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    • Jan 11, 2023
    • 9 min read

My List Of Travel Packing Essentials

Updated: Feb 4, 2023



Everyone who travels, whether they're a seasoned backpacker or an occasional weekend tripper, has their own packing list of what they might consider ESSENTIAL to making their trip the best it can be.


This is my list.


First time I packed up my backpack and hit the road, I overpacked, under-planned and just wasn't really prepared in any way, shape or form. Now, my backpack is well-organised and full of things I actually NEED rather than things I think I'll need but in reality won't touch for 95% of my trip. There's still a few items on my packing list that some would consider unessential or useless, but we're all allowed some creature comforts right?



Let's go through my top travel essentials as well as those items that I really should just get rid of....


So what's number 1 on my travel essentials list?


Travel Essentials


1. Packing cubes


Number 1 for me is going to be my packing cubes. I know, they're not for everyone - you love them or you hate them, simple. They've become pretty popular, or at least well-known, in the travel community and it's a pretty common ''to use or not use'' discussion. I vote, use. Packing cubes make the inside of your bag organised and clear to see. I like to use them because they mean that I can put my hand in my bag and pull out exactly what I'm looking for because I know exactly which cube it is packed in.


Within my bag I tend to use around 4/5 cubes depending on the trip and what I need to pack. For the last year my bag has looked a little like this; 1 small cube for my bikini, swimsuit, headbands and other small miscellaneous items. 1 medium cube for underwear and socks, bras included. 2 large cubes, 1 for t-shirts + layers and the other for 'nice' clothes, dresses, beach items and generally more summery items than the former cube.


Another reason to get on the packing cube hype - you can actually see your clothes! When I first started travelling I hated putting my hand in my bag and playing a blind game of lucky dip as to which shirt I would pu

ll out. Using the cubes means that my clothes are laid out side by side - rolled, not folded (another packing hot-topic), and I can clearly see each item 1 by 1 rather than sorting through piles of jumbled clothing.


However, I don't use packing cubes for EVERYTHING. There are times when using packing cubes just makes your bag more bulky and less efficient - and this is exactly the opposite of their purpose! Items such as jeans (or denim in general) or jackets, I tend to avoid packing in cubes as the heavy and thick fabric just doesn't cooperate and you end up with 1 pair of jeans in 1 cube - pointless right?



I also really like my jewellery ‘packing cube’ - I say use that term lightly here because it’s not a packing cube but kind of is in a way so it’s being included in this section too. One of the main reasons I barely reach for jewellery when I’m travelling or on holiday is because it’s normally a giant pain in the ass to find what you want, fight to untangle it and then I lose pieces when I take it off. So I purchased a small and compact jewellery case. Mine is only small but holds all that I want it to - a few necklaces, rings, ankle bracelets and earrings. I even bought one for my mum at the same time and she loves hers when she goes on holiday as it makes dressing up just that bit easier. To be honest, if I wasn’t travelling I’d still probably use it as a full-time jewellery case that I could easily close up, throw in a bag and take on travels with me. Mine is a box style - it’s only small but is pretty structured in shape, you can also buy styles that pack up flat and seem more compact.

Highly recommend one of these!



2. My scrapbook


I hate the word scrapbook - maybe a memory book or sketchbook is a slightly more suited term. Either way, this is maybe the most personal item on this list and not one that everyone will consider essential. For me, however, I take my scrapbook everywhere.


I have always collected ticket stubs, transit passes, leaflets from activities, receipts from special places or anything that is a memory of where I've been, what I've done and who I've met. I used to put them in a separate pocket of my bag and then wait until I got home to put them somewhere safe but I got annoyed at them getting lost or torn in my bag or never making it home at all. And so I started a book, a place to keep all these memories in one place that I can look back on and flick through pages of memories.


Alongside the A5 book itself I also carry a glue stick, masking tape and a very minimal pencil case. This means that I can complete pages anywhere I am. From securing polaroids and ski passes, to sketching Hollywood palm trees, I love completing pages of memories.


I highly recommend starting one of your own - you don't have to be artistic or carry around a full art kit, it's just a collection of memories for you to reminisce on later.


3. My bag


All this talk of what I pack in my bag, it's only right that it makes this list. The bag that I use is the Osprey Fairview 65L travel pack. I've been using it for the past year of travel and I cannot recommend it enough.


It makes living out of a backpack an enjoyable experience.


The bag itself is front opening like a suitcase, not top opening like most backpacks. This makes it super accessible, making packing easy and seeing where things are organised and unchallenging (all with a little extra help from my packing cubes!).


Another noticeable difference to a classic backpackers bag, and a big reason why I choose this bag, is that it has wheels! You can choose between extending the handle and dragging it suitcase style, or you can unzip some hidden straps and carry it like a bag - whatever is best for you and your location. In all honesty, I am definitely using the wheels a whole lot more but that’s because I’ve travelled Canada and the US and they’re both very accessible with a suitcase. When I was travelling through Toronto in January 2022 just after a heavy snowfall, a suitcase was hard work and I loved having the possibility to wear the bag on my back. The only slight downside of the extra wheels is that you do lose a bit of packing space inside - however I do see this as a bonus for myself because I always overpack and so having less space means I can’t overpack because there’s simply not the space for it!




4. A water bottle


It might sound simple but I always used to forget my water bottle, now I don’t go anywhere without it. I like to have one that has a carabiner/carry clip so that I can easily attach it to bags and straps. I have also just upgraded from a plastic bottle to a metal, insulated one - a big game changer if you’re in a hot climate and want to keep your water fresh and cold.



5. Sound-proof headphones


These should be higher on the list as I use them all the time when travelling but they've been knocked down to the number 5 slot because I also try not to use them as much. Sometimes it’s nice when travelling to be in the moment and atmosphere of a new place - not in your own sound-proof bubble.


My favourites for the last few years have been the JBL Tune 600BTNC - they fold up small, are bluetooth, and are comfortable to wear for long periods of time - and the battery lasts ages too!



6. Cross-body phone strap


I first bought one of these on a bit of a whim, I'd seen one online and thought it could useful when travelling or times when you want to be hands-free from your phone but not put it away entire entirely. I think it's fair to say that I've got my fair use of this gadget. I've seen some on the market that are simple straps that attach to a case and I've seen others that are more fashionable, they have nicer straps or cases that make them more of a statement. You can also buy them with bank card storage on the back of the phone case, this is great if you don't want to carry a purse as well.


I prefer to use a simple one - one that doesn't scream 'tourist' quite as much as the others. The one I purchased features a simple black adjustable cord attached to a clear phone case. I bought mine on Amazon but you can get them at most places that you can buy phone cases.


There are times when you're travelling when you don't want to be holding a phone all of the time but you do want to keep it available, for example when you're reading directions or taking lots of photos. Instead, it's pretty helpful to be able to carry it with you without constantly digging around for it in your bag or pockets. I really recommend a phone case like this and I definitely underestimated how much I'd use it.


It is also a pretty great safety feature to have your phone strapped to you. Granted it's not exactly welded to your side, but it's a step up from holding your phone in your hand where you risk having it swiped from you quickly. It makes me feel more secure in crowded places such as public transport, tourist hotspots etc.


The style that I have is most similar to the centre photo (below), I personally don't like keeping my bank cards, cash and phone altogether but some people do favour this and there's now plenty of styles of these phone case straps on the market that there's options for whatever you prefer.



Okay, now that we've talked about what's best to carry in your bag, let's go through my UNESSENTIALS list.


What isn't essential:


1. A pack of UNO cards


The most unessential thing that I have been carrying around with me is a deck of UNO cards. I have not touched me in a full one year of full-time travel! Absolutely no hate towards UNO, it's a fun game but most hostels already have it in their collection, there's no need for it to be taking up room in my bag - but yet it's still there! It's one of those items that you keep telling yourself that you'll use but never actually do when the time comes.


2. Hair straighteners


Yep, I carry around with me a full size set of hair straighteners - heat proof mat included. With limited space and weight allowance most backpackers choose to travel light and only take things that are considered essential in day to day travel; I chose my hair straighteners.


Joking aside, I do see these as a practical item in my bag and I do use them often enough for them to not be entirely discarded as useless or a waste of space. I have a full fringe and can often wake up in the morning with my hair choosing to recreate a scene from Something About Mary - if you know, you know - and so I enjoy having the possibility of being able to style and control my hair on the road.


A not entirely useless product personally but one that is definitely not essential for travel.


3. Single country plug converters


Before I left for full time travel I would pack one adapter that matched one place - usually because I was going on single destination trips - most often this would be a European adapter. Before leaving I thought about how I would adjust around the world and didn’t want multiple converters to be taking up valuable packing space.


I went ahead and started multi-country plug adapters and immediately found what I was looking for. The first one I ordered was quite cheap and when it arrived it didn’t look like it would survive full-time travel, so I sent it back. The one I have now is great and works amazing - I particularly like the block style that has one main plug as well as three USB ports meaning I can always charge multiple devices at once.


The block/brick style is probably the most common style of multi-

Within my bag I tend to use around 4/5 cubes depending on the trip and what I neerd to paension cord. This would also work great, arguably slightly better, than the one I have as I’ve had many times in hostels when my brick takes up too much space or covers over multiple ports in the wall and I feel like I’m blocking other people from charging - I’ve sorted this by offering them to use one of the ports on my block - a simply fix, but a strip adapter would work great too!


So there we have it! A few things that I consider useful to travel and make backpacking as simple as living out of a wardrobe.


What do you think of my list and what do you carry around in your bag that you consider essential? Or maybe you have an item that’s like my hair straighteners, one that’s a little luxurious that you don’t mind taking up that extra space? Let me know by getting in touch below - I’d love to hear what makes it onto your list!




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