Whether it is your first-holiday trip abroad or you are a seasonal traveller, you might always tend to forget something or the other. Therefore, it is always a good idea to make a checklist of whatever you think you will need and keep on adding to it as more stuff pops up in your mind. You can later refer to this checklist and tick off the items packed so that nothing remains forgotten.
Here’s a list of 10 essential things you will need for packing when travelling abroad.
- Reasonable clothing
Taking all your summer dresses to a winter-hit area is not going to spare you from bad. Customise your travelling bag in line with the season and weather conditions at your place of visit.
Choose dresses that are comfortable, mix and match well with other clothes that need less ironing when out of a crumbled bag.
- Footwear
Take care of your body, but don’t forget your feet. Keeping your feet strong is the essential thing you will need as your feet will enable you to walk miles when exploring places. Same as your dresses, your shoes need to be the most comfortable ones. Pick a couple of sport shoes and thongs that go with most of your dresses.
- Laundry bag
Keep separate laundry bags for your used clothes so that you can keep your unused dresses nice and clean for use afterwards. Simple plastic bags can be put to use for this purpose. They also have the benefit of occupying less space in your bag. Remember to keep your laundry to a minimum and get it washed as soon as you can.
- Medications
Remember to keep medications for common symptoms like headaches, motion sickness and diarrhoea. Also add first aid items to your list for any unprecedented event.
Be aware that some medications that are available over the counter or by prescription in your country are controlled or illegal in others. For example, codeine is available on prescription in Australia, but not in other countries.
- Toiletry items
Do not forget to pack your deodorant, toothpaste or shampoo. Female hygienic products and contraceptives might not be reliable or available, so make sure to pack them. Toilet paper and wet wipes should also not be forgotten.
- Don’t forget the cash
You will not have to run for currency exchangers or need to worry about currency conversion rates if you keep budgeted cash with yourself. Just be careful of pocket pickers.
- Keep a spare credit card
Do not put all your cash in one place. Also, do not put all the credit or debit cards in your wallet alone. If you lose one unfortunately, you should always have a backup plan. Travel money card is a good option to consider.
- Phone charger
Power circuits are different in different countries, so you should make sure to carry electrical adaptors and converters with you so that you don’t have to face battery charging issues. If you don’t do so, remember that a dead device in a foreign country is the worst thing.
- Documentation
Don’t forget to make photocopies of all your documents like your passport, visa, identity card, etc. This will be very useful in case of any losses.
- Something fun
Also keep something for yourself for long distance travel such as a book
you want to finish or a game you like playing to avoid boredom.
