Melissa Delaware lives with her family in Brisbane, Australia and have been obsessed with travel ever since she took her first flight at 19! She has travelled the world mostly as a solo female backpacker.
Now she has her daughter, she travels with my family. It seems she has past her love for travel to her daughter as even at the young age of 6, she says she wants to grow up to be an explorer.
Melissa's blog is about budget adventure family travel. She is a big believer that just because you have children, you don’t have to stop exploring the world, or every trip be about Disneyland.
What's usually in your carry-on?
Everything! I prefer carry on only luggage.
Tell us about the usual type of clothes you bring when traveling?
I don’t put a lot of thought into the fashion aspect of what I pack, but I do think about what pieces of clothing will work in multiple situations, given we pack lightly. Given we spend a lot of time exploring Australia or SE Asia I prefer light dresses to stay cool. They also take up less space and can easily be dressed up at night with a necklace or something. I also love a good pair of walking sandals - I love Merrells. They come in awesome bright colours, are super comfortable and go with everything.
What's the best packing tip anyone has given you? Who gave it?
Use packing cubes! Can’t recall who told me this – but I swear by packing cubes now. Not only to do they save space because they compress everything, but they are great at keeping your things organised in your bag. Before packing cubes our packs where a mess with everyone’s things mixed up, now we each have our own cube and no exactly where our items are.
What is the best thing about packing light?
Packing lightly I love just walking straight up to the gate at the airport, no need to check in bags. As well as just leaving the airport once we land – no need to wait for bags. It also makes it easier to keep track of everything. We are budget travellers so usually our hotel rooms are super small. With a pack each, there is not stuff everywhere all over our room and when it comes to packing up to move on to the next destination it only takes a few minutes.
How does your packing for a travel routine look like?
I have a handy packing check list which I print out a few hours (yes hours!!!) before we leave for the airport and pack. Travelling so frequently I know exactly what to pack and don’t usually deviate too much with each trip. I don’t think too much about fashion, for me its all about the adventure and less about what I take. I pack practical clothes and shoes.
How do you deal with "excess baggage" situations?
We generally always pack lightly so this is never an issue for me. If however we do need to take a little more than carry on luggage, I will just add check in luggage to one person’s booking and we just check in one bag. This saves money as well as only having to worry about the one bag. Oh and always wear your heaviest clothes / shoes etc onto the plane.
What's your best-kept packing secret?
Being a blogger I don’t really have any secrets because I share everything! I guess my other tip is to purchase good quality travelling gear that’s built to last.
Quick Q's
- Favourite region? Southeast Asia
- Favourite country? Thailand
- Favourite city? Melbourne
- Favourite beach? Any of the beaches in Noosa, Australia
- Favourite food? Wine - does that count as food?
- Favourite mode of transpo? Land
- Favourite book? Anything from Lonely Planet
- Window or aisle seat? Window
- Carry-on or check-in? Carry-on
- Hostel or hotel? Hostel but with a private room and bathroom
- What's your favourite design from the Cabin Zero collection? 44l Classic - awesome for carry on only luggage
Follow Melissa and the Delaware family's adventure on Instagram, @thriftyfamilytravels.
0 comments