8 Travel must-haves for your next holiday.

Travel TipsPlanningEuropeGear
Written By Kayla Paul

For the past few months I’ve been back in my hometown of Perth, Western Australia — but soon I’ll be preparing to jet-set off again on another travel adventure. With already one extended travel experience under my belt, I feel better prepared for the next one. But the big question is — what will I be taking (and leaving behind) when I depart my hometown once again to travel the world?

I’ve listed a few things below that I absolutely love to travel with and that you might like to consider taking with you on your next adventure.

1. Kathmandu Classic Hanging Toiletry Bag (RRP $49.98 AUD)

These toiletry bags are THE BEST. Not only do they have multiple compartments for all your toiletries, but they also have a very handy plastic hook that pops out so you can hang your bag. During my travels I encountered many situations where my accomodation didn’t have much bench / vanity space for a regular toiletry bag. I could easily hang this off a towel rail, back of a door handle or another bathroom hook to keep my toiletries close-by.

2. World Travel Power Adapter from Amazon (RRP $28.95 AUD)

When I left Australia in 2022, I had multiple power adapters for Europe and unfortunately this wasn’t enough. Between my husband and I, we were (gently) fighting over who had “charging rights” based on whoever had the lowest battery percentage. 😅 We also found ourselves without a compatible power adapter in Switzerland, and while we eventually found one, we had to divert our hiking plans just to ensure we could find a store that would sell Australian compatible power adapters. But now I’ve found this 200+ country universal travel adapter which I can use for travel not only in Europe, but also in the USA, and UK. Plus it’s super compact and will save you a lot of vital space in your backpack/suitcase.

I definitely recommend buying your travel adapters in your home country before you leave, because chances are you’ll want to charge your devices as soon as you open the door to your hotel/hostel/accomodation/Airbnb.

3. Packing cubes (RRP $29 AUD from Big W)

I loveeeee a good organised suitcase and if you’re the type of person who throws everything in a heap, then tries to sit on their suitcase to close it — then sister, your cries have been heard! Packing cubes are exactly that. Zippy material ‘bags’ you can use to separate your t-shirts from your shorts, and your shoes from your jeans. They’re super handy if you use the ‘rolling’ method when packing your clothes, because they neatly zip up everything and make it so much easier for you to live out of your suitcase while you’re travelling. Oh, and because they compress your clothes, you’ll find they will make zipping up your suitcase much easier too.

You can purchase these from a variety of places (I think I have a mixture of cubes from Kathmandu and other places) including in Australia at Big W, Anaconda, Officeworks and even at some Woolworths. But I’ve included a link to some below to the product directly. I prefer the style with the see-through mesh over the non-see-through types because then you can easily see what clothes you have in each cube.

4. TSA Approved Travel Combination Lock (RRP $8 AUD)

One thing I didn’t expect I would need while travelling was a small TSA approved travel lock. This combination lock actually came in handy because the built-in lock on suitcase broke. They’re also handy to have if you want to lock your day backpack, use them in shared dorms or lockers at gyms.

The small red diamond shaped TSA symbol means that the lock technology has been certified by the US Transportation Security Administration. This allows travel security and relevant authorities to safely check your luggage without needing to invasively break, tear or cut open your bag. This is an important symbol to look for when purchasing a new suitcase as well!

5. eSIM Card for International Calling, Data + Texts (RRP $50 AUD or less)

Old travel me would have pre-bought SIM cards or visited the local city tobacco store to find an international data plan. But new travel me has discovered eSIMs. If you haven’t heard of eSIMs, they’re basically a digitised version of a SIM card. They’re great because you can buy them online and you don’t need to visit an international service provider in person. But there’s a few things you should check before you go out and by the one I’ve recommended below — for example you should check that you have an eSIM compatible phone. Luckily, I’ve put everything you need to know about eSIMs in this blog post.

Once you’re familiar with the eSIM specifics, I highly recommend checking out a company called Orange — they offer a pre-paid eSIM plan called Orange Holiday which works in over 30 European countries. Perfect if you’re going to be visiting a few different European cities over a shorter period of time. Plus, you can text, use data and call locally or internationally. This last one I had to do in order to call my Australian bank from Denmark to get them to unfreeze my card which they temporarily blocked due to ‘suspicious’ behaviour — turns out it was just me trying to use my card to pay for an e-scooter. 😅

6. Re-Usable Water Bottle + Sunscreen

You can have your hot-girl Summer, but let’s avoid a nasty sunburn and dehydration. I always pack a re-useable water bottle with me especially if I’m exploring a city for the day. Plus, you can often refill your bottle for free at public water stations / fountains.

Something else I always pack from Australia and take with me is sunscreen (aka sun lotion or suncream). I was very surprised to find a product in Croatia referred to as “sun-milk” — basically a mixture of sunscreen and olive oil (yes, you read that right! 😅). While you can definitely purchase sunscreen in many major cities in Europe, I’m a little picky, and love my SPF 50 body and face sunscreens (not SPF 30 or SPF 15).

My favourite sunscreen for body:

My favourite face sunscreens:

7. Travel Money Card + Credit Card

If there’s one lesson I’ve learnt from all my travels, it’s that you should always have a backup plan. That’s why when I travel, I not only take my regular Australian debit and credit cards, but I also ensure I have:

  • An international travel card

  • Another credit card with a different bank (e.g. ING refunds international transaction fees if you meet certain monthly criteria)

  • Cash in smaller amounts

By diversifying my payment options, I can ensure I always have a backup plan should I need to cancel a card (due to fraudulent activity or if it’s lost/stolen). A credit card as a backup is also handy if you are purchasing flights. For example, I always purchase flights using a credit card, because one time the travel agency company I purchased flights through actually went into administration, which caused so many people to lose money. But because I paid with a credit card, I could use the insurance to go through VISA / Mastercard and they eventually refunded my costs.

To clarify, this is my personal experience and this info shouldn’t be taken as official financial advice or guidance.

8. Travel Size Digital Luggage Scales (RRP $9 AUD)

Digital luggage scales are a must-have! I recommend every traveller have a set of these because they just are so handy. I use these whenever I’m packing my suitcase to check it’s at least 2kg under the airline luggage weight. If I’m ever over, I either remove non-essential items or move certain items into my hand luggage.

Nowadays, many airlines have automated self-checkin processes which require your luggage to be under a certain weight (or they won’t send your bag through). You’ll also find that certain airlines (especially low-cost carriers) are extremely strict about your checked and hand luggage size and weight. By using a digital travel scale, you can ensure your luggage is underweight well before you fly, and also avoid the awkward conversation with airline staff about why they shouldn’t charge you for excess baggage.

It’s also important to keep in mind that there can be a discrepancy between the number shown at the check-in desk weigh-in, and your digital scales. So you’ll want to always be about 1-2kg under the recommended weight (just in case).

So how much stuff should I pack when I travel?

At the end of the day, you can travel with as little or as much as you like. This will purely depend on you and how you like to travel. Sometimes the anxiety of not knowing whether a city will have the resources you’re after can lead to over-packing tendencies. Ultimately, over-packing and having over-weight luggage can be more hassles than it’s worth. So I always advise travellers to leave at least 2-5kg of spare luggage weight available for the trinkets, new clothes or other items you will pick up along the way. For example, if the airline has a 23kg checked luggage allowance, I would pack no more than 20kg.

Remember to also factor in the weight of your suitcase and ensure you’re physically able to carry/pull/lug around your suitcase/backpack. So if you struggle to pull 20kg, maybe consider packing less weight in your suitcase and save yourself a massive workout during your travel days. You’ll thank me later when you’re running to catch a bus with your suitcase in hand. 😅

Kayla Paul https://www.kwcreativemarketing.com/
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