My 6 Travel Must Haves

June 28, 2019

Once you start packing there suddenly becomes a whole lot of things you can’t travel without. I call these my ‘Travel Must Haves.’ Personally I think it’s worse for women since we have so much more that we “need’ to travel with. Guys, I think, have it much easier. They have no problem taking a bar of soap and using that for washing their body, face and hair. If a woman does that, oi, things usually do not turn out well and you end up wondering who it is that you are travelling with! Haha. Now not all guys are like that, but I have met a lot of them.

There are a few things that I really can’t travel without. Now I won’t go into the passport, money and tickets, because those are a given. I will tell you a few things that are always in my bag when I travel though and these make the list of my travel must haves. This list is by no means extensive, because you know I have much more than this, but I always still manage to only pack a carry-on wheelie bag and a backpack (that has my laptop and camera gear in it)

Travel Must Haves #1: Earplugs

These are a must for me. From snoring people, to cutting the noise at places and my personal favourite, protecting my ears from any creepy crawlies from walking into my ears while I am sleeping in the jungle or at a home stay mattress on the floor.

These Mack’s ones are my go to’s. If you’re not use to wearing ear plugs, make sure you twist them super small and then put them in your ear and feel them expand to fit your ears.
Click the image to purchase.

Travel Must Haves #2: Eye Mask

While we are on the topic of sleeping a good eye mask is also key for me. This one is my go to. This mask is contoured so it doesn’t rest right on your eyes, which saves me from usually end up ripping the cheap ones, which lay flat against your eyes, off during the night. I also like the contour because you can still open your eyes with it on. These ones also come in a bunch of different colours which I love, because I like choice 😀 Click the image to purchase.

Travel Must Haves #3: Scarf

I am always travelling with a scarf, as well as buying scarves wherever I am….it is a problem! LOL I love the light weight scarves as they have a lot of different uses.

·As a blanket on the plane

·Tie it to my camera strap to hide my camera a bit while I carry it on my shoulder

·To cover my shoulders/arm or legs to go into religious places when I’m not wearing the correct outfit

·Picnic blanket

·Mop up the sweat on my face when I am somewhere super humid

·Tie it around my hair when sleeping in the jungle/home stays so no bugs get in my hair

The list goes on and on….These Turkish towels are great. The come in a ton of colours, are light and thin, and dry quickly. Click the image to purchase.

Travel Must Haves #4: Sunglasses

I am one of those people that wear sunglasses all the time, even when it is cloudy out but still bright. I blame my blue eyes for being sensitive, but I also wear them as much as possible because the less I squint the less lines I get around my eyes.

Polarized mirrored sunglasses are my jam. If I don’t have mirrored ones I look for lenses that are dark. The reason for this, is for people watching, lol. I don’t like people knowing that I am watching them and if the lenses are too light they can see where you are looking. People watching is what I do most when I photograph so it’s a little thing I do to be a bit inconspicuous…not creepy. 😉

These glasses have been my go to for the past 4 years, and I love them. They are not a “dress up” type, I have others for that, but they are great for everything else. Click the image to purchase.

Travel Must Have #5: Flight Bag

This one is new to me, but I absolutely love it. I usually have a backpack with me to carry on therefore I need to have everything organized so I can quickly know what I need/want to have with me at my seat. I don’t want to put my full backpack under the seat in front of me because that limits my legroom.

This bag is brilliant in that you can put everything you need with you at your seat in it (I slip this into my backpack and then pull it out before I sit down). It has pockets for everything and is super organized plus the BEST feature is that it attaches to your tray table so you don’t have anything on the floor, as we all know trying to get something out of your bag on the floor is like becoming an acrobat from the Cirque de Soleil to reach it within such a small space. You can also still fold the tray table down to eat with it attached. Click the image to purchase.

Travel Must Haves #6: Phone

Lastly I don’t want to travel without my phone. It is an invaluable tool for so many travel things. Directions, public transit, talking to loved ones, social media, email, travel confirmations, tickets, weather, translation, exchange rates, and probably the most used…photography. This list can go on and on, and proves that this computer and camera in your pocket is invaluable on your travels.

I currently have an iPhone, but I am leaning towards an Android phone (Google Pixel) for my next one, mostly for the camera abilities outweighing the iPhone. Click the image to purchase.

This concludes my list. Most everything else I can purchase when in my destination. If you happen to forget any of your travel must haves, check out my blog post on What Everyone Should Know About Shopping When Traveling before making any purchases. Did I include any items that you didn’t think about? What are some of your must haves that you take with you when you go away?