TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

Here's a tip that will help make more room in your luggage, especially if you have a lot of clothes:

If you go to Target or Walmart (or any store with a travel section), they sell these clear bags called "compression bags" that you can put clothes into. You then seal it and squeeze all the air of the bag, which compresses your clothes to a much smaller size. They say these bags can save you up to 75% of luggage space.

This is really handy, especially if you pick up a lot of souvenirs and need to make room for them in your luggage!

When you go on a trip, there's a good chance that you'll pick up some souvenirs or even some new clothes. Therefore it's often a good idea to pack some clothes that you wouldn't mind parting with, to make room for all your cool new stuff!

If you are traveling to a sunny place, you will instinctively want to pack tank tops, shorts, swimsuits, and sundresses. As much as you may crave the sunshine, you may not realize that spending a lot of time in the sun isn't good for you. Not only can constant direct sunlight damage your skin, it can also make you feel physically ill and ruin your vacation.

Most people will know that they should pack sunscreen when heading off to a sunny climate, but a lot of people don't realize that they should actually pack a lightweight long-sleeved shirt (or two) as well, as well as a pair of lightweight pants. These will protect your arms and legs from the detrimental effects of constant sun exposure. It seems counter-intuitive to pack long sleeves when going to a sunny destination, but trust me - you'll be glad you did!

You can actually buy lightweight travel clothes that are meant for this very purpose - just visit your local travel store or look for one online.

Before you go on your trip, check out what the weather will be like at your destination. You can easily check this online.

This will determine what you need to bring and what you can leave at home. Find out if it's the rainy season in the place you'll be visiting, or if it will be cold, etc. There's no point in packing a sundress when it will be overcast and rainy! If you check the weather first, you won't need to go and buy a new raincoat if you wind up someplace rainy!

When packing clothes for a trip, you'll almost always want to pack for comfort and practicality, rather than style. Sure, you may want to include a nice dress if you are planning to have an evening out on the town, but other than that, be sensible when choosing your travel wardrobe.

It's best to choose an array of clothes that all work well together, in terms of color and style. Don't pack "outfits" - that is, a top and a bottom that only look good when worn together. Pack tops that will look good with any of the bottoms that you are bringing, and vice versa. This way, if something gets dirty or stained, you're not out of luck when you start running out of clean clothes.

It's best to pack clothes that are lightweight and easy to hand-wash. You can purchase small packets of travel-sized laundry detergent, and hand wash your clothes in the hotel sink or bathtub.

Washing your own clothes while traveling is a great way to save both time (you don’t have to sit at the Laundromat) and money (you don’t have to pay for anything but the soap!).

If I were you, I would bring a really strong, big Ziploc bag. Loksak bags are great for this. Throw your clothes in the bag, add water and soap. You can get small travel-sized packets of laundry detergent (specifically meant for hand washing clothes) or you can even use normal liquid soap or shampoo (which I have done – it gets the clothes clean, but in general, try to use laundry detergent if you can). Swish the clothes around in the soap and water and make sure the soap really goes through the clothes. Squeeze the soapy water through your clothes. Let it soak for awhile and then pull out your clothes, rinse them in the sink or tub, and then hang them up to dry. You can hang them over a radiator, over a chair, over the shower bar, or you can even bring your own clothesline (which is small and lightweight, so it won’t take up much room in your luggage). If you’ve got a room with a balcony, then by all means let your clothes dry outside.

Obviously you won’t be able to wash large loads by using this method, so get used to washing small loads every 2-3 days. If you wash clothes in the evening or at night, chances are they’ll be dry in the morning!

Here's a great packing tip that will help save space in your luggage and also help keep your clothes wrinkle-free:

Roll your clothes!

Instead of laying them flat, which leaves clothes susceptible to wrinkles, you can roll your underwear, socks, shorts and t-shirts and stuff them into your luggage. You can also roll your pants. Just fold them in half and roll up from the bottom.

When clothes are rolled like this, they also make excellent "cushions" for protecting more fragile items, which you can stuff between the rolled-up clothes.