Pedro Ivens

How can you pack an entire pyjama to save space inside your bag?  Bundling all pieces of a pyjama and then rolling them together, in my opinion, the best way to pack it inside the bag. Pack efficiently is all about getting the most out of your bag and put more things inside it. Some people say we should  bundle it,  some say you should fold it, and others say you should roll it. Having tried all three methods, my preferred method is to roll my clothes. Rolling clothes, in my opinion, not only it maximizes the space, but also makes it easy to take things out of the bag while keeping all other clothes neat and organized. What pyjamas to pack? Sleeping comfortably is very important any day of the year, and also important while traveling. Recovering from a long day walk with a good night of sleep is invaluable. The choice of the best travel pyjama is an article of its own, but it really depends on your type of destination and preferences. For summer travel I always pack a reg...

How can you pack a sweatshirt or a pull-over to save space inside your bag?  Rolling sweatshirts or pull-overs is, in my opinion, the best way to pack it inside the bag. Pack efficiently is all about getting the most out of your bag and put more things inside it. Some people say we should  bundle it,  some say you should fold it, and others say you should roll it. Having tried all three methods, my preferred method is to roll my clothes. Rolling clothes, in my opinion, not only it maximizes the space, but also makes it easy to take things out of the bag while keeping all other clothes neat and organized. What sweatshirt or pull-over to pack? In my opinion, there is not much difference between picking one specific type of sweatshirts or pull-overs to travel with. Since the objective is to keep us warm, most of the fabrics will have a significant volume after being folded. So, when packing a sweatshirt or a pull-over I try to select options that go well with most of my clot...

How can you pack a pair of shorts to save space inside your bag?  Rolling shorts is, in my opinion, the best way to pack it inside the bag. Pack efficiently is all about getting the most out of your bag and put more things inside it. Some people say we should  bundle it,  some say you should fold it, and others say you should roll it. Having tried all three methods, my preferred method is to roll my clothes. Rolling clothes, in my opinion, not only it maximizes the space, but also makes it easy to take things out of the bag while keeping all other clothes neat and organized. Picking the right shorts Shorts is one piece of garment that both man and women take for travelling. The type of shorts and fabric make all the difference in how much volume they take inside a bag. Denim shorts are usually bulkier than regular polyester shorts, so packing one instead of the other can make a lot of difference in the space it occupies inside the bag.  However, nicer shorts like the...

How can you pack a puffer jacket to save space inside your bag? Rolling a puffer jacket is, in my opinion, the best way to pack it inside the bag. Pack efficiently is all about getting the most out of your bag and put more things inside it. Some people say we should  bundle it,  some say you should fold it, and others say you should roll it. Having tried all three methods, my preferred method is to roll my clothes. Rolling clothes, in my opinion, not only it maximizes the space, but also makes it easy to take things out of the bag while keeping all other clothes neat and organized. The puffer jacket The puffer jacket is probably the most versatile jacket you can wear while travelling.  It can keep you warm without wearing much else, some are water repellent, and some even make you look sporty and cool. Both Men and Women can wear this type of jacket. However, carrying puffer jackets has an issue: volume . They take up a lot of space inside a bag, and if it is not cold yo...

What non-touristy beaches can I visit in Portugal? the Vilar da Amoreira River beach in Pampilhosa da Serra, Portugal is not touristy and you can enjoy a very calm river beach in a very beautiful place. Portugal is an amazing country to visit, but most people will end up visiting Lisbon, Porto, or Algarve. In this article I would like to talk about places in Portugal most people will probably never know about, particularly, the Vilar da Amoreira river beach. This is not a traditional beach, but more of a a swimming pool in a river! It is located near the village "Pampilhosa da Serra" and it is two and a half hours drive from Lisbon and Porto. Once you get there, it is usually easy to park the car in the organized parking lot (with marked parking spaces!). This a beach built in a very calm area on the margin of the Portuguese river "Zêzere" and it consists on a floating device that allows water in, thus creating a very safe swimming pool with the water from the river...

Is it possible to travel with a 16 liter Fjallraven Kanken as your only bag? Yes it is. This is actually my preferred method for travelling. I will explain how I do it.  How to make the 16 liter Fjallraven Kanken backpack viable as your only travel? To be able to travel with a small bag in general, and with a 16 liter bag in particular, such as the Fjallraven Kanken, there are 3 main aspects I always consider to achieve this. These are: doing Laundry, picking clothes with similar colors, and adjust to weather forecast. Do take a look at my article where I explain my technique to travel only with a small bag  here .   1. Do laundry To make a 16 liter backpack work as our only bag we will not be able to fit a lot of clothes inside our bag, so we will need to pick only a few outfits. Thus, the only way to make this work is to wash the few clothes we take every night or every other day. I usually take advantage of showering every night and wash my clothes then. Firstly, befo...

 Is the 16 liter Fjallraven Kanken good for travel? Yes. It is excellent for traveling as personal item in an aircraft and also excellent as your only bag, if you can pack light.   What are the benefits of traveling with the 16 liter Fjallraven kanken? Although this is a trendy backpack, there's more to it than just the looks. I really like taking the 16-liter classic Fjallraven Kaken on my trips for 5 main reason: 1. Shape The boxy shape of the backpack allows for a perfect space occupation which maximizes storage. Curvy backpacks may look sleek and aerodynamic, but do not allow us to maximize space, while a boxy shape allows every corner of the backpack to be used. In the picture below I included a visual example of what I mean.  The rectangle on the left , is similar to the classic Fjallraven Kanken backpack: a boxy rectangle. The blue area represents the space we can occupy inside the backpack. The picture on the right represents a backpack that has the same rectangl...

Is it difficult to find a usable free toilet in Japan? No, free public toilets are very easy to find throughout Japan. Where can you find toilets in Japan? Drinking water and other liquids is essential to keep hydrated in any travel. However, it can be a reason for concern if you keep keep drinking water and not have a toilet nearby! The good news is that in Japan you can always find a toilet nearby. Every train or subway station has a public toilet which you can use for free. Also, shopping centers and museums all have free toilets you can use. Cafes and restaurants also have available toilets, which are free, but please keep in mind that is polite to buy something. It is also possible to find public toilets in many random places in most of the major cities I visited (like Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, or Hiroshima). So drinking water in Japan is not a problem, you can easily find a toilet for free in most of the places you visit.   How clean are the toilets? In most of the places I visit...

Does bundling clothes save space for packing? Yes! Putting clothes together reduces the volume of each garment allowing to optimize the space inside the bag. I like to roll all my clothes and pack them inside my bag. However, when I roll the clothes, each garment has it's own volume, which ends up taking space inside the bag. Just by rolling clothes I think we can get an excellent optimization for the space inside our bags, but I do think we can take a step further by bundling clothes together, and then, rolling them. This is the technique I use most of the time when I pack for travel. If you keep 2 or 3 pieces together in one roll it really maximizes space, because each roll takes less volume, when comparing to the more traditional folding method that everyone uses. This works very well with a bundle of t-shirts or a bundle of underwear. Another option is to bundle and roll together daily outfit changes. For example, a t-shirt with socks and underwear in just one roll.  It not...