Our posts may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. Rest assured we would never recommend something that we haven’t tried and loved!
Everybody needs stuff, particularly when they travel. Invariably, you will bring more than you need and still forget stuff. What should I pack when traveling? It ranges from extremes…I went to Easter Island and Antarctica with one carry on, but we also went to the Maldives with five checked suitcases (only one of which was lost – it contained my wife’s wedding dress – but that’s another story). Here are some basic packing needs for any trip.
It’s Just a Suitcase
I have yet to have had to check a bag when traveling internationally without my wife and thus the number of times my suitcase was lost, stolen, misrouted or stomped on is exactly zero. For most trips I use my old standby spinner TravelPro because it fits in every overhead bin from a Boeing 737 on up and since it has four wheels, I can be lazy and just stuff my backpack on top of it and wheel it along. It’s definitely a great suitcase for road warriors.
I’ve had it for seven years and it’s pretty much indestructible and works well for my one-week trips. The only drawback is the four wheels eat up some of the storage space, so on the rarer two-week trips like I did to Easter Island and Antarctica I used the old school two wheel carry on. They’re cheaper too.
My wife keeps telling me they come in other colors besides black, but I’m a creature of habit. Plus, black hides all the scuffs, stains and assorted dents they’ve accumulated over the years too. But hey, if you want to get one in purple, or with flowers, or purple flowers, I’m not going to judge. The flip side is that if you do check a bag, spotting the one with purple flowers will be much easier than checking out the hundred or so black wheelie bags on the baggage carousel.
Band-Aids, Moleskin and Assorted Drugs
I never go anywhere out of the country (except Canada) without a good antibiotic for traveler’s diarrhea. Many of the bathrooms in hotels I’ve stayed in are quite nice, even spa-like, but I don’t want to be in them for large portions of my trip. Speaking from experience from the ice in a drink that got me in Egypt, while in Playa Del Carmen, the 4-star hotel’s so called “purified water on site” that I used for brushing my teeth won me a prize of Montezuma’s revenge.
Even bottled water can get you. My brother and I once found street vendors that were using clear nail polish to seal the caps back on water bottles filled from a trough (I didn’t know those were still a thing) to make them look new. In areas where there are widely spread water pathogens, I bring along a prophylactic antibiotic that is absorbed slowly in your intestine and will serve as another level of protection between you and a long-term relationship with the potty in your hotel room.
Moleskin is my best-est friend on any trip where hiking/walking/climbing is involved. While I train for long hikes or climbs in the gym, it’s just not the same when you’re scrambling up rocks, hills and stairs that have seen better days. Little spots on your feet and ankles you didn’t know existed will make themselves known with blisters.
I Have the Power!
Power chargers and adapters – you cannot live without these in an age of laptops, cellphones and tablets. Start with Wikipedia and find out the country’s voltage and plug configuration. You might also want to call or email the hotels where you’ll be staying to find out their voltage and plug configuration, as some countries have more than one.
You’ll also find a number of international hotels, particularly the bigger chains like Hilton, have at least one 110 volt/US plug in the room, but don’t rely on that exclusively. Spend the money and get a good converter; I’ve had my current GeekPro converter for three years and have used it on three continents I’ve had two phones, camera, laptop, CPAP and tablet all at once without a hitch. Unfortunately this converter doesn’t seem to be sold any more, but there are many options out there.
I also use a simple universal adapter that works in most, but not all countries, to save space.
And be sure to bring a good power strip to plug into it the converter to add additional plugs and USB ports. The fancy ones and the cheap ones all do the same thing.
No trip ever goes off without a hitch, but good prep work can minimize your stress and help ensure you have a fun and rewarding trip. Stress out over stuff before your trip so you don’t stress out while you’re on your trip!