Travelers pulling roller bags through a sunlit airport terminal with a wall of glass

Kinds of trips to try

Five ways to spend the same days off

City breaksTwo to four days in one city with a single place to sleep. The easiest trip to plan and the usual first one, since everything you want is a walk or a subway ride apart.

Start here

Pick a city within a three-hour flight or drive, book two nights near the center, and mark four places you want to see on a saved map before you leave.

Wikivoyage

Multi-stop backpack tripsA string of towns linked by train or bus, moving every two or three days with everything on your back. You see more ground and trade away some comfort.

Start here

Draw a line through three towns that sit two to four hours apart by train or bus, book only the first night, and pack a bag you can carry up four flights of stairs.

Rome2Rio

International tripsA different country, with its own currency, plugs, language and entry rules. The planning starts months earlier because of the passport.

Start here

Check your passport's expiration date today, or start the application if you have none, then read the State Department page for the country you have in mind.

U.S. Department of State: Passports

Train journeysTrips where the ride is the point. Long-distance and sleeper trains show you the country between the cities, at a pace a plane skips.

Start here

Look up one daytime route with a reputation for scenery, book a window seat on the side the guide recommends, and plan a single night at the far end.

The Man in Seat 61

Solo travelAny of the above, alone. You set every hour of the day yourself, and you end up talking to far more strangers.

Start here

Take one weekend alone in a city where you speak the language, and book a walking tour or a group class for the first afternoon so you meet people early.

r/solotravel

Open a card to see what to do first. City breaks, multi-stop backpack trips and international trips each end in a button that adds that trip's gear to the kit. Train journeys and solo travel need nothing beyond the base kit and the bag you choose below.

Going deeper on trains and solo trips

Plan and take your first trip

Four friends with backpacks reading a paper map together on a city square — Working out the route on a paper map

Suitcase or backpack?

Picking one adds that bag to the kit and takes the other out. Backpack Trips also brings a travel towel and a lock. Pick it again to take it back out.

Seen from above, hands pressing folded clothes into an open carry-on suitcase on a wood floor, boots and sneakers beside it — Packing an open carry-on, shoes waiting beside it

What to check on either bag

Size comes first for either one. Most US airlines allow a carry-on of 22 x 14 x 9 inches including wheels and handles, and many overseas and low-fare carriers allow less, so check your airline's limit before buying.
On a suitcase, check that the wheels roll smoothly in every direction, the handle locks without wobbling, and the empty case weighs under 8 pounds.
On a backpack, look for a main compartment that zips open flat like a suitcase, a padded hip belt, and straps that tuck away. Top-loading hiking packs bury whatever you need at the bottom.
Before each trip, weigh the packed bag at home and confirm your liquids bag and chargers can be reached without unpacking.

Skills worth building early

Packing light

Build outfits from pieces that all go together, plan to do laundry once on any trip over a week, and wear your bulkiest shoes and jacket on travel days.

Reading a fare

The headline price often leaves out a carry-on, a seat choice or the right to change dates. Compare the total for the trip you will actually take.

Pacing an itinerary

Count every travel day as half a day lost, and give any city at least two nights. Fewer stops, seen properly, beat a list of places you only slept in.

Finding your way

Learn the local transit map on day one, know how to pay for a ride, and keep the name and address of your lodging written in the local language.

Handling money on the road

Carry two cards kept in separate places plus a small amount of cash, and tell your bank where you are going if it asks for travel notices.

Seen from behind, a woman in a wool hat with a small backpack walking down a quiet street of old townhouses — On foot with a small pack on a street of old townhouses

What trips beginners up

What to expect

Expect something to go wrong.

A delay, a closed museum or a wrong turn happens on nearly every trip. A plan with empty hours in it absorbs these without wrecking the day.

Expect to be tired.

A travel day drains more than it seems to, and jet lag takes roughly a day per time zone crossed to fade. Keep the first day abroad light.

Expect the famous sights to be crowded.

Go at opening time or in the last hour, and plan to spend as much time in ordinary neighborhoods as at the landmarks.

Habits to drop

Stop overpacking. Hauling a heavy bag over curbs and up stairs is the most common regret, and nearly anything you forget can be bought where you are going.
Stop scheduling every hour. A city a day and a booking every two hours leaves no room to linger anywhere you turn out to like.
Stop leaving a short connection to chance. Give yourself at least 90 minutes between domestic flights and three hours when you have to clear immigration.
Stop breaking in new shoes on the trip. Expect to walk 8 to 12 miles a day in a city, so bring a pair you have already worn for a month.

Documents, security rules and staying safe

A hand holding two United States passports with paper boarding passes tucked inside — Two passports with boarding passes tucked inside

ID for domestic flights

US airport checkpoints require a REAL ID compliant license (marked with a star) or another accepted document such as a passport.

Passports

A first US adult passport is applied for in person and routinely takes several weeks, so start well before you book. Many countries turn travelers away if the passport expires within six months of arrival.

Entry rules

Some countries require a visa or an online travel authorization arranged before you fly. Check the destination's official country page instead of relying on a blog post.

Liquids in a carry-on

Each container can hold 3.4 ounces (100 ml) at most, and all of them have to fit in one quart-size bag.

Batteries

Power banks and spare lithium batteries go in your carry-on, never in a checked bag, and the usual limit without airline approval is 100 watt-hours each.

Health

Look up recommended vaccines for the destination four to six weeks ahead, carry prescriptions in their original containers, and find out what your health plan covers away from home.

Common-sense security

Keep your passport, cards and phone on your body in transit, leave a copy of your itinerary with someone at home, and move away from anyone who crowds you at a station or a cash machine.

The official rules, straight from the source

Where to learn and plan

Good trip planning is mostly reading, and the best material is free. A volunteer-written travel wiki covers how to arrive, get around and choose a neighborhood in nearly any city. A fare search with a price calendar shows which days are cheap to fly, and a route finder tells you when a train or bus beats the plane. Long-running sites on packing light and trip pacing are worth an evening before your first trip, and a public library card gets you printed guidebooks for free.

Free places to read and plan

About this packing kit

These figures cover gear only. The trip itself (transport, lodging, food) is the real cost, and it varies too much by destination to estimate here. The base kit is small because most of what you pack is clothing you already own: a charger to keep your phone alive, a bag for liquids, and a few organizers that make one bag work. The bag is the one large purchase, so choose your branch first and buy one bag, not both. Add the international items only once you have a border to cross, and treat the last two lines as fixes for specific problems you may never have.

Seen from behind, a traveler with a blue backpack standing on a platform as a red train blurs past

Pack the bag

Every line, with its options side by side

Compare the options on each line, then set your tiers and check out from the cart. Clicking a card selects it there, and clicking the selected card again takes that line out. The power bank, toiletry bag, packing cubes, bottles, daypack and sleep mask start in the kit. A suitcase joins when you switch on Suitcase Trips. A backpack, towel and lock join with Backpack Trips, and an adapter and passport holder with International Trips. The luggage scale and the neck pillow stay out until you add them.

Item 01

Portable power bank

Essential · Electronics

Your phone is the map, the boarding pass and the room key, and a day of navigating and photos drains it by mid-afternoon.

budget

Anker Power Bank, 10,000mAh Portable Charger, PowerIQ USB-C Battery Pack

4.5(7.6K)

$20.89

Traveling

Kinds of trips to try

Plan and take your first trip

Suitcase or backpack?

Skills worth building early

What trips beginners up

Documents, security rules and staying safe

Where to learn and plan

About this packing kit

Pack the bag

Portable power bank

Travel toiletry bag

Packing cubes

Leakproof travel bottles

Packable daypack

Sleep mask

Carry-on spinner suitcase

Carry-on travel backpack

Quick-dry travel towel

Luggage lock

Universal travel adapter

Passport holder

Digital luggage scale

Travel neck pillow