Originally published in June 2022.
I haven’t traveled for pleasure since 2018 LETS GO, PEOPLE. While I am admittedly very out of practice, I make up for being rusty with my commitment to research and preparedness. My trip is in six days and I’ve been packed since last Saturday. One of my favorite things is identifying travel supplies that are (and are not!) beneficial to single people while traveling. The list below contains items that are in my suitcase and backpack as we speak. Please feel free to add your own travel hacks and smart finds in the comments below.
Reusable Bamboo Utensil Set: Ever buyt some incredible French cheese and bread and walk to a park and then realize you’ve nothing to break into that cheese with but your own mammalian thumbs? Me too. Not only is a bamboo utensil set light as a feather and easy to travel with, but it comes in handy far more often than you think. I’ve used this on planes, vacations, and at home.
Umbrella In A Ziplock: A travel umbrella is always the move, we know this. But my insistence is that you stick said umbrella in a ziplock bag before you pack it so that when the damn thing gets wet you can simply collapse it and stick it back in that baggie so that you don’t drip water all over a museum. Yes, some museums have umbrella bags, but they’re most often built for long dapper umbrellas with wooden handles and respectability. They’re not going to fit your feeble travel umbrella that will most likely turn on you (literally) before your flight home.
Laundress Wash & Stain Bar: Taking up absolutely zero room in your liquids ration bag and allowing you to sink-wash anything from stained tops to underpants when you run out, this small bar is simply a good idea. It also has the benefit of making your suitcase smell nice.
Blister Cushion Bandages: I’m about to go from my standard 6K steps per day to roughly 20K steps around Parisian terrain. Yes, you can purchase bandages there, but I would rather spend my time at home preparing for problems than my time on vacation solving them.
USB Hair Straightener: An absolute necessity for anyone with bangs like mine. (I could give a shit about the rest of my hair, let it blow in the breeze.) A USB straightener won’t fry itself on foreign voltage which is genuinely a thing that happens so PLEASE don’t bring your Chi to Europe and destroy it. (I’ve done that before, too.) Will this be the best straightener you’ve ever used? No. Will it straighten your bangs enough for you to confidently leave your hotel room, yes. If you really intend to rely on heat styling tools every day of your trip, my advice is this: Buy them there. Buy a simple, affordable straightener or curling iron with EU, etc. plugs from the drugstore when you get there. That way you can safely use it during your trip — and on future trips! I used to have a UK hair straightener from Boots that I regret throwing away to this day.
Contact Lens Cases: Look, you can spend heaps of money on cutesy reinvented travel containers if you want to, or you can spend $6 to get the most liquid-tight vessels I’ve ever used. I mean they’re meant to hold contact solution, Jennifer, I think they can handle a weeks worth of your favorite primer. I put my foundation and bb cream, etc in these so I don’t have to take the huge containers.
Packable Tote: I always travel with a collapsable tote that I can use as a second carry on bag for the return trip. WE SHOP, K? A trick to packing this bag on your way home: Keep it light. Toss in clothing, your travel pillow, light footwear like your flip flops, things that won’t burden you as you walk around the airport—because remember, you’ve just checked the thing you own that has wheels—that’s where you put the heavy stuff.
This Thing: My biggest flying anxiety (apart from like…death) is an in-flight entertainment screen that doesn’t work. Thus, I found this piece of equipment that will let me turn my phone into all the in-flight fun I need. I download a few comedy specials off of Netflix, as they are certain to never have sex scenes viewable by the child sitting behind me in seat 21C, and I confidently traverse the globe. This also works as a phone stand at your desk, etc, too.
Airpods With Headphone Plug: This trip, I’m rejecting the all-out silence of my noise cancelling headphones in favor of how little space these guys take up. I will also be bringing my AirPods AND wired headphones that plug into my phone, and all THREE sets of headphones still take up 1/15th of the room my noise canceling headphones did. You can also purchase the AirFly if you’d like to just connect your Airpods to the in-flight entertainment.
Digestive Enzymes: I have…sensitive insides. If my stomach were in the story of the Three Little Pigs my house would be made of feathers and lint. So starting about two weeks before my trip, I take digestive enzymes with every meal (in addition to the VERY expensive probiotics my body insists upon) in an effort to fortify my innards against any form of foreign cuisine or coffee. I also typically travel with something for emergencies, too — nothing fancy.
No Show Socks That Don’t Torture You: Nothing will drive me to an early grave faster than socks that slide down below my heel. I literally cannot ignore this feeling nor can I walk around without socks so essentially when this happens I live in hell. These are the only no-show socks that don’t budge, EVER. I own ten pairs.
Extra Ziplock Baggies: I have never not used every spare Ziplock bag I’ve traveled with. I could bring 50 and they’d all be used eventually. Whether they’re keeping beauty products contained, storing soiled clothing, or I’m just pretending they’re packing cubes, these things are the secret to my success and I reuse them BTW. I bring a bunch of the gallon size and a few small options, too.
A Bandana: I used to travel with mini bungees, which are admittedly quite useful and versatile, but for this trip I’m just throwing a bandana in my bag. I have a friend who never leaves the house without one and I’ve seen him MacGuyver this thing into hacks you can’t fathom. It can also be a scarf, a headband, an emergency napkin or picnic blanket, you name it.
Bon voyage!
