It is said that you should never take anything with you on vacation that you are not prepared to lose.
However, if your possessions are lost or stolen while travelling it can be very inconvenient and annoying, even if you are able to replace them quite easily (often for much less than you originally paid).
There are people out there who prey on tourists and travellers, as there are at home. And just like at home there are simple precautions you can take to prevent yourself becoming a victim of crime or loss.
Most of them don’t cost you [...]
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If you need to buy gear, get it from the classifieds, craigslist, ebay, buy it used, or borrow it from friends.
Stay in hostels, rather than hotels. Stay in a tent, rather than a hostel.
Take a train instead of a plane. Walk or get the bus instead of taking a taxi. Hitchhike instead of taking a train or bus.
Don’t buy water, use a plastic bottle filled and topped up with tap water.
Don’t eat out in restaurants every day, especially in Europe. Supermarkets and bakeries are so much cheaper and the food is often better (than McDonalds, for [...]
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Once, whilst returning from a trip to Italy, I met a man on a train who was travelling dressed only in a swim suit and a towel. He had left his bag on the beach for just a few moments to paddle in the sea. When he returned it was gone, along with his passport, money, tickets and all of his clothes (apart from his towel).
As well as a lesson on the importance of looking after your possessions as you travel, strangely enough this story also shows how little you really need to take with you. [...]
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Before I left the USA last year after a 10 year vacation, I sold, threw out, and (mostly) gave away nearly all of my possessions, keeping only those that I could fit into one standard-sized airplane carry-on bag. (However, unlike Christopher McCandless, I didn’t burn my remaining money and hitchhike to Alaska to live in the wilderness).
Over the next few years I intend to travel around the rest of the world, living out of this one bag. I created this website to keep track of my progress, and to keep a personal checklist of the gear [...]
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