- How to Deal with the Post-Travel Blues
- The Best Travel Advice? Be Spontaneous
- How to Stay Fit and Healthy While Traveling
- Hostel Etiquette
- How To Find a Great Hostel
- Travel Checklist – 17 Essential Things to Do Before a Trip
- How to Prepare and Pack for a Long Flight
- My 45 Best Travel Tips from 14 Years of Travel
- Tips To Stay Safe While Traveling
- Why Solo Travel Is Awesome and Why Everyone Should Try It
- How To Deal with Humidity and Heat While Traveling
- How to Save Money While Traveling
- How to Save Money for Travel
- Voluntourism – Why You Need to Rethink Volunteering
- What to Expect While Traveling in Developing Countries
- How to Plan Your Travel Budget
- Packing Checklist – 11 Essential Things to Pack For a Trip
Hooray, you’re off to travel the world! Before you embark on your adventure, it’s important to go through this packing checklist first, so you don’t forget to pack any of these not-so-obvious, yet very important travel items:
FIRST AID KIT
In some countries, you can easily and cheaply get medications, like antibiotics. However, you could get stuck in the middle of nowhere without a pharmacy, or the country you’re traveling may require to see a doctor in order to obtain certain medications, so it’s important to pack these medications. And sometimes, simple medications can’t be found in other countries. I was consistently plagued with various mutations of colds and flus for three months in South America, but I learned that cold and flu medication apparently doesn’t exist in those countries and it really sucked.
Now, I never travel without cold and flu medication. I also pack antibiotics, vitamins, Ibuprofen, stomach illness medicine, Band-Aids, small scissors and hydrocortisone cream. Other optional extras are motion sickness tablets, allergy meds, and melatonin for jet lag.
ADAPTORS
Research the type of electrical plugs your destination(s) will have. Adaptors that fit your foreign chargers are typically very difficult to impossible to find once abroad, so these are extremely important to pack before you leave. Also, check the voltage if you bring a hairdryer/hair straightener/curling iron, etc, and make sure it will be compatible, otherwise you will destroy your device.
CHARGERS AND A PORTABLE BATTERY CHARGER
Remember to pack all of your chargers for all of your electronics. I’m notorious for forgetting to pack my phone charger and it’s annoying, inconvenient and costly to keep buying them. A portable battery charger is hugely helpful, especially for long travel days and overnight hiking and camping.
SUNSCREEN
It’s not cheaper when you get there.
EARPLUGS
Especially if you’ll be staying in hostels, specifically in dorm rooms.
NUMERICAL PADLOCK
You’ll need one to use the lockers provided in hostels and you don’t want to worry about misplacing the key.
EMERGENCY CASH
There will be times when your bank and credit card won’t work in the ATMs (or if you’re robbed or lose your wallet) and you don’t want to be stuck without money. Take a few hundred US dollars or Euros for emergency situations. Don’t carry it around with you, instead keep it in a safe place in your hostel/hotel.
BACKUP CARDS
For the same reasons as above, bring backup bank and credit cards and keep them in a safe place
AND DON’T FORGET YOUR PASSPORT!
Optional Extras
SPORK AND SWISS ARMY KNIFE
A spork (a spoon and fork hybrid) and a Swiss Army knife are handy when you need to eat on the go.
FLASHLIGHT
Super handy for when the electricity goes out or if you go on an overnight camping adventure.
It’s also a good idea to make your own personal packing checklist.
All packed! Now your travels will run a lot more smoothly 🙂
For further travel preparation recommendations, see 15 Essential Things to Do Before a Trip
