• Define your trip
  First, outline your activities and determine your trip needs. Consider local customs (do women keep their legs, arms and heads covered?), climate zones (will you be snorkeling in Australia and hiking the Andes on the same trip?) and seasons (visiting Asia during the monsoons?). Also, take into account your environment (are malaria and/or dengue fever prevalent?), interests (planning to visit temples in Indonesia or bike 100 miles through New Zealand?), and your own comfort level (do you get cold easily? Keep in mind that it can get chilly even in the tropics and frigid at higher altitudes).

• Observe local women
  Despite all your research, as soon as you enter a new culture, it’s a good idea to spend the first day or two observing the women around you and tuning into local customs. This will help you gain a better sense of the culture, see how other women dress and assess what is and isn’t appropriate to wear. If necessary, you can always visit a local shop or market to round out your travel wardrobe.

• Pick suitable fabrics
  The goal is to choose clothes that are comfortable, lightweight, functional, easy to care for, and culturally appropriate. Synthetic (e.g. rayon, polyester, nylon and spandex) and high-performance (e.g. polypropylene) clothes are ideal because they’re generally stretchable, crushable and wrinkle-free, and, therefore, very packable. Silk keeps you cooler than cotton in hot climates, and is versatile enough to suit different situations -- e.g. everyday, casual wear to smart, dress-up occasions. It can also shade you from the blazing sun and protect you from mosquitoes.

  You can find good lightweight, quick-drying, wrinkle-free clothes at many outdoor outfitters or through mail-order catalogs like MAGELLAN’S (Tel:1-800-962-4943). Clothes designed specifically for travel tend to be pricier, but may be worth the extra expense. For active outdoor adventures, it’s essential -- for the sake of comfort and function -- to invest in materials that wick moisture away from your skin, like polypropylene.

• Choose your clothes carefully
  Not all travel clothes are the most stylish threads you’ll set eyes on. It’s important to choose items that are functional and practical, but that you’re also comfortable in and like. After all, you’ll probably spend a lot of time in the same clothes. The key to packing for multi-activity adventure trips is choosing mix-and-match clothes (stick to two colors) that you can layer. The following list contains all you’ll need to make umpteen outfits, if you choose colors and styles carefully, and provides a suitable wardrobe whether you’re heading off for a week- or a yearlong trip. Don’t forget to research the countries you’ll be traveling to: certain colors have cultural significance and may be inappropriate.

• 1 jacket (waterproof is best)
• 1 warm (though not too bulky) sweater or fleece
• 1 smart skirt or pair of pants
• 1 pair of pants that matches everything and can be used for active wear
• 1 smart long-sleeved shirt that matches all bottoms. A silk or button-down, quick-drying travel shirt works best
• 2 other shirts, long- or short-sleeves for casual (one for active wear, if necessary)
• 1 casual but durable skirt for everyday wear — suitable for hiking in the mountains or strolling through towns and villages
• 1 oversized T-shirt for pajamas (can be worn with leggings in cold weather)
• 1 pair waterproof pants and gaiters (optional — depending on your activities)

Skirts and loose clothes tend to be more comfortable and versatile, provide more freedom of movement, allow you to blend in more and make it easier to use certain toilet facilities. Skirts can also be more comfortable for carrying a money belt (consider tucking the money belt into the back of your underwear or tights to ensure it doesn’t fall off. Or, sew several small loops on the inside of your skirt, to loop the money belt through).

Keep in mind that in many cultures, from Italy to Indonesia, shorts and sleeveless (or risqué) shirts are considered culturally unacceptable. You also won’t be allowed to enter certain areas, such as mosques, churches, temples and other sacred sites. It’s best to dress as modestly as possible.

• Select your footwear
  Probably the most important items you’ll bring. Make sure they’re versatile (e.g. boots that can be worn with pants or a skirt, and sandals that can double as shower shoes, are ideal). Also, consider the region you’re visiting. If you need to remove your shoes when you enter a house (e.g. Japan) or holy site (e.g. temples in India), consider getting slip-on shoes.

• Bring small essentials
  Silk underwear, tights, stockings and good-quality athletic leggings are ideal for adding warm layers. They also pack up small and are quick drying. Two of the most essential items are a sarong (or even a big scarf) and a bandana. Sarongs are lightweight, easy to carry and come in handy if you need something to cover your head, legs or arms to enter holy sites or shielding yourself from the sun. They have dozens of other uses, including: an emergency towel, tablecloth, skirt, to carry market goods and so on. Similarly, bandanas have multiple functions: to be used as a belt, headband, washcloth, to carry or wrap things (e.g. a breakable item you buy en route), wrap around your neck, use to tie up and suspend food (from rodents) or, in a pinch, to fix something, like a broken backpack strap.

• Break in your clothes
  Before you leave home, put your clothes to the test, especially new items and footwear and particularly leather hiking boots. Wear your clothes for at least a full day, to make sure they’re comfortable and suitable, then crumple them up and stuff them into your luggage for a day, to determine if they’ll travel well. This will help you determine if they can sustain the abuse you will inevitably put them through.

  It’s also essential to test out new "performance" clothes. Make sure new bike shorts, hiking boots, hats, wool socks, polypropylene shirts and other items fit properly, don’t chafe or itch, breathe well and are worth the weight and space in your bag. You don’t want to discover 10 miles into a 10-day biking adventure that your shorts chafe.

• Go native or go conservative
  Travelers have different ideas on whether or not to "go native" and adopt the local dress. Is it insulting? Respectful? Presumptuous? You need to decide for yourself what you’re willing -- and what you want -- to do to be sensitive to local cultural, societal and religious beliefs and rules. Maybe you’ll decide that dressing conservatively, in baggy, body-covering clothes, suits you just fine. Or maybe you’d rather buy a sarong, Punjabi dress or veil to blend in more. Either way, it’s best to dress as modestly as possible in Islamic and other traditional or conservative cultures.

  Keep in mind that what you wear can really impact your overseas experience, dramatically affecting how people will act toward and react to you. (Are you perpetuating the myth that Western women are "floozies," or loose?).

• Jewelry
  Bring inexpensive jewelry to jazz up outfits, but don’t take anything that you aren’t prepared to lose. Anything too glitzy can attract unwanted attention and make you a target for thieves. Besides, you don’t want to waste time safeguarding your jewelry.

• Consider feminine products
  In some regions of the world, tampons can be difficult, if not impossible, to find. Often, they’re only found in tourist areas and, therefore, you’ll pay a relatively high price for these "luxury" items. You can either adjust and make due with local products (typically sanitary napkins) or hunt down the tourist sections in larger cities when necessary. Or, consider investing in The Keeper, a reusable menstrual cup used in place of tampons that’s ideal for backwoods, offbeat and no-tampons type of travel www.thekeeper.com.

• Stock up on medicines and supplies
  With perseverance and patience, you can generally get whatever medications and prescriptions you need as you travel. But if you’re particular about a medication (only Motrin works for your cramps) or are you prone to yeast or urinary tract infections, stock up on supplies before you leave home, and make sure you get a signed doctor’s note giving you permission to carry prescription meds. (Ask your doctor for Diflucan, a one-dose prescription for yeast infections that’s compact and handy for travel.) Also, you may want to bring condoms with you (durable, trusty ones from home) because you just never know where you’ll find romance.

• Final tips
  Keep the stuff in your luggage or pack in roughly the same place; it gives a sense of consistency to a life that's changing everyday, and it makes it easier to find things. Clear, Zip-loc bags are ideal for organizing items in your bag, allowing you to quickly see what’s inside. Waterproof your bag or backpack, so it can withstand sitting on a runway in wet weather and handle travel through rainy regions. A dry bag inserted into a backpack can guarantee dry clothes and gear. A one-size-fits-all sink stopper is handy for plugging drains, so you can hand wash clothes. Alternatively, you may be able to use the cap of a film canister or a rubber jar lid remover for the same purpose. And consider bringing an umbrella; not necessarily for rain, but as protection against the tropical sun.

Finally, don’t bring so much that it weighs you down. This just compromises your freedom of movement and safety, and makes you more vulnerable to thieves and backaches.

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Copyright 2000. Kari J. Bodnarchuk. All rights reserved.