Have you read these posts? The one’s that tell you all about the things you already know? Well I am going to do one as well, just in case some of really don’t know. But I’ll also do one better and I will tell you 5 things that we need to travel with. You may be quite surprised.
But first -
5 Things YOU Need To Travel
1. Passports
You ain’t going very far without your passport. Well not entirely true if you are discovering your own home country you will be able to do quite a lot. But if you want to try new cultures and visit the wonders of the world you are going to need your government to put a photo in a book and have it stamped every time you enter and leave a new country.
2. Computer/Smart Phone
In this day in age staying in touch is done with these devices. Booking flights is easiest with these things. Watching movies, reading books, listening to music. All done with these things. We recommend you bring one, the other or both. We love our computer for all of the above, but the smart phone is also great for maps when out and about and, guess what? You can even use it for good old-fashioned phonecall, if you are a SIM card collector like us. Oh, and don’t forget the chargers. Click for pricing on a backpack or a suitcase, checked or carry-on everyone needs a bag or two (or three).
5. Bank cards, debit cards, credit cards, cash, Paypal, bitcoin (some kind of money)
Most of us don’t have the ability to travel without some kind of finances (it would be nice if we could!). Whether your preferred weapon is a credit card, or a regular savings account with a debit card, or just cold hard cash, you need to bring some kind of enchanted trinket to help you pay for your next meal, bus ticket, plane ride.
And now, drumroll please…
5 Things WE Need To Travel
1. Vegemite
We don’t travel without it, except that time the nasty British security guy stole it at the airport (because Marmite sucks). For breakfast toast, or lunchtime sandwiches, Vegemite is a little piece of home that we choose to take with us everywhere. And now you can get it in dry shampoo. For a quick fix up top, it’s a lifesaver.
3. Teddy & Monkey
Our kids love their stuffed bedtime toys and there have been emotionally scarring moments when Teddy and Monkey were lost during our travels. We have since found a new Teddy and Monkey. They are squeezed every night (not just by Josh) and, just like Vegemite, bring a little bit of home and a big dose of security with us wherever we go.
4. External Hard-drive
Parents spend a lot of nights at home when the kids are sleeping. In foreign countries this can be a tiresome boredom, but not for us. Our external hard drive holds a plethora of movies and music that could keep us occupied for years… If there wasn’t other things to do in the evenings. ;) Of course it's also storage to the valuable photos we hold.
5. Kindles For All
Other than my husband, whose choice of poison is the mine because I cannot go to sleep without reading. To have a multitude of books at your fingertips without even adding baggage weight is this century’s most marvellous modern device. And now even the kids can have coloured books on their Kindle Fires that can be read to them when they are in the mood.
And there you have it. Hopefully you’ll find this is another handy luggage post that will have you leaving the familiar shores of your homeland with just a bag, a teddy and some Vegemite. Oh, and the other 7 things.
Reader Comments...
"I respond to every comment by direct private email. I look forward to your feedback" - Josh BenderI do not travel with a computer or camera. I do have an iphone and kindle. My kindle does not have internet, so it's read only. I thought about upgrading because it's hard to do everything with a phone. I also bring an ipod.
I'm definitely going to look out for dry shampoo! I'd not heard of that before - thanks Erin!
Oh my goodness I can't say how many times dry shampoo has saved me from looking like a giant wild afro hair mess, especially on long travel days. External hard drive is a good one too and extra SD cards. I'm always filling mine up and I lose them often!
And thats how you pack great blog!
Nowadays, it can feel like your money isn’t lasting as long as it used to. Everything needs to be planned – how much to spend on groceries, if you can still have your weekend movie night, and so on. Even planning family vacations, when they come around, can be discouraging.
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Yep, we may only have 2 bags of our entire belongings, but we can never go anywhere without Jodie's trusty Vegemite! Can't say I can relate… so very unAustralian I know!
The other thing we love is our Payoneer cards. Draw straight down from Paypal and withdraw at an ATM. Has works very well for us.
The shampoo sounds interesting! Never heard of it before.
My 5 things as a newbie solo traveller so far:
Phone with wifi (google maps and contact with fams)
Travel wallet (carries all my info, tickets, passport, cards, everything!)
Dry shampoo (definitly agree this is a must for any travelling woman!)
Lipstick ( sometimes I look a bit rough but a bit of lipstick makes me feel brand new and makes me look a but fresher)
Water bottle ( I have drank more water than ever before because of so much walking!
Like your lists! I was just contemplating buying some dry shampoo I saw the other day, but I didn't. Just this morning, here at home, I was thinking how handy it would be on crazy days like this! ;-)
I always take my tech gadgets which include phone, pad, camera (sometimes laptop) and chargers. These serve so many purposes - memory keeper, itineraries, money, torch, maps and endless information at my fingertips, entertainment for all and backup. Otherwise it would be something simple like lipgloss that I can multi-purpose and my sunglasses.
Great list...definite "yes" on everything..except the vegemite. We met some Aussies in Uganda that couldn't live without it. So strange, so strange (maybe if we grew up with it in the US, we'd like it to?) :)
Definitely yes to the external hard drive but I recommend having two because mine recently failed and I lost all my travel pictures (school work, videos etc). As soon as I get home I'm going to ask my tech wiz father to see if he can do anything about it but in the grand scheme of things I've realized I would have rather spent and extra $50-100 on another external hard drive than to loose all my stuff (and data recovery runs in the 1000s of dollars!!!) If you keep them in separate bags and one gets stolen or damaged you still have another :)
For the camera I'd add extra SD Cards, extra Batteries etc which is a given for most people but a good reminder for others and if you are going to certain countries you might also need several travel adapter!
And I love dry shampoo! The only problem I have with it is that its hard to take with me when I travel if I only have a carry-on since aerosol cans are on the no fly list. I have a travel one that I was recently able to get through security by wrapping it in a scarf and putting it in the middle of my suitcase in a zipped up travel bag :)
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