The most important things to bring along with you on your journey are your documents, wallet, keys and phone. As a travel journalist, I travel all the time for my job and I always think about these four before I leave home – it has become somewhat of a mantra over the years. Documents. Keys. Money. Phone.
Documents are very important – you won’t be allowed on the plane if you don’t have your passport or ID, and you have to remember about your travel documents: train or plane tickets, hotel reservations, travel insurance, health cards and a driving licence if you’re going to be renting or driving a car. Forgetting or losing them can be a real can of worms. The authorities might give you a hard time if you don’t have your papers in order. My advice is to be prepared and keep your head down – never argue with officials. Be friendly and smile a lot, even when you’re stressed. This has helped me out of a few sticky situations.
Then there’s the keys. You need to remember to bring them with you and once you do, to keep them in a safe place. You don’t want to lose them or you won’t be able to get back into your house, and that’s dangerous ground! This happened to me once when someone stole my personal luggage on a short trip to Barcelona. I had to call a locksmith to open my door for me when I got back! When you travel, don’t take your keys with you everywhere because you might lose them. Instead, keep them safe at your hotel.
Then, obviously, there’s the wallet with all your credit and debit cards. Bring some cash, too, it always comes in handy. And don’t forget to exchange money before travelling abroad. Do it early, because the prices at airports or abroad will be much steeper and exchanging money in shady kiosks or on the street in a foreign country without knowing the language is skating on thin ice! Alternatively, you can use a multi‑currency card, like me. It’s actually a great idea – I recommend it to avoid the fuss with foreign currency exchange and strange bank machine exchange rates. There are now cards which offer really attractive exchange rates at no extra cost, and you can use bank machines abroad for free.
Finally, there’s your phone. You obviously need it for contacting everyone, but for me, the phone is my backup for everything. I keep photos of all my documents on it just in case, and I can pay with it, too. And it can be a great, light and portable camera, if you are not a professional. Don’t bother with bringing a big camera unless you’re going to be doing a professional shoot – it takes way too much space. With the phone, also remember to see if there are any roaming charges on data and calls. Sometimes you can buy an international data package from your service provider.
Apart from the four most important things, remember to bring your phone charger. I can’t even count the times when I left or misplaced my phone charger at one of the many hotels I’ve stayed in. And if your entire office is on your phone, it’s very important to keep it charged. There's always chargers at airports and in kiosks, but if they’re not made especially for your brand, they might break the battery in your phone. And again, you don’t want that if all your important stuff is there!
After you thought about your money, papers, keys and the phone and charger, make sure you brought the necessary medicine. Paracetamol, electrolytes, allergy tablets and any pills that you take – make sure you have those with you. I remember a particularly horrible day in rural Greece that I spent driving around the countryside looking for antihistamine pills, trying to communicate in a foreign language. You don’t want that – stock up on all the necessary pills. Other than that, you need your toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, sanitising liquid and baby wipes are essential. These are especially good while you travel and don’t have the guts to use the toilets. And use small bottles – remember that airlines won’t let you in on the plane if you carry bottles of liquid larger than 100 milliliters.
And while we’re at it, remember not to bring any sharp or dangerous objects on the plane. A Swiss army knife, a pocket screwdriver or a lighter can be useful, but they are likely to take it from you before you board the plane and you’ll never get it back. I saw piles of army knives and scissors on the airport in Dublin – they actually have it on display to warn forgetful passengers!
Finally, remember to bring proper clothes. Make sure to check the weather forecast before leaving to see if you need umbrellas, waterproofs, warmer socks or warmer clothes. Bring a lot of underwear and socks – you don’t want to spend time looking for laundry machines and waiting for your clothes to dry when you’re travelling – there are so many more interesting things to do instead!
In the end, I would advise you to remember to be brave: have a positive attitude and control your stress levels. You might feel a bit anxious before leaving but remember that travelling is a thrilling experience and that you will be able to see, hear and taste amazing new things!
