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For those looking to hit the road or set off on their next vacation, creating your trip packing list and deciding what travel essentials you need for your next trip can be one of the toughest parts. This list is here to save you the trouble! As someone who’s been living on the go for the past two years, here are my must-have travel items that I can’t imagine going on a trip without. Whether it’s a couple-day weekend getaway or a monthlong backpacking adventure, here are five travel essentials that you should definitely add to your kit!
Passport Cover
For the longest time, I would travel with my passport tucked wherever I could find the space. Let me tell you, you do not want to be at the end of a long line or rushing to catch a flight and then have to jumble through your neatly packed bag to find where you stowed away your passport. To solve this issue, I purchased a sleek passport cover.
There are hundreds of options on Amazon, but this cover has every feature you could ask for – slots to stash documents such as boarding passes and luggage claim tickets, a clear window to hold an ID card or more importantly your vaccine card, two SIM cards slots, and a little pen in the middle for easy access when you need to fill out documents on a flight or in a never-ending customs line. I don’t know how I traveled for so long without one!
Kindle
As someone who really loves to read, traveling full-time made it so difficult to keep up with that I never made an effort to read! I also swore by the ‘I Like Real Books’ mentality before ever actually trying an e-reader, and I can honestly say I was so wrong about the Kindle!
Don’t get me wrong, I still love perusing a local bookstore, but from trying to track down an English bookstore, to the inflated prices abroad, to then having to carry the extra weight with me because I was too stubborn to part with any of my book purchases, I would always find an excuse to talk myself out of reading while I travel. In early 2022 I finally decided to invest in a Kindle and it has been the biggest game changer! I went from reading 4 books in 2021, to over 25 books in 2022!
The Kindle Paperwhite is so lightweight – it only weighs 7.23 grams – you can throw it in your backpack, tote, or purse without even realizing it’s there! The battery life lasts SO long that you can really don’t have to think about it much and can just bring it with you wherever you go and always have your book on hand. Assuming you read around 30 minutes per day, the battery can last up to 10 weeks! Truly incredible and definitely ranks high on my list of travel essentials!
I also got this adorable sleeve to use as a case and I couldn’t love it more! It matches the rest of my electronics and it truly comes with me wherever I go!
Quick-Dry Towel
I can honestly say I never had such a multi-purpose towel until I started traveling. Of course, I use this towel for its intended function, but I also have found my quick-dry towel comes in so handy for other functions too. Whether I want to lay out in a park or by the beach, or I want to join a local yoga class or follow a flow on my own – I often find myself grabbing my towel even when it’s not shower time!
This quick-dry towel is such a great size – super small when it’s rolled up and stowed away, and definitely bigger than the towels you sometimes get at hostels that never seem to cover you where you need them to. Definitely, a travel must-have if you plan on staying in hostels or going someplace where you’ll be spending time outside and in or around bodies of water!
Matador Pocket Blanket
I think this might be more than a travel necessity and more just a life essential, but this pocket blanket from Matador is one of the best little purchases I’ve ever made! It’s exactly what it sounds like, a tiny blanket that folds up to be smaller than your iPhone! I keep this in my everyday bag and bring it with me everywhere! You never know when you’re going to find the perfect spot to have an impromptu picnic or sit and watch the sunset, and sometimes you just need that extra layer between you and the ground!
This blanket is super thin, but it serves its purpose perfectly. It’s big enough to fit two people comfortably, or three if you get really cozy!
Toiletry Organizer
Packing toiletries used to be my absolute least favorite part of packing for a trip. I never knew how to categorize my shower essentials from my skincare to my makeup, to the miscellaneous things that didn’t seem to fall into any category, so I would invariably end up with various Ziploc bags that would inevitably break midway through my trip. That is until I purchased a toiletry organizer!
This container, no bigger than a lunchbox, manages to hold everything I need and always seems to have room to squeeze in that extra item I forgot to pack and need to buy at my destination. It has tons of pockets of all different sizes, and a big clear pocket that lets you see exactly what you have which I love! It folds up so nicely, and then when you get to your destination it has a nice hook at the top so you can hang it up in the bathroom and have all of your toiletries right where you need them!
To wrap it up
I hope this little list helps you learn about a few new travel essentials that you can start incorporating into your trip packing list! These items have helped me out so much and I can’t imagine leaving for another trip without them!