The Stinky Side of Travel: How to Beat Dirty Feet and Other Travel Hygiene Tips

Traveling can make you dirty. In more ways than you think, but we’ll just stick to dirt of the grainy, brown variety.

It’s pretty much expected that while traveling you’re going to have to deal with a decent amount of dirt. But what can a nomad do? You can’t be dirty forever.

It doesn’t matter how big your pack is or how many pairs of underwear you’ve got. You’re going to end up wearing dirty clothes every now and then. It’s inevitable. Your shoes are going to be caked in mud at some point. You’re going to wake up with unnoticed scratches and bites. There’s no way to get around it: traveling is dirty.

Here are some of my tips on how to avoid being labeled as a stinky traveler/dirty hippie/grungy backpacker:

1. Don’t wait until the last day to do laundry. At least one article of clothing per day should be clean. Err… at least relatively clean.
2. I absolutely promise it’s okay: pack white clothing. Just don’t wear it when you’re planning on going out for hot dogs. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve worn the shirt, if it looks white you’re going to look clean. Even if it smells terrible. Optical illusion.
3. Wear sneakers when going on walking tours or hikes. Flip-flops or sandals are going to get your feet dirty. Wear your shoes and you’ll be more comfortable and your feet will be more clean.
4. Keep a small cloth towel handy on bus and train rides. At the very least a clean face will make you feel fresh & comfortable.
5. Don’t forget to bring your soap/shampoo into the hostel shower. It happens. You grab your towel and your fresh underwear. You wait in line for the shower for 5 minutes. You finally get inside and realize you didn’t bring your soap. Oh well, guess it’s just going to be a rinse. Just try not to let this happen multiple days in a row.
6. No shirt is cleaner than a dirty shirt. Just go topless!
7. In hot climates, wear one shirt during the day and another in the evening. Then alternate for the next day.
8. Floss! It’s amazing how clean you feel afterward. Even if you’re brushing your teeth with salt water.

“Grooming on the Go” Giveaway!

Not following any of my tips above? If you need more help staying clean, AXE is offering a “grooming on the go” travel kit for a lucky reader of this blog. The kit comes with AXE Twist travel-size products such as lotion, hand sanitizer, body spray & deodorant.

To enter this contest giveaway, just do the following:

• Leave a comment below. Maybe you’ve got a travel hygiene tip of your own? At the very least make sure you input your e-mail address so I can find you.
• Retweet! Retweet! Retweet!

I’ll randomly select a winner from the comments below on Saturday, 31 July 2010. So just be sure to comment before then.

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New to travelsofadam.com? Adam is a graphic designer who left behind a  job in Boston to travel around the world… in search of creative inspiration, new knowledge, tasty food, different cultures & interesting people. All while trying to remain as clean as possible. Please consider becoming a Facebook fan or subscribing to the RSS feed.