15 things I can’t travel without

In ten years of travel I’ve made plenty of mistakes when it comes to packing — but I’ve also found some great travel hacks and things to bring along to make the journey more comfortable.

Whether you’re a light packer or you prefer your extra home comforts, these are my top ten must haves when I’m travelling for any amount of time.

*This blog contains affiliate links. If you purchase any Amazon products through these links there will be no extra cost to you but I might make 12p from it, so thank you!*

Ear plugs

Starting off simple, an absolute non-negotiable if you’re staying in a hostel dorm room is ear plugs! In my opinion if you’re a snorer you shouldn’t stay in dorms but some people don’t see it that way so you’ll want to protect yourself from broken sleep (or late night party-goers).

Noise cancelling headphones

As you might gather, I’m quite sensitive to noise. I’ve only recently got a pair of noise cancelling headphones for Christmas (thank you Joe!) as despite my love for my AirPods, after hours of use on a long flight or bus journey they do start to make my ears ache. The noise cancelling headphones are an absolute dream and I can’t wait to use them on our next trip!

These are my exact noise cancelling headphones that Joe got me for Christmas and I LOVE them.

Packing cubes

Packing cubes are amazing and if you haven’t been using them, why on earth not??? You might think you’re the best packer in the world but I assure you that packing cubes will change your life. They compress everything so much more (so you can fit more in!) but they also help to keep things organised. I have a large cube for my bottoms, a medium sized cube for my tops, and two small ones for underwear and swimwear. Bonus points if they’re all different colours so you can colour code them too!

These basic Amazon packing cubes are perfect and come in multiple colours and sizes!

Travel pillow

Just to add a bit of a luxury, I discovered during my year of full time travel that my body is getting cranky as I get older. No one wants a cricked neck and sore back, so I invested in a travel pillow and it’s an absolute life saver, especially on long travel days.

I keep seeing these Trtl neck pillows everywhere on social media and they look so good! They are a bit on the expensive side though, so this is a great budget option.

Passport cover or case

This might sound strange but it’s for a practical reason. If you’re travelling for any length of time — particularly if you’re travelling with a backpack — you don’t want to risk getting your passport bent, ripped or water stained. I’ve met too many people who have horror stories of not being let into countries because of passport damage. You’ll need to take it out of its case when you’re going through immigration but keeping your passport in a protective cover helps it to stay pristine whilst you’re travelling. Plus, you can get some cool designs or even get it personalised to you!

Universal travel adapter

One thing that’s worth spending the money to get something good is a universal travel adapter. Ours is so good that we literally use it at home to charge multiple things at once. It has slide-out plugs that are compatible for the UK, Europe, Australia and the USA. It then has various cable ports such as a normal UK socket, USB ports and a USBC port.

This is almost the exact same travel adapter we have and it’s only £15.99!

Portable charger

Another technical piece of equipment here — a portable charger. If you’re planning to go off grid for a couple of days this is essential. Again, make sure you do some research and pay more for one with a decent battery life. One which charges itself back up in the sun could also be a great shout and something I might look at getting when my current one packs up.

This is a similar power bank to the one we have and it’s lasted us a good few years. It’s a pretty budget option too so it won’t break the bank.

Teva sandals

No matter where you’re travelling (except maybe the Arctic or Antarctica), it’s very likely you’ll need a pair of sandals. Or an open-toed shoe of some kind, let’s say. My Tevas were my best investment prior to our year of full time travel and I will never go without from this day forward. Get the ones with the grippy soles and funky colours and you can dress them up or down (and sport some gorgeous tan lines after six months of constant wear).

Get some Tevas here and you won’t regret it!!!

Chapstick

You won’t catch me anywhere in the world — be it up a volcano in Asia or in the office in Chorley — without a chapstick nearby. I tend to travel with one that has SPF in it so that my lips don’t get burned in the sun and heat, such as Carmex or Burt’s Bees. Equally as important on a cold windy hike in the Lakes so they don’t get cracked and dry.

Kindle

Not everyone is an avid reader, so if this doesn’t apply to you, feel free to skip. But I cannot possibly count the numbers of hours I’ve spent on a bus, plane, ferry or train, in an airport, on the beach or in a cafe on my own wanting to do something other than scroll mindlessly on my phone. I love my Kindle for its easy use, long-lasting battery life, backlit screen and small size, so it doesn’t take up any room in my bag. A Kindle also makes for a wonderful and affordable present for the traveller or book lover in your life.

I can’t live without my Kindle, buy yours here!

Travel sickness remedies

I don’t just mean tablets to help you with travel sickness — although it is always worth having a stash of Dramamine with you for any bumpy ferry rides or winding bus routes. This also applies to Dioralite and Imodium. The latter will stopper you up nicely if necessary (I wouldn’t advise taking them willy nilly though as they are very effective and you can end up having the opposite problem) while the former helps to get some electrolytes back into your system following any kind of sickness, diarrhea, travel bug or hangover.

Make sure to stop by your local pharmacy before any trip to stock up on a mini first aid kit so you can be prepared for any little health mishaps while travelling. Don’t stress if you forget anything though, you’ll find a lot of things are easy to find abroad too.

Wet bag

I can’t think of what to call this so ‘wet bag’ will do. It does what it says on the tin… it’s a bag for wet stuff. This is one of those things that you don’t think about until it’s too late. Having a bag to throw your wet swimwear in (or any half-dried laundry) is essential when travelling to any beach destination. They can just be shoved in your backpack or suitcase and double up as a laundry bag or shopping bag too.

Sarong

Ladies, next time you go on a trip to a beach destination, buy yourself a sarong! You’ll want a fairly large one as this is a multi-purpose tool for your travels. Yes, it’s first and foremost a sarong to wrap around you when you’re at the beach, but you can also use it to lie on if you don’t have a towel and to wrap around your legs if visiting temples which require more modest clothing. I’ve even used mine to provide a bit of shelter when changing my clothes on the beach and the hang at the window if there’s too much light coming through. Plus, they’re a lovely souvenir!

Pac-a-mac or rain poncho

Some kind of compact waterproof is necessary for pretty much any trip around the world. Even if it’s in a tropical storm and it’s simply to wrap around your phone and valuables to keep them dry (speaking from experience here).

There are a hundred different colours, patterns and sizes to choose from here and they pack down super small.

Extra bank cards

Finally, a sensible and boring one which has never been a particularly conscious choice for me but has definitely helped in the past when one of my bank cards has been blocked. Joe and I have a joint bank account so we have a card each and only ever take one of them out with us at a time, leaving the spare in a safe place. Make sure you are able to freeze your card using your online banking if you lose it and take a spare (debit or credit) card with you.

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What else would you add to this list of things you can’t travel without? Let me know in the comments!

*This blog contains affiliate links. If you purchase any Amazon products through these links there will be no extra cost to you but I might make 12p from it, so thank you!*