Travel tips
Bring a small travel first aid kit
We always travel with a small first aid kit that’s packed with the essentials. This includes paracetamol, flu tablets, tablets to help your tummy when issues arise due to food, plasters, antiseptic cream and a couple of bandages. You may wish to put more or less in, but that tends to be a good start and will help you with any minor issues.
Always pack a sarong
This is more relevant for women, but it also is necessary for men in quite a few countries. A sarong is required at a lot of religious sites across Asia. When you’re travelling in a hot continent like Asia, naturally you want to have lightweight clothing on, which usually means your shoulders are exposed. This is a big no-no if you want to enter certain religious sights, so having a lightweight sarong with you is an easy way to cover up. Plus they’re great as cover ups by the beach, or or lie on instead of a towel.
Use packing cubes
Packing cubes are an excellent way to maximise the space in your suitcase or backpack. They are also very useful for bringing some sort of organisation when travelling. You’ll also find you can fit more in when you use packing cubes, because you become strategic with how you pack. Again these are easily purchased online.
Don’t bring lots of hair products/body wash products with you
Lots of people make the mistake of bringing shampoo and conditioner, body wash, and maybe some lotion. This really isn’t necessary. Firstly, it takes up valuable space, and valuable weight from your luggage. Rather, most hotels and hostels will provide you with these, and if you wish, you can pick up a smaller version of them at the airport, or even in the country you're visiting. There is no real need to bring your own with you (unless you have a specific skin condition).
Pack a small towel with you
When we first started travelling we used to bring a big towel each. Turns out, it just took up too much room and it was unnecessary as every hotel we have ever stayed in has provided us with towels. But bringing a small towel is a great idea for the days you are chasing waterfalls or by the beach and need to dry yourself off. Here’s a great lightweight, fast-drying towel.
Bring an universal adapter
You can’t travel without a universal adapter. It’s an absolutely travel necessity! Adapters can change from country to country, so a universal adapter will allow you to stay charged whilst travelling the world. We recommend this one here.
Rent a car at your destination when possible
There is no better way to explore a country than with a set of wheels. Whether it’s a car, moped, or a tuk-tuk (like we had in Sri Lanka!), having your own vehicle allows you to explore far more than you ever could on a tour. Even just driving the local roads will give you a whole new perspective on a country. We always suggest that if it’s possible, then rent a car for at least a day and head out and find new things to discover. Rentalcars.com is a great website to compare rental car prices around the world.
Or better yet, a campervan!
If the opportunity is there, then 100% get a campervan. Our favourite trips around the world have been in campervans and it’s our go-to form of transport when planning most new trips. We’ve had the opportunity to wild camp in some of the most epic locations around the world. The most memorable being around Norway when we saw the Northern Lights almost every night! A campervan is a great way to just emerge yourself in the nature and surroundings of a country and it can be a useful way to save money as you’ll be combining accommodation, cooking and travel costs into one.
Use Atlas Obscura to find cool sights off-the-beaten-path
Atlas Obscuras has proved extremely useful is finding the most random attractions, but also great fun. For example, when road tripping Sweden, two of our favourite spots were found through Atlas Obscura:
- Esrange Space Centre ← Yes, we got to visit a space centre!
- Lovikkavanten ← The world’s largest hand-knitted mitten .. I know, jealous much!? They weren’t mentioned on any other travel blogs so we’d have missed them otherwise! If you’re revisiting a destination you’ve been to before, or you’ve managed to see all the sights you want to see and still have some time left, then this is a fantastic way to discover even more. Seriously a lot of the time you wonder how these places were even found!
Bring your own water bottle with you
In the eco-friendly world we live in, or aspire to live in, this is definitely a great tip. Bringing your own water bottle with you will ensure you use less plastic, and it also means you’ll save money on buying countless bottles of water. Lots of cities have water fountains, and typically if you ask your hostel/hotel or a cafe to fill up your water bottle, they will! You can get water purifiers too (if you’re worried about the quality of water you’re drinking).