Simple Travel

[HappyHiker]

Does anyone travel very simply, lightly -- out of a backpack kind of travel?l. And maybe without any electronic devices?

I'm finding all the electronic devices distracting, would like to venture forth appliance free...but am I too hooked to do it??

[Yppej]

I did this in college. It aroused the suspicion of customs officials as they doubted someone would travel that lightly and not buy many souvenirs (only a German book to help with my language studies). But I got back in the country as did my brother who also travelled without any checked bags.

Also travelled via car, with a young child and a dog and more luggage but no electronics. One winter I landed up in the ditch during a snowstorm and kind strangers in Bois d'Arc, Missouri who had cell phones stopped and helped us.

[sweetana3]

We traveled to India in 1991 with only a carryon suitcase each. A young English gal on our British tour was traveling the world with a backpack. She had finished overland Africa, was doing India with our group, then on to Thailand and Australia.

[rosarugosa]

I am no help with this one. I like to bring everything I own with me just in case I need it!

[frugal-one]

Don't know if you consider this simple... but just got back from a short trip to Las Vegas.... Roundtrip, nonstop for $68 (including everything)!

[SteveinMN]

Used to go carry-on only when I worked at an airline and seats were never guaranteed. We still travel pretty light but have expanded beyond whatever can be shoved under the ever-shrinking coach seat.

[iris lilies]

Ultralight recently traveled to Israel and also South America with a simple, smallish backpack. Here is hoping he sees your message.

[Float On]

I have friends who just got back from 8 weeks in Italy and France. They each carried a small backpack. If they bought something new to wear they got rid of something from their backpack. Used their phone cameras only. There are so many youtube videos on packing light and suggestions for getting the most outfits out of a few pieces. Apparently there is even a jacket with liner pockets. I remember seeing one guy pack for several weeks in the jacket.

[Ultralight]

I travel with just one rucksack (though I have a collapsible day pack I put inside the rucksack for day long excursions and such).

I don't have a cell phone. So when I travel I take an older iPhone my BIL loans to me. I use it for emailing and occasionally to get directions on foot. I may also look at a restaurant review or some such.

Though I really want to take a trip somewhere with just my day pack's worth of stuff and no phone or other electronics at all. I think a Caribbean Island might be my best bet for a first super-minimalist/gadget-free trip.

I went to Aruba a couple years ago. And looking back on it, I could have enjoyed much of the island without a cell phone. The woman I traveled there with had a cell phone and used it for internetting and such, so by proxy I had a cell phone.

[Ultralight]

Ultralight recently traveled to Israel and also South America with a simple, smallish backpack. Here is hoping he sees your message. Got it. Thanks! :)

[bae]

I try to limit myself to one smallish pack, but I usually carry an electronic device, as I love books and this is the easiest way to carry them. Having offline city maps and such available is also very handy and freeing.

[HappyHiker]

Since I've not convinced my spouse that we should travel device-free, looks like we'll invest in a tablet..our iPhone is so slow (likely needs a new battery) and runs out of juice so quickly, hope a tablet will prove not as annoying. Hate trips where so much energy is spent trying to charge things and sometimes worrying about theft if left unattended in the room...

Those devices do come in handy for reservations and checking train/bus schedules and operating hours of museums and such....sometimes I refuse to look at reviews and like discovering places by wandering around and talking with people...

[Gardenarian]

It depends on how long I'm going to be away, and also the weather. Summer clothes are a lot less bulky than winter. More than two weeks and I take a roll aboard suitcase and use a lightweight backpack for small items. Short term, a backpack is okay - though sometimes a rolling bag actually makes things less stressful (and easier on my body.) It's easier to find stuff and keep things organized in a case. I have a very small under-the-seat one I got at Goodwill.

I bring my phone to use as a camera and clock, also to text home, email, and check flight/train arrangements where there is WiFi (I don't buy SIM cards every time I go to a different country.) I only recently started using ebooks (the Hoopla library app) and foresee using that as well. I don't use my phone much for internet even at home - I don't feel screen bound.

Even on a little road trip, it's great to be able to call AAA when needed. So yeah, definitely a phone.

[razz]

Gardenarian, I am coming to the SF area soon for a week so need some more advice than has already been shared from your fresh perspective on the the area. Which art galleries would you include within the trip as that is a priority for me? Family members will do their own thing on some days as is understood as my interests are somewhat different than theirs. We will meet back at the vacation rental each day.
The Muir Woods/Sausalito and Alcatraz tours are booked. I would love to see unique images to photograph for painting later. What areas would you make a point of seeing. I can pick up postcards of the usual touristy sites so instead am looking for something different that you have to be there to see it.

[funkynassau]

Does anyone travel very simply, lightly -- out of a backpack kind of travel?l. And maybe without any electronic devices?

I'm finding all the electronic devices distracting, would like to venture forth appliance free...but am I too hooked to do it??

My husband and I travel only with one backpack each. It isnt hard to do, but you need to learn how to pare down all the excess stuff most people take with them and never use. I do take my iPad Mini so I can let my kids know we are ok, but I dont use it beyond that. The thought of dragging a suitcase of dirty laundry around while on holiday is enough to make me ill!

The best advice I ever got was to figure out what you want to take with you, lay it out on your bed, then put half of it back!

I've had lots of people ask me how we manage with so little and I reply that I wash sox and undies in the hotel sink, they dry overnite, I have spare jeans and 4-5 shirts plus the one on my back, a light nylon jacket in case of rain, and there's always a laundry anywhere you go, unless it's really remote. We take small bottles of shampoo etc., hairbrush, some meds, hubby has a small first aid kit, and then there's passports and paperwork and that's about it.

We dont buy souvenirs. We breeze thru check in and customs/security while most people are hanging out at the luggage carousel :-) The longest we've been gone with just a backpack was 22 days in England.

[messengerhot]

Does anyone travel very simply, lightly -- out of a backpack kind of travel?l. And maybe without any electronic devices?

I'm finding all the electronic devices distracting, would like to venture forth appliance free...but am I too hooked to do it??

I wish I could do this but I have to bring a camera with me so I can take pictures. I can live my phone in the hotel just use it at the end of the end of the day.

[HappyHiker]

Back from our three weeks in Italy. Loved every minute of it!

Funny story. We took along our iPhone and a laptop.

Second day in Italy, we went to a museum that featured s sensory deprivation room. To enter the exhibit, we had to remove our shoes and put on protective booties so as not to damage the special floor. During this act, bending over, we think, the iPhone slipped out of my husbsnd's pocket -- never to be seen again. It was unlocked.

So our sensory deprivation experience led to our sensory deprivation in reality. Life imitates art!

When friends ask about seeing photos of our trip, we have to shrug our shoulders and say, "we haven't any."

Meanwhile, our iPhone lives on in Italy....

[Teacher Terry]

Bummer about the iPhone as they are expensive. What part of Italy did you see? We have been there twice for 2 weeks each time. A very beautiful country.

[HappyHiker]

Bummer about the iPhone as they are expensive. What part of Italy did you see? We have been there twice for 2 weeks each time. A very beautiful country.


We enjoyed 3 weeks in the Italian Lakes -- Lake Como and Lake Maggiore. Took a couple of day trips into Switzerland. And you're right -- this area was so very striking. Blue, blue lakes with the Alps in the distance. Spent quite a bit of time just taking the ferry from one town to another...each one prettier than the previous one, it seemed. Could easily imagine living there...beautiful country, beautiful people. Geraniums and red tile roofs. And of course, gelato.

[SteveinMN]

I loved the Como area when we visited several years ago. It is beautiful country and I could envision living there myself. Peaceful and what seemed like a proper perspective on how to spend one's days. I wish we'd had time to visit Switzerland but we had only three days and our luggage had been lost en route to Italy. :~)

[HappyHiker]

I loved the Como area when we visited several years ago. It is beautiful country and I could envision living there myself. Peaceful and what seemed like a proper perspective on how to spend one's days. I wish we'd had time to visit Switzerland but we had only three days and our luggage had been lost en route to Italy. :~)

Hee hee...we lost our iPhone in Italy at a Sensory Deprivation Exhibit! Life imitates art. Switzerland was quite different thn Italy..very orderly and precise. On the whole, we felt more at home in Italy..felt free and easy there and I like talking with my hands--and the pasta was way better...lol

Those Lakes were just magical...

Glad you felt the magic, too! Three weeks passed in a blink..want to go back...