How Much Clothing Do You Need for a Vacation?

The Answer Is Usually Related to How Much Luggage You’re Willing to Bring

As you pack for your next vacation, you’ll need to decide on the size of luggage you’ll bring and what you’ll pack. Sometimes, these decisions won’t take long at all to answer. If you’re just going to visit your family for a few days, you might just pack a duffel bag and be done with it. On the other hand, an international trip to a destination with crazy weather might require some extra thought.

If you’re headed from a place where it’s cold right now to a place where it’s warm, do you forgo absolutely all your cold weather clothing and just freeze on the way to the airport? Or is it a better idea to bring a jacket for the time you’ll spend traveling and then just stuff the jacket in your luggage when you arrive at your warm and humid destination?

Let’s talk about some of the decisions that can make you pack a little too much and how you can avoid running out of clothing while you’re traveling internationally. There is no single answer as to how much clothing you need when you’re traveling, but there are some guidelines you can use to figure things out. Not every trip will require the same amount of clothing, so you can’t always pack exactly the same for every vacation.

And don’t assume you can just count the number of days and bring an appropriate number of outfits. There are a few extra considerations that can help you pack a little less, which can help when you’re nervous about hitting the weight or size limit for the luggage on one of your flights. These considerations can also ensure you don’t get two-thirds through your trip and realize you definitely didn’t pack enough clothing.

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Decide Whether You Can Wear Clothing More Than Once

Some people never wear clothing more than once. If you’re someone who always changes clothes every single day and you never wear anything more than once, this part of the clothing calculation is easy for you. You should always have, at a minimum, as many pieces of clothing as there are days in your trip. If you’re traveling for eight days, you need eight outfits.

Don’t forget to count your departure day and your return day, too. If you have six days of activities but you spend the first day traveling to your destination and the final day traveling back home, you only need to pack five outfits. You’ll wear an outfit your first day and then need five more outfits for the rest of your travel days.

On the other hand, if you’re someone who can wear clothing more than once, you’ll want to consider this facet of your lifestyle when you travel. It’s not uncommon to wear jeans more than once, and some clothing experts even recommend you wear them more than once between washes because they’re not meant to get tossed into the washing machine every two minutes.

However, always consider the weather when you’re traveling. Just because you find it easy to wear certain pieces of clothing more than once doesn’t mean the weather will cooperate. If you’re traveling to a place with scorching heat and high humidity, you might need new clothing every day, or you might need to arrange to have access to a laundry machine at some point in your travels.

Is Checking Luggage More Expensive Than Doing Laundry?

One trade-off you might encounter as you figure out how much clothing to pack is whether it might cost you more to check a piece of luggage rather than take a smaller carry-on for free and do laundry at some point during your travels. I don’t think the answer is completely black and white as far as cost is concerned. You may also need to think about how your laundry will be cleaned and the time it will take.

For example, when I traveled to Vietnam, I only took a carry-on size suitcase, but it was hot and humid every day, which meant I couldn’t wear any of my clothes more than once. By the time we got to Hanoi, I was running dangerously low on clothing (other than undergarments because I always overpack when it comes to undergarments).

I was able to have our dirty clothes laundered by our hotel – they just sent them out to a local place – and the cost was less than $20 for a big pile of clothing. I think it was closer to $12 actually. Now, if you have to pay to check your luggage, you’re looking at a cost of anywhere from $40 to $60 per flight, so the $12 is definitely less expensive, at least when it comes to doing laundry in Vietnam.

However, Vietnam is a less expensive country than other places, so it might cost you more to launder things in more expensive locales. Plus, your itinerary might make it difficult to get laundry done if you’re on a road trip and you’re not staying in a single place for any more than a single night. As far as costs go, getting your laundry done is usually cheaper, but it’s not always more convenient, so that’s the trade-off.

You’re Probably Packing Too Much Clothing

There’s a good chance you’re packing too much clothing the first time you pack your suitcase, especially if you’ve never flown internationally before. You’re probably packing at least one outfit for every day and then adding a few extras just in case the weather isn’t what you think it’ll be. Realistically, it’s best to pack clothing the same way you wear clothing in your day-to-day life.

Do you change outfits multiple times a day? Do you find that you need to have extra pairs of anything, just in case? The only time you should consider packing extra clothing is if you’re planning on undertaking activities throughout the day where you’ll absolutely need different clothing. For example, you’re going out to the beach in the morning for a snorkeling tour and plan on a nice dinner in the evening. You’ll need to change most likely.

These are usually the steps I take to pack, and I normally return with just a few articles of clothing that I haven’t yet worn (unless I randomly hit up a laundromat in the middle of the trip that I wasn’t planning on visiting):

Pack a few days in advance.

Don’t leave your packing until the night before you leave. You’ll always want to spend at least a few days mulling over your packing decisions. Three days seems to be the sweet spot as far as packing and not feeling rushed like you’re going to forget everything.

Consider the Length of Trip When Choosing Your Suitcase

If you’re worried about packing too much or too little, you can let the length of your trip guide the size of your suitcase. Obviously, this advice won’t fly if you’re trying to do the minimalism thing, but if you’re just looking to pack a normal amount of clothing, I use the following scale as it pertains to luggage size and trip length when packing.

Carry-On Suitcases:

Good for weekend trips and anything up to a week of travel. You can probably squeeze up to eight days of travel in a carry-on size suitcase if you’re really judicious about your packing and only pack just enough for your trip.

Medium-Size Suitcases:

Appropriate when you’re traveling a minimum of eight days but no more than about two weeks. Sometimes you can squeeze up to 17 days out of a medium-size suitcase as long as you’re not packing too many extra sets of clothing for activities.

Large Suitcases:

You’ll want to lug these beefy suitcases around whenever you’re traveling for at least two weeks, and you’re going somewhere that you’ll need a lot of clothing, like a cold place that requires layers.

Determining the Number of Outfits You Actually Need

Count the number of days you’ll be traveling.

If you’re traveling for seven days, make sure you have seven outfits but don’t pack seven outfits. Remember, you’ll actually wear the first day of clothing, so you won’t need to pack it.

Add in activities that require special clothing.

Figure out if you need any super nice outfits for events like the opera or some workout clothing for activities like endurance hikes or bicycle rides through town.

Pack enough undergarments plus one.

I always pack an extra set of undergarments. You never know when you’ll get caught somewhere in a rainstorm, or the weather will require a change of clothing. Dry undergarments are always nice, and an extra set doesn’t really take up any room in your luggage.

Don’t overpack bathing suits or coats.

Don’t pack a separate swim suit for every day even if you’re going to spend every day at the beach, and try to stick to one coat if you’re going somewhere cold. If you must pack more than one coat, make sure it’s a layering kind.

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