Hi:

My wife and I are reasonably experienced travelers, having taken a number of domestic and European trips. But I was curious about what types of bags other people are finding work well for a day of siteseeing. I have tried a backpack, but it's cumbersome and seems out of place when you wander into a restaurant or store. I bought a Healthy Back Bag (I think that's the name - has a shoulder strap and is curved so it sort of hangs under your arm), but despite its name it's quite uncomfortable. I only carry the usual stuff - camera, guide book, map, water, pen. I'd love to hear your suggestions for bags, and I'm curious about what people feel is essential to carry as well.

Also, my wife typically uses a fanny pack, but I seem to see a lot of negative comments about them on this site. Are they frowned upon for some reason (other than being "touristy&quot?

Many thanks for any input!

I think a "messenger bag" is good for men or women, with the long strap that can go across the torso. I don't carry a guidebook with me, only notes and a map, and use a disposable camera.

My sister had the same problem with the Healthy Back Bag (hurt her back!). My Mom swears by her "fanny pack" worn in front and her neck safety pouch.

Personally I use a normal leather medium sized pocketbook, same as at home, with basically the same normal stuff in it (less a wallet, plus a map).

I carry my usual purse..though I do have a great lightweight , many-zippered one..It contains my wallet, hidden credit card/extra cash in a hidden pocket, a map, my camera, kleenex ,comb and lipstick..maybe a few pages cut from a guide book or a notebook. My husband's jacket has a zippered pocket inside the lapel for his wallet..sometimes I make him carry an umbrella in his jacket pocket..but mostly we both have rain hats so dispense with the umbrellas. I don't feel any need to carry water, food, batteries, foot cream, bandaids,etc ...but carry what makes YOU feel comfortable!

I just returned from buying a nylon Sportsac with a strap that will go across the torso. Very lightweight. My healthy back pack I use as my carry on bag for the flight. I've used a fanny pack and just ignored the comments. I find them convenient.

My favorite is to put my camera case on my belt, credit card and money in a pouch around my neck, and map and either guide book pages or slim Michelin guide in a pocket and I'm good for the day.

Suzi..again totally agree...just my purse. If I plan to have a picnic will bring a shoulder sac (the same one I use at home). I also use this sack (really a big purse but made of cloth with a zipper, if I think we might not get back to where I am staying. I would then pack a nighty, toiletries (minimal!!) a fresh top and undies.

Hi Paul, I like some others here just take a shoulder bag (purse) and pretty much carry in it what I do here at home.

My wallet with an ATM card and one credit card and some cash and my drivers license. I do carry a photocopy of my passport (which of course I do not do at home).

I leave the original passport, extra ATM card, extra credit cards, extra cash in the hotel safe (not a room safe).

I carry a small notebook and pen.

And a small cosmetic bag, comb, handcream, nail file, Kleenex.

I do not carry bottles of water or maps (I write out what I need to know in the small notebook from the map which I leave in the hotel room. Do carry a pair of sunglasses (or regular glasses) in otherwords the opposite glasses of what I am wearing when I take off for the day. And a cell phone (have to get something different when I go to Italy again). That is about it. I leave my hotel key at the front desk. I do take a hotel business card with me.

My DH always left the "extras" in the hotel and just had his wallet with one ATM card (different then mine) one credit card (different the mine) a folded up copy of his passport and always had a change type small leather coin purse. A hankerchief and comb.

But we did not do mountain climbing or long hikes in the country etc. So probably that makes a difference.

I like to carry as little as possible, just the basics.

If in or near civilization: I carry a 3x5 inch notebook and a pen in my shirt pocket. Billfold with cash and credit cards. Change. Handkerchief. Digital camera in some available pocket.

Money belt: passport, backup debit card, plane/train tickets.

Front pockets: iPAQ, debit card, $100 in local, camera, transit pass.

Back pockets: backup battery.

My hotel address and phone come up when my iPAQ is powered on. iPAQ contains:

Itinerary
Daily news and e-mail when I'm in a hotspot
Flight numbers, times, gates
Train times, platforms
Hotel addresses, phones, confirmation nos.
Restaurant addresses, phones
Road maps & street maps with GPS
Subway/bus routing program (Métro)
Language dictionaries/phrase books
Reading material (several novels)
Sightseeing possibilities/guide books
Currency calculator
Bank, consulate phone numbers
Passport numbers
Credit card numbers, PINs (encrypted)
Travel diary
About 10 CDs worth of my favorite music

PAUL, I suggest you not carry a purse.

I carry a lightweight backpack with camera, guide book, water and map. I may also carry a monocular, folding umbrella and fleece sweater, lightweight jacket, hat and gloves. Depends on the weather. We generally travel in March or October/November when flexibility in clothing is important.

Thanks - these suggestions are what I love about this site! (and special thanks to jsmith for confirming that a purse was not really an option for me.) I'm starting to feel like maybe I carry too much. Any suggestions for a good, comfortable money belt? - I had this vinyl thing that I hated, and some of these posts made me remember that I need to go buy a new one.

Thanks again!

Paul, I use a Royal Traveller from Samsonite. Big enough for passport, tickets, currency, credit cards. It has a cord for around the neck so you can wear it under clothes. It also folds in half with a belt loop so you can wear it with one side inside your trousers.

IMHO - it's way too easy to steal things from either a backpack or a fanny pack - without the wearer feeling anything. I think you're much better off with a Sportsac with a long (canvas) strap that you can wear across your body and keep your arm on.

It's very lightweight, can expand to hold almost anything you need - and most have lot of little zipper pockets to secure valuables.

I'm most comfortable with two bags, one tiny and one roomy.
First, a small microfiber purse with a sturdy across-the-torso strap and zipper comparments inside for cash and ATM and credit cards (no wallet for a professional pickpocket to lift). This bag stays glued to my side at all times.
For the essential tourist gear (map, camera, binocs, umbrella, etc.), a nylon tote or a messenger bag.
Spare ATM and credit cards and anything that would take more than 20 minutes to replace are in the hotel safe or an under-the-clothing pouch.

For day, a big leather purse about the size of a brief case. I can't find anything in it...no one else can either.
But I could carry A LOT! I choose a guide book, a reading book, copy of the passport; 1 credit card. Lunch...wine..

paul:

For your wife she might like a purse I just recently purchased from Magellan Travel Resource. It is a Baggallini Wallet Bagg and already I know I am going to love this new purchase when I depart for Greece shortly. It is a small microfiber bag that looks good and fashionable and opens wide. It has a cell phone/eyeglass pocket, open pocket on the front, six pockets on the inside, three of them are zippered, credit card slots and elasticized loops for pens, lipstick, etc. Can be carried horizontally or vertically. I love it that opens WIDE! I can see everything!
www.magellans.com, 1-800-962-4943 product number is LB656 . Dimensions of the purse are: 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 1 1/2, it weighs 11oz). It comes only in black.

I usually carry just the basics: 1 credit card, ATM card, very small travel hairbrush, lipstick, map, tissues, small set of band aids, tiny bottle of hand cream, Purell, tiny box of mints,
Copy of passport ( I have another in hotel safe)a pen, tiny notebook, my glasses.

All I know the men I travel with including my husband ( we travel with a band of friends each spring that includes about 8 men), only one of them actually carries a small bag and I am not sure what it is, no backpackers in our group. The rest depend on us women to carry the load!!!

Good luck!

I carry a lot, maybe too much, but there isn't anything I carry that I haven't made use of at one time or another:
aside from the usual wallet items (credit card, debit card, cash, tickets or passes, passport or a passport copy, I carry:

tissues
bandaids
wrapped hand wipes
analgesic
map
guide book or notes, including restaurant and cafe lists
light-weight umbrella
sometimes small binoculars
a lipstick and comb
breathspray or mints
sometimes a sweater or shawl
reading glasses and/or sun glasses
in winter, there's also hat and gloves

I carry a regular purse. I started using an old Coach bag as my official travel purse, it's not high style but stylish enough and it's durable. plus it isn't so huge that I feel compelled to carry my life in it. (do you ever notice that the contents of a bag may be compared to a gaseous element? they expand to fill whatever space they are in?) wallet/money, comb, lipstick, pen, cell phone, tiny digicam.

I can carry a guidebook in my hand. the times I've felt it necessary to carry more, such as maybe my big ol' camera or maybe stuff I've bought that day, I will pick up some sort of tote on the street (two of my favorites have been straw bags: once in Nice and once in Paris. The one I bought in Paris has leather handles which is a nice touch.)

I've never used a bum-bag, my thought is it looks untidy plus it's just inviting someone to come behind you and unsnap it and run off with it.

I have a Louis Vuitton messenger bag that I always use when traveling. I bought it in Hong Kong years ago. I can fit a camera, wallet, travel guide, map, and passport inside, making it ideal for travel. The great thing about a messenger bag is that you can drape it "bandolier style" across your body. Free hands, no back strain.

In addition to much of the above, I always have a tiny pill box (size of a quarter) with a few Motrin and a few Robitussin cough gels (for when the fumes in big cities get to me), a tiny bottle of eye drops (for flying debris), and a small compass.

I never leave the room without tissues. You never know where the dispenser will be out of TP.

My thanks to all of you for the great responses. And to ThinGorjus, I love your idea of the messenger bag. I checked out some of them on the web - they're available in just about every size and shape and color you can imagine! (But I'll have to skip the Louis Vuitton - the $1,300 one on their web site is a little out of my price range!)
Thanks again all
Paul