Pack Less, Travel Better: Silvana’s Travel Packing Tips

After more than 30 years working in travel, Silvana Gottini from World Travellers Motueka has picked up plenty of practical travel packing tips.

One of the simplest? Pack less than you think you’ll need.

It’s easy to fill a suitcase with things that might come in handy “just in case”. But as Sil has discovered through years of travelling herself, much of it often comes home unused.

And sometimes, travelling without the big suitcase is the best way to realise just how little you actually need.

A packing lesson from travelling through Japan

This became particularly clear when Sil was leading a walking tour through Japan.

At times, the group sent their main luggage separately while they travelled by Shinkansen bullet train to their next destination. That meant packing a smaller overnight bag with everything they needed for the following two or three days.

Initially, there was some apprehension.

Would they have enough? What if something they needed was packed away in the main suitcase?

But after a few days of travelling with less, something unexpected happened.

Rather than looking forward to being reunited with their main luggage, the group started dreading having all those extra belongings and choices again.

Travelling with less felt surprisingly freeing – and proved just how little they actually needed.

How to use packing cells when travelling

One of Sil’s favourite packing inventions is the packing cell, particularly when a trip involves moving regularly between destinations.

But there’s a trick to using them effectively.

Pack by category rather than by individual outfit.

For example, Sil uses separate packing cells for things such as:

• active and hiking clothing
• city and evening wear
• underwear and tops.

When she arrives at a new destination, the cells can go straight into a drawer. Everything has its place, without needing to open every packing cell to find what’s needed for the day.

It’s a simple system that can make a big difference when regularly packing and unpacking throughout a trip.

How to pack light with the 3 × 3 packing method

For travellers wanting to go even lighter, Sil recommends considering the Sudoku packing method.

The idea is to create a small capsule wardrobe based around a 3 × 3 grid:

Three tops + three bottoms + three layering pieces.

Rather than packing a completely different outfit for every day, the aim is to choose pieces that can all be mixed and matched.

From those nine core pieces, it’s possible to create up to 27 different outfit combinations.

That means plenty of variety without needing to take half the wardrobe along for the journey.

Choose travel clothes that work harder

The key to packing light isn’t necessarily taking fewer types of clothing. It’s choosing pieces that can do more.

Sil recommends starting with a simple colour palette so different items work together, then looking for lightweight fabrics and versatile pieces that can serve more than one purpose.

A dress, scarf or a couple of small accessories can provide some extra variety without taking up much suitcase space.

This approach is particularly useful for longer journeys or itineraries where travellers are frequently moving between destinations.

Lay everything out – then take some away

Another of Sil’s packing rules is remarkably simple.

Lay out everything you think you’ll need, then remove some of it.

Those extra “just in case” items can quickly add up.

There are shops and laundries in most places, so travellers don’t necessarily need to carry everything they could conceivably need for every situation.

The aim isn’t to pack so lightly that the trip becomes inconvenient. It’s to be more deliberate about what actually deserves space in the suitcase.

Don’t fill the suitcase before you leave

There’s one final piece of advice: don’t overstuff the suitcase simply because there’s room available.

Sil would rather take a slightly larger bag with some spare capacity than cram everything into a smaller one.

It makes packing and repacking easier during the journey and, importantly, leaves some space for souvenirs and anything else that might find its way home.

After more than three decades in travel, Sil’s experience is that travellers rarely regret packing too little.

Planning your next trip from Motueka?

Good travel planning involves much more than choosing flights and accommodation.

The small practical decisions – what to pack, how to structure an itinerary, how long to spend somewhere, which connections make sense and how you’ll move between destinations – can have a big impact on the experience once you’re away.

That’s where first-hand travel experience can be particularly valuable.