For those of you who have been reading the blog for a while now, you will know I pack for Bali in just a carry-on… and everywhere else I go now. But Bali was the first destination that I tried this out, a little apprehensive as to if it would all be ok, but knowing that Bali was the perfect place to test it out. Why? The beautiful weather means you don’t need to pack bulky coats and shoes, and you can also buy a lot of things that you may need in Bali.
Packing for Bali carry-on only for the first time may not have been as easy as it is now, but along the way I have found essential items that help me pack light. So if you’re interested in giving it a go, these 5 items may help you pack for Bali carry-on only too.
1. Bellroy Passport Sleeve & Travel Wallet
I travel with a Bellroy Passport Sleeve and Chris has the Bellroy Travel Wallet, and we absolutely love them. Our previous travel wallets were big and bulky, with too much extra space that we either didn’t use, or even worse, ended up filling up with stuff we didn’t need to keep. I use the passport sleeve and it fits my passport, cards, boarding pass, doctors letter and comes with a pen. If travelling as a couple, it’s great, as Chris has a slightly bigger travel wallet that can fit any extras that we may need.
2. Antler Juno Carry-On Luggage
The Antler Juno has been with me for my entire carry-on only journey, and I wouldn’t be without it. It’s cabin size, pretty, has 4 wheels which makes it effortless to push, and has a built in lock (no need for keys!). But the thing I love about it the most, is the quality. In Bali, you will inevitably come across varying terrain, and my poor little Antler wheels handle it all.
It might be a bit controversial that I choose to travel carry-on only with a hard-case wheeled bag as opposed to a backpack, but I find it’s much easier to push, I love the look of it, it’s very easy to pack and find things in your bag, and matches my travel style more. I find it quite funny that people only really associate carry-on travel with a backpacker or business traveller. It’s as if it’s engrained in us that as soon as we are going on a holiday we immediately need to pack 20kg. I use to think this… but now I’ve seen the light ;)
3. Packing Cells
Packing cells work really well with hard case luggage, as they can fit perfectly into the two sections, and also help all your clothes stay neatly in the luggage. They help me pack for carry-on only as I know how many cells will fit in my bag, and I can roll or fold (I use a combination of both) items and the packing cells hold them all tightly together, both lightly compressing them and keeping them neat.
4. Peak Design Camera Strap
We originally bought this camera strap, which can easily detach from the camera, because we wanted to be able to use our camera more discreetly when taking photos in restaurants and also not have the strap hanging down when we were taking overhead shots. But little did we know that it had such a slim yet comfortable design. Our Peak Design camera strap folds down to such a small size, it means we can keep a smaller camera bag.
5. GoToobs
I first started using GoToobs a few years ago, when we were about to embark on our longest carry-on only trip at that stage, 9 weeks in Europe. GoToobs are 3 different sizes of toiletry containers, that you can use to decant your other products into carry-on only size. The design of GoToobs with it’s wide opening, means that you can get every last bit of product out which also means your product will last longer. They are light and durable so you won’t need to replace them each trip.
6. Macbook Air
Although we travel with our laptops as we are working as we travel, we know more and more people are travelling with electronics. Obviously travelling without a laptop will allow you to travel carry-on only a lot easier, but if you choose (or need) to travel with a laptop, then a 11-inch Macbook Air is your best bet to pack for Bali carry-on only.
7. Google Drive
Years ago I use to take a folder full of documents on our travels. Accommodation booking vouchers, flight itineraries, lists of things to do or places to eat. And by the end of the trip the folder would be even more full with maps, receipts and other things I collected along the way. Gone are those days! Now we simply have our documents on Google Drive, and if we need to keep receipts or other things along the way, we take a photo with our phone and upload it to google drive. The only hard copies we take are a photocopy of our most important documents like passports and cards. This alone saves so much weight and space, and actually makes the holiday more enjoyable.
8. Electronics Organiser
Again, as we have to pack electronics to work as we go, in order to fit all the devices and cords and chargers all in, they need to be well organised. Even though having a case for your electronics actually adds weight, it can save space and headaches by keeping all your electronics organised. The one we currently use we aren’t 100% happy with, but we love the look of the Tech Dopp Kit by This Is Ground.
There’s a lot more to packing light then just having some good quality products, but these items can definitely help you pack for Bali carry-on only.
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