"The first hour is very hard," my guide warns as I start the hike up Guatemala's Volcán de Acatenango. "But it will all be worth it when you catch that first glimpse of Fuego at basecamp." I didn't plan to do a volcano hike in Guatemala but the more I read, the more hiking Acatenango felt like one of the country's most unmissable experiences. I rearranged my itinerary accordingly — and what an exhilarating adventure I had!

My Osprey Daylite Expandable 26+6 Travel Pack had its second foreign excursion this month when I took it on a five-day trip to Palma de Mallorca in Spain. Once again, I was impressed with how much I could pack in and how comfortable it was to carry. Read on to discover how the backpack worked as a personal item on a BA flight and what I packed.

Note: this is a long post, including my reflections on the four-day Inca Trail trek I took with Llama Path in 2018, and practical information on planning and packing. I hope you find this useful; please feel free to leave questions in the comments.

“This is ‘Inca flat’,” our guide Aiben tells us wryly as we walk along a rocky path with a moderate uphill incline. The Incas were made of extremely stern stuff, we soon learn. A Franco-German family and I are trekking the 26.5-mile stretch of the Inca Trail that runs from km 82, near Ollantaytambo, all the way to Machu Picchu. 

Last year, I ended up taking a lot of two- and three-day overseas trips, some for work and some for pleasure. One of them was at such short notice — four hours — that I was glad I keep a bag packed with most of the key essentials at home. Regular readers will know that I also love to travel light, especially on short trips, and my rediscovery of the humble backpack last year help me to reach new (weight) lows.


I'm heading to Toulouse on Thursday for a one-night work trip and I thought I'd show you what I packed for two days of meetings in a cool, rainy European city. I pack almost exactly the same things for most two- or three-day trips, though, with a few small changes.

The backpack


My parents bought me the Tumi Voyageur Halle backpack as an early birthday present last year and it has replaced Longchamp's Le Pliage large shopper as my carry-on or personal item (if I'm also taking a suitcase) when flying. I also use it for work, particularly if I am transporting my laptop or other heavy items. There is a laptop sleeve inside, which fits a 12-inch laptop and although only lightly padded, it's fairly well-protected when the bag is full. There are also lots of pockets, which are great for compulsive organisers like me. When I'm flying, I tend to keep the main front pocket for my toiletries and Kindle so that I can remove them easily when flying. The top zippered pocket on the front is useful for storing sunglasses or headphones. The bag is made from nylon, with a leather handle and gold hardware, which means it's lightweight and the padded sleeves make it very comfortable.

The handbag


I used to be a big-handbag woman, but I've been trying to coax myself into downsizing. Buying a new compact camera (the Canon G7X mark II, which I've been very happy with) helped with this and I finally bit the bullet and bought Madewell's crossbody tote during a Black Friday sale. It fits: my (very small) wallet, phone and earbuds, passport, Kindle or notebook, camera, pen, keys and lipbalm. It's also small enough to slip under my coat should I be on a 'strictly one bag per person' Easyjet flight. I can also use this smaller bag for dinners or meetings where I don't want to bring my backpack with me.

The tech

• Laptop and charger. When I'm travelling for pleasure, I can take my MacBook Air, for which I have the international adapter kit. My work laptop is quite lightweight but its charger is bulkier and requires an adapter. This still fits in my backpack with the other kit.
• Kindle Paperwhite. Even short trips involve some downtime and I usually have a range of novels downloaded and ready to go.
• Headphones. I always have a pair of Apple earphones with me (they're the only in-ear earphones I can wear) and depending on the trip, I sometimes also take my Bose SoundTrue headphones (updated version here), which pack down small but are comfortable and have great sound quality. I'm toying with replacing them with some noise-cancelling, bluetooth headphones but I'm not sure I have room in my backpack!
• Compact camera. Unlike my beloved but bulky Canon 100D DSLR, my new compact G7X camera is so small that I take it with me almost everywhere. I also bring a USB SD card adapter to transfer the photos to my computer; the G7X also allows me to transfer photos directly to my phone, which is great for Instagramming on the go. The battery usually lasts for at least three days of shooting but the camera can also be charged via USB, so I bring a cable just in case (which also works for my Kindle).
• Cables and USB charger. I usually have a couple of Apple USB cables and at least one micro USB cable with me to keep all my gadgets happy.
• Portable charger. I bought an Anker PowerCore+ Mini charger last year. It is indeed 'lipstick-sized' and I get more than one full iPhone 7 charge per recharge. At home, I only need to charge my iPhone every other day but I use it a lot more when travelling, particularly now that Three's Feel at Home package means that I can use my data for free almost everywhere I travel.

I rarely travel in August, preferring the cooler and somewhat quieter months for the destinations I tend to visit of May, June, September and October. However, I was very excited to receive an invitation to my cousin's wedding, which takes place in Sorrento this week. I've spent a lot of time in Italy, but mainly in Milan, Bologna, Rome and Sardinia, and, despite my love of Neapolitan pizza, I've never been to Naples.

Today I'm heading off on my next adventure: a two-week trip to Vietnam, which I've been planning for the past six months. I have never visited Southeast Asia before and I initially toyed with the idea of spending a few days in Cambodia too but I've decided to save that for another trip to try to pack in as many of Vietnam's sights, sounds, smells and flavours as I can. It is, of course, impossible to 'do' Vietnam — or very many countries, for that matter —in just two weeks, but I hope that the small selection of towns and cities I am visiting will at least give me a taste of what the country has to offer.

I'm off adventuring again today, destination: Lisbon. Somehow, I have never been to Portugal and the capital city with its colourful buildings, winding streets and pastéis de nata (custard tarts like you've never had before) was extremely appealing. The comparisons to San Francisco — one of my favourite cities in the world — also caught my eye.

I am on my way to Cannes today for a long weekend at my parents' apartment. My main holiday this year was to Mexico, but June and July were insanely busy at work and I've been in need of a little sunshine, sea and poulet rôti. I booked a hand-luggage only with BA and I'm travelling super-light, taking only my trusty small and large Longchamp Le Pliage totes.


This is what I'm bringing — the only things missing are my blazer for the plane, fedora and DLSR. I keep a few things at my parents' place, including a spare pair of running shoes, a few tops and some toiletries, which helps a lot when I'm travelling light. My things are laid out on a Hammamas towel; I won't be taking it with me on this trip, but I've had the turquoise version for about five years and love it so much that I've just bought this pink one to keep at my office. They are lightweight, absorbent and very chic; great for those who like to travel light.


I will be in Cannes for four days, so as well as my purple Havaianas flipflops, my favourite black Banana Republic ballet flats, my & Other Stories bikini, undies and my running kit, I'm bringing: two pairs of shorts (khaki are from Miss Selfridge circa 2004, indigo are J. Crew); five tops (smart black lace tank from Banana Republic, pink textured tank from J. Crew, Uniqlo striped tank, pink American Eagle tee and indigo J. Crew tee); a lightweight cardi; and two dresses (pink and green dress from TopShop and navy dress with floral pattern from Aqua). There are a few toiletries and make-up items here too, but I have more at the apartment.


It isn't hard to guess that my three favourite colours are pink, turquoise and purple, is it? Most of these items, apart from my laptop and chargers, will go in my smaller 'handbag-sized' bag. I've downsized my wallet to a teal Lonchamp coin-purse and a pink card-holder from Kate Spade Saturday. My favourite fossil sunglasses and Kate Spade passport holder will also accompany me. My jewellery and a few first-aid-type items live in my aqua J. Crew pouch. I recently acquired a S'Well bottle, which is great at keeping liquids cool — I even brewed some coffee last night and decanted into the bottle so that it was ready for my early start this morning. My iPad Mini is loaded up with e-books and my waterproof camera is also ready for some action. Then there's just my sleep mask and my amazing Bose SoundTrue headphones, which fold down really small for travel.


J'arrive, Cannes! A plus tard!

I'm off on my travels again, this time on a work trip that will take me Washington, DC, for a few days before crossing the country to San Jose, California, for a conference.

My little brother is getting married this weekend. Technically, he is already married, but this time they are having a big ceremony and I will be attending in person rather than via Skype. I'm flying to Vancouver with my parents and we will spend a few days there before heading to Saskatoon — the Paris of the Prairies — for the wedding. It's been almost seven years since my last trip to Canada and I'm really looking forward to it. Here's what I've packed.

As this post goes live, I will hopefully be on my way to the airport. I'm off to New York for a few days of well-earned R and R with my parents. It's been a pretty hectic year at work so far, so I'm very grateful for a break in my favourite city. The weather looks like it will be cold but without too much of the epic winter that has defined 2014 so far. As I usually travel during warmer climes, I thought I would do an update in my 'what's in my travel bag?' series. This time I'm focusing on my carry-on bag.

My Mulberry Mitzy is still my favourite bag, but when I'm travelling — especially when I have my DSLR with me — I prefer a lighter bag. My first ever branded bag was a medium turquoise tote in Lonchamp's Le Pliage range, which I got about ten years ago and wore to death. More recently, I bought a slate grey version, also in medium, which I use all the time. It has long handles, so you can carry it on your shoulder, it's light, durable, stylish and goes with everything. You can also fit a lot inside, as you will see. The dark grey isn't available at the moment (it will probably be back in the winter), but if you're looking for a colour that goes with everything, I would suggest bilberry (a deep purple).


I like to keep the contents of my carry-on bag to essentials and breakables. Although the photo may suggest otherwise, not everything has to be pink, purple or turquoise. Roughly from left to right, my bag's contents include: my Moleskine NYC city notebook, pen, pink Marc by Marc Jacobs wallet, passport in a turquoise Kate Spade cover, gum, zoom lens for my camera, inflatable travel pillow, purple Longchamp coin purse for my dollars, pink Baggu fold-up tote, an apple, water, my J. Crew hat and gloves, my iPad Mini, my phone and — unfortunately — an umbrella. My DLSR — the Canon EOS 100D that I used to take the photo — will also go inside the bag tomorrow.


For years, I used a purple Kipling cabin-size suitcase for my short-haul travels, but at Christmas I invested in a new Samsonite cabin-size case in a steel blue shade. Bicester Village had some good deals on slightly older models of their Cosmolite, four-wheel spinners, so I paid £180 — not bad compared to the £279 price tag on the new, slightly lighter models. It's worth stopping by the Samonsite store at Bicester if you're passing that way and in the market for a new suitcase.


I'm not taking too much with me: three dresses, a skirt, a few tops, lots of super-thick fleece-lined tights, a couple of scarves, sunglasses, running kit, trainers, toiletries and chargers. The two books in my case are for people I'm visiting in New York (I'm restricting myself to e-books only), which will make a little more room for some of my inevitable purchases. Well, you never know...

I feel like I have been doing a lot of travelling over the past six weeks or so--not that I'm complaining--and today I'm heading off to Manhattan. I haven't been since last September, over nine months ago, and I'm very excited to be going again for a whole week. We'll be staying in the NoLIta/Lower East Side area and the weather is looking good: hot and sunny all week, with Wednesday and Thursday potentially reaching 35 degrees. Scorchio indeed. I'm using the same suitcase as for my Istanbul trip, my carry-on-size purple spotted Kipling case, which I will check in, but I'm taking a bigger bag, namely Mitzy, as my carry-on. These are the clothes I'm bringing:


Top left: two cardigans (royal blue from Mango, heather grey from J. Crew); black blazer (Zara); two scarves (pink jersey from French Connection, royal blue from Galeries Lafayette); three pairs of shoes (black ballet flats from Banana Republic, nude ballet flats from Minelli, tan leather flip flops from Steve Madden). Top right: four dresses (orange floral and coral lace from Tesco, grey jersey from J. Crew, black jersey from TopShop). Bottom left: four tops (purple vest from Uniqlo, pink cami from J. Crew, bright pink top from Anthro, teal top from Anthro); gym kit (top and skort from Lululemon, sports bra from Nike, Asics trainers from Sweaty Betty, bikini from H&M). Bottom right: two skirts (polka dots from H&M, royal blue from TopShop); shorts from Miss Selfridge. My undies are already packed.

There are enough outfit combinations for my trip in there; I will probably also buy some new clothes while I am out there, as I am wont to do. I packed a bikini because our hotel has a rooftop terrace, which I'm really looking forward to using, especially if it is going to be so scorching.


My toiletries and make-up are pretty much the same as for my Turkey trip, although I've got some new sun cream and travel shampoo and conditioner. For jewellery, I'm taking three necklaces (purple and gold pendant and gold star from Market NYC, turquoise from a street vendor in SoHo), two pairs of earrings (my Kate Spade signature spade studs and a pair of turquoise drops from Aspire), a new pink and gold ring from Portobello Road, and all of my recent bracelet haul. I keep my jewellery and assorted bits and bobs in the turquoise Tumi travel wristlet, which has lots of pockets and compartments.


Again, the 'miscellaneous' section of my suitcase is similar to that of my Istanbul packing list, so I didn't bother including my sunglasses, wallet, iPhone and so on. I have my tech kit (iPad, chargers, converter, SD card iPad converter and a new GorillaPod), a sleep mask, my small pink Longchamp tote, my purple Longchamp purse for my US currency and cards, reading matter (book for the plane--and several more on my iPad--and my New York Moleskine city guide and a few other quirky guide maps), a small pink water bottle and a brolly--just in case.

Other than my brief visit to Bristol in March, I haven't managed to fit in much travelling so far this year and it's definitely time for another adventure. And today, I'm heading off to Istanbul, so I can experience two continents in one day, Turkish delight and, of course, the joys of agglutinative languages. I had planned to put together a proper what's-in-my-suitcase post but by the time I escaped from work, it was starting to get dark and I needed to eat dinner. Also, some of the clothes I'm taking needed a wash and aren't yet ready for packing. Instead, I've taken a few photos of some of the things I'm taking for a five-day trip to Turkey, starting with make-up and toiletries: