Slow travel packing is something we thought we had figured out before we left home — we were wrong. When Marge and I sold most of our belongings and set off for more than a year of full-time travel, we loaded ourselves up with two checked bags, carry-ons, and backpacks. We packed for every possibility: different climates, church visits, nicer dinners, spare everything. A year later, we shipped a box of clothes home from Vietnam and haven’t looked back.
This is what we actually learned.
Why We Chose Checked Bags for Full-Time Travel
Our reasoning seemed logical at the time. We weren’t packing for two weeks in Cancún — we were moving our lives across countries for an indefinite stretch. Different climates meant different wardrobes. Longer stays meant more laundry options, but also more days between washing. And then there was the camera gear.
So we packed accordingly. Plenty of clothing options. Extra shoes. Dress shirts and ties for church or a nicer dinner. Toiletries in bulk. Medications. Camera equipment. A few comfort items for the evenings.
Looking back, none of those assumptions were unreasonable. But several of them turned out to be wrong.
What We Actually Overpacked
The biggest surprise wasn’t what we forgot. It was how much we never used.
Somewhere in Southeast Asia — Vietnam, specifically — we realised we were carrying clothes we hadn’t touched in months. The dress shirts were mostly unnecessary. The ties? Never worn once. The heavier winter layers we’d packed just in case? Dead weight through all of Malaysia, Thailand, and Bali.
So we did something we never expected to do halfway through a long trip: we boxed it all up and shipped it home.
We used the FedEx World Service Center in Da Nang, Vietnam. Efficient, helpful, and easier than we expected. The box went home. The bags got lighter. And travel got noticeably less stressful. (If you’re curious what three months in Da Nang actually feels like, we wrote about that too — read it here.)
What We’re Glad We Kept
Ironically, the items that proved most valuable weren’t clothes at all.
The Camera Gear
My Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and DJI Osmo Pocket 3 take up most of my backpack — you can see the full kit in our gear breakdown. Could I travel carry-on only with that setup? Maybe, at a push. Would I want to? No. Photography is central to how I experience slow travel — capturing morning markets, quiet streets, the light at golden hour in Hoi An. Those memories are worth the weight.
The Amazon Fire Stick
Small, light, and genuinely useful. Not every hotel or Airbnb has a smart TV, and after a long day walking a new city, having familiar shows on demand matters more than you’d think. It’s already configured with our apps — we plug it in and it works anywhere.
The Digital Picture Frame
This one surprised us. Our digital frame cycles through photos from family and friends back home. When you’re thousands of miles away for months at a time, that constant visual reminder of the people you love is worth every gram. Travel broadens your world. This keeps it anchored.
The Real Cost of Checked Bags on the Road
Checked bags have genuine drawbacks, and after a year of slow travel packing, we know them well.
The biggest recurring stress is weight limits. Every travel day involves checking, rechecking, and sometimes shuffling items between bags to hit airline requirements. Budget carriers in Southeast Asia — AirAsia especially — can be strict, and there’s always a moment of anxiety approaching the check-in counter.
Then there’s the physical reality. We arrived at a boutique hotel in Laos to find no elevator and a full staircase between us and our room. In Birmingham, we parked near New Street Station and discovered the lifts weren’t working — so up we went, checked bags, carry-ons, backpacks, four flights of stairs. It’s the kind of moment that makes carry-on-only travelers seem very wise.
Marge’s Take on Packing Light
Marge’s position is clear: pack as light as possible. She was the first one pushing to ditch the clothes we weren’t wearing, and she was right. That said, she’s not ready to go carry-on only — and neither am I. There’s a middle ground between the overpacked version of ourselves that left home and the hypothetically minimalist version that fits everything in a cabin bag.
We’re somewhere in that middle ground now. Same checked bags, but meaningfully lighter. No dead weight. No clothes we’re keeping just in case.
Would We Pack Differently Now?
Yes — and no.
We’d pack lighter from day one. Fewer clothes, fewer shoes, no ties, one dress shirt maximum. Most places we’ve visited are far more casual than we anticipated, and the few occasions that warranted something smarter could have been handled with far less.
We’re not going all-in on carry-on only, though. The camera equipment is the deciding factor, and the math is different for slow travelers than for weekend hoppers: you’re not hauling bags through three airports in a single week, you’re checking in once and unpacking properly for weeks at a time. Paying the weight cost once beats paying it five times.
Carry-on only is a genuinely great option for digital nomads, weekend travelers, backpackers, and minimalists. For slow travelers, photographers, or anyone spending extended time in changing climates, checked bags still make sense. Just pack them with more intention than we did.
Practical Tips for Slow Travel Packing
- Weight limits: Weigh your bags at home before every trip. Budget carriers in Southeast Asia (especially AirAsia) are strict. Keep a luggage scale in your kit.
- Ship what you don’t need: FedEx, DHL, and local shipping centres in most major Asian cities can send a box home for a reasonable fee. We used FedEx in Da Nang — efficient and straightforward.
- Test your packing list ruthlessly: If you haven’t worn it in three weeks, you don’t need it. Donate or ship it. For what we actually carry now, see our Essential Slow Travel Packing List.
- Camera gear gets its own bag: Don’t compromise on protecting your equipment. Build your packing list around that bag first.
- Connectivity: We use an Airalo eSIM — activate it before you land, works across most of the countries we’ve visited. Saves the stress of finding a local SIM on arrival.
- Stairs happen: Seriously. Not every hotel has a lift. If your bags are too heavy to carry up two flights of stairs, they’re too heavy.
After a year of slow travel packing, the honest lesson is simple: you need less than you think, and the things that matter most don’t take up much space. The camera gear preserves the memories. The comfort items make long stays feel like home. Everything else is negotiable.
Our bags are lighter now. So are we.
🎬 Watch: Life in Da Nang
Curious what daily life actually looked like in Da Nang — the city where we shipped that box home from? We documented it on YouTube. Watch it here:
▶️ Da Nang: Ordinary Days in an Extraordinary City — Vietnam Daily Life Vlog
If you’re planning a long-term trip and wrestling with the checked bags vs carry-on question, drop us a comment — we’d love to hear how you’ve handled it.
— Mike & Marge | The Passport Pillow
Slow travel for curious souls.
