There are a few travel-specific items that we have found SO handy on our longer trips that we would love to share with you. By no means do you “absolutely have to have these or else your trip will go up in flames”. However, they do make our longer trips easier, and we’d prefer to bring ‘em along. An additional item that you should be looking into is travel or trip insurance. We both have great insurance provided through our work, so we did not include a recommendation.
We have included items used in “daily life” while travelling, packing and travel gear, and electronics and accessories.
Daily Life while Travelling Items
We tried Excel Sheets, Google Maps, and other organizational techniques, but nothing beat WanderLog for organizing our month-long trip. It’s so handy to pull the map up and see everywhere you’ve tagged to eat close by. Or to choose what order you want to do your attractions in based on the smartest route. We paid for the premium subscription and thought it was well worth it.
Game. Changer. The clothesline made it so easy to dry clothes anywhere, without having to find any possible surface to drape your wet clothes over. It is especially useful when travelling carryon only for a long trip. I think we used this in every location during our month-long honeymoon trip.
Do your laundry anywhere! All you need is a sink full of water, and you’re good to go. We used the Tide Travel Sink Packet, which was cheaper at Walmart than on Amazon. Any laundry sheets will work just as well. You can find them at camping stores like MEC or REI as well as in the laundry detergent section of any department store like Walmart.
We researched and researched which water bottle was best to travel with. It really seems to be personal preference and what you want out of a water bottle. Since we were bringing ours to Europe during a heatwave, we wanted something that would keep our water cold but not be heavy. Enter: the Hydro Flask. We prefer the standard mouth bottle, but they also have wide mouth and ones with built-in straws. We had also considered a collapsable bottle to save space, but keeping things cold in the heat took priority. In Canada, you can buy these at MEC, Atmosphere, and Sport Chek.
If you’re heading for a hot destination, or travelling in the middle of the summer, these are a life saver. Get them wet, twirl them around, and use ’em to keep you cold. There are tons of options on Amazon, and they’re probably all made in the same factory. We’ve linked the ones we liked and used while in Europe during a heatwave.
We weren’t sure how easy it would be to get our hands on electrolytes in Greece, so we brought some with us. We have had the misfortune of having to search in Mexico for them – not fun. We liked these because they were tablets, and the packaging was sturdy and small. We brought enough just for an emergency or for severe dehydration that can come with summer travel (especially with lots of walking/hiking). We were really glad we had these, and they didn’t taste completely terrible.
First Aid/Medical Kit
Depending on where you’re travelling, you may not have access to the same first aid essentials you’re used to using at home. This especially goes for any sort of over-the-counter medication such as Tylenol, Ibuprofen, or Gravol. We travel with a mini, homemade first aid kit. It includes a small supply of these medications as well as items such as tweezers, alcohol wipes, bandages, cotton swabs, and safety pins. You can include anything else you feel is necessary.
Now, you might not need one of these depending on where you’re travelling to. We find these super handy to bring on any sort of beach vacation because they are small and light. Often hotels won’t allow you to take their bath towels with you to the beach. Also, these little guys can fit into a daypack no problem.
We choose the brand Pack Towl and purchased the beach size from the “personal” line. There are many sizes and colours you can buy. Sand brushes off of them easily. They also have a little loop you can use to hang them on a hook or a rod. You can buy them on Amazon, or places like MEC, REI, and Valhalla Pure Outfitters.
Packing & Travel Gear
Listen, we tried the cubes. However, we felt restricted by how they fit into our international-sized carryon suitcases. Plus, they didn’t seem to compress as advertised (and we tried like 3 different sets). The benefit was the cubes provided great organization, but we preferred the compression sacks for allowing us to squeeze in those last few items we felt like we just couldn’t live without (okay, okay, those last few clothing items Suzanne needed to bring). We prefer the Eagle Creek brand to others we’ve tried.
We have quite a few PacSafe items, and although no one has tried to pickpocket us yet, it has made us feel a bit more secure as we make our way through airports, busy city centers, and metro stations. The items we have are: camera straps, Citysafe CX Anti-Theft Backpack, Citysafe CX Anti-Theft Convertible Crossbody, VentureSafe backpack, a money belt, and a bra pouch (though I haven’t use this yet). We especially love the CitySafe purse and the VentureSafe backpack, and use these pretty much every day while travelling.
Electronics & Accessories
Everyone travels with so much tech now that you end up with cables and headphones all strewn about in your bag. Using a small pouch or tech organizer will help keep your extra SIM cards, charging cables, and extra batteries organized. We have one from BagSmart, but there are many available online (even an old makeup bag or such will be better than nothing!)
If you’re travelling in a continent different from where you live, you’ll need a travel adapter to charge your device(s). For us as Canadians, that means when we travel to Europe or Egypt, we’ve needed to bring one along. We like the ones that allow you to charge more than one device at a time, so we aren’t waiting turns to charge our phones, camera, iPads, etc. Our favourite also works with many types of power outlets, which is a bonus.
Never be without power! We like to bring a small portable power bank with us to have on trains, on planes, or while heading out for a long day of touristy things. Our favourite is from Anker, which also serves as an in-wall charger for devices. The only downfall with the Anker one is that it only works with North American plugs, so if you’re bringing it elsewhere, you’d need to first plug it into an adapter to charge it.
When you travel outside of your home country, you’ll likely want a SIM card to use data while you’re out and about (unless your home country has awesome phone plans that include international roaming, unlike our Canadian garbage plans). You might be able to get by with Wi-Fi and pre-downloading maps, but we like to have easier and less restricted access than that. We have bought our E-SIMs from Airalo when we travel abroad. We have used these in Greece, Italy, Egypt, and the US. The advantage to an E-SIM is that you don’t have to remove your usual SIM card (ie. no risk of losing it!).
If you’re prone to dropping stuff like Suzanne (arguably the world’s clumsiest human), or plan on having your phone out a lot to take photos, a phone lanyard might be worth investing in. We bought two types: ones that go around your neck and ones that go around your wrist. The advantage of wrapping your phone around your wrist or neck is that you can’t drop it, (never to be seen again), and no one can snatch it out of your hand in a busy city center while you’re taking that perfect Insta photo (or whatever social media site is currently popular).
Great for a beach vacation where you and your travel partner both want to go in the water at the same time, but don’t want to risk having your valuables stolen from the beach. Put your phone, hotel keycard, credit card, or maybe some cash all inside and bring it in the water with you. Get one that floats, like we did!
With everyone’s luggage getting lost so often, we followed the trend and bought Air Tags for even our carry-ons (you just never know if they’ll make you check them!). We luckily didn’t have anything get lost, but we do have family friends who used an Air Tag to track their lost luggage all over the world before it was finally returned to them. Now, we don’t travel without putting one in at least our checked bags and larger carry-ons.
iPad (or other small tablet)
Not all planes have screens on the seat back in front of you anymore. And phones really aren’t big enough to watch movies on for an intercontinental flight. This is why we recommend an iPad or other small tablet to watch movies on the plane. Make sure you load your movies in advance so you can watch them offline!
Photography equipment
We don’t travel without at least one camera, plus the necessary lenses. Ahmed is always trying to squeeze in just one more lens or camera accessory. You may also want to bring other devices, such as a GoPro and/or drone (provided you know how to fly, have your license, and know where you are/aren’t allowed to fly or have the required permits). If you’d be heartbroken to lose your photos, consider an SD card reader to USB-C to be able to transfer camera photos to your iPad/tablet in order to back your photos up to the cloud. You may also want to consider purchasing additional cloud storage for backing up pictures.
For more travel tech, see our Travel Tech we Recommend article!