How to pack for a camping trip if you are flying
July 13, 2010
You’re planning the hiking trip of a lifetime to New Zealand but are worried your camping kit will cost a fortune in baggage fees, the way they are going these days.
Packing tips for camping trips
Fret not, there are easy ways to reduce the amount of baggage you’ll need:
- Find out if you can rent camping gear at your destination and, if so, how much it will set you back.
- Cut the amount of clothing you carry to the minimum – travel detergent is your friend. Leave your bulky, hard-to-dry jeans at home and, instead, pack layers of light-weight, breathable clothing and extra socks. Make sure you’re prepared for all weather conditions, but don’t carry an outfit for all occasions. You are going camping, after all.
- Invest in a set of good micro-fiber towels. They are amazingly absorbent, dry fast and even the beach towel-sized versions fold down to a tiny parcel.
- Pack recipes for one-pot meals and find a pot that can double as a frying pan if you want to fry or scramble eggs in the morning. Pack a plastic bowl for cereal and soup, a light chopping board and a collapsible water container.
- Get an inflatable pillow if you don’t want to use rolled-up clothes.
There are a few baggage regulations that ban certain camping utensils either from hand luggage or from being allowed altogether:
- You’re not allowed to pack fuel of any kind, but most airlines allow camping stoves in checked luggage.(Compressed gases and flammable substances are on every airline’s list of prohibited items, so you’ll have to buy fuel once you’re off the plane.)
- Lighters on flights to, from and within the U.S. are not permitted. On non-U.S. flights, you can carry one lighter worn on your person.
- Cutlery and knives as well as any other sharp items have to go in checked luggage.
Looking for the best places to camp? Check out our list of Cheapflights’ favorite Top 10 National Parks.
For more How-to Guides, see Cheapflights’ How-to Series.
(© Cheapflights Ltd: Written by Sonja Altwein)
Pleasance Coddington
Pleasance is a British travel writer and online content specialist in travel. She has written for numerous publications and sites including Wired, Lucky, Rough Guides and Yahoo! Travel. After working for six years on content and social media at VisitBritain, she is now the Global Content and Social Media Manager for Cheapflights.
Thanks for all of the information. Hiking boots really make or break the experience. We’re mountain hikers and really appreciate the support good boots give us, especially in the down hill phase.
Packing for such camping trip is really difficult. So what I usually do is rent in the travel destination for some gears. Actually, that works for me. The baggage fee is even more expensive and you are free from carrying heavy gears.
Thank you for the information about camping. I have always been interested about camping that’s why I am glad finding about your site.