How to pack for a tropical backpacking trip
Limit yourself to a 40L backpack to stay mobile in heat and humidity. Focus on lightweight, moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics that dry overnight and leave 25% of your bag empty for souvenirs or necessities.
- Choose your luggage. Use a 40-liter maximum capacity backpack with a harness system. Anything larger will get too heavy for humid weather and won't fit in the overhead bins of smaller regional airlines.
- Select the right fabric. Avoid cotton entirely. It stays damp and heavy. Pack merino wool or synthetic materials that wick moisture and dry within 4 hours.
- Utilize packing cubes. Use three medium-sized compression cubes: one for tops, one for bottoms, and one for undergarments/socks. This keeps your clean clothes dry when the humidity hits 90%.
- Manage your liquids. Bring solid versions of soap, shampoo, and sunscreen. They won't leak in your bag and count as zero ounces toward your carry-on liquid limit.
- How many changes of clothes do I actually need?
- Pack for 7 days. Even if you are gone for a month, you will wash your clothes weekly at local laundry drop-off services.
- Should I bring a towel?
- Bring a microfiber travel towel. They are tiny, dry fast, and take up 1/4 of the space of a standard cotton towel.