Travel Tip: Packing for Shorter Vacation - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. Packing for Shorter Vacation When you're going on a short trip, whether you take a backpack or a carry on roller bag, it really depends on your destination and what you're more comfortable with. Either one will work very well. When you're packing, plan what you pack. Sometimes because it's a short trip, people don't plan and they just start throwing everything and it's they're wardrobe in there and that's really cumbersome and doesn't work very well. Make sure that everything has a purpose. Make sure that many of the items have a double purpose so that they work for two things. The basic items that I really like to see, when people are packing is a really good scarf for a woman, because it is so versatile. It can dress things up, it can protect you from the wind, it can cover your head in solemn places, it can do many things. And for men it's a really light weight sport jacket that can be rolled up, packed away, but pulled out and put on with a pair of jeans and look good. So those are the things that are really really important. When you do pack, have a packing list with you, so that you don't forget the basics on a short trip, again, it's so easy to forget the basics because you just think, oh this is easy, but you can end up forgetting your passport, or the power adapter, or whatever. So make sure you've got your packing list and you check things off.