TeppieTravels

Friends often ask me if they should bring a suitcase or a backpack to their destination. Obviously, it depends on the trip itself, but most important for the right choice is your way of transport.

• 

I recommend doing some research about how you’re going to travel around. The most important question is what kind of transport will you use: train, car (+ driver), boat, bus, tuktuk, horse, chapa, airplane, bicycle, helicopter, minivan, motorbike, camels, or you’ll just walk. Especially big suitcases don’t always fit and sometimes your transport can’t reach the front door of your hotel. A suitcase (with wheels!) is not a problem if the road is perfectly paved. But most of the time, that ís the problem, and you’ll end up dragging your heavy suitcase over the bumpy cobblestones, or worse, through deep pebbles and mud. And boy, you need that holiday rest when you finally arrive!

Tip: I’ll tag my posts with ‘Backpack’ or ‘Suitcase’ at the end, so you can see my luggage recommendation for that kind of trip

Personal experiences

I’ll start with a couple of my personal experiences, where the type of luggage was very important.

COLOMBIA – In Colombia we booked a “glamping” in the middle of the jungle. We knew it was slightly out of town and not very easy to reach, but we didn’t know that we had to hike a slippery (it was raining), steep path for 1,5 km and had to cross a river! We were so happy that we did not carry that much luggage and brought a backpack instead of a suitcase.

When we arrived in Palomino at the mainstreet by bus, we had to walk another kilometer on a bumpy and sandy path to our hostel. Because we had backpacks, we were able to take a ride on a motor taxi to the hotel. With our backpacks and other bags on the back of a motor taxi. Don’t try that with a suitcase…

We had to take a boat from Cartagena to Isla Múcura. The boat company allowed only a small and light bag per person, so we put everything we needed for our stay in 1 backpack and stored the rest of our luggage in our hostel.A suitcase was not allowed on the boat!

• 

• 

SRI LANKA – In Sri Lanka, we took a lot of tuktuks to travel around (one of my friends even hired a tuktuk for a couple of days and drove herself!). If you have never been in a tuktuk, it’s small! A driver, two passengers and two backpacks will fit; two suitcases won’t.

Not to mention the extremely crowded train ride where we literally had to stand half outside the riding train and our bags almost fell out. We would’ve never fit in this train with a suitcase.

• 

• 

MADRID –  I regularly visited my brother when he was living in Madrid. I always bring my trolley for short citytrips. I know where I’m staying and how to get there and a trolley is big enough to bring everything I need for a long weekend. 

If you’re travelling by plane, you should check if your trolley is the right size, because if it’s too big, you’ll have to check it in and probably pay more. The allowed sizes for a trolley are different per airline and there are airlines where you can’t bring your trolley for free anymore. 

• 

Actually I always pack a big suitcase when I’m staying at the same place, for example when I’m accompanying my mom on one of her work trips as a flight attendant. The hotel and transport are already arranged and the hotels always have an elevator. A suitcase could also be great if you’re road tripping with your own car. Usually, I also bring a trolley or big bag on those kinds of trips, so I can throw in my necessities for the night in a hotel.

Backpack tips:

Tip: At most hotels and hostels it’s possible to leave your luggage temporarily in the storage if you’ll return to that place. Always bring a lock chain to securely store your bag.

• Best choice for all transport modes;
• Expandable if you use a (rain)cover (more space for souvenirs!);
• You can cross rivers with it;
• Lots of zippers and strings to attach your belongings on the outside (e.g. wet bathing suit or dirty shoes);
• Buy a backpack you can fully open for easy access;
• Use a chain lock to leave your backpack unattended for a while;
• Don’t put too much weight in the backpack!
• Soft shell, so be careful with fragile stuff;
• Use a rain cover to protect your backpack from getting wet and dirty.

• 

• 

So, if you are not sure where you’re going to end up during your trip or what kind of transport you’re going to take, a backpack is the right choice. Not sure if you want to spend money on a backpack, borrow one from a travelling friend!

Last but not least: don’t forget to leave some space for souvenirs!

• 

I’ll post more information about my trips to Colombia, Sri Lanka and Madrid soon.

Schrijf je in met je e-mailadres en blijf op de hoogte van nieuwe updates van TeppieTravels.com.

• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• WordPress