Packing for any trip, no matter how long, is filled with pitfalls and potential for forgetting something important. These days there are always new gadgets and items that are ‘must have’ for your next trip, and whilst many of them are pretty useless, some are very useful indeed.
I am personally not a fan of luggage scales, having broken far too many sets along the way. Perhaps you rate them highly, but I would much rather go down the old fashioned scales route! If you have a must have item you always take away with you, maybe it’s time to see if you could upgrade to something a little more technological or modern. Having said that however, these are five items I believe you need for your next trip, no matter how long you’re going away for.
Tablet
Whether you go down the brand road and buy an iPad, you buy a Kindle Fire, or you head off in the direction of another type of tablet, you need one in your life. You can kill many an hour in the air or on the road with books, games, films, and music, without having to carry several different gadgets in your bag. A tablet saves space, saves time, and is full of useful apps you may need whilst you’re away.
Back-up battery
This goes hand in hand with your tablet, but you can also purchase one for your phone too. How many times have you been on a long journey, only for your phone or gadget to run out of battery? For the following couple of hours you have nothing to keep you occupied, and you can’t find a plug socket anywhere. Sound familiar? A back-up battery is a handy piece of kit which is charged up ahead of time, and then when your gadget starts flashing, you simply plug the back-up battery in and you have a little extra juice to keep you going.
Downloaded books
We’re still on a gadget line here, but you can easily save a major amount of space in your luggage by downloading guide books and phrase books onto your Kindle or tablet, rather than having to lug around heavy books in your bag. You save your back and you save money on excess luggage charges – easy!
Selfie stick
If you haven’t succumbed to the magic of the selfie stick yet then maybe it’s time you did! Aside from the obvious, a selfie stick is a great way to get photos of you and important places, without having no photographic proof that you were actually away in the first place.
Travel wallet
This might seem like an obvious one, but having your travel documents organised makes life a million times easier than having bits of paper randomly thrown into your travel bag, so you can simply fish out the one you need quickly, rather than having to hunt them out.
Put these five items on your shopping list pre-travel and you will be more organised and connected as a result.
