A question “what to take with you for a trip” is very relevant for any kind of traveler, if you are a regular tourist, hitch-hicker, сyclist, if you are traveling on your own car, or using a ticket for a group tour, if you are traveling with your wife, or kids, a nice friend or even with your mother-in-law you will still face the situation where you did not pack even the half of the things you planed to take with you for a trip or journey, but the overfilled bags are already ready to explode.
[adrotate group=”1″]And if you are getting ready for an independent journey, where you will have to carry your backpack yourself,and you have a long way to go, in such case this topic is a lot more appropriate for you. Of course, you should decide what to take with you for the journey beforehand, the sooner, the better, and not a night or even a couple of hours before.
The most useful thing to do would be to make a list of things you have to take for a trip. Other case you can find yourself with a lot of things you do not really need,which make a lot of discomfort at your journey, besides the half of these things you do not even take out of the bag or a backpack, but the most useful things you must have left at home.
If you do not want to get into such situation,what you need to do is to make a list of the things you need the most and if you will have extra space you will probably know what to fill it with.
A list of the most necessary things you will need
The documents for the trip
You need to make sure before the start of the trip that the passports, tickets and other documents for the trip are ready and all of them are at the same place. If you are using a ticket for a group tour,it is important not to forget it, if you are planning to cross the border of your country, you will need visa and your foreign passport.
You can read about it more in details if you use a link. Also if you would like to use a car abroad, sometimes you need to arrange a foreign driving license,what can take you another couple of weeks. You should better keep all the documents in one place, not far from you, so the possibility to loose or forget them somewhere decrease and you always can take them out quickly.
If you want you can buy a special bag for your documents, which you can throw over your shoulder. By the way, there is another piece of advice,you can make copies of all your documents for the case of loss. Do not forget to take your credit card and a password for it.
First-aid set
It may sound weird but you do not have to take a first-aid in case you do not have much free space. But usually such a small thing as activated coal to help to cope with the unfamiliar food, or a plaster for a scratches will not take a lot of your space in you luggage, but will help you to avoid some unpleasant moments during the trip.
Of course if you are going for a long trip to mountains or to any other active journey you will probably need a bigger in the matter of size and in amount of medicine first-aid set. Or if a small kid is driving with you or you currently are taking pills, or you have permanent headaches or anything else. [adrotate group=”2″]
Hygiene items
As for hygiene items you should take a tooth brush and paste, soap,shower gel and deodorant.You can take all these items in a small versions,made exactly for travelling. For example, a shampoo can be bought in one-time packages.A usual soap is usually not practical too and it is better to leave it at home.
Very useful can be wet or normal tissue papers in a small package and if you are going with the kids you may need a big one. Or you can use a usual toilet paper instead. If you are a woman you may need cosmetics, but first, it is better to take a minimum of your make up tools and second it is better to let your skin rest from the make up. Especially if you are going camping in mountains or woods, and not to a 5 stars hotel in Dubai.
Your clothes for the trip
There is already an article on this site dedicated to this topic,what clothes you should take for a trip, so I recommend to read it. But for a summer vacation you will need sunglasses, a cap, a swimming suit or trunks, if you do not like to swim naked.
Also of you have a long hair it is better to think beforehand about scrunchy for you hair,a bandage or a headband as it is not so easy to find them during the trip as it may seem to be.
And of course the most important thing to take is a sunburn cream, because if you get sunburned on the first day of your stay, the next 3-4 days will seem to be hell for you and not a vacation at the expensive resort.And it is can be not only about you spending time at the beach,it is also about your walks outside.
For example, during my summer trip on a bike in Crimea I spent 3 days in a warm jacket because I got sunburnt on the very first day of my trip. Also in some places on our planet you can say prayers to God saying thank you for taking a cream against mosquitos and did not spend sleepless weeks with blisters on your body. And for women there is another piece of advice.
[adrotate group=”3″]Yo do not necessarily have to take 20 dresses with you,sometimes it is enough to take different accessories, which you can change and look differently every evening. But in this case you can save some space in your luggage and it will be lighter. Also it is a good practice for women and men to take the clothes which you than can match or replaced.
Techniques during the trip
Well,of course most of the traveler can not imagine their life without civilisation and modern electronics.First of all, you will need a camera if your journey will take place in beautiful places.
For great and artistic pictures it is better to take a professional camera.But if you are going for a long trip far away and it is a big possibility to break it, loose or give out to robbers, sometimes it is better to take a usual camera or even a phone.
What gadgets to take for a long trip
A mobile phone is usually extremely necessary, because it can do a lot of functions,which a lot of other gadgets could do. A phone can replace GPS navigator if you need it during the trip, an E-book if you will be bored at the hotel, an MP3-player, if you would want to learn a foreign language with the audio lessons or to listen to a useful audio book. And of course, you will often need a flash-light, not professional camera, a laptop, and a mobile phone itself.
As an option you can take the simplest and cheapest phone only for your connection and it will not contain all these modern functions. But on the other side a phone like this will hold the battery a week or even more, and you will not feel sorry so much if you loose it or break during your journey, what can also happen. You should also think beforehand to fill up your account, because calls in roaming usually cost more, than at home.
And if you are going to out-of-the-way places it makes sense to take several cards from different operators and check which one will be working the best at this place. A good solution of the problem with charging the tools you need during the trip is to buy extra chargers or even special accessories with the ability to charge from the sun. You can find it in special shops or order on eBay or other not expensive internet auctions.
Sometimes it is good to take a map or even a small phrase-book if you are not familiar with the language they speak in the country, it can make your stay much easier there. IF you still do not know which country you should visit, you can check out our article about the cheapest countries of the world for vacation and travelling, or about where to go to the seaside during winter.
And of course, some not tricky secrets about packing your luggage. If you pack it accurate or even iron,you will save some space. If you will not use some things during your trip to the destination, you should better pack these things on the bottom of your suitcase but food,napkins and things you will need the most you should pack on the top, so you do not have to dig up everything in search of toilet paper.
Also it is better to put small things you may need in a separate compartment and to use T-shirts to fill up a space you do not use in the angles of the luggage. And a special advice for women,you can let your man to pack your bag, this way it will become even smaller and if you let him to see what you took with you and to criticise you, you will take less of useless things. [adrotate group=”4″]
If you are fresh in traveling, you can ask the tour guide or an experienced fellow, you will be very thankful afterwards, when you have to carry your backpack for dozens of miles on foot.
What food to take with you
Of course, you should take products, which will not get spoiled soon, especially if the journey is planned for more than for one day. If you go not for long and the weight of your luggage does not bother you, in this case you can take what you usually eat.Starting with sandwiches, canned goods and well packed cottage cheese with raisins and any fruits,which you like.
Do not forget about food for the child.And of course, you should take your personal cup, iron plate, a spoon, a good knife and a bottle of water at least for first time. Because if you will not find these things,you will have to eat everything with bare hands or with plastic set from the market,it is especially important if you are going to nature and you will be cooking there.
What to take with you if you are going afoot
And if you are going on foot, it is more complicated. Among not heavy, but still nutritious snacks you can take any kind of dried fruits, especially raisins and dates, any kind of nuts, honey or not so healthy but loved among tourists, condensed milk. These are caloric products, which do not weight much.
It will be great,if instead of taking synthesised vitamins you take 200 grams of bees pollen, it will fill you with vitamins not worse than any of modern methods. Among products which you will need to cook, can be buckwheat, rice, rolled oats and any other porridge. [adrotate group=”5″]
You will also need more water for cooking. Some spices can be used too, to make a pretty monotonous ration more various.And of course tools you will need for cooking, like a small kettle for boiling on the bonfire. For a nice sleep and rest during the day, a nice tent will be needed, a sleeping-bag, a mat, you can also take a guitar, so you can make money during traveling, just like on the picture.
Even more about it and a lot of other things you can read in the article about good planning of the journey. And the last thing which is very important, to take with you a dozen of the souvenirs from your country, or any other small things which will remind about your country.
With such s small thing you can say “thank you” to your hosts, if you are living at their place for free using Couchsurfing program, or just give them out as a reminder about you, to give out a little piece of happiness, love and good mood to other people, which you will get back two times more than you gave.
And I wish it to you. In any case, check out our site of knowledge and self-education often, and also take a look at the articles about trips to different countries, for example Georgia. It doesn’t matter if you have cheap tickets for the flight, or your own car, or you prefer hitchhiking, (we have articles about that too) what is important, not to be afraid of travelling alone.
