A LIGHTWEIGHT MAGNA VIA FRANCIGENA PACKING LIST.
We love a good packing list, so we have put one together to help you prepare for the Magna Via Francigena.
In this blog post you can find everything that we packed for the route. Our aim was to keep backpacks super light, especially as we knew that we would need to carry at least 3 litres of water each day.
This packing list includes the absolute essentials, but with a few little luxuries too.
What size backpack should you take for the Magna Via Francigena?
The Magna Via Francigena is a 9 day hike and as such, you should not need to carry too much gear with you. We recommend a 30 litre backpack, as an ideal size backpack for your trip. Carrying anything larger may mean that you are tempted to over pack.
🎒We recommend Osprey 30 litre backpacks, we both carry these for most long-distance trails. Check out the Osprey Tempest for women and the Opsrey Skarab for men.
Just remember when you pack to leave enough room to carry 3-4 litres of water per day and food.
Magna Via Francigena packing list
Based on our experience of walking the Magna Via Francigena, here’s what we recommend packing for the route.
HIKING FOOTWEAR
The Magna Via Francigena is best walked in sturdy footwear designed for walking. You’ll find mixed terrain on the route – some road and a lot of trail.
We are both fans of the footwear brand Hoka and tend to default to wearing these for most of our long-distance trails. We prefer the freedom of trail shoes to hiking boots. When we walked this route in mid September, we found that the Hokas were ideal, as the ground wasn’t too muddy and we didn’t experience much rain.
If you plan to walk in April, October or November – I would suggest that waterproof hiking boots may be more suitable than trail shoes. However, trail shoes should suffice in warmer and drier months.
HIKING CLOTHING
As with all long-distance trails, our motto on hiking clothing is ‘one to wear, one to wash and one extra pair of pants for good luck.’
On this basis, we suggest packing:
- Two pairs of hiking shorts (or a pair of trousers and one pair of shorts)
- Two pairs of socks
- Two t-shirts or quick dry sports tops
- Two sports bras (women)
- Three pairs of quick dry underwear
- One sun hat
- One pair of sunglasses
💡Top Tip – separate your clothing and toiletries using packing cubes. When you’re unpacking and re-packing every day, these really help to organize your bits and pieces.
CLOTHING FOR THE EVENING
A word on clothing for the evening, we would recommend packing something smart casual to wear after walking. This is of course a personal choice, but in Italy it is not really customary to see people wearing active wear in the evening.
Our suggestions are:
For women – a lightweight jump-suit, dress or trousers with a top area ideal. For men – smarter shorts or lightweight trousers, with a top are helpful clothing to pack for heading out to dinner.
Don’t forget a change of footwear too – depending on the season, sandals (but not flip flops) can work well.
WEATHER CONSIDERATIONS
Depending on the time of year you are walking, you may also like to consider the following:
- A rain jacket or poncho
- Waterproof trousers
- A sweater or lightweight/ quick dry layer for walking and to wear in the evening
- A woolen hat for cool mornings
In September when we walked, we didn’t need a rain jacket or extra layer beyond shorts and a t-shirt. But, the would be quite a bit cooler later in the year or in early spring.
TOILETRIES
When it comes to toiletries, we suggest keeping things to a minimum to avoid your bag becoming too heavy:
- All in one soap – this can be used for shampoo, body washing and washing clothing. You’ll also find that many B&Bs on the route have some shower gel available.
- Leave in conditioner spray or something similar for haircare
- Moisturiser for body and face
- A large bottle of SPF 50 sunscreen, as well as a facial sunscreen stick such as Le Roche Posay sun stick (I like to carry a facial sunscreen stick that I can access easily throughout the day.)
- Dental care items
- Deodorant
- Bug Spray – mosquitos and other bugs are present on the Magna Via Francigena
- A small medical kit – allergy tablets, Ibuprofen, rehydration sachets and blister plasters.
- Cleansing wipes – a lightweight packet of cleansing wipes
- Hand sanitiser – to use as needed during the day
We normally carry trek towels when travelling, but this wasn’t required on the Magna Via Francigena as all the B&Bs provide towels.
OTHER ESSENTIALS
Here are a few other essentials that we packed and used on the Magna Via Francigena:
- Pegs – something strong to attach clothing to your bag when it’s drying and to hang clothes on the line at B&Bs
- Small plastic bags – one for your dirty clothing and some smaller ones just in case
- A waterproof bag cover – it may rain and you want to be able to cover your bag quickly to keep things dry
- A deck of cards for games in the evening
- A lightweight canvas bag – super helpful for going out in the evening
- A power bank for charging phones during the day
- A European plug for charging phones
- A pen and small notebook – if you like to keep a journal in the evening
- Wireless headphones for listening to music or audio books when you walk, or at night
Where to get your credential for the Magna Via Francigena
One final thing that you’ll need for the Magna Via Francigena is a pilgrim credential (a pilgrim passport with our name on, where you can also collect stamps.) As far as we know, this is not available to buy in Sicily but must be ordered online. You can do so via this website.
If you want to get the testimonial (certificate) at the end and take advantage of pilgrim discounts, you’ll need to have the credential. In our experience, we didn’t get asked to produce our credential for any discounts – we were offered a discount at only one B&B.
That said, it is nice to have a credential as a souvenir.
What to do if you’re planning to explore more of Sicily
We were in Sicily for one month and as part of this trip we walked the Magna Via Francigena. This presented a bit of a packing dilemma for me as I wanted to ensure that I had plenty of outfits to wear around Sicily, but I didn’t want to overpack for the walk.
💡Top Tip – if you are planning to spend more time in Italy, but don’t want to carry too much luggage on the Magna Via Francigena – we recommend booking accommodation in Palermo at the start of the walk, and booking the same place for after your walk. This way, you can contact the hotel and request to leave luggage during your walk.
Magna Via Francigena Guide Book
If you’d like all the information about the Magna Via Francigena in one place, you can find our e-book available for only $5.99.
More info on the Magna Via Francigena
You can find more information on the Magna Via Francigena in our resources below:
- Magna Via Francigena FAQs
- Magna Via Francigena Daily Stages guide.
- A guide to accommodation on the Magna Via Francigena.
Written by Emma
Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.
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