Back when I was living that jetset life (pre-covid), I was travelling up to 3 times a month. Some of these trips were for my own entertainment, but I was mostly travelling for work. As I started to travel more, I found some items that I now (probably) can’t live without, so I thought I’d write a post about some of the things I have purchased to make my life a little easier, either on the road or on a flight. In case, the world opens up again, you may find something useful.
As you can see from the photo above, there are some fairly standard things I take on any trip. I generally travel with just a carry-on suitcase. My trips are usually short (less than a week) and if I travel overnight, then I’ll just make do with a rucksack. Traveling light isn’t something that came naturally to me. I just realised the more I travelled that some of the things I was taking with me weren’t actually all that useful.
1. Noise cancelling headphones : the day I first used my noise cancelling headphones, on a flight, was the day my flight experience irrevocably changed for the better. Ever find yourself in economy and there’s a screaming baby sat behind you? With these bad boys, a nuclear reactor could erupt and you would hear absolutely nothing. They will lull you in a false sense of security that you are the only person in the entire world and never again will your boyfriend distract you from listening to Goodbye Sky Harbour seventeen times on repeat. They will completely block out irritating plane noise: someone clearing their throat, picking their skin, twitching or drumming their leg, nervously, mindless mundane stream of consciousness throughout the entire 10 hour flight, which is, I suppose, the point. Mine are now discontinued but you can still buy similar.
2.Entertainment subscriptions : two subscriptions keep me sane on the road:
1) Spotify: it is an absolute godsend for downloading albums, prior to flights, and for accessing music under patchy network conditions. I tend to save a few playlists on my wifi at home before I head off on a trip.
(£15 p/m for family subscription. Be nice to your parents, after all they’ve done for you, and put them on your Spotify subscription.)
2) Netflix: I used this all the time in Europe, as previously, with EU roaming, we were given access to the UK catalogue, in any EU country. I have been known to sit in my pants in hotel rooms, watching Scandinavian crime thrillers on Netflix, keeping the rest of the world out.
(I have no idea how much a Netflix subscription costs, as like everyone else, I have a partner/kind family member, whose account I freeload.)
3. Kindle Paperwhite : I first learned of Kindle on a holiday in Greece, when I lugged three books on a two week holiday. I met a woman, who looked at me incredulously and foretold me the joy of the Kindle. If you don’t know about Kindle, and frankly, where have you been? You can basically store as many books as you want on a device the size of one single, small, volume of poetry. It makes me feel a little guilty, pouring so much money into Jeff Bezo’s pockets, but this really is a game changer, and is, now, one of my favourite things. If you buy the Paperwhite, you’ll also get a nightlight, which is great if you are camping or even just for reading on the beach, where the light might be a little bright.
(Paperwhite, Amazon, £129.99)
4. Reusable water bottle : I have been through, possibly, thousands of reusable water bottles. I was, previously, purchasing single use plastic bottles at the airport and utilising for the entire duration of each trip. I didn’t see the point of investing in expensive reusable bottles, when your water just, fatalistically, ends up at room temperature. Before I went to California, I purchased a reusable bottle by Manna. I love it because, if I fill it up with ice cold water from the fridge, it will actually keep my water fridge-cool, for up to 12 hours. I don’t use it with hot water bottle (as I have a separate flask for that and I didn’t want to ruin its cool-ability). But this is the best bottle I have found.
(You can pick up this brand in TK Max, for under £15, which is a bargain, when those Chilly’s bottles are £30).
5. Reusable coffee cup : when I worked at Discovery, I was given a branded KeepCup, which is, now, unfortunately, long-lost to the London tube network. It was replaced by another plastic one, which is great because you can throw it in your backpack, with no recourse! Please do not buy the glass ones, even though you like the hipster aesthetic – and they look really cool; mine met its end on the floor of Discovery HQ and I don’t think the facilities people will ever forgive me for that. You can also design your own on their website.
(You can get direct from KeepCup or John Lewis for approx £10, which is pretty great – considering you’ll be using it for the next ten years or until you leave it on the tube again.)
6. Bamboo cutlery set : after far more instances, than I’d like to admit, of attempting to eat yoghurt in a hotel room with just my fingers, I purchased a bamboo cutlery set. This is great, as it comes in a little pouch and you can wash them in your hotel bathroom.
(Amazon, approx £8, China’s finest)
7. Travel friendly hoodie : No matter what time of year I travel, I always find myself getting cold. Is it just me or do they really ramp the air con up on flights. My current favourite is this light weight, fleeced inside hoodie from Volcom (which I got on sale a few year’s back) but basically you could buy one from any surf or skate brand. I switch this out in the winter, with a fleece one I bought in Decathlon, which is much warmer.
8. Travel blanket : I always like to have a blanket with me in case the sheets/duvets in hotels aren’t great. I got my latest one a few years ago, from Decathlon. It’s fleece and it rolls up to be the size of a small hoodie.
9. Travel pillow : I bought this pillow because it had a kawaii face. I can’t even remember where I got him from but the shape is perfect both for bolstering your face up, if you get the window seat on flights; it also doubles up in yoga practice. And who doesn’t love a kawaii face?
10. Youtube yoga channels : finding a decent yoga class in every new city you visit is near on impossible, so I like to use flows I find from yoga practitioners on YouTube. I also attend classes, from local teachers, when I am back home, which help me escape getting into bad alignment patterns.
11. Ear plugs : hotels are noisy places to sleep (and boyfriends are often snorers), so I find ear plugs are a general necessity for getting any sleep at night.
(Boots, £6.99 for 20)
12. Sandals : I like to avoid black sole syndrome in hotels, so I always pack a pair of sandals to mooch around hotel rooms in, in case they don’t supply a complimentary pair of slippers. They also double up to wear down to breakfast, dinner, the spa or popping to the corner shop, without going to the effort of tying your shoe laces up.
(My favourites are from Birkenstock. Various prices.)
12. Nighttime socks : I always seem to get cold feet in the middle of the night, so I usually pack a “designated” pair of night socks.
13. Microfibre towels : some hotels have 400tc cotton towels, made for teenage-sized bodies, others resemble the towels you once used to change the oil at your parent’s house. I tend to prefer to take at least one fully body and hand towel with me on trips, just in case. The benefit is these microfibre towels dry in about 30mins and roll up into nothing. They’ve been the best / most durable microfibre towels I have ever bought. I used to have one from Blacks, but it was much heavier and much more expensive!
(Full bath sheet, Decathlon £10.)
14. Small refillable toiletry bottles : I cannot express the struggle, the first world problems I have suffered with being able to take all my makeup and beauty products in just that one plastic bag allowed in carry-on. The first thing I had to do was to reduce my consumption to about 8 (liquid) products. The second was purchasing one of these stackable cosmetic pots which holds small quantities of multiple items, so you can put your foundation & moisturisers in tiny little jars and free up space in that bag for essentials like shower gel, deodorant and shampoo.
15. Battery pack : I tend to carry a spare battery pack with me, just in case my phone battery dies. Most European flights do not give you phone charging ports. I used to have terrible trouble with my old iPhone 5, losing battery in the evening and I’d find myself sitting in the airport for an extra thirty minutes, trying to get enough battery to call an Uber to the hotel. I bought one of these to negate that issue.
(It’s probably from TK Max. Most of these purchases were made in my lunch break from the one across the street from my office.)
16. Sunglasses : it’s always sunny in southern Europe, so don’t forget your sunglasses, even in January!
(I tend to buy designer sunglasses in TK Max, as they are usually discounted by about 400%)
17. Sunscreen : I always take suncream with me on holiday, especially between March and October. I found myself getting sunburn hanging out the window of Ubers, like a dog with the wind in its fur. I have sensitive skin, so like Nivea products generally. The smell of this stuff always takes me to back to teenage beach trips in Portugal.
18. Kag-in-a-bag : You can never predict the weather, so if travelling in Northern Europe, always best to pack a roll-up mac, just in case the heaven’s open on you! I first bought a kag-in-a-bag, when I went to Glastonbury (back in 2006) and I found myself wearing it the whole week, as it pissed it down. I was surprised that it kept me pretty dry, considering the colossal downpours. I traded the original out with a newer, better, smaller, lighter one, many years later from Joules. More importantly, it buttons up, rather than throwing it over my head, which is better for not fucking my hair up.
I hope that was useful. I always find its better to spend your hard-earned cash on things you will actually use, so you have more money for all the cakes and coffees you want to buy when you’re actually on the trip! Let me know if there’s anything missing, in the comments.
we dance to all the wrong songs 