What comes to mind when thinking of packing for a trip? Sunscreen maybe? Clothes? Money? Toiletries? All great things you need to take with you, even if you’re away from home for a few nights. All will be needed and come in useful.
How about the practical side of things? Do you give that as much attention when packing for a trip as you do to what you will wear each day? Because in some cases, the following things could be exactly what you need.
Travel Insurance
You should never travel anywhere outside of your resident country without travel insurance. For the most part, the majority of people never need to use it, but in the rare event that something does happen? It could be the lifesaver you need. Travel insurance from providers like Generali can cover a wide range of things, not just accidents and injuries. It can cover cancelled flights, repatriation, missing luggage, and more (policy dependent, of course — always check the small print). It’s better to be safe than sorry in this case.
Travel Charger
Of course, you’re going to be taking a charger for all your devices, but one that you can use on the road can come in really useful. Think delays, longer trips than anticipated, and ot rough charging points in your accommodation. All the times when you might be left wondering how or if you can actually charge your devices. A travel charger that has a decent capacity — ideally a high mAh (10,000 mAh typically gets you two full charges), and for charging speed, you need at least 18W power delivery with the right charging points for your devices.
International Plug Adaptor
Different countries use different types of plugs, so it’s important that you get an international adapter to be able to use your electronic products. Whether it’s for your hairdryer, devices, gadgets, or anything else you need to take,i.e., medical equipment, ensuring you have a charger that works with your travel destinations’ outlets will save a lot of hassle on arrival.
Copies of Documents
While for the most part, things aren’t likely to go wrong for the majority of people. There will be times when things won’t go to plan. This is when copies of important documents come in handy.
How you have backups is up to you, but screenshots of booking details in case you can’t get an internet connection to load emails is a good place to start. You can make a folder of screenshots and a picture of your passport if you wish, as well as travel insurance, etc. You can take printouts, use cloud storage, or a mix of all of these — for those wanting an extra piece of mind, all of this can be beneficial. So if something does occur that impedes your ability to access anything, you have other options.
Small First Aid Kit
This is more important if you have health concerns that need attention or you’re more at risk of injuries, ie, you’re on blood thinners and need to stop bleeding fast. You can buy small travel first aid kits online, ready prepared, so you can pack them and go, and they’ll have all of the basics you’ll need until you can get medical help or resolve the issue yourself.
