Let’s be honest, it’s not easy.
Two, six or twelve months… However long you’re lucky enough to be on the road for it’s never easy to squeeze your life into a couple of bags. There’s things you will wish you brought more of, things you’ll wish you brought less of, and things that you didn’t even think about.
Rather than tell you how many T-Shirts, shorts and flip flops to pack, we thought we’d share some of the little things that have made our travels a lot easier.
Dry bags
You’re going to get very wet at some point. Whether it’s tropical downpours, scuba diving or hiking through rivers you will find yourself worrying about your tech and other essentials. For any must-stay-dry items use a dry bag. There’s plenty of choices out there but we use EXPED bags which have never let us down. Make sure you get various sizes for every item and eventuality.
Reusable water bottle
Sounds simple doesn’t it, but we’ve seen hundreds of travellers without them, which means two things – spending a fortune on plastic bottled water and more importantly creating a ridiculous amount of plastic waste. Most hostels and Airbnb’s have water filling stations to refill your bottle. So do yourself and the Earth a favour and use them instead.
Bicarbonate of soda
A bit of a left-field suggestion here, but this stuff is amazing. When you get the first inevitable dose of traveller sickness, drink a glass of water with a little bicarbonate mixed in and let it work its magic. It’s also brilliant for killing any odour in those hiking boots/trainers/Birkenstocks which you’re going to put through their paces.
Mooncup
This bit of advice is for the ladies. Not only are these eco friendly, comfortable and convenient, Mooncup is probably the most cost effective feminine product on the market. They are absolutely ideal for life on the road and if you take care of yours then it will no doubt last for many years after you get home.
Tupperware
We’re not suggesting you bring an army of containers with preprepared food, just a small container or two will be useful. If like us you cook when you can then you will soon get tired of constantly re-buying the kitchen essentials – spices, oil, garlic etc. Tupperware solves the storage issue for these and makes sure any pungent salsa picante are securely locked in your bag!
Spork
Available from any good outdoor shop and most bad ones too, these will negate the need for eating with hands or dodgy looking cutlery on a bumpy cross-Andean bus ride. Easy to clean and versatile, plus they take up hardly any space and weight in your bag.
Reusable straw
This is something we discovered on the road and are very pleased that we did. For the first few months of our trip we must have been given a hundred plastic straws in drinks. They have to be amongst the most pointless and damaging single use plastics out there. We now carry a reusable which will last for years and won’t end up floating in the ocean.
Trakke
OK, so not technically a packing item. But these guys are worth a mention. If you’re looking for a pack that will survive the rough and tumble of any adventure, then look no further than Trakke. Handmade in Scotland, not only do these bags look incredible, but they are also designed with all of your exploration needs in mind. Weather-proof and rugged – they will only get better with age!
Packing Cubes
Believe us, there’s nothing more tedious than rummaging through a huge backpack for that one pair of shorts/jeans/t-shirt you’re looking for. Enter packing cubes. We separated our clothes into labelled cubes before we set off and we’re very happy that we did
Headphone Splitter
Game of Thrones, Narcos, Stranger Things or movies. Whatever you like to watch, it’s more fun doing it with someone else – especially on 12 hour bus journeys. Our iPad mini/headphone splitter combo meant that we shared hours of entertainment together.
Head Torch
You know what’s not fun? Falling into tents, soaking wet jungle and down stairs in the early hours of the morning when drunk. Head torches are the perfect solution, you will definitely get your moneys worth from them on the road.
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