When I travel these days, I’m doing it one of two ways: with my family for up to three weeks, or on a writing trip for a week to 10 days. I sometimes check a bag for the former (especially if I need to backpack with a real backpack), but usually get by with a carry-on for the latter. You get a free checked bag for international flights on all but the stingiest airlines (like Spirit Air), but if you’re leaving the airport city upon arrival, the last thing you want to deal with is lost luggage.

As the editor of Practical Travel Gear, I get loads of apparel, footwear, and gadgets to try out. I personally review close to 100 items a year and the three others who write for me there check out even more. So after all that, what are the best items to pack? Which ones really pull their weight and bulk?

Quick-dry clothing
This is the key factor in packing light. Sure, take a few cotton t-shirts if you want, but the bulk of what you carry needs to be items you can wash in a sink and have dry by morning. I’m a big fan of ExOfficio clothing as it holds up to a crazy number of washings and still looks good. But if you’re put off by the price, try similar alternatives from Colombia Sportswear or just browse the clearance racks, physically or at sites like Sierra Trading Post. A few companies are making polo shirts with built-in odor suppression, something you’ll also find in many wicking t-shirts meant for exercise. These are a nice alternative to the button-up ones.

For pants the usual lightweight tough nylon ones are great for warm places, but companies like ExOfficio, Craghoppers, and Sherpa Adventure are making “trekking pants” that are stretchier and thicker. They still dry fast though and resist a drizzle and stains. I’ve often worn these a week straight without washing them–like I did with the ones in that photo above.

If you’ll be someplace like Delhi, Rome, or Barcelona though that’s notorious for pickpockets, it’s good to invest in a pair of Pickpocket Proof Pants (also known as P^Cubed Pants) from Clothing Arts. They also make shorts and just released some nice lightweight travel shirts as well. It would take an incredibly determined thief and you being passed out for someone to get into these and steal your valuables.

Double-duty shoes
Shoes are the adversary of the carry-on bag. Footwear takes up an inordinate amount of room and if not chosen carefully, can add a lot of weight. Fortunately shoes are getting lighter in general—even hiking boots—and more companies are making ones that pack down flat or close to it in your bag. Scroll through a few pages of travel shoes that the four of us at PTG have reviewed. We go through a lot of them looking for ones that can be worn in multiple travel situations.

Wear the heaviest, clunkiest pair on travel days to lighten your packing load.

Quick-dry underwear and socks
Cotton is not your friend in this area. Underwear and socks are the things you want to replace most often in your wardrobe, so bring at least a few pairs of travel underwear that use merino wool or synthetics. You can sink wash them anywhere and they’ll dry more quickly than cotton. Well-made hiking or running socks usually avoid cotton and will last for years of heavy usage.

Small toiletries
To carry on a bag, stay with small sizes. Hit the trial size aisle at your local drugstore or Target, save the little bottles from hotels, or buy small refillable bottles you can reuse. You can buy cool dry tabs from Sea to Summit that start working when you get them wet and I like shaving cream that comes in a tube as it takes up less space. I use a hanging toiletry kit for when counter space is tight.

Pack-away jacket and bag
One of my secret weapons in getting by with a carry-on bag is to pack things that stuff down into a little pouch. I love my Eagle Creek packable daypack, for instance, and if I need a jacket where I’m going but sporadically, I’ll bring one that stuffs into a pouch when I’m not using it, like this Helium II windbreaker one from Outdoor Research or this warmer Powerfly Down one from Colombia.

SteriPen Water Purfier
If I’m going anywhere with dodgy water, which is most of the world, the SteriPen is an essential item. It saves the world from your personal mountain of disposable single-use plastic, but keeps you from getting sick from any bad drinking water.

Gadget chargers
I’m past telling anyone what gadgets to bring and how much to use them, but a lot of them have batteries that don’t last very long. I’ve used a Callpod Chargepod for six years now to avoid bringing along a bunch of cords. Then I carry a small charger from Innergie or Eton for times I can’t access an outlet. If I’m going off the grid for a while I might bring some kind of solar charger.

And then…
One belt, usually worn the day of travel.
One or two hats, including a sun hat for sunny places, a beanie for cold ones. Tilley ones are expensive but have a lifetime warranty.
A pair of good sunglasses, usually worn the day of travel.
A loaded Kindle or good book.
Magazines I can throw away or pass on as I read them, lightening the load as I go.

Many women carry some kind of shawl or multi-use scarf to change up their outfits.

Keep an eye on the colors you’re packing. Ideally most every bottom can go with most every top. You don’t want to have pieces that can only go with one other thing.

What about you? What carry-on items or tricks have you found worked best?

Have you ever tried to price out and buy a series of flights to take you around the world? If you have, you probably don’t want to repeat the experience. Despite the expectation (fair or not) that we should be able to buy or book anything online without having to talk to someone, pricing out a round-the-world flight package has not changed much since I first bought one in 1993.

Indie, a new services from BootsnAll, has unveiled a leap into the present: a way to book multi-stop tickets around the world from a web interface.

I’ve known Sean Keener at BootsnAll for many years and used the site long before that. It’s been running since 1996. we teamed up (with a lot of other great travel sites) to give away a trip around the world a couple years ago, sending one lucky winner and her dad on the trip of a lifetime, geared up and exploring the planet. See who participated here. I’ve always admired Sean’s drive and bulldog intensity and when he decided to make it possible to price out and reserve a trip around the world online, I knew eventually he’d figure out a way to get it done.

Now it is done, so if a circle-the-globe flight package is in your future, go to the Indie site to check out your options. Unlike many of the trips like this you can book, theirs are refreshingly free from restrictions. You can reverse direction, put in 20 stops if you want, and travel for more than a year. There are some rules you can’t escape—like having to plan out all your departure dates in advance—but otherwise this presents a blank slate.

As I’ve discussed before on this blog, you may not need something so comprehensive, but for those who want to have the biggest expense—airfare—paid and done in advance, this Indie tool is a nice option for figuring out what it’s going to cost you. Here’s a video with more info.

If nothing else, this tool will give you a sense of whether your itinerary is batshit crazy for the amount of money you have saved or whether it’s easily doable. You can try different options and see whether trying to hit six continents in 12 months is really a smart thing to do, or whether you should prioritize. Have fun!

This blog has been quiet the past week because I’ve been checking out new travel gear at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Utah, seeing what’s on the way from all the top brands in the industry. There are more than 1,000 companies there showing off everything from skis to shoes to solar lanterns, but I spent a good amount of time checking out new backpacks.

If you’re in the market for a backpack, or will be soon, I’m going to provide a good cheat sheet that will make it very easy for you to get what you need. I’ve used $90 backpacks and $400 ones, tried them on year-round journeys, 3-week vacations, and biking trips, so I’ve got a more rounded view than most reviewers.

Here’s what you need to know about the best backpacks for travelers, from the general things to remember to the advantages of specific brands.

Get a TRAVEL backpack

If you go looking at backpacks, you’ll find a lot of pretty, lightweight, comfortable packs that load from the top. They are meant for backcountry hikers, backcountry skiers, or people planning to summit a peak of 8,000 meters. That’s not you.

What you want is a pack meant for travelers. Easy to zip open, easy to find things, meant to be loaded up with lots of clothes and gadgets in different pockets. Preferably one that can be carried with a handle on the top and side if needed. If the straps can be zipped up inside a flap for checking at an airport (or looking more respectable when entering a nice hotel) even better.

Buy a pack meant to last

Yes, you can find some piece of crap no-name backpack for $75 if you look hard enough, but there’s a good chance  you’ll be looking for another one six months from now. And you may not be somewhere with a good selection, so you’ll make the same mistake again—or pay twice as much as you would have at home. If you’re really short on funds, look for a pack from Kelty (more on that later) or keep an eye on the outlet section of the online gear sites to get last year’s model for half off or more. Ideally, you want something that comes with a lifetime guarantee, or close to it. You may not need it, but that shows they believe in their durability.

Buy a rain cover or get one with a cover built in

Most backpacks are made of ripstop nylon or something similar that wards off a drizzle, but they’re not seam-sealed, so water can get through the zippers. Many good packs have a built-in rain cover, others require you to get your own. But when your bag gets thrown on top of a bus somewhere and then a rain storm comes, you’ll be very glad you had this on.

Ideally, try it on

I’m all for shopping the discount section at the likes of Sierra Trading Post, Backcountry, and REI Outlet because you can get a quality pack for half the list price sometimes, but if you’re new at this or have an odd body size/shape, you may need to try a few on in a real retail store with someone who can help. Walking for a year with a pack that doesn’t fit properly is no fun.

Be very sure you want a pack with wheels

When you hear someone rave about their backpack with wheels, ask them how they travel and what their budget is like. As I’ve mentioned before here and here, wheeled backpacks are great if you’re mostly moving between airports, hotels, and train stations via taxis. I gladly take one in those cases. They’re not so great if you have to walk a half mile down a dirt road or up 220 steps in my sometimes home of Guanajuato, Mexico though. Wheels and a handle double the weight of your pack and the way most of them are designed, the (dirty) wheels are hitting your back. This year at the OR Show though I saw some with straps on the front instead, so look for this option to avoid the wheels in back problem.

Watch the size

You can find backpacks that hold 90 liters, but unless you’re a very hefty man, you probably don’t want to carry that much once you fill it. For most people 65 or 70 liters is the max. If you’re going to mostly warm places, you should easily be able to get by for less if you’re packing the right kind of lightweight clothing and quick-dry underwear.

Who makes the best packs?

There are probably 100 companies out there making backpacks, but a lot of those you can ignore because they’re not making travel packs. Based on my 20 years of travel and testing loads of them for Practical Travel Gear, here are my “don’t have to think about it” picks for brands you can trust. Many come in versions for women.

Eagle Creek – lifetime “no matter what” warranty, sterling reputation for quality, constant innovation. Check out the Loche or Rincon models for long-term travel. If you want wheels and can wait until July, every writer and blogger I talked to at the OR show was drooling over the Morphus model pictured here.

Osprey – long one of the most popular brands for round-the-world travelers, with the widest selection, Osprey packs have a lifetime warranty, are super-light, and are well-designed. Look for the Aura, Waypoint, or Porter styles, or four different lines with wheels. The Porter is great if you already have a daypack you like as it’s only about $130.

Gregory – Another one with a lifetime warranty making durable, well-designed packs. I especially like their Savant packs that are light as a hiking pack, but open in the front in a U shape to get to your stuff.

Deuter – You don’t see this brand in the U.S. a whole lot, but this German brand is all over the backs of Europeans. I like their Transit 65 pack if you’ll make use of the detachable daypack and it’s under $200.

Kelty – The cheapo traveler’s best friend, Kelty packs are well-made and rugged, but retail for $100 or more less than many competitor’s models. Find the beloved Redwing one at close-out prices or check out the more expensive Lakota line.

What backpack have you taken around the world, across cobblestones, through crowded markets, up stairs, and down dirt paths? How did it do?

You may have noticed the photo of my book, The World’s Cheapest Destinations, got switched out a while back in that picture to your right. It was a bit of a tease since the new version has been trickling out to different online retailers at different times, but now it’s out almost everywhere. This popular guide to the cheapest places to travel in the world is now in its 4th edition.

Prices fluctuate but don’t fundamentally change all that much in a span of three or four years unless there’s really high inflation (as in current Argentina), so if you have the 3rd edition it is still a good guide to how countries compare in terms of costs. If you have the 1st edition though, you might want to just put it in the recycling bin—I released that one a decade ago!

As I mentioned in this recent post on what has changed in the cheapest places to travel, I have made a few country changes. Turkey and Argentina are still great values for mid-range travelers, but are not the good deal they used to be for backpackers. To take their place, Cambodia’s infrastructure improvements enabled it to move from “honorable mention” to its own full-blown chapter and Slovakia replaces Turkey in Europe.

That means Asia gained a country and Latin America lost one, which wasn’t my intention, but unless people suddenly start finding a reason to visit Paraguay or Chavez gets replaced by a reform-minded president in Venezuela, I think the status is not going to change there. Apart from Chile and Brazil, the mainland Americas south of the U.S. are a great value, but Asia just has more bargain-basement destinations than anywhere else.

Get Your Copy!

So where can you get this book? It’s not yet online at Fishpond for Australia and New Zealand, but it should appear there in a week or two. Meanwhile, get it almost everywhere else online:

Direct from the publisher – paperback ($15,95 plus shipping) or PDF ($8.99, no shipping)

Kindle version from Amazon, Nook version from Barnes & Noble, Apple version from iBookstore  - all around $8.99.

Paperback from Barnes & Noble, paperback from Amazon.

Early Reviews

Want to know what a few other bloggers, editors, and book authors have to say? Here’s a random sampling of a few advance reviews.

“This is the book that anyone planning a vacation should read because it’s exactly what travelers who circle the globe all year long already know: it can be really cheap to travel, you just have to know where.”
- Christine Gilbert, editor of almostfearless.com

“As dollars get ever tighter, this book becomes all the more precious. But what’s most brilliant about it is that Leffel really doesn’t just think “cheap” – he thinks “smart.” As valuable a travel book as you’ll find today, in ways too numerous to even count, no matter what your budget.”
- Chris Epting, author of Led Zeppelin Crashed Here and Marilyn Monroe Dyed Here

“It’s no fluke that the world’s cheapest destinations are often also the most amazing to visit. This valuable guide inadvertently attests that money can’t buy happiness by recommending countries where the locals smile without it.”
– Bruce Northam, author of The Directions to Happiness: A 125-Country Quest for Life Lessons

“Warning: this book is hazardous to your ability to stay in one place. With your copy of The World’s Cheapest Destinations in hand, you can see the world while leaving your savings account untouched.”
- Chris Guillebeau, author of The $100 Startup

Buy this before you buy a plane ticket–it’s the best first investment for a budget traveler. Leffel provides real numbers and practical money-saving tips, and he wisely weighs the appeal of a country as well. As a result, The World’s Cheapest Destinations are places you really want to go.
- Zora O’Neill, author of The Rough Guide to Cancun & The Yucatan and Moon New Mexico

The World’s Cheapest Destinations is an entertaining read sharing the secrets that long-term travelers and backpackers have known for years. No room for excuses now, this book you’ll give the tools and information you need to travel the world in comfort on a budget. It’s an excellent resource for planning and researching your next vacation destination or around-the-world trip and is something that we’ll be using regularly for reference whenever we do our own travel planning.
- Deb and Dave, editors of ThePlanetD.com

“Tim Leffel has long been a guru of balancing the practicalities of cheap travel with a keen sense of judgement about the aesthetic value offered by varied countries around the world. In this newly researched and expanded edition, Tim’s easy conversational style turns the book into a page-turner, leaving you hungry to set off on the many paths he opens up to the traveler’s imagination.”
- Gregory Hubbs, editor-in-chief, TransitionsAbroad.com

“Tim is writing from the voice of a ‘Real Traveler,’ a person that has actually traveled the world for three years and lived in other countries for extended periods. This allows him to have the insight into what is the essential information needed.” – Andy Graham 15 years of Perpetual Travel and 90 countries – HoboTraveler.com

Want to fly around the world, but you don’t want to wing it as you go? With a round-the world ticket (or around the world ticket if you’re covering all the bases when Googling), you can set up your main airport stops in advance. When you’re ready to book it, your flight plan is set. Write one check or input your credit card once and you’re off and running for a year.

As you’ve probably noticed if you’ve done any research on this though, the prices are all over the map—because the choices are all over the map. So which routes are the cheapest? And which would cost you your whole travel savings for the year?

To get an answer to these questions, I posed them to someone I know at Airtreks, one of the best-known and longest-established companies selling round-the-world tickets. Nico Crisafulli handles public relations for the agency, so I asked him for some insider tips.

The Cheapest Round-the-World Tickets

“We do well with getting from the U.S. to Asia, Asia to Europe, U.S. to Europe (and vice versa), and locating killer combination fares throughout those continents. We find big discounts by stringing together two or three one-way tickets. We also have deals across the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

On their site this week, for instance, is a good RTW combo for hitting a good number of inexpensive destinations, from $2,400 to $3,000 depending on season:

New York – Hong Kong – Singapore – surface – Kuala Lumpur – Cochin / Kochi – surface – Bombay / Mumbai – Cairo – Istanbul – surface – Athens – Vienna – surface – Paris – Reykjavik – New York

There’s another that hits Munich and Rome near the end instead, for about the same price.

Here’s another route, similar price:

New York – Vancouver – Shanghai – surface – Kunming – Chiang Mai – surface – Kuala Lumpur – Cochin / Kochi – surface – Goa – Delhi – London – New York

And one more for the west coasters:

Los Angeles – Tokyo – Singapore – Kathmandu – surface – Delhi – Istanbul – London – surface – Paris – Los Angeles

Seeing a pattern here? Major world capitals and competitive big airports continually show up on the lowest-priced itineraries. See if where you want to go most is near one of those.

Shorter Routes to Consider

If you don’t have your heart set on actually circling the globe, you can often hit more destinations with a “circle the Pacific,” “circle the Atlantic” or “tour the Americas” option that makes a loop. This route, for example, can come in under $2K if you time it right:

Miami – Sao Paulo – Buenos Aires – Santiago – La Paz – Lima – Bogota – Miami

Shave it down to as low as $1,200 with this shorter route:

Miami – Guatemala City – San Jose (Costa Rica) – Lima – Bogota – Miami

This one skirting the Atlantic starts at $1,849:

New York – Bogota – Rio de Janeiro – Paris – Madrid – New York

The Most Expensive Round-the-World Tickets

First of all, the way to blow the most on these tickets is to buy them through one of the airline alliances. You’ll invariably pay more, have fewer choices, and have more restrictions. Unless you can pay for it with miles, it’s a raw deal for all but the simplest routes, and only then if you can get mileage that will bump you up to elite status. (That in itself is worth a lot.)

Otherwise, the southern hemisphere can really sock it to you. “I think the most unexpected costs are when people try to travel across the South Pacific—Australia/New Zealand to South America and vice versa—especially when stopping over in remote places such as Easter Island and Tahiti. A dearth of airlines serve those spots,” says Nico.

For this route, the price goes up to a range of $3,724 to $4,350:

Los Angeles – London – Nairobi – surface – Dar Es Salaam – Johannesburg – surface – Cape Town – Kuala Lumpur – Sydney – Nadi (Fiji) – Los Angeles

“Strangely, stopping in Hawaii on a trans-Pacific journey gets pricey, as does island hopping in Micronesia and that area.

Trans-Africa flights are notoriously expensive (i.e., flights between countries in sub-Saharan Africa). Try to do more than a few and you’ve got a major case of sticker shock. People tend also to think they can add Africa for a song, but it’s not really true. Northern Africa is better and also Kenya, but things get more complicated trying to do more than one or two African cities. Getting down to South Africa and its region will always spike a ticket price, as will Victoria Falls. We’ve actually got good prices to get to Maldives and Seychelles on Emirates though.

Also trying to hop around the USA (depending on the season, of course) makes prices jump. Keeping a U.S. itinerary to no more than three stops helps.”

Hitting every continent–a crazy idea if you only have a year anyway–will really blow the budget. Those options start at $5,344.

If you do want to get to these other regions that add on a lot, consider alternate methods to flying and look at other ideas such as package tours that bundle hotels and flights together (like from London to Morocco). Within Europe you can easily hop a train or take a budget flight booked at the last minute to add another city.

Airtreks’ RTW planning section of the site is a goldmine for anyone pondering a trip around the world. Check it out and save yourself a lot of headaches (and money).