10 Essential Travel Items You Need For Your Next Trip

When packing for a trip, it can be very difficult to decide the essential travel items that you need to take with you. Whether you’re going for two weeks or a 6 month backpacking trip, there are certain items that can help you along on your journey.
Whilst visiting another destination, space is often something we travellers struggle with. Whether you are choosing to travel with a backpack or suitcase, there isn’t infinite room so it’s important to choose your items carefully. Here are 10 essential travel items that you will need for your next trip!

1. Travel steamer

Carrying a small travel steamer with you is especially helpful when travelling for a long period of time. Clothes easily get crumpled whilst they are squished in a backpack or suitcase, and not all hotels will have an iron or steamer that you can use. If you are staying in budget accommodation like a hostel, then it’s very unlikely that there will be one on site you can borrow.

Travel steamers vary in cost, but you can get your hands on a good quality one for around £25. They are very handy when it comes to keeping your clothes nice; especially if you want to head out for dinner or treat yourself to a fancy hotel stay.

2. Portable battery

Carrying a portable battery with you at all times is one of the best things to do whilst you travel. They are extremely helpful when it comes to dead devices like a laptop, ipod or phone.

Keeping a phone on hand at all times when we travel is super important to help keep us safe. As you are probably aware, often many things can go wrong with travel. Whether that be getting yourself lost, needing to find a place to stay for the night or worst case scenario, you may need to get in touch with your embassy. If your phone dies when you need it most, you can be stuck in a bad situation. That’s why a portable battery is one of the best items to take with you whilst you travel!

3. Moisturiser

When it comes to travel, our bodies and skin can take a bit of a beating. Hiking under the midday sun, swimming in the ocean and sweating because of the heat can all cause skin problems. We know travel is supposed to be relaxing, but there are always stressful moments that can have an impact on our skin. Other factors like lack of sleep, change in diet and harsh weather conditions also have an effect. However, the biggest culprit when it comes to causing problems for our skin, is actually flying.

Flying; even just for a short time can have negative effects on our skin. This is because of the harsh air conditioning, bad eating habits (as let’s be honest, we all snack on a plane), plenty of people crammed into a tight space and sleep deprivation if it’s a long flight.

Carrying a good moisturizer with you is crucial to help keep your skin hydrated. Make sure you apply regularly to keep your skin in good health. If you can, it’s even better to grab a moisturiser with a high SPF. This will not only moisturise your skin, but will also help keep you protected from the sun.

4. Camera

Now of course this isn’t a must, but taking photographs whilst travelling can give you incredible memories to look back on. We absolutely love taking photographs during our tours, as it reminds us of the beautiful moments we have whilst travelling and exploring with you guys.

Whether you want to invest in a DSLR camera or simply use the camera on your phone, make sure you make the most of it. Many modern phones have amazing cameras and lots of settings which can help you take incredible photographs. If you don’t have a camera, a lot of phones will now let you take photographs in manual mode as well. It’s a bit more difficult than clicking a button, but it is so worth it. Learning to take photographs in manual mode can give you incredible results.

If learning how to take photographs in manual mode sounds scary, then trust us when we say it isn’t. All it takes is a bit of patience and the willingness to learn. Watching youtube videos is the best way to learn, and there are so many different photographers on the platform that you can learn from.

Taking only photos and leaving only footprints is how you can have a positive impact when you travel.  For more information on this subject, check out 5 WAYS TO LEAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT WHEN TRAVELLING

5. Hard drive

This one links to our 4th essential item! If you are travelling long term, carrying a hard drive with you is a must. If you take photographs as often as us then your camera or phone will become full pretty quickly, and the photographs will need somewhere to go.

If you take your laptop with you, you can easily just plug your hard drive right in and your phone/camera. This makes it super easy to keep your photographs backed up, and to keep them safe. Carrying two hard drives with you is an even better choice, as it means you have a backup for your backup. That means your precious photographs will always be safe!

If you don’t want to carry a hard drive with you, then you can always upload your images to Google Drive or Google Photos. The only problem here is that you are only allowed a certain amount of space. If you want to pay for a program with more space, you can choose a website like Dropbox to upload your photographs to.

6. First aid kit

Travelling is an amazing experience, but it isn’t without bumps and bruises. Whether you have a fall during a hike, become dehydrated due to the sun or simply end up with a dodgy belly, it’s good to have something prepared.

Keeping a small first aid kit in your bag with some essentials, is a way to make your journey more comfortable. Some of the items you should include are plasters, painkillers, antiseptic cream and antihistamine tablets or cream. Keeping tweezers, eye wash, electrolyte tablets and even ibuprofen gel for any sore muscles, are also some other options for your first aid kit.

However, a first aid kit doesn’t substitute for a doctor, so if you continue to feel unwell make sure you head to the nearest doctor or pharmacy.

7. Travel adapters

Before you head to your destination, make sure you do a bit of research first on which travel adapter you will need. It varies by country which kind of adapter you will need to use, and they can be a lot more expensive in the airport if you need to get one last minute.

There are so many different types of adapters that you can choose from, and some are better than others. To make things easier, it can be handy to get a good quality one that has multiple ports. This way you can charge multiple devices at once! When choosing which travel adapter to get, make sure you check it is good quality and safe to use. Steer away from the super cheap ones just in case!

8. Toilet roll

This may seem like a random one, but trust us having a toilet roll in your bag can come in handy! If you are travelling through the likes of Asia, this is especially the case. A lot of places in Asia don’t use toilet paper, and instead use alternative methods. This is because in some areas the plumbing systems are not made for toilet paper, and it is also considered to be culturally inappropriate in some places.

Generally most hotel rooms and accommodation will have toilet paper in Asia, however most public toilets won’t have. This can leave you in quite an unpleasant situation, which is why it’s handy to always keep a toilet roll with you. Most of us have probably felt the panic when we go to sit down on the toilet, and you see there is no toilet paper. It’s a situation best avoided!

9. Photocopies of all your details

This isn’t something a lot of people think about, but it’s a good idea to keep photocopies of your details and keep them on you. Print out 3 or 4 copies of your travel insurance, passport, driving license and any other documents you think that you may need.

Often hotels will take your passport or identification when they check you in, so it’s a good idea to have spares. However, the biggest reason is of course in case you lose any of the main documents. Keep a copy in your backpack, small bag and even the hotel or hostel safe if there is one. This will ensure that even if you lost any of these documents or had them stolen (hopefully this never happens to you), that you have backups to show to any authorities or police when you need help.

10. Torch

Keeping a torch on you at all times is one of our top tips when it comes to essential travel items.
You never know when you will need it. Of course it’s never a good idea to be wandering around in the middle of the night, in a destination you aren’t familiar with. However, there are times where you might get lost, or you might simply just lose track of time when chasing those beautiful sunsets.

Keeping a torch with you will ensure you can see where you’re heading at night, and reduces the risk of you getting further lost. Pair this with google maps on your phone so you know where you’re headed, and you will be fine! It is also a good idea to keep spare batteries on you too, just in case they run out and your torch goes dead.

For a more comprehensive list, check out YOUR ULTIMATE PACKING GUIDE FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

When it comes to packing for a trip, everyone is completely different! Whether you tend to over pack, or completely forget to pack anything; it’s always handy to have a list of essential travel items. That way you will know what you need to take, and how much space you need to save.

This is just a brief list of travel items that we would recommend any traveller take with them! However, everyone has their own preferences and personal comforts. What we will say is to make sure you take anything with you that you think will make your trip more enjoyable and comfortable.

Do you have any essential travel items that you just can’t leave without? If they aren’t on this list, feel free to leave them in the comments below!

Feeling inspired about your next adventure? Check out our other trips and use the code ONELIFE15 at checkout to get an enormous 15% off all our trips, for a limited time only! (July 2021)

Written By: Abbie Bevan