grbflyer

Im a big fan of travel magazines, books, guide books, gadgets etc. I subscribe to budget travel, and like the lets go series. anyone else? am i missing out on a little know magazine or book?

EmailKid

Lonely Planet books, web site, DVDs.

Footprint guide books.

Rough Guide guide books.

Noise Cancelling headsets, earplugs (yes, use both at the same time), eyeshades.

That's off the top of my head.

EmailKid

Flaflyer

To the above add: All Rick Steves Books. I do not leave home without one. Along with the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide to where I am going.

Plus a Good local map. Or two. My local bookstores carry a surprising variety of city maps from around the world.

KimmyAA

I've been downloading the weekly Rick Steves Podcast (from the ITunes Music Store) for my IPod. They're free and quite interesting, especially if they are discussing somewhere you are thinking of heading.

party_boy

A "real" lock (duh) since the ones that most people use on luggage can be opened with a simple paperclip.

ATM card.

Camera for all the good times.

bhatnasx

There's a book I read a while back called WorldStompers & they have a website - http://www.stompers.com/ - reading that book led me to my first full moon party in Koh Phangan.

I look at budget travel a lot like backpack travel - here's my essentials list:

-Camera/film (or digital camera)
-Sarong (good for many uses to include a towel, beach towel, blanket, etc)
-20 feet of nylon cord (to use as a clothesline)
-small first aid kit with tweezers/band aids/antiseptic packets (you can "borrow" these from your doctors office), an ace bandage (after a motobike accident in Koh Phangan & inadequate first aid facilities, I never travel without one anymore), cortizone cream (itchy bug bites suck)
-a lock (as party-boy mentioned - get a good one)
-pack cover (to protect backpack straps from airport conveyor belts, a large thin nylon laundry bag is lightweight & will work nicely)
-small hand towel
-sunglasses
-passport (don't be a dumbass & hide it under your bed like I did in Phangnan - then, when you get to the airport at Samui, another island away, you forget to grab you passport & have to spend another 3 days in P
-lighter (even if you don't smoke - good for sterilizing things like needles to remove splinters & burning the ends of frayed shoelaces, lighting cigarettes & other smokeables, and a way to be helpful - anyone ever ask "gotta light?" )
-floss (can be used as thread if needed & it helps keep your teeth clean)
-lightweight rain jacket
-Immodium
-Depending on the country, a third of a roll of toilet paper when I go out on the town. My old roommate had a bad mushrooom shake at a party in Thailand once & he was so glad that I brought some TP as it didn't make his stomach happy at all!
-Journal
-Guidebook (I prefer Lonely Planet ones - but at the same time, I also listen to what my fellow travelers suggest)
-paperback reading book (you can trade these or pass them on along the way)
-crappy 20.00 Timex watch - or if your cellphone automatically changes time in foreign timezones, that'll do - know what time it is & don't miss trains or buses - in someplace, the bus to where you've got to go only comes once a day!
-Addresses (I like to send postcards)

EmailKid

Ya, did that in Ushuaia (El Fin del Mundo), but luckily had enough time to go back to the hotel, because I got to the airport early, being paranoid about missing my plane and all (with good reason apparently ). Luckily the taxi didn't cost too much, since I didn't have to search for my passport very hard, and it's a pretty small town so it was a short ride.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe lighters are (as of quite recently) on the Prohibited Items list.

My former GF from Central America would always give me dirty looks when she saw I packed TP, but I never regreted it.

You're a big spender. Until I got a new watch from CO for signing up for their Chase card (soon to be gone, the card not the watch), I used one I purchased at a 99¢ Store

Oh, another obvious one, a pen. Don't have to borrow one, like I used to have to do to fill out the customs form.

And a great standby, some US currency stashed away, you never know when it will come handy.

I'm sure I'll think of a few more .....

EmailKid

bhatnasx

Lighters are on the prohibited list - but for the most part, only in the US. I usually pack mine in my toiletry kit - if its a simple bic lighter, you can usually walk through security with it in your pocket & it won't set off the metal detector. Of course, if you do that, you can't be a dick to the TSA folks since they'll secondary you. I've never had a lighter pulled from a checked bag.

Good tip about the pen! To me, its like second nature, I almost always have a pen & I keep a couple of extra 3x5 index cards in my travel documents kit just in case I need to write something down. My wallet, a dual-fold, has an ID flap - under that, I keep a mini-pad of about 10 mini-post-it notes. Those come in handy when you don't have anything to write on...

I noticed that I didn't finish the thought while typing above - I had to spend 3 days in Koh Phangnan because I was flying to Krabi from there & there were no confirmable seats for 3 days! Not that spending an extra 3 days in Phangan is that bad, of course - but my buddy who I was traveling with decided to go on ahead - which was actually nice to do some solo travel.

swise

a few to add...

duct tape
I've used it to tape down the button on those showers that you have to keep pushing to make the water come out. Worked brilliantly! I usually wrap .5 cm or so thickness of tape around the end of a pen or pencil. That way it takes up less space.

safety pins

For guides, I like the Michelin Green Guides. They don't always tell you where the cool kids hang out, but they rate all of the things to see with stars. That, along with the maps and content are very useful.
Rough Guides, Fodors, Frommers, and Lonely Planet guides are published on the Web, so I don't bother buying. I'll just print out the bits that interest me.

Ziplocks
They hold toiletries, so that if a cap comes off the leaking isn't so bad. They hold cords/cables if I bring computer stuff. They're great for stationary/post cards/stamps. If I'm carrying powdered laundry detergent, they work for that, too. They're (of course) good for food, either leftovers or pre-prepared picnic stuff. I usually bring about 10 sandwich bags, 5-10 quart size freezer bags, and 5-10 galloon size freezer bags. They easily fit anywhere.

Snack bars
Lara Bars, Luna Bars, Clif Bars, whatever. They keep well, don't take up a lot of room, and provide a relatively filling snack if you get stuck somewhere.

Some trinkets from home to give to people along the way
In the past, we've taken packets of bluebonnet seeds and sheriff's badge pins, both very "Texan." We pinned one of the sheriff's badges on a little boy staying at the inn where we were staying in Southern France, and he thought we were the cat's pajamas after that.

gre

Don't just take a generic "raincoat", take a Gore-tex shell.

I also have some L.L. Bean dress shirts that I can literally sleep in and they still don't wrinkle (much).

Merrell Jungle Moc shoes - they're so comfortable that they double for slippers (and they slip off for the idiots TSA's).

Also, those plastic bags with the one-way opening to pack your clothes in and then squish all the air out. They really work.

Now take everything you've set out to pack and throw half of it in a corner and forget about it!

party_boy

a small flashlight to use when you get up at night. Melatonin for adjusting to the local time zones.

Bogey90

I'm very happy with the Petzl Tikka Plus LED headlamp. Good for lots of hours on 3 AAA batteries, and no bulb to burn out or break. It has a strap for wearing around your head like a miner's headlamp.

Great for walking at night if you are out of town, but I have used it mostly as supplemental reading light with underpowered hotel lamps.

valve bouncer

Is there any chance this can become a sticky? There's some great ideas in here. ^

Bogey90

Sure you can use it in the woods, but a compass is even better for starting off in the right direction after walking out of the subway. Great for orienting your map when you are trying to figure out where you are, or which direction to go.

Small, cheap (but not so cheap that you don't trust it ), and liquid filled (so the needle doesn't wiggle too much) is your best choice, IMHO.

Rampo

Yes, they are, and flights into the US from foreign countries also prohibit lighters (at US government direction). In many countries a cheap Scripto type lighter can be bought for around 25 cents; it's probably simpler to just pick one up at the local convenience or mom & pop store after you arrive rather than try to finagle one on board.