We have spent a fair bit of time traveling, and over that time we have compiled a list on what we found useful. There are so many products out there and it is hard to choose the best, so here are some items we have used and recommend for other travelers. Happy travels!
Packing Travel Gear
I (Jenn) bought this backpack for Jack as a birthday surprise, and I actually liked it so much, I got one for myself!
Lucky for us, this backpack fits comfortably for both men and women due to its adjustable straps and harness. It is a 60 L bag with a 10 L detachable daypack, which is really helps make travel easier! It has front, side, and bottom loading, meaning you can get anything from any side.
The backpack also comes with a rain cover to protect the bag from the rain (especially during a wet Southeast Asian wet summer!). This was the best purchase we made for our travels.
If you are anything like us, things can be a bit messy after traveling a few days. Unpacking, repacking, ugh I forgot to put my socks back in… It’s hectic. However, packing cubes are great to keep your backpack all organized.
Having to rummage through tons of shirts and undies and pants just to try to find a pair of socks is a hassle (especially if you have a top loading backpack!). You can fit several cubes in your backpack, making everything very organized and easy to find. Best of all, they come in all different sizes!
And hey, if your hostel doesn’t have a satisfying pillow, why not use a filled packing cube as a substitute!
While traveling we found ourselves doing a lot of sleeping on transport like planes, trains, busses and ferries. The Hoodie Pillow makes this a lot more enjoyable, it is super comfy and so much better than using rolled up sweaters!
The hood has awesome privacy for some shut eye and the pillow part is deflatable, making it great for packing!
These things extremely handy, if you can’t find a travel size bottle of your favourite shampoo, sunscreen, conditioner, lotion, mouthwash or any other liquid / jell grab one of these and fill it up yourself.
They can be a little tricky to clean so make sure you keep one bottle per liquid otherwise you will end up with shampoo mouthwash!
Health Travel Gear
This stuff is amazing! It will be the solution for 90% of you problems while traveling. We took about 4 tubes with us to South East Asia (bought from Australia) and returned with none.
The ointment works for chapped lips, itchy bites, sunburn, rashes, chafed skin and the list goes on forever.
Even if you are not going traveling any time soon, at least give Papaw a try, YOU wont regret it!
These mini emergency kits are amazing! They have all types of specific kits- for men, for women, for brides (hey, when in Vegas, right?).
Although, the only ones we found on amazon are a bit pricey, you can find them in stores (such as Kitson or Madewell) for nearly half the price! I got one for Jack as his departure gift, and they really came in handy!
They usually include about 18 pieces of travel necessities such as a sewing kit, bandaids, Advil, stain remover, etc.!
Baby powder can be used in more ways than just cleaning a babies bum! In terms of traveling, Baby powder is GOD- it can be really helpful especially for your hygiene. Greasy hair? Baby powder. No moisturizer? Baby powder.
Smelly clothes? Baby Powder. Oil stains on your clothes? Baby powder (put a bit of baby powder on the stain, wait a day to let it soak the grease, and then shake off the powder!).
I swear by it, baby powder has made me look less of a grub, look a bit fresher, and smell nicer!
We found this awesome site that sells almost everything in travel size, the site is called Minimus for obvious reasons.
So check it out and stock up convenient cute sized toothpaste, soap, moisturizer, sunscreen and whatever else you can think of ;)
Electronic Travel Gear
When you are backpacking, you are usually not flying first class anywhere–you are usually on a noisy bus, or an old train and most likely with other noisy backpackers. Using these headphones has helped us zone out for a bit, and relax (or write) for a few hours.
You can play music or ocean sounds or whale noises-if you’re into that- to cancel the noise and help you fall asleep!
If you don’t like the look of these Amazon have an almost endless supply of headphones made for travel usually a lot cheaper than in store!
We have the GoPro Silver edition with the waterproof casing. It is the best investment of the trip.
We brought everywhere with us-snorkeling, on hikes, on the Great Wall–everywhere! It takes great quality pictures and videos and it has WIFI if you want to upload them. Technology, right?
We even bought the ‘GoPole‘ to get more than just arm length in the picture (and selfies with the fishes!).
We don’t care what you say, this is by far one of the most important things you will need while traveling any country.
We highly recommend adapters that have USB ports in them because let’s face it who actually carries the wall adapter to their phone charger anymore.
If you are to buy anything before your next trip make sure it is one of these bad boys!
While traveling, a charger or a powerpoint isn’t always easy to find. We hated being one of “those people” hanging out at restaurants and cafes just to charge our stuff for the overnight bus ride (because we needed our maps!).
Best way to solve this problem, is to buy a powerbank, charge it whenever you have a chance, and then you can use it to charge all your electronics on the go!
We had 2 between the 2 of us. Here is a list we have put together a list of the top 8 power banks to travel with!
—- Just To Let You Know —-
When you buy any products via our link, you help keep our site going at no extra cost to you. We have also used all of these items and only recommend them if we truly believe they are worth it! We appreciate all your help and support. If you have any of your own travel gems or any questions, please contact us or let us know via one of the millions of socialmedia channels and we can look at adding it to the list ;)