Name: [2024] SMART PACKING FOR 3 WEEKS TRIP: What and how to pack
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[2024] SMART PACKING FOR 3 WEEKS TRIP: What and how to pack

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I’ve been travelling since 2013, every now and then, I still make a terrible decision in packing, mainly for a few reasons. Like when I don’t write my itinerary, or activities I want to do, when I don’t look up the weather during my visit, and often the culprit is – I’m simply one of those travellers with a “just in case” mindset.
After all these years of travelling and living on the road with my 40L backpack, you can imagine how easy it is to pack everything. I arrive and leave a place with the same things in my bag unless I throw away broken stuff or old clothes and buy a new one. Packing for 3 weeks was never a problem.
However, after a while, I decided to stay in one place for over 3 months, and unpack my backpacks (I have two; the main backpack and a small laptop bag/day pack). Eventually, I started to have more clothes than a pair of shoes and other small things in between – packing for a trip changed.
I must start choosing which clothes to bring, which shoes to pack, and how much underwear to load in the backpack – do I need a jumper? Long trousers? 
RELATED ARTICLE: Where to go travelling for 3 weeks
Eventually, I managed to figure out how to do smart packing for 3 weeks trip because I hate buying things while travelling, especially things that I already have at home. But what I hate most is when I get a blister on my finger every time I try to zip up my backpack and fit everything inside!
First, I will talk about things to remember. Later in the article, I will have a list of things to pack. So, use the table of contents and skip or jump to the topic if necessary.
Here is what I do when packing for an upcoming trip, regardless of whether it’s three weeks, three months, or a weekend getaway; this system works, and I hope it works for you too!
In general, I pack a 10-day worth of clothes for a 20-day trip. This means, I only have to do laundry at least once or twice. I pack a 2-week worth of underwear and socks though, since depending on the season, I know I can re-wear t-shirts and bottoms. 
But if you know that you have access to laundry easily and you don’t want to pack too much, a week’s worth of clothes works too.
Let’s create a simple packing list for your trip. Nothing too fancy and detailed; this will help you give an overview of what to bring, and then you can adjust this later.
For example, write the usual:
One thing to remember, though, make sure to have separate categories. The main types are clothing, toiletries, footwear, electronics, and documents. If you have a young child, you will have categories for baby stuff, baby food, etc.
On the other hand, if you are doing lots of hiking, make a separate category for hiking tools/clothing.
Okay, that’s a confusing heading, right? The thing is, there are travellers out there who like to write an itinerary and have everything planned with as many details as possible, while there are people who love to wing it – I’m both!
This tip works both. Writing your travel itinerary in detail or a simple one helps make a great list of what to pack for 3 weeks trip. If you already have, that’s great. If not, do a quick list following below:
In your itinerary, check out which activities you want to do. Are you planning to hike, go to the beach, have a safari, have a fancy dine-in experience, ski, snorkelling, party, attend a business meeting on the side, etc? These activities will already give you an idea of what to pack.
Here is a sample: If you plan to go hiking 40% of the time of your trip, packing a pair of hiking shoes vs bulky noise-cancelling headphones is a no-brainer. 
If you know that you will visit churches, temples, and other sacred places, a long-sleeved shirt and long trousers are a must.
Of course, knowing the weather and temperature of the destination you’re going to will help a lot. This step massively affects the number of things you’ll have to pack.
For example, if you are going to a place where the weather is warm but not warm enough, you need a jumper or a light jacket. You don’t want to make the mistake of not bringing one or a bulky one – we all know that jackets are notorious space eaters.
If you didn’t bring one, you honestly don’t want to buy a puffy jacket just because you forgot to pack one. Now, you’re down $40 from your travel budget for something you don’t need for more than 3 weeks.
If you travel during winter, look at our packing list for a 3-week winter vacation. We also have a packing list for a summer holiday and of course, an autumn packing list.
One more thing to consider when packing is your travel companion, especially if your travel partner is a dependent, young child, your retired parents, or your friend or family member who is a PWD.
Teenagers can pack on their own, but someone will forget something. On the other hand, making an essential list of them can also help their packing. Packing with toddlers, well, that means you are packing for them too.
However, let’s say you are travelling with your partner or parents. In that case, you don’t need to pack sunscreen or toothpaste, especially if you are sharing a room. These are little things, but if you can narrow down the things you can share together, you both will save lots of space.
I’m guilty of this. I went for a 5-day beach getaway and packed 2 sets of swimsuits while I only used one. While I packed 4 tops and only used 2 since I can re-use my top when going to the beach.
You probably don’t need two sets of the same type of shoes, no need for 2 pairs of flip flops, no need 3 sets of swimsuits, 2 types of jumpers, or 4 summer dresses – especially if you want just to have one cabin luggage or 40-45L luggage and avoid extra charges.
This is probably the hardest thing to kick off in most people’s mindsets. We want to be ready, we want our holiday to be if not perfect, minimal hassle as much as possible. This brings us to the idea of packing things we actually don’t need.
Honestly, the only time I successfully managed this was when hiking the Everest Base Camp. We were allowed to bring limited weight. Plus, the fact that every little thing adds up in weight especially when you’re against gravity.
5 kg in sea level is massively different when you’re 5,000 m up the elevation. If you’re doing the EBC trek, check this packing list for EBC hike.
When I get to this crossroad, I make a pile of just-in-case clothes or stuff. For example, you know you need to bring 7 pairs of underwear or 2 dresses,  the 8th or 9th underwear or 3rd dress goes on the just-in-case pile.
After you pack your “must bring” check how much space you have. If you have just enough room for souvenirs you know you want to buy, forget your “just in case pile”.
If it takes you more than a minute to zip up, you must cut down more. If you have a lot of space, go ahead and choose a few from your “just in case pile”.
The best way to do this is to see how easy it is for you to zip up. If you find yourself sitting on top of your luggage or backpack or need an extra hand to close the zipper or simply takes more than a minute – you’re packing too much.
One more thing, which is my favourite, is if you can’t carry, tow, or lift your luggage or backpack on a flight of stairs, it’s a big red flag – you are overpacking.
This is almost common knowledge; rolling your clothes when packing saves space in your luggage. Rolled clothes make up every space in the corners, which are often overlooked.
Another thing to remember is don’t try to roll your pullover or jumpers. Instead, wear this on the plane or tie it up on your bag to save space. 
Another trick is buying air-sucking bags such as vacuum-sealed bags or compression packing cubes. Pack your clothes inside and squeeze the air out. If you have a vacuum machine, these bags have a small round thing where the air can be sucked out.
This is my general packing list for a 3-week trip. From here, you can modify your own list depending on the type of trip you’re doing. Going skiing, advanced diving, hiking, or camping will be different. But this would be a good starting point.
This will surely save you space. If you are going to a cheaper place, don’t pack. However, if you are heading to expensive destinations like Scandinavia or a place where there’s no shop (like Antarctica), perhaps it’s better to bring your own:
When you land, head to the convenience store. You will have to anyway, especially if you need to buy a big bottle of water for drinking. Make sure you have a list ready (on your phone) of basic necessities to buy from the shop.
While the items in my luggage change depending on the length of the trip or season, what you will see below is what I usually pack in general:
I’m not great at makeup, so I only have basic items. All are travel-sized and are all in a travel pouch:
I personally use these products that have been great for all seasons:
Well, as you can see, I’m not a man. So, I asked my friend Ryan (part of this blog) to help me write what men typically pack for their 3-week trip:
Here are others things that all genders will need. Plus, if you are taking medication, make sure to pack them and bring the prescription from your doctor to avoid getting stopped at the airport:
This is what I usually pack, but remember, I work online. So, I often bring my laptop since I run my own business. Unless I’m taking a full break, I will leave it behind.
Get yourself a copy of this printable packing checklist for free. It includes two files, one with sample lists and another with a clean and empty list. Please check your spam or promotions tab in case of the email lands there.
This might no longer applicable in many situations, but if you want to be extra careful, you might still find this section helpful.
Packing for 3 weeks worth of vacation is challenging enough, but also adding your list of masks, and test kits, and making sure you have the correct document is additional stress.
If you are heading for a trip soon, here are some packing tips during COVID:
I’ve had my fair share of trying out different backpacks and even suitcases in the past years. Here are the suitcases and backpacks I recommend for your 3-week trip:
Packing cubes is a game-changer for me, who likes to pack properly so I can maximise the space of my luggage. I also hate using plastic bags as laundry bags. It does bother me to use a cloth bag for laundry, too, because the idea of stinky, dirty clothes touching the clean ones doesn’t feel right.
Hence, I like using laundry bags with plastic lining or dry bags that work well as laundry bags, and you can also use them on the beach.
One thing you should remember when choosing packing cubes is if you travel full-time, it’s money well spent to spend a bit more. I had cheap ones during my full-time backpacking, which only lasted less than a year. I upgraded and splurged a bit, it’s been 3 years, and it’s still in perfect condition.
I love using toiletry bags. It’s easy to pack and easy to unpack when you get to the hotel. Zip it down, hand it on the bathroom bar, and voila! You have complete toiletries items ready to use:
From booking flights, tours, and accommodations to ensuring I have a rented car, these are the sites and tools I always go to arrange any travel necessities:
Honestly, packing is not easy, and I understand people who have difficulty picking out which to bring on a holiday. Especially if this holiday only happens once a year, you want to make this trip less hassle, take lovely photos, wear your best clothes, and simply enjoy your trip.
I hope my tips on how to do smart packing for 3 weeks trip gave you some valuable tricks. If you have more excellent tips for packing correctly, let me know in the comment section below.

I’ve been travelling since 2013, every now and then, I still make a terrible decision in packing, mainly for a few reasons. Like when I don’t write my itinerary, or activities I want to do, when I don’t look up the weather during my visit, and often the culprit is – I’m simply one of those travellers with a “just in case” mindset.
After all these years of travelling and living on the road with my 40L backpack, you can imagine how easy it is to pack everything. I arrive and leave a place with the same things in my bag unless I throw away broken stuff or old clothes and buy a new one. Packing...

[2024] SMART PACKING FOR 3 WEEKS TRIP: What and how to pack

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