Packing List for Hostelling: What’s in the Backpack?

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So you’ve decided to join the world of backpacking and want to travel the world in a minimalist style. The question is, what do I need to pack to stay in a Hostel? Here is my trusted packing list of the essentials that have been updated over the years depending on if it’s a city hostelling trip, road trip or a trekking expedition. This is a male-orientated packing list, a female-focused one is being planned (Canada Road Trip Post).

Backpack

The trusted workhorse over the last 6 years has been an Osprey Farpoint 40 backpack. I first used this Backpack on my First Solo trip after researching different backpacks that are cabin-compatible for flights, comfortable to carry and have plenty of storage. It quickly became clear, that there was a favourite among Backpackers and that was the Osprey. I have since collected many Osprey bags for packing my kit away and will rank my favourites in a future post along with a guide for how to best pack a backpack.

It cost £80 back in 2018 and has joined me on adventures all over Europe. It’s been thoroughly used, shoved into lockers and under seats, with the only casualty being a zip talon. The features I appreciate most are the waist and chest straps which help spread the weight onto your torso. The horizontal compression straps pack the bag smaller and then the different organisational compartments with a large laptop meshed sleeve. The top and side handle make it easy to carry on transport and then the periphery zip allows the large access to clothes compared to top loading. There are so many small features such as a key clip, a whistle and water meshes are Osprey trademarks.

Clothing

Equipment

• Wallet – keep minimum cards and passes in plus a little cash
• Glasses & Glasses Case, Sunglasses for summer
• Padlocks – One of the best purchases, the flexible cables make life so much easier and are lighter too
• Collapsible Day-Pack – Osprey Ultralight Dry Stuff Pack was a worthy investment from carrying food shops to day hikes when trekking!
• Water Bottle – Tip: empty it before security then refill it in the airport at a fountain, easier than buying bottled water on a hot day.
• Day Backpack – Osprey Daylite 26L to take during the day
• Travel Journal / Sketchbook – My latest hobby of writing daily journals and sketching my travels
• Pencils, Pen, Rubber – for travel journal
• Fiction book – See Bookshelf for Travel Book recommendations
• Quick Drying Towel – No one likes a wet towel when travelling, much more compact and lighter too

Toiletries

Technology

• Phone – Stating the obvious here: Camera, music, boarding passes, social media… and your lifeline
• Watch- Garmin Venu 2 to track my walks & runs
• EU Adapter – very useful and means not relying on power banks
• PowerBank – Anker 20000mha capacity, can get 4 full phone chargers
• Charging Cables (USB-C, Garmin Cable)
• Fujifilm X-T30 Camera
• Camera batteries & Spare SD Card
• Wireless Headphones – Jabra Active 75t , the noise cancelling is handy on planes
• Bluetooth Speaker – Creative Muvo has been my speaker for 10 years but a smaller companion is needed

Docs & Miscellaneous

• Passport – stating the obvious
• Global Health Card – Just in case
• Reservations & Boarding Passes
• Travel Debit Card (Revolut/Monzo/Chase etc)
• Keys – to get back into home
• Playing Cards- A great way to meet people and become popular quickly
• Cash – It is always handy for tipping, and I usually withdraw from a Travel card or order beforehand
• Ear plugs and eye mask – To help get a great night’s sleep

What was overkill?

• Money belt – I was worried about storing cash but the belt was annoying under my shirt and wasn’t used after 2 days.

What did I wish I had packed?

• Packing Cubes – At first I was packing clothes using a rolling technique but as soon as I got some Osprey cubes, it helped my organisation and freed up more space for other gear! Not the cheapest version but I appreciate the lightweight for trekking.