Travel - luggage

...big suitcase. Consequently when I travel overnight on business I have to take a fairly large suitcase.

~~~ Sleeping Companion ~~~
Peter is my favorite stuffed penguin, who I have had since I was a little child. I can't sleep without him and he travels everywhere with me. He really enjoyed going to the Caribbean last year for my honeymoon! I know, I'm a nutter- but if you take a look at my penguins site you will see how cute ...
...essentials in (Peter has to travel in here in case the luggage gets lost!). Once I arrive on holiday I use it to carry my stuff to the beach/pool and to carry shopping around in. It cost £5 over ten years ago and has served me faithfully ever since.
For those trips out which may involve a little activity the bum bag is the perfect essential. It travels to theme parks, shops, on dive boats and wherever I don't want to be lugging around the ... more

Luggage is a great category for me, I've never got the hang of traveling light. For me luggage consists of two very large hard plastic suitcases full of my stuff plus a swimming cossie and spare pair of undies for hubby! Here's my indispensable list of holiday items, without which I could not survive a week. Yes you do have to worry about excess baggage, always weigh your suitcases before you leave home, then take out all the clothes and weight them again.

~~~ My Pillow ~~~
A number of years ago I read somewhere that you will always get a good nights sleep, whatever bed you are in, so long as you have your own pillow. You may mock but it's damned good advice which I've followed ever since and I always sleep well. Another advantage of taking a pillow is that it’s a nice big padded thing to wrap breakables in when you are packing to come home. On the downside it takes up a lot of space (although not heavy) so you need a big suitcase. Consequently when I travel overnight on business I have to take a fairly large suitcase.

~~~ Sleeping Companion ~~~
Peter is my favorite stuffed penguin, who I have had since I was a little child. I can't sleep without him and he travels everywhere with me. He really enjoyed going to the Caribbean last year for my honeymoon! I know, I'm a nutter- but if you take a look at my penguins site you will see how cute he is. OK you are all thinking that a 32 year old woman should know better but those of you with children know that you forget teddy at your peril. Who wants a sulky child for a fortnight just because they forgot to pack their special friend?

~~~ Beach Towel ~~~
Indispensable, it doesn't matter where you are going or what you are doing a good towel is essential.

"A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth….you can lie on it….you can sleep under it…..use it to sail a mini raft….wet it for use in hand to hand combat….wrap it round your head to avoid noxious fumes….you can wave your towl in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough" – Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Really nothing more I can add to that except used in combination with your pillow its dead handy for wrapping bottles/breakables in your suitcase.

~~~ Half A Library ~~~
The day before our wedding I came home from the library with a big stash of paperbacks. My husband looked at me and said "what do you need those for, we are going on holiday next week?" Men eh. A good read is essential whilst lying on the beach, by the pool, hanging around the airport or just reading before bed. Libraries are brilliant as they now stock a lot more paperbacks than they used to and you don't want to fill your suitcase with heavy hard backed books.

~~~ Bags ~~~
I have a pretty little floral canvas rucksack which has been a holiday essential for years. I use it as my hand luggage when traveling to keep all my documents and essentials in (Peter has to travel in here in case the luggage gets lost!). Once I arrive on holiday I use it to carry my stuff to the beach/pool and to carry shopping around in. It cost £5 over ten years ago and has served me faithfully ever since.
For those trips out which may involve a little activity the bum bag is the perfect essential. It travels to theme parks, shops, on dive boats and wherever I don't want to be lugging around the rucksack or my handbag. Its even been clubbing on an 18-30 holiday! (Quite an achievement, I hate clubbing)

~~~ Playing Cards ~~~
The number of games you can play with a pack of playing cards is endless, what other game could take up so little space and offer such a variety of amusement? They can be used as a solitary activity, or one for couples or groups (OK I'm remembering that 18-30 holiday again!). Playing cards are handy to while away the hours of airport delays whenever the French Air Traffic Controllers go on strike (monthly isn't it?). They give you a rainy day activity and something to keep you amused whilst you sit inside nursing your sunburn. Sometimes we take a crib board as well as we find that a good two person game.

~~~ Bathroom Cabinet! ~~~
Its more than just a first aid kit you need on holiday, think of all the eventualities. For me I need to pack a box of tissues, plasters, asprin, bite cream, TCP, Germoline and of course you can never go wrong with a packet of sanitary towels. Yes they are handy in a "female" emergency but they are also sterile and can be used to stem a flow of blood if needed. Sounds odd but they are always very absorbant!

~~~ Toiletries ~~~
Think about the toiletries you are actually going to need whilst you are on holiday. Do you really want that 500ml bargain moisturizing lotion? Not when a smaller container will do, the smaller one will take up less room in your case and not add to your excess baggage. Good sun lotions are essential, buy before you go away then you know there will be no language difficulty when reading the packet. For after sun protection only one thing will do Aloe Vera Gel, this can be bought really cheaply and is the coolest soother when you've had too much sun. Oh its good for regular burns too.

For me the ultimate holiday essential toiletry is the Lush Shampoo Bar. Basically it takes up loads less room than regular shampoo and cant make a messy spill in your suitcase because it's solid. If you want to know more about it check out my opinion.

~~~ Credit Card ~~~
One of the adverts used to say "Don't leave home without it". A truer sentiment I have never heard. Having a credit card can be invaluable if you have a sudden and unexpected expense, or even if you've just overspent. I couldn't think of a worse case scenario than being stranded away from home without any means of payment. As such I always keep my credit card separately to my spending money to ensure I don't lose (or have stolen) both of them.

~~~ Food & Drink ~~~
I cannot leave the country without a box of my favorite PG Tips. When you go abroad "Johnny foreigner" simply doesn't have a decent teabag on sale. Not only that you can never get a decent cup on English tea in a café. If I'm going somewhere with no tea making facilities I even take a travel kettle! Mum and Dad always used to take a couple of packets of bacon too, said it just wasn't the same in Spain.

~~~ Packing Tips ~~~
I don't really have many of these, no matter how I pack my clothes they all arrive looking like they have been screwed up for weeks. I have been told that if you roll clothes rather than folding them they will come out less creased, but it doesn't seem to work for me. When I pack its shoes and bottles (shampoo etc) packed round the edges, with the library shoved in wherever it fits. My top tip for packing is don't put all your clothes in one suitcase. If there are two or more of you traveling make sure everyone's clothes are distributed evenly amongst the suitcases, that way if a case goes missing everyone still has some clothes to wear. Also tie a pretty ribbon to the handle of your suitcase and when it comes off the plane and onto the carousel with all the identical suitcases you will know immediately which one is yours.

~~~ The Bottom Line ~~~
I could actually go on listing essentials all night, but these are the things I could not live without. My husband just read this list and told me I should have put him down but hey, Peter is far more important!

 

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