What stays, what goes? When you’re sitting in front of a full suitcase wondering what things to pack, it’s really easy to remove some truly essential items thinking you won’t need them.
It’s happened to all of us! Ever been on a trip and a situation arises where you think, “wow, it would’ve been really convenient if I had brought that one thing I took out?”
What’s worse, is that you can usually even visualize exactly where the item is in your home!
When you’re thousands of miles away, there’s no running back home to go pick it up. To avoid the most annoying complications while traveling, here are 11 things that you should pack on every trip.
Things to Pack on Every Trip
1. A First Aid Kit
First aid kits are pretty essential. Whether you buy one or you make one (or you do a hybrid of both), try to make sure yours includes a multi-tool, safety pins, a bandanna, a portable flashlight, and sunscreen.
2. Bandaids
Did you know almost all injuries that happen on tours come as a result of trips and falls? Uneven grounds, getting on and off the bus. Bring bandaids for the scrapes that might happen, and the blisters, too!
3. Neosporin
To help your wounds heal and stay clean. PS – don’t go into local watering holes while you have an open wound!
4. Eye Drops
Planes, buses, hotels – they all tend to crank the AC. We never travel without eye drops!
5. Lip Balm
For the same reason you need eye drops, plus the sun! We definitely recommend getting a lip balm with SPF.
6. Allergy Pills
Just in case you start to get a little sneezy after a day of visiting Moroccan rug co-operatives.
7. Motion Sickness Pills
Almost every tour will involve driving, and sometimes those roads can be very twisty-turny! We recommend getting the anti-drowsy version of Dramamine and taking a half before any long drive. If you’re prone to motion sickness, you know the cardinal rule: if you feel sick, it’s too late. It’s much easier to prevent motion sickness than it is to treat it.
8. Medicine to Stop Diarrhea
Yep, you accidentally drank water while in the shower. It happens! Your travel pack should always include Imodium.
9. Medicine to Help You Go
When your butt knows it’s on vacation….
Ok seriously though, not enough people talk about this phenomenon that happens when traveling! The thing is, you’re likely going to get dehydrated while traveling, which means your body will, yep, hold it in. Don’t be unnecessarily uncomfortable and be sure to add a stool softener to your list of things to pack. You’ll be so much happier and your body will thank you.
10. Antacids
Because you’re probably going to be doing a fair bit of eating new foods. Greasy foods, sweet foods, spicy foods – all of them can lead to indigestion and heartburn. We never leave home without a roll of Tums. If it doesn’t make your list of things to pack, Tums are also pretty easy to find while traveling, if you’re in a pinch.
11. Women’s Travel Products
It’s not that you can’t find feminine hygiene products while traveling. It’s just you probably don’t want to have to leave your group to go out searching for tampons. We always recommend you bring your brand of tampon, pad, or menstrual cup while traveling, as well as any pain relief medication you might need.
12. Tylenol
Headaches happen. Cramps happen. There are so many reasons you might need a pain reliever, so, you’re welcome in advance!
13. Back Up Documents
It’s always a good idea to have your paperwork someplace that’s easily accessible. Gone are the days when you needed to carry all of this with you in paper form – just make sure you back it up digitally before you leave home!
Use apps like Apple’s Wallet or Google Drive to keep scanned copies of bank cards and your passport, just in case you should have to replace them.
If something does happen to your physical passport on a Damesly tour, we will escort you to the nearest embassy. We also always ask you to check that you know where your passport is before we leave every hotel, just in case!
14. Vitamins & Probiotics
While traveling, we’re putting a lot of stress on our bodies. We’re jetlagged, we haven’t slept properly, we’re eating strange new foods, and we’re exposing ourselves to a strange and exciting new environment.
All of these components combined lower our immunities and increase our chances of getting sick. Taking vitamins such as Vitamin B, Vitamin, C, and Zinc can help boost our immune systems and replenish the essential vitamins that might be lacking in our suddenly changed diets.
Taking a Probiotic helps with keeping healthy levels of good bacteria in our stomachs preventing things like upset stomach, traveler’s diarrhea, and gas.
15. A Filtering Water Bottle
If you don’t want to worry about finding clean water, or you want to cut down on your single-use plastic usage while traveling, we recommend bringing along a filtering water bottle. Our favorite is the Grayl filtering water bottle, [affiliate link] which gets rid of both viruses and pathogens.
We seriously love this thing, it is one of the best things to pack. So worth the investment!
16. Covid Tests
Depending on where you’re traveling to (and where we are in the pandemic at the time of this article) you may need to show proof of a negative Covid test to return back to the United States.
If you’re fully vaccinated (which you are bc you’re traveling with us), then pack in your bag two Covid-19 emed tests that you can find on www.emed.com
These tests are valid for re-entry into the United States and are super easy to take. You take them the night before your flight back, and a medical professional uses your camera to watch you take the sample and then checks the results.
The results are forwarded to your downloaded app, Navica.
We hope this is helpful as you start packing for an upcoming Damesly tour, or for any trip you might be planning!
Remember we can help you sort out all of these details when you travel with us on a group tour or use us for custom travel planning. What would you add to this list?