RTW Packing List for Women: 35L Backpack

Since about 2013, Jonathan and I have nearly always preferred using backpacks when we travel, as opposed to checking luggage or even dragging a rolling carry-on. We love backpacks because they never get taken from us when boarding a plane, even if the overhead bins are “full.” (Yes, I mean that sarcastically, American Airlines. Hrumph.) It’s much easier to navigate crowds and public transportation with a backpack than something with wheels. And when we have to check out of our lodging long before our flight, or we have a long layover, we don’t have to worry about stowing our luggage somewhere while we explore.

That being said, we knew we wanted to take backpacks on this trip. We also decided to follow summer (or at least warmer weather) around the world to cut down on the gear we would need to pack. A few years ago, Jonathan bought a 45L Tortuga Outbreaker backpack and loved it. After trying his out a few times, I got the 35L Outbreaker. We’ve been able to use these backpacks on several short trips already, so we know we like them.

We debated sharing our packing lists so early in the trip (we just flew to Mexico City last night!), but we’ve been getting a lot of questions about what we packed. So, please read this with a grain of salt, knowing we may have missed things or packed unnecessary items, but we’ll be sure to re-visit this topic once we have a few months (and countries) under our belt to re-evaluate our initial list and provide more knowledgeable packing advice.

Update: Check out our favorite items we packed for our RTW trip.

This post is pretty detailed, so if you don’t want to read the whole thing, I distilled the information into a handy packing list at the bottom of this post. Now, on to the exciting part (for packing nerds): here’s what I packed for a year around the world (following mostly warm weather)….

Clothing

We read you should try to dress as closely to what you wear at home while traveling. If you don’t wear it in your everyday life, you probably won’t feel comfortable wearing it on the road. So, instead of buying special “travel clothes,” we tried to buy clothes that matched our personal style but happened to be quick-dry and/or antimicrobial (a.k.a. lots of synthetic fabrics or merino wool if you can afford it).

Luckily, I wear dresses all the time at home, so I mostly plan on switching between these two amazingly comfortable dresses on the road: this black tank dress from Columbia and a green cap-sleeve dress from Arc’teryx (no longer available, similar style here). Also, while finding these product links, I’m noticing we definitely got good deals on our clothes, mostly because we had been planning this trip for so long and could keep an eye out for coupons, sales or outlet stores. That being said, though I didn’t pay $120 for my Arc’teryx dress, on a trip like this, I’ll probably wear it multiple times a week. So it is worth it to look at the value of the items and not just the cost when buying gear for extended travel.

Aside from the dresses, I pretty much have one of everything else for basic clothes: one pair of shorts [update: these didn’t stay in my luggage past Latin America; I don’t really wear shorts at home, so I should have known!], one pair of pants (no longer available, similar here), one tank top, one short-sleeved shirt and one long-sleeved shirt. You’ll notice my wardrobe is very black, but I made sure to include a few colorful pieces because I usually wear a lot of color.

I also wanted to pack a black maxi dress, which I thought would come in handy for “nicer” events and for more coverage when visiting religious sites or conservative communities, but I couldn’t find one I loved, so I’m keeping an eye out to buy one on the road. I also didn’t pack a scarf because I have a bit of problem with buying scarves, so I know I’ll pick one up. But I always advocate traveling with a scarf!

For more activity-specific clothing, I have a swimsuit and a small cover-up. I also have one pair of running shorts and one pair of running leggings, and I’m hoping I can use my black tank top as a workout top when needed. I also have a vest for warmth, and a rain jacket. (Note: Jonathan and I are returning to the U.S. for some family obligations in late May, so this first leg of the trip we are only visiting Central & South America. I plan to switch out my vest for a fleece jacket and ditch the swimsuit cover-up for the rest of the year. Update: I ditched the cover-up but kept the vest and didn’t add a fleece jacket.)

Intimates, etc.

For camping trips in the past, Jonathan and I have loved ExOfficio travel underwear. They are so easy to wash out by hand and dry quickly for the next day. (And if this sounds gross to you, I don’t think a RTW trip is in your future! At least not the way we’re doing it haha.) So for this trip, I packed five pairs of ExOfficio underwear.

I also packed two Knix V-neck bras (I swear by these! most comfortable bras I’ve ever owned, plus the customer service is fabulous)—one in black and one in beige—and one sports bra. My Knix bras can technically double as sports bras, but I had room so I packed a separate one to ensure I would be comfortable.

Finally, I packed one nightgown, two delicates bags for laundry, and four pairs of Smartwool socks. (Note: I also plan on adding a robe when we go back to the U.S. in May, but I figured I didn’t need it for this leg because I knew we were staying in all private accommodations – no hostels.)

Packing Cubes

A note on packing cubes: I love them for suitcases or backpacks like ours that basically function as a suitcase (i.e. full-zip open and rectangular in shape). However, if you have a very small backpack or a hiking-style backpack, they might not work as well for you. In my hiking backpack, for example, I find it’s more space-efficient to not use a packing cube because the shape of the full packing cube doesn’t align with the bag and leaves unused corners. But for this backpack, I am able to fit way more clothes after I’ve compressed them in a packing cube. You can also use vacuum-sealed bags to compress your clothing, but be careful about weight because it’s easy to pack way too much in one of those!

Shoes & Accessories

Deciding which shoes to pack was one of the hardest parts of creating this list! They had to be comfortable for walking miles each day, and they needed to match everything. I decided on my Allbirds and a pair of Teva sandals. Let’s see how this goes! 😉 (Update: It went great! I was really happy with my shoe choices. If I’d packed a third pair, I would have chosen a light pair of hiking shoes or trail runners, but we decided to save the bigger hikes we wanted to do for future trips. This limitation also helped narrow down where we visited on the RTW trip because it’s so hard to pick! For example, we decided to explore South America another time because we know we’ll want to do a ton of hiking there and will pack different gear. If there’s an outdoor adventure you really want to do, check if renting gear is an option. Or do it in your hiking sandals … which we did once or twice though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it based on the hike.)

For accessories, I have a few headbands (including one very wide one if I haven’t washed my hair in a while … hehe), a few small pieces of jewelry (mostly hair clips and necklaces), and one pair of sunglasses.

Toiletries

I have one (TSA-approved) bag of liquid toiletries and one small pouch for non-liquid items. Ladies, be sure to think about what you want to do for birth control and menstrual care on the road. There are lots of options available; I would recommend trying out the method(s) you want to use at least six months to a year before you leave, in case you don’t like it/them or need to make adjustments.

In addition to whatever typical toiletries you will need, we packed a small bottle of camp soap and a sink stopper for washing our clothes on the go. We also packed some basic medicine (pain relievers, seasickness patches, antibiotic pills), which Jonathan has in his backpack.

Technology, Entertainment & Other

For entertainment, I have my Kindle (fully stocked with more than enough books to get me through a whole year thanks to Overdrive!), a crossword puzzle book, a small journal and some pens. For blogging (and Netflix), we also have a Lenovo 2-in-1 laptop/tablet, which we picked for its light weight and slim profile. (And, to be honest, because it was an open-box deal at Best Buy. Whoop!) I also upgraded to an iPhone 8 before this trip (with 256GB! yeehaw!).

Other assorted items include a Go-Pro chest harness (Jonathan has the actual camera and other accessories in his bag), a door stopper (for added safety in shared living arrangements), a waterproof pouch for travel documents, a cross-body purse for day use, a combination lock (smaller is better, because sometimes full-size combination locks don’t fit on hostel lockers), snacks (granola bars not pictured), a quick-dry towel, a reusable spork, a small head lamp, and a small roll of toilet paper. I also have some personal business cards with my email and social media information to share with other travelers or people we meet along the way. (I’ve had these since grad school, so I might as well use them!)

The final item I packed was a reusable water bottle. One of my favorite things about the Tortuga Outbreaker travel backpack is no matter how stuffed the bag is, I’ve always been able to fit my Klean Kanteen in the side pocket. (I’ve found with many other backpacks, the water bottle won’t actually fit in the side pocket if the backpack is too full.)

After all this, my backpack weighed 22 pounds, which (I hope) is totally doable considering the Outbreaker has a comfortable hip belt. Plus, we will be traveling more slowly on this trip, so we’ll only need to load up and carry our full backpacks every few weeks, instead of hopping around to different places every few days. (Note: You’ll notice I’m wearing some of my clothes in this photo. However, I checked to make sure these clothes would also fit in my backpack, in case we buy more along the way or I want to wear a lighter outfit on travel days. I also packed my purse into my backpack to test it for budget airlines, most of which only allow one carry-on item total, but I’ll carry my purse separately when possible.)

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! If you’re reading this because you’re planning your own trip, I hope this information was useful. And if you need some RTW packing tips for men, check out Jonathan’s packing list for his 45L backpack.

View/download Megan’s RTW packing list for women:

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