2020 - a disastrous year for everyone. Most importantly, a terrible year for travellers. Since March, many countries around the world have closed their borders to foreigners. Imagine what visa holding people have gone through due to the countries closing their borders and ruining all travel plans. In a nutshell, many travelling lovers saw their plans for the summer collapse in a depressing way. Fortunately, we have recently seen a glimpse of hope as the countries started welcoming foreign citizens. After a long wait, you can finally go on holiday, yay! So, what to pack for a trip? Today, I will talk about things to pack for a trip and, more specifically, having things to pack for a trip checklist. It is essential to predict what you will need when packing for a trip. Primarily, you need to know what to take while packing a backpack for travel, as backpacking is not a luxurious way of travelling, and you may need different things during your trip for which you don't want to pay in a foreign country.
Here are 15 things to pack for a trip that you have been longed for.
A backpack
Are you wondering what to pack for a trip? Arguably, a backpack is a must-have. It will definitely make your life easier during your trip. As you always carry your bag with you, you can keep your most important items there, such as your passport, wallet, and other important documents, without worrying about losing them. Also, if you are planning to take a laptop, it is a good idea to keep it in your backpack rather than in a suitcase. It is because airport staff mostly does not handle suitcases gently, so your laptop or any other electronic devices may incur some damage. You can buy backpacks in different sizes, varying from 22L to 40L, according to your needs. But preferably, it should have a lot of pockets so that you don't spend a lot of time searching for a small item in a large purse.
First aid kit
Given the current situation, probably the most important item in your things to pack for a trip checklist is a first aid kit. Most importantly, make sure that you are carrying a pack of face masks, spirit, and sanitiser in your kit. Also, as the saying goes, "better safe than sorry," you may get injured during your journey. Especially if you are travelling for hiking, camping, or cycling, you will need things like bandages, medical iodine, painkiller, etc.
Toiletries
Sanitiser is for your hands, phones, and other items. You should also remember to take care of your hygiene during the trip. It is essential to know that you may not find your favourite deodorant, shampoo, and other cleaning essentials in the markets of your destination country. So, make sure to buy and take them before leaving your home country. Take your grooming stuff and fragrance, just in case; you may not find them easily as well.
A lock
When packing for a trip, one of the most important items is to take a lock. This is especially useful if you are on a budget trip, meaning that you will stay in a hostel rather than a luxurious 4- or 5-star hotel. In a hostel, you will find a locker in your room but without a lock. Therefore, in order to keep your luggage safe, you will have to buy a lock either from the hostel or a supermarket. For example, in Boston, I decided to buy a lock in the hostel because I arrived there very late, and the receptionist charged me 5 USD for one lock. However, I could have bought it in my country for about 2 USD.
A small bag
While packing a backpack for travel, most of us primarily think about how many things we can fill in there. But we don't think about how heavy it can be, right? So, I suggest you take a small bag with you, apart from your large backpack. It is handy in the sense that you keep your heavy backpack in your hotel or hostel room while taking essential things, such as your passport and purse, in that small bag wherever you go. In my case, I used my Nikon's bag for carrying my stuff. But it is not comfortable, and I wouldn't recommend doing that. Having a nice small bag is much more helpful.
Comfy shoes
Apart from your shiny and luxurious Nike shoes that you wouldn't dare to wear everywhere, you better take multi-purpose comfy shoes or sneakers with you. Having waterproof, strong sneakers may allow you to realize your impromptu plan of hiking. Also, wearing nice-looking but not comfortable shoes for a long time may hurt your feet.
A reusable water bottle
Great advice for you on your long-awaited holiday is the following: Stay hydrated! The best way to ensure that you have water right in your bag in a reusable water bottle. It will save you from any problem of looking for water to buy at stores. I recommend taking a leak-proof filtered water bottle. In some developing countries, it is definitely not okay to drink tap water. So, having a filtered bottle will save you from any harmful bacteria inside your water.
Warm clothes
Going on a long journey requires you to plan and anticipate things in advance. Checking the weather condition at your holiday destination can sometimes not be enough. Also, it is rarely possible to get weather information ahead of one week or ten days. So, even if you are travelling in summer, make sure that you take extra clothes that will keep you warm. It may also get cooler in airports; shielding yourself against this type of temperature differences is always a good idea.
A lot of t-shirts
Travelling always entails unexpected events and accidents. Sometimes you may experience heavy rain or just fall down into the dirt. So, make sure that you have enough t-shirts to use interchangeably. After all, it is the period of the pandemic; you better change and wash your t-shirts on a regular basis.
An adapter
When packing for a trip, you should make sure that your phone and laptop chargers are in good shape and will not upset you during the trip. Also, note that in some countries, voltages are different in power outlets, such as 110V in the US and 240V in Europe. So, you better take a stabilizer and a universal travel adapter for your electronic device.
Necessary to wear
As I highlighted before, in the middle of the pandemic, keeping up with health and safety measures and paying attention to hygiene is important. You better keep extra socks and underwear and change them regularly after taking a shower.
A favourite book
While packing for a trip, you may forget an important entertaining item. That is your favourite book. Especially if you are travelling long distances on a plane, a bus, or a train, an interesting book will be your best pal during the trip. Also, reading a book for half an hour before your go to bed is an effective way of getting good sleep.
Waterproof bags
Waterproof zip bags are important life-saving items you may need during your trip. These zip-top bags are multi-purpose. First of all, they can keep your phone and other electronic devices dry when it is raining during hiking or trekking. You can also use these bags in an airport to keep your drinks or snacks.
Waterproof jacket
If you are travelling to a northern country, or your main purpose of travel is spending time in nature, then make sure you take a waterproof jacket. It has to be on top of your things to pack for a trip checklist if you are mostly travelling for hiking, trekking, bird watching, cycling, or camping. A right-sized, breathable, and lightweight jacket will protect you from cold and rain without restricting your motion.
Camera (if possible)
Due to the pandemic, we all have become hungry for travelling. While travelling, I am sure every one of us are also thinking about getting Instagrammable photographs to mark those unbelievable memories. Taking pictures with a phone is good, but a camera can capture all the best details, leading to high-quality Instagram photos. So, taking a small bag with a camera inside would not hurt, right?
A quick recap
Many of us have been longing to finally get a chance to travel after the stringent COVID-19 control gets loose a bit. Since August, many countries have removed some barriers to international travel, allowing tourists to come to their country. It is a great chance to plan for a long-awaited holiday. In this blog, I have mainly tried to answer the following question: What to pack for a trip? I also wrote about things to pack for a trip and packing a backpack for travel. The 15 things to pack for a trip that I have highlighted are as follows: a backpack, a first aid kit, toiletries, a lock, a small bag, comfy shoes, a reusable water bottle, warm clothes, lots of t-shirts, an adapter, necessary wear, a fav book, waterproof bags, waterproof jacket, and camera (optional).