Irrespective of whether you are travelling for a day or a month, packing can always be a task in itself. It is always the last-minute horror before we leave for our holidays. The general practice we follow is that, when we remember something we may need during our travel, is to write it down. It is always helpful to have a rundown of what items you may want to pack, so you must have a travel checklist.
The first thing to do before making a checklist is to plan the itinerary in advance. This gives a fair idea of all the activities we may indulge in and therefore pack for it accordingly. My packing strategy is that, I am able to heave my suitcase in the trunk of the car myself, without emitting any strange animal sounds. It is always better to travel light but it’s a skill to pack right. I am yet to master this skill but I do have a list of must haves that work for every kind of family travel.
Here’s our list of travel essentials in a travel kit
Documents
These include your Passport, Visa, IDs, Cash and Cards, Travel tickets, Hotel Reservations, Health and Travel Insurance, Emergency contact details and a pen. For these I use a document folder with many compartments to keep my things well organised, but in one folder only. The Brown Bear black passport wallet, just fits my requirements, its made of leather and has 28 compartments to keep everything in order.
Universal Adapter Plug and Chargers
Phones, laptop and camera have become essentials while travelling these days. For me, the ipad is even more important than anything during mealtimes, because my kid just refuses to eat without it. And to make sure all these are well charged always, we use a SeCro Universal Worldwide Travel Adapter with built-in Dual USB Charger Ports. It’s all in one and can charge my iphones, galaxy phones and cameras.
Medications
I make sure to pack extra medications along with its prescriptions. With kids you never know what you may need. Motion sickness, fever, cold, cough, diarrhea, vomiting, insect bite; you just name the illness and I carry its medication along. I always keep them handy in small storage boxes like these:
Sanitizer
Maintaining basic hygiene is a big worry while travelling with kids. That makes Hand Sanitizers and Toilet Seat Sanitizers indispensable. I prefer Godrej Protekt which is Not Just Another Hand Sanitizer since it is alcohol free. It’s safe for kids and keeps them germ free for 8 Hours. When no proper restrooms are available, especially during long hours of road travel I recommend Pee Safe Toilet Seat Sanitizer Spray to keep our small brats with smaller bladders infection free.
Wet Wipes
This is useful anytime, anywhere and for everything. Wet wipes are a blessings during travel with kids especially during their intentional and unintentional food spills. My kid sometimes suffers from motion sickness so I have to keep these within reach. I use Huggies Baby Wipes for my child and Olay Essentials Wet Cleansing wipes for myself for instant freshness and to keep away from travel exhaustion.
Cosmetics
We don’t need to carry our entire beauty routine with us but some basic stuff can be carried along easily in cute little spill proof travel size bottles like this: I normally carry my kid stuff like baby lotions, baby wash, baby oil etc in these.
A Travel Kit
Our favorite AmazonBasicsHanging Toiletry Kit is big enough to carry all of mine as well as hubby’s stuff too and the best part is that it can also be hanged easily without getting it wet or dirty.
Books
Being a laidback traveller I do get a lot of free time to catch up with my reading during my travels. Trust me there is nothing better in this world than to curl up on a lounge chair with a good read in a resort, basking in the awesome view of the mighty mountains or a serene seaside. But we do prefer ebooks while travelling due to the space and weight constrains. I have my personal favorite list of books to read while travelling here at My Top 10 Books to Read when Travelling.
First Aid Kit
Last but definitely not the least, a must have for kids and adults both is a compact Travel First Aid Kit for small emergencies. Things could get tricky in an unknown land, so this item might come handy when needed.
I have compiled this list of must haves which definitely works for me every time. Hope you find this article of use to you. If I am missing something, please contact us or comment below and I will update this blog soon.
Disclaimer: Please note that there are affiliate links in this post, and at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on that links. I have used all the products mentioned above and I recommend them because I feel confident that you will love them as much as I do. They have made my family travels better and will help you as well.
