Essential Items You Should Not Forget When Packing for Your Next Trip

Are you an over packer or you're not sure what you really need to take? Here's a quick list of things I always pack with me. We predominantly travel with just hand luggage and these items will normally be in my personal item.

Long charging cables and plug adapters

These are a must. We have been to a few places where our standard iPhone cables haven't been long enough for us to be on our phones in bed. We have ended up buying 2 metre long charging cables for our phones and will take these everywhere we go.

We also carry plug adapters with us. Most places we've been to, the USB ports in the rooms never seem to work so don't just rely on them. We take one each and can also charge our camera or our laptops with them.

Compression packing cubes

Compression packing cubes are superior to just your standard packing cubes. They're perfect for my roller case and I can fit a lot more in with these. Mine are just a random brand from amazon but they come in different sizes and are very sturdy. I don't tend to use them if I take my backpack because I can fit more stuff in with the compression cubes the weight of my backpack increases and they don't mould into the shape of my backpack that well.

Noise cancelling headphones

These are a must especially if you're on a long international flight. We've managed to drown out crying babies in the background with noise cancelling headphones on overnight flights. We have AirPods that are nice and small, but we also have overhead ones that I find work better. The overhead ones are bigger so do take up more room which is worth noting. If I have room on a longer flight, I sometimes carry both. If it’s a short haul flight I just take my AirPods.

Ear plugs and eye mask

I always take these with me even if it's a day flight. Even if you don't need them on the plane, you might need them at your accommodation. The air con in one place we stayed at was too noisy, so I used my ear plugs.

Clear bag for liquids and a shopping bag

We always have a clear liquids bag each, though they are never full. Liquid restrictions in the UK are set to be relaxed in 2024 so these may not be needed on the way out of the country. I would still have a clear bag on me for the flight back though. We also carry a couple of reusable shopping bags. They're great for carrying the laundry when we need to do some washing or carrying stuff to and from the car.

Water bottle

We also carry a reusable water bottle. As soon as we're through security we can fill these up for the journey. We have insulated ones, so they keep our water cool. However, you can get collapsible ones if you need to save more space.

Book/Kindle

I love reading and so I have always carried books with me. Since switching to hand luggage only for most of our trips I invested in a kindle. Such a good space saver and the battery is amazing on the new ones. We were in the USA for a month, and it didn't need charging once. Great for long flights and killing time at the airport.

Medication

Any prescribed medication needs to be in your carry on. Never check it in in case it doesn't make it to your destination. We also carry a strip of paracetamol or ibuprofen whilst traveling. Also, my motion sickness tablets, can't be without them. Any other over the counter stuff for colds or sun cream we just buy when we’re there if needed.