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For the past year and a half or so, the pandemic has made travel an impossibility for many of us. In a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus and Covid-19 across the world, many countries have closed or limited access across their borders. This is understandable, but it does mean that if you had any trips planned, you’ve probably had them cancelled or postponed. Thankfully, vaccines are now being rolled out across the world and herd immunity is increasing. Travel is back on the horizon and many of us are starting to plan trips that we can enjoy again! If you’re going all out and planning an extended trip, you’re not alone. Many people are booking two week breaks, months-long travel and even worldwide travel that they plan to last a year or more. Of course, if you’re going on a longer break, you’re going to have to pack differently to a weekend or week away. Here are some investments you might want to make to ensure you have everything you need and can genuinely enjoy your time away!
Your Passport
The most important thing you’re going to need to take with you when travelling anywhere outside of your home country is your passport. This is pretty logical, but many people neglect to even think about it until they’re leaving their house to make their flight. When it comes down to it, you’re not getting out of your home country or entering a new country without your passport. So many people miss their flights and have their breaks ruined as a result of not bringing their passport or not having an in date passport. Make sure to store your passport in a secure and accessible part of your luggage, so you can get it out easily, but it has minimal chance of falling out or getting lost.
A Suitcase
When we head away on a trip to a city or another place with roads, paths and smooth flooring, suitcases tend to be our luggage of choice. This makes sense. They’re specially designed for holding clothes and other belongings and provide you with an easy way to carry them around with you. The majority have hard shells which helps to protect their contents when they’re thrown around on conveyor belts and are being placed on and off the plane. The majority have two or four wheels and a handle, allowing you to pull them along easily rather than carrying their weight. Most modern options have locks, which helps you to feel more secure and can prevent others from going through them or taking your belongings. There are countless options out there, so when shopping for a suitcase, make sure to consider factors like size, security and convenience to pull alongside colours, patterns and general design.
A Backpack
If you’re travelling somewhere more rural, or are travelling somewhere where you’re likely to need to keep your luggage on you some of the time, a suitcase isn’t likely to be all too suitable. While they’re great for city breaks, their wheels don’t fare well on rough terrain and they can end up breaking, making them extremely difficult to get about. A backpack, on the other hand, can be carried on your front or back, allowing you to travel anywhere you go with it. Whether you plan to go down dirt tracks, rubbled roads or anywhere else, a good backpack will be entirely suitable. On top of being easily portable, backpacks allow you to navigate your way through crowds more easily in built up urban areas, and can also prevent your chances of leaving it behind anywhere, as it’s literally strapped to you! Now, there are countless backpacks available on the market, so there are a few features that you may want to take into consideration when choosing yours. The following features can come in pretty handy:
- Sleeping bag straps to hold your sleeping bag
- Extra support straps for comfort and to help your posture
- Plenty of compartments for storing all of your belongings neatly
- Zipped pockets to prevent belongings falling out
- Waterproof materials to prevent the contents getting wet in the rain
Clothing
When you’re heading away for a while, you’re going to need clothing that is suitable for the entire trip. Of course, you don’t want your luggage to be too heavy, so it’s best to choose practical options that can be easily cleaned and that you can rewear over and over without problem. If you’re heading to a city, branded clothes that you’d wear at home, like Men’s Moncler, should be fine. If you’re backpacking and heading out into a more rural destination, more practical clothing like cargo shorts, walking boots and fleeces may be more appropriate. You should also consider packing spare glasses if you wear glasses. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where your glasses break and you are unable to see but can’t find a pharmacist. You should also pack sunglasses if you’re healing somewhere with sun and hot weather. This will help to protect your eyes and make you feel more comfortable.
A First Aid Kit
Hopefully, you don’t find yourself in a situation where you need a first aid kit. But if you’re travelling to more rural places or exploring nature, you’re going to need a first aid kit on hand in case of accidents and minor injuries. You can buy pre packed first aid kits that contain everything you need. However, if you want to build your own, you should consider having the following items packed into it:
- Sterile gloves
- Plasters in a variety of shapes and sizes
- Waterproof plasters in a variety of shapes and sizes
- Triangular bandages
- Safety pins
- Gauze dressings
- Small medical scissors
- Tweezers
- Microporous tape
- Sterile eye dressings
- An eye rinse kit
- Anything else you can think of
Medicine
If you have medicine that you take, make sure you have enough to tide you over while you are away. You will be able to talk to your doctor about this. You may also want to stock up on basic medicines that you may need while you’re away, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, antihistamines, eyedrops, heartburn tablets and more.
Sure, you may want to take other things along with you too. But the basics are outlined above. Hopefully, they’ll help get your packing off to the right start!
Sarah x
