What to take travelling

List for packing

So now what should you put in your backpack before you travel? Clearly how much you take in your backpack will depend on the length of the trip, the size of your backpack and you! If your going away just to get away from the world for a while then I don't recommend taking your mobile phone and laptop. Similarly if your planning to stay in five star resorts then you probably don't need a padlock or a bike chain to lock up your stuff in the hostel or on the train but if you off on a long adventure then you probably will. Here's an overview of what we think about putting in our backpack - for more information, click on the links to find out more...

Do you take something thats not on our list? Let us know using our comments form below.

The main thing to remember when packing for your travel adventure is that you don't need everything bar the kitchen sink! In fact in most cases and with a little bit of thought you can actually get away with carrying a lot less than you think. And remember the less you take, the less you have to lug around from plane to bus to train to plane, and if you can get away with carry on luggage then you have the benefit of saving money by not paying for checked bags if your flying with a low cost airline like easyjet or ryanair.

Here at the travel room, we try to take one small backpack each of no more than 5 or 6kgs for small trips, and this should probably do you for up to 4 or 5 days. If your off for a longer travel adventure than a bigger backpack is required and these come in all shapes and sizes - the amount you can take will depend on how many litres your backpack is, but remember 12kgs is easy to carry; 20kgs makes life difficult. From experience 12-15kgs is about perfect (Ted usually manages to have his lighter than 12kgs but I can't seem to get mine smaller than 15kgs!)

See The Travel Room recommendations for backpacks here.