luggage.

I’ve made the mistake multiple times on my vacations, both domestic and international. When I flew to Hawaii in 2004 to run the Honolulu Marathon, I packed WAY too many shoes. I had multiple pairs of chonklas, more than one pair of running shoes, and general walking around shoes.

That vacation was actually the only one where I’ve gone over the weight limit with my checked luggage (well, technically, it was my traveling partner who was over the weight limit, but we had to figure out the weights between us, so neither of us would get charged).

I learned that I packed at least twice as many shoes as I needed for a week on Oahu. Sure, the marathon shoes were a must, but did I need an extra pair plus some walking shoes?

Nope, all I needed was one pair of chonklas, my marathon shoes, and one pair of walking shoes. Technically, I probably could have even left the walking shoes at home and just worn the marathon shoes as my primary pair.

The second time I packed too many shoes was when I went to Iceland. Now, it’s not like I packed a half-dozen pairs, but I did pack a pair of hiking shoes for our hikes, as well as some regular sneakers for any time we weren’t on a trail.

Well, I should have just packed the one pair of hiking shoes, because it’s all I wore other than when I wore the sneakers on the plane (and I was barefoot most of the flights anyway!).

Given the activities I planned for our road trip, I really didn’t need that extra pair of sneakers. The hiking shoes worked wonderfully around all the wet waterfalls, but they would have served me just fine on the flight, too.

Is Buying Travel-Size Toiletries a Good Idea?

Now that you’re thinking twice about packing too many pairs of shoes, let’s talk toiletries. One of the most annoying things about traveling with liquids like shampoo and conditioner is that you end up having to tape all those bottles up, so they don’t leak on the flight or during travel.

I solve this problem personally by using solid shampoo and conditioner, but depending on your trip, you might not need to bring any shampoo or conditioner at all.

After you craft your international vacation itinerary and get all your hotels, motels, and such booked, check out the amenities of each place. Do all of your destinations offer free toiletries? If so, you don’t need to bother packing your own.

Plus, those travel-size toiletries are often really expensive! A teeny tiny bottle of travel shampoo will cost half what a gallon-size jug of the same shampoo costs. Don’t pay more than you need to for travel-size toiletries, just because you want the small bottles.

Instead, if you’re really intent on using a particular soap or shampoo or whatever, buy some empty plastic travel bottles and fill them up with the shampoo you already own. It’ll be way cheaper, and you’ll get to use those bottles multiple times, each time you take a new trip.

Travel-size toiletries are useful in many cases, but they often end up costing more than you need to spend. You need to weigh the convenience of them against their cost. You may decide, why spend money on a travel size shampoo when you can devote that money to a cool restaurant at your destination instead?

Remember: Luggage Allowance Sometimes Comes With Your Ticket

Paying for a luggage allowance on your flights can cost a pretty penny, and thoughtful packing can help you avoid having to pay extra each time you board a plane during your travels.

However, you might be surprised to learn that some international flights automatically come with one – or even two – checked luggage allowances. Often provided on flights that cross an ocean, these luggage allowances are yours to take whether you want them or not.

However, getting a luggage allowance on your transpacific or transatlantic flight doesn’t automatically mean you should throw caution to the wind and pack as much as you can up to the weight limit.

One of the deciding factors of whether to use that allowance is if you’re traveling on additional domestic flights during your vacation. Let me explain. When we flew to Colombia, we were given one checked luggage allowance, but those flights at the beginning and end of our vacation weren’t the only ones we would take.

We also flew from Bogotá to Medellín, Medellín to Cartagena, and Cartagena to Bogotá before returning to the United States. Since we decided to use our luggage allowance on our main flights in and out of the country, that meant I needed to make sure all of our domestic flights had that luggage allowance, too.

Fortunately, checking our luggage for each flight ended up costing less than $20 for each bag, so I figured it was worth it. However, if I’d encountered much higher prices for checking our luggage during those domestic flights, I may have decided to use smaller luggage capable of being used as a carry-on luggage instead.

Overall, it really comes down to a few factors for checking luggage or carrying it on the plane. How much will it cost, and is the convenience worth the price? Also, don’t forget that big luggage pieces might prove a little difficult to transport if you’re taking a taxi to your hotel and the taxi is particularly small (some of them are and barely fit two people and two pieces of luggage!.

If you’re only taking one flight in and out of the country, you might not need to worry about the size of your luggage, which means packing is a breeze as long as you don’t mind rolling a big piece of luggage in and out of the airport.

Your Luggage Might Not Weigh As Much As You Think

There are firm weight limits for checked luggage, and some airlines even have weight limits for carry-on luggage, which means it’s always vital to weigh your luggage before you leave.

Making sure you don’t pack too many pairs of shoes is an easy way to cut down on weight (multiple pairs of shoes can really add up on the scale), but the construction of your luggage can also impact the weight. A hard-size piece can actually weigh much more than a soft-size piece. Just something to think about when you’re close to the weight limit.

However, don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re up to or close to the weight limit, especially if you’re checking your bags or you’re flying an upgraded class like premium economy or better, which often includes a healthy sized luggage allowance. You might be surprised how much heavier a bag feels than it really is.

I use a little device that weighs your luggage (you just suspend your piece of luggage from it to get the weight), and I’m continuously surprised at how much more I think my luggage weighs than it actually does. Even when I know the weight of my luggage, I always think it’ll somehow gain weight on the car ride over to the airport.

In most cases, the weight limit for checking your bags is 50 pounds, which is actually a lot of weight in a suitcase or piece of luggage. Each time I weigh my luggage, I’m always certain it’s gonna weigh like 45 pounds, but it’s usually barely 25 pounds. The only time I came close to the weight limit was the Honolulu Shoe Debacle, and I haven’t made that mistake since!

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