EmailKid

Not necessarily dislike, but for those of us who've been there, it's old hat. His tips are great for first timers, especially of certain age. When I made my first European trip way back when, I had all the time in the world so could make all the mistakes.

His show is for people like me, except older and that they never traveled anywhere, or if the did they stayed at the Marriott and ate at the restaurant at the hotel. And they still think you should not drink the water or buy from food from street carts

Um, RickSteves.com/

Link to backpacks and stuff is at botom right.

EmailKid

manneca

Wet Ones for sticky fingers and for washing hands when your hand sanitizer falls out of your pocket. (Aloe Wet Ones are a great substitute for toilet paper when the turista just doesn't go away.) Gatorade for the turista. Tide pens were terrific on my last trip. My traveling companion and I looked like toddlers after every meal. The pens really do work.

I pack clothes (T shirts together organized by color; slacks together, underwear, etc) in giant zip locks. It means I can pull out the bags containing the clothes I want to wear that day without having to repack everything. The clothes stay nicely folded and repacking (assuming I put the clothes back in the bags if I'm not laundering them) is a breeze.

I just bought an Sony eReader for my last trip. I was worried about weight of carryons (and checked luggage)--was gone for almost four weeks with two long, long flights. It was great.

UWT77

I haven't made it through the whole list yet, but want to add "extra bag." Sounds funny, but go with me. Depending on how long my trip is and how much I plan on buying (shirts, trinkets, other items) I check one suitcase. On the bottom of that suitcase I lay a smaller bag that folds very small or flattens. I pack all my stuff on top of it. That way I have an "extra bag to fill" while I'm traveling. Especially since most airlines are getting VERY strict with their weight limit's on bags. I've never been caught with a "heavy" bag coming home even though I buy stuff during my trip. Hope that helps.

My "don't leave home without" list has grown a little with this posting!! Great ideas!! Thanks everyone!

pteron

Thanks for that tip, we use this soap as hand soap but I hadn't considered using it as a shampoo.

One item I like to take with me is a small bottle of hand sanitiser - not usually for me, but for my wife who has a touch of the Howard

studio253

compression bags
small flashlight
lighter
safety pins
sunscreen
extra shoelaces
large ziplock bags
pre-paid calling cards
hand sanitizer
address and phone numbers for local consulate or embassy

k_sheep

All great ideas - washing powder liquid is always my nemesis!

Something else to take along, especially in poorer areas of Asia - photos of your family. Invariably when talking with the locals they will always ask about your family, and they adore photos. Trinkets (mentioned before) are also great - your 20c hair tie or pencil from home will often be swapped for a home cooked gourmet meal

Those small ziplock bags are also great for paper currency - I find my cash can rip and get all sweaty when in hidden pockets or money belts, so the snack size bags are just right for most notes.

Not so budget, but something I took with me around europe - my PDA. Phrase books, all your addresses and phone numbers, copies of all insurance/flight information and stuff, photo backup, an MP3 player, maps, a journal, and even GPS all in one little unit.

kenwood

A lot of good tips. One thing I would add is water bottle. Fill up whenever you can get free water during the trip.

minnow

wet naps are a must when I travel

flpab

Samatha Brown once said her best travel tip was a vintage train case and I bought one on ebay. You can fit everything you need in one and the best part is that you use it for a foot stool on the flight. On long flights it is the best thing.
Clorox wipes are a must, clean you tray table, seat arms, volume controls, etc. I have had seatmates ask me for a wipe after seeing me clean. I work at an airport, those trays don't get cleaned very often in quick or long turn arounds. If I sit next to the window I clean the window also. I don't want to get sick on my vacation.
Last trip to Germany I bought a great pair of boots for hiking on ebay very cheap and left them and other clothes that I could care less about. I then had room for my Germany goodies. I think each hotel maid got some clothes.
I have this one one 22 inch roller bag and my travel train case. I refuse to carry more but like to buy stuff.

tina.pdx

Hello everyone,
First post; heard about flyertalk from someone I met at a Bhutan slideshow last night. Excellent information.

Some of my essentials:
a 2 gig or higher flash drive for storing and backing up pictures. They also come in handy for storing copies of your passport, traveler check and ATM numbers, and you can download a copy of a Password Vault type program for using in internet cafes when you don't want to type in your passwords.

Silk sleep sacks are an absolute necessity for travel in Asia and other developing areas. Places in my budget range rarely have top and bottom sheets and there's no telling when anything was last laundered....

Washing clothes is a big deal on long trips, and I either buy small packets of powder soap and wrap tight with rubber bands (which are another excellent thing to have), or in some places you can buy small round hard bars of laundry soap that are perfect for travel. Safety pins double as clothes pins and take up far less room. I like to buy a small bundle of plastic wrapping twine to use for clotheslines or bundling up items that I buy as gifts.

An iPod video with little retractable RCA cables (made by Emerge Tech) so you can load a ton of movies, language lesson videos, music, and even pictures of your country to show other people. It's great to be able to hook your iPod up to a TV and watch movies in a place that doesn't have any English stations, and it's always fun to invite some fellow travelers over for a party.

That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll think of some others. Great topic- so many good ideas.

tina.pdx

Hello everyone,

Tried to post this last night, but it didn't work..... 2nd attempt:
First post; heard about flyertalk from someone I met at a Bhutan slideshow the other night. Excellent information.

Some of my essentials:
a 2 gig or higher flash drive for storing and backing up pictures. They also come in handy for storing copies of your passport, traveler check and ATM numbers, email addresses, visa pictures, etc. You can also download a Password Vault type program for your flash drive, for doing online banking in internet cafes where you don't want to type in your passwords.

Silk sleep sacks are an absolute necessity for travel in Asia and other developing areas. Places in my budget range rarely have top sheets and there's no telling when anything was last laundered....

An iPod video with little retractable RCA cables (made by Emerge Tech) so you can load a ton of movies, language lesson videos, music, podcasts, and even pictures of your country to show other people. It's great to be able to hook your iPod up to a TV and watch movies in a place that doesn't have any English stations, and it's always fun to invite some people over for a party.

One thing I do, since I like to sew, is make extra long pockets on all my travel pants and skirts. That way I have all my important papers and money in a location that's impossible to pickpocket, and it allows space for that extra wallet that contains all the things you really don't want to lose. I've had rooms rifled by cleaning staff, so it's nice to have everything with you. I've heard too many pickpocketing stories, so in really bad areas (in large crowds or Guiyang recently, where I saw a purse snatching) I put safety pins over my pockets to prevent anybody from reaching their hand in.

Washing clothes is a big deal on long trips, and I either buy small packets of powder soap and wrap tight with rubber bands (which are another excellent thing to have), or in some places you can buy small round hard bars of laundry soap that are perfect for travel. Safety pins can be used as clothes pins and take up far less room. I like to buy a small bundle of plastic wrapping twine to use for clotheslines or bundling up items that I buy as gifts.

That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll think of some others. Great topic- so many good ideas.

echocrest

One word: Blackberry. Absolutely essential for getting through boredom at the gate, and finding out where to eat once I've made it to my destination.

EmailKid

Welcome to FlyerTalk tina.pdx !

Those sound like good ideas ^

EmailKid

leyana28

always needed:
-lonely planet small new guide ( forgot the exact name )
-a map of the city I´m in
-a book ( waiting hours somewhere )
-creditcard ( if you have money you can have everything... ;-) )
-music mp3
-paper and a pen !!

:-P

Brewgal

Great hints, everyone! I'll definitely be updating my travel list.

My items (aside from the usual clothing/shoes/toiletries):

Safety pins
Crochet hook and small ball of yarn
Extra bag to carry goodies home (packed at the bottom of my suitcase)
Emery board (nothing worse than sharp, broken nails)
Dental floss (get a sample size from your dentist)
Rough Guide (if I've not visited previously)
Tiny compass/clock. I have one I picked up at a convention that clips on to a belt or purse loop.
Key flashlight (the kind that lights up when you press it).
PDA/Ipod
Bandaids
Granola bars. It's hard to think yourself out of a difficult situation when you're hungry.
Pen and small spiral notebook
Extra camera battery.