Packing from the forecast, not from fear

People pack for every trip they might have. Pack for the one you are taking.

Start with the nights

Count the nights, decide how many outfits that really is (a city trip reuses more than you think), and put that number of tops on the bed. Then take one away. Trousers and shoes: two of each is nearly always enough. Laundry exists in every city.

Read the forecast for your dates, not the season

"Lisbon in October" is a mood; the forecast for the 7th to the 9th is a fact. A week before you go, look at the highs, the lows and the rain, and pack for those. One warm layer for the evening, a light rain layer if there is a chance of it, and nothing for the weather that is not coming.

One smart set

Somewhere in the trip there is a good dinner, a show, a nicer place than the rest. Pack one outfit for it and stop there. Two is a wardrobe.

Pack for what you are doing

The plan tells you: a beach day wants swimwear and a towel that dries; a hike wants shoes that have already been walked in; a long museum day wants the comfortable ones. Look at the stops, not the destination.

The five things people forget

• The charger and, abroad, the adapter.
• A copy of the important bookings that works without signal.
• Medication for the whole trip plus two days.
• A small bag for the day, so the big one stays in the room.
• Space for what comes back.

In Travlyo the packing list builds itself from the nights, the forecast for your dates and the kinds of stops in the plan, and ticks are saved as you pack.