Traveling with Hand Luggage through Southeast Asia

Traveling through Southeast Asia with just hand luggage is absolutely doable, and has many advantages. It makes getting around easier, especially if you’re traveling by scooter, taking buses and trains, or moving from one place to another frequently. It also allows you to travel more minimally and, depending on the airline, save money on checked baggage. Once you get used to traveling light, you’ll probably realize that you don’t need nearly as much as you thought.

Pack for a Few Days, Not Your Entire Trip

One of the biggest mistakes people make when traveling to Southeast Asia is packing clothes for the entire trip. If you’re traveling for several weeks or even months, that simply isn’t necessary. You can wash your clothes along the way, and you can easily buy basic things locally for a small price if you need them. This means you can travel with a surprisingly small amount of clothes without constantly worrying about running out of clean clothes.

Getting Your Laundry Washed Quickly

You don’t have to worry about not having enough clothes, as almost every accommodation offers a laundry service. If they don’t, you can usually find a laundry service nearby, and they cost typically just €1–2 per kilo. And thanks to the tropical climate, your clothes will usually dry quickly, meaning you can often pick them up within 24 hours. This makes traveling with a small backpack much easier. Instead of carrying clothes for two or three weeks, you can simply wash what you have and keep going. Just remember that laundry services can occasionally take longer than expected, especially during rainy season. So it’s a good idea not to wait until you’ve run out of clean clothes.

Keep Your Airline’s Hand Luggage Rules in Mind

This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s still important to make sure that your backpack meets your airline’s size and weight restrictions. Different airlines have different rules regarding hand luggage, so always check the requirements for your flight. If you’re traveling for a longer period and plan to book domestic flights along the way, it’s a good idea to choose a backpack that meets the most restrictive size and weight limits of the airlines you’re likely to use. Many people assume that you can always bring 10 kg of hand luggage, but this is a common misconception. The allowed weight and dimensions can vary significantly between airlines.

What We Actually Pack

Here is an example of what we usually pack for a trip through Southeast Asia: