At the end of this month I am going on vacation to Puerto Rico and I couldn’t be more excited! Pretty much ever since we booked our trip, I’ve been thinking about things I need to buy before we leave, and what I will pack in my suitcase.
Surprisingly, I am never stressed when I need to pack for a vacation. I always think that if I have the most important things on me, I can survive. Everything else is likely for sale.
Either way, nothing sucks more than sitting three hours into your flight and suddenly realizing you forgot something semi-essential, and knowing there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
So here is my personal list of travel essentials! Somewhat in order of importance..
My “big four”
- PASSPORT!!
This in all caps for obvious reasons. I feel like if I have my passport with me, I can survive anything and get home from wherever I am. It’s always the first thing I put in my purse when I’m packing. Make sure to check the expiration date before you go!
- Tickets or other travel documents.
Printed tickets are no longer needed if you are traveling by plane. Most of the time I check in on my phone a couple hours before my flight, and I quite often receive my boarding pass on my phone immediately after. However, having printed tickets with you can be convenient, just in case our electronics fail us.
- Cards and more cards.
Credit card, driver’s license, other ID cards if you use them, insurance card, etcetera.
- Cash.
Bring some cash to exchange at the airport so you can always buy something if you need it.
The tech
- Your phone (duh, as if I ever put my phone down)
- Camera
- Laptop/tablet if you use these on vacation
- Chargers for all of the above
- Adaptor plugs
Hygiene
I tend to prioritize hygiene products over my clothes. I don’t know if that’s weird, but at least I’ll always be clean and sparkly!
- Toothbrush + toothpaste + floss
- Your favorite moisturizer
- Your daily make up products
- Make up remover
- Razor
- Cotton pads
I don’t like bringing bulky items like shampoo, conditioner, and shaving cream, because I save a lot of space by buying these things at my vacation site.
I do like bringing a lot of extra facial and body products, because I like to keep my skin healthy and glowing! So if you’re like me, here’s some additional items you can think of packing:
- Facial scrub
- Pore cleanser
- Sunscreen
- Face masks
- Body butter
- Perfume/body mists
I will not go into clothes, because aside from underwear and socks, what you will need to bring depends entirely on the type of trip you’ll take! I’ll be going to a tropical island, so you can bet I will bring three swimsuits and zero jeans, haha!
However, I do have some more travel tips, below…
Extra tips
- When possible, always check in online before catching your flight! It will save a bunch of time, and some airlines will let you choose your seats (some will let you choose as soon as you book) so you can snatch those sweet window seats.
- Put all your keys in your carry on purse. In the unlikely event that your checked luggage gets lost somehow, you’ll still be able to enter your house.
- I don’t like carrying around my passport during my vacation because I’m paranoid I’ll lose it. Instead I use my driver’s license or another form of valid ID. Much easier to replace if lost.
- Before your go, make sure you put your credit card on “travel mode.” That way, you won’t risk your card getting blocked because your bank deemed those margaritas at the beach you got a “suspicious purchase.”
- If you have any chronic illnesses or other medical issues, it won’t hurt to bring a statement from your doctor, so that in the unlikely event you need emergency care, they will know what’s going on, what kind of medication you normally use, etcetera.
- I mentioned it before, but you can save so much space in your suitcase by leaving bulky items such as shampoo and conditioner at home. I recently discovered Lush’s shampoo and conditioner bars. They last forever, won’t leak because they’re not liquid, and you can carry them easily everywhere.
- When packing my clothes, I like to roll everything up. Saves a ton of space.
- Lastly, wear your bulkier items in the plane! It’ll be cold in there, so layer up!
That’s it for now, let me know what you can’t travel without!
All pictures used in this post were made and edited by me!
