7 essential travel items you should bring in 2023

In this travel blog, we’ve got you covered with 7 travel essentials. Whether your weapon of choice is a backpack or a suitcase, here are the items to pack that will save you time, money and frustration while abroad.

1) Packing

At the top of your packing list should be something that helps you pack than with less space. Although you want to fill the bag as fully as possible, we recommend that the bag weigh around 10kg – 20kg. Less than 10 and you may not have enough, more than 20 and you will bypass some of the airline’s weight restrictions and risk paying an overweight fee. Also, you want to save space for anything you take during your travels.

Clothes make up about 80% of our bags, which is why packing blocks are game changing. Be ruthless when deciding what to bring on vacation! If you never wear that turtleneck at home, don’t be kidding yourself, you won’t wear it while traveling in Japan. Wear whatever you like, but it’s probably best to keep anything super pretty or valuable in your wardrobe.

When packing clothes, the key is flexibility. Think of anything comfortable, neutral, and layered that you can wear anywhere — on different occasions, in warmer or cooler weather, when sick and healthy, until you die, etc. If you’re traveling to a tropical destination, multiple swimmers, shorts and t-shirts can fit into a single packing block. Also, try to find a raincoat that can roll tightly to the bottom of your bag. If you experience the Southeast Asian monsoon, you will be pleased with yourself for thinking ahead.

2) Portable charger

Island hopping in the Philippines, staying with remote hill tribes in Thailand, camping in South Africa – depending on your destination, you may not have an outlet when you need to charge your precious devices . Areas with poor signal and fluctuating networks can also cause your phone’s battery to drain faster than usual, as mobile data uses more power when trying to find a signal. The portable travel charger will save you from running out of battery when you need to get directions, retrieve flight information, look up an address, turn on your camera, or call a taxi. Investing in a good quality device will give you peace of mind knowing that you can charge your phone, camera, laptop, kindle, *insert device here* anywhere and anytime when you wearing a backpack.

3) Reusable water bottles

Millions of plastic bottles are regularly thrown away, and a lot of these end up in landfills or the ocean. While drinking tap water in some countries is not recommended; Dorms, hotels, airports, bars, and other public spaces often have water stations to refill your bottles with clean, safe drinking water. Be environmentally conscious and reduce your plastic footprint by choosing a reusable bottle, or if you’re on an INTRO group tour, you can pick up a branded bottle from us on Day One First of the trip!

4) Sunscreen & sunglasses

Sunscreen and sunglasses are absolute must-haves when traveling, no matter the season or country. First and foremost, they protect you from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. While we love a little bit of holiday glow, it’s important to save yourself from cancer and the factors that cause wrinkles! Australia and New Zealand are particularly famous for their intense sunshine due to the hole in the ozone layer above them. Sunglasses are also a great way to hide the fact that you drank eight cocktails the night before.

While you can find sunscreen in other countries, it is sometimes tinted with ‘whitening’ products or quite expensive, so bring your favorite brand from home and remember. Apply it daily. If you’re prone to losing or breaking your sunglasses, bring a cheap pair or buy some at the local markets in your destination.

5) Prescription drugs

The last thing anyone wants on their backpacking trip is to find a pharmacy. Whether you’re traveling through the Cambodian coast or the jungles of Bali, they can be very far apart. If there are any medications you know you’ll need – be it a drugstore purchase (i.e. paracetamol, antihistamine) or a personal prescription, prioritize them on your travel luggage list. your. Also, in your first aid kit, make sure to bring some face masks and some hand sanitizer to travel in the post-pandemic ‘new normal’.

While you probably won’t have a problem bringing your pills with you on a plane, it’s helpful to keep your pills in the original vial—with your full name and your Doctor’s name on it. , to ensure safety. It’s best to keep your medication in your carry-on luggage so that if your checked baggage gets lost, you still have your prescription with you. Some aircraft cargo holds are not temperature controlled, which can also affect sensitive drugs.

6) Copy of your passport a passport nd an additional photo

Of course, your passport is the most important thing to pack, but we also recommend you bring at least one passport photo and color copies of the main passport pages with your information. In case you lose your passport, this will make the process of getting an emergency passport much easier.

7) Headphones

A good pair of headphones – in our humble opinion – is always there with your passport when it comes to essential travel items. Headphones make or break a ride, especially on long-haul flights, bus rides in Sri Lanka, overnight trains in Vietnam, or when you just need to block out your backpacker friend’s snoring. . Bonus points if they cancel the noise!

Listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks will entertain you, calm you down, and distract you during travel’s mundane moments, i.e. waiting at baggage claim. Arm yourself with a great selection of Spotify playlists and you’ll be ready for anything.