We have decided that going forward, in February, we would like to be away somewhere warmer. This would allow us to avoid the bone chilling -42° feeling like -62° weather we had the other day. Unfortunately, travelling abroad is all but completely shut down for Canadians. I thought that I would create a post about things I would take with me for when we are able to venture overseas again. I have set aside a storage drawer in our basement where I keep things that we only use when taking a trip.
What I would pack
- small backpack – having a daypack in your luggage is a good idea. It should just be large enough to hold a water bottle, kleenex, wipes, snack, charger and anything else you need for that day.
- travel pillow and mask – I like to have a neck pillow in a car, on a plane or sitting in the airport. I have a bean bag type pillow while Chris has this blow up velour type. A sleep mask is handy to block out the lights on a plane.
- kleenex packets and alcohol wipes – great for those countries where you have pay for the bathroom and toilet paper is questionable. The wipes can be used after a bathroom trip or to wipe down the plastic areas on planes. On our trip to Egypt, the Egypt Air planes were quite dirty.
- Spork or KFS and plastic bowls or cups – sometimes you want a knife, fork or spoon and often there is none to be found. A bowl is great to separate out food and cup handy in case a hotel room doesn’t have them.
- refillable water bottles – in North America you can just fill these from the tap. In other countries, you have to buy bottled water to drink and then fill up your water bottles.
- squeezable drink mixes – this allows for a change from just drinking water
- soda crackers – twice now in the last two years, I have been ill while travelling. The first thing I think of trying to eat is soda crackers and it has been difficult to find some. I will put some in a small container so they don’t get crushed.
- snacks – even if meals are included, you might need a sugar fix. I get hangry when don’t eat at my usual mealtimes.
- toque and mini mitts – we went to California in February and it was supposed to be around 20°. We were at Disney one day and it was close to 0 with the windchill. Another trip we took was a cruise to Alaska in July. Near the glacier we needed winter coats, a toque and gloves…it was that cold. Paris in February is not warm either.
- fast drying clothing – Don’t take a heavy woolen sweater or jeans. You often have the opportunity to wash your clothing in a hotel sink and hang to dry.
- laundry soap pods or individual packets – I think I would resort to laundry soap sheets or individual liquid detergent packets for my next trip. I brought a laundry pod on our last trip and it was very messy to try to use part of one in a sink. I suppose I could pour liquid laundry soap into a 100 ml toiletry bottle as well.
- hand lotion – no matter where we travel, I find my skin gets dry. I keep a small bottle of Aveeno with me on every trip
- Immodium, Tylenol and Advil – chances of getting traveller’s diarrhea is high. Finding medicine for pain or fever in another country might be more difficult so having it along is a good idea.
- portable hub and adapter– the hub can charge your camera when you are out and about. This adapter is good for different countries and it has 4 USB ports on it.
- money belt – we bought ours at Sport Chek. We kept our money and passports in there and had them with us at all times while abroad. The smaller one slides onto a belt and the other clips around your waist; both sit under your clothing.
- suitcase belt and colourful tags – it is advantageous to add some colourful tags, ribbon or tape to your suitcase to make it easily identifiable coming onto a luggage carousel. This may prevent someone else from grabbing your suitcase by accident. Another option is a colourful suitcase belt. This also keeps your suitcase tight and, if a zipper breaks during the trip, it will keep your suitcase together. We neglected to use these on our last trip and the zipper split; which leads me to the next item….
- Duct Tape and/or packing tape– when the suitcase zipper was being difficult, we resolved to bring along some duct tape the next trip just in case.
- travel guide – when we went to Disney and Malta, I was able to get a recent travel guide from the library and bring it with us. It is always good to have little tips and reviews on restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions.
If anyone has any other good ideas for what to pack, please share them as a comment.