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Trying to decide what to pack and what not to pack is difficult. Even now after so much time abroad, there are still times where I pause as I am packing and think, “Will I actually need that this time?”
I’ve read many articles online about what to pack, and what not to pack. There have been some things I agree with and other items I’ve packed and thought, “Never wasting room in my bag with this thing again.” There have been items I’ve literally left behind in places purposefully because I decided that it wasn’t worth the weight in my bag!
Today’s list is composed of all the things that I have found the most useful over the years while travelling long term. I do believe that everyone’s personal preferences and needs will differ a bit, so as you read these items, consider how you would use them yourself.
If you prefer to watch instead of read, please feel free to check out my Youtube video!
1. Mini Sewing Kit
I’m kind of obsessed with my sewing kit. I love it, and have used it a lot over the years. I even helped mend other people’s clothing during my travels—which proves that other people think it’s useful too!
The sewing kit is useful for two important reasons:
1. To mend clothing so you can wear it longer, and prevent yourself from having to spend money on new clothes while travelling.
2. To mend clothing when there aren’t any clothing shops near to you.
You could also use it to mend holes in your bag if needed! I haven’t had to do this myself, but I would definitely be happy for my sewing kit in that moment. In a dental floss emergency, you could potentially even use the thread as dental floss (I came very close to using it like this one time!).
I purchased this mini sewing kit from a dollar store in Toronto, but I’m sure you’d be able to find one online if you can’t find one in stores (I would think Walmart something similar would also have them).
2. Paring Knife
This one is especially important for my budget backpackers and travellers. If you’re going to be prepping a lot of your own meals and snacks, this is a great one to hand on hand.
Though it’s true there are a lot of hostels and guesthouses which would let you have access to kitchen and utensils, there have been times where those options are kind of limited.
To me, I also like to keep this handy if I know I’m going to be buying a lot of fruit from markets, and snacking on it on the beach or on a picnic.
In terms of where to buy this, I would think that you could find something suitable at a lot of different stores that sell kitchen ware. It’s a common household item so I doubt you’ll have any issue in finding one.
3. Reusable Cutlery
I also like my reusable cutlery set I got from a Winners. It comes with two ends of the cutlery, and with a spoon, fork, knife, and even chopstick attachments. I mostly use these in places where I don’t have cutlery available, but especially when I am in transit (long flights, buses etc.).
Though I do think you could get away with using plastic cutlery in some places, I do like to have these reusable ones on me—for convenience sake and for environmental reasons. I would be lying if I said I’ve never made a boot leg peanut butter sandwich on a long bus ride with the knife attachment from my cutlery set.
Though I can’t send a link to the exact set I bought at Winners years ago, here’s a link to one that I think would also work well and that is compact!
4. Umbrella and/or Raincoat
Much how I love my sewing kit, I absolutely love my umbrella. There was a time when I travelled without one, but after having one handy, I regret all the time I spent without it!
In terms of what to buy I would choose one that is compact and has a cover like this one. That way you can pack it easier, and put away while it’s still wet.
The great thing about having an umbrella is it’s use for when its sunny outside too. Making myself a little shelter on the beach? Sheltering myself from the sun while waiting for a bus? In comes the trusty umbrella. Though I wouldn’t consider it essential I would definitely opt for having this as opposed to wearing rain ponchos all the time like some people do.
The other item I wanted to add to this part was about raincoats. I would say that even if you are travelling somewhere warm and you know you won’t need a jacket, consider bringing a raincoat for when it rains. Or if you are travelling somewhere a little cooler and need a coat, make sure it’s one that’s waterproof! Whether it’s warm or cold where you’re going, it might still rain (I guess maybe not if you’re only going to a desert!).
Because the reality is that, even if the weather report say’s it’s not going to rain, it still might. And it’s not always the most fun getting caught and completely soaked while out and about.
5. Day Backpack
I list this one because though it might be kind of obvious, it’s still the most useful, and I don’t want it to be something you leave behind. For me I usually travel with a small backpack (which is home to my laptop, but used as a day bag once I’ve arrived at my destination).
But I also travel with a small purse that has a long cross body strap that I can use on quick runs to either the grocery store, or if i go dancing at night. Obviously taking my backpack to go dancing would be strange, which is why I like having a purse-like bag. I know some people are really into fanny packs for this purpose, which would also do just fine, I just prefer the cross body strap type.
6. Travel Wallet
Travel wallets are handy organizers, and I definitely like having some important things stored in there. It’s not quite big enough for some documents which you might want hard copies of (I would suggest you have a good spot for those as well), but it does well for credit cards, some cash, passport, and I also keep some sim cards in there that I know I might have to use again.
I don’t think that RFID crime would be a likely problem, most of the travel wallets out there advertise that it would provide this protection, which I suppose is handy if that slim chance of that situation comes about.
I simply just like the size of some of these travel wallets for convenience of keeping some important things in. I’m not saying that a wallet like this is essential, but what I am saying is that something similar to this would be to keep yourself organized and prevent yourself from misplacing important things.
7. Ziplock Bag
Yes, it’s just a ziplock bag. Nothing expensive or extravagant.
What are you going to do with it you ask? This is where your passport is going to go.
Why is it going in here? So it stays dry.
Like I said, I think the chances of someone taking your passport to commit fraud are probably slim. What I think is more likely to happen is accidentally damaging it or losing it. That’s where the ziplock bag comes in.
One time, a good friend of mine had a water bottle open in her backpack, causing some water damage to her passport (it could not be scanned properly). This caused some issues in her plan because she was trying to leave the country, and had to spend many hours at an embassy to get a temporary one made.
Though I think the travel wallet is an important organizer item, I think the ziplock bag (or another waterproof bag) is an even more important thing to make sure you are using for something like your passport!
8. Luggage Lock
To be honest, I hardly use luggage locks to lock up the zippers on my bag. What I do use them for is to lock up some important stuff in a locker.
This is something especially important for my budget travelers staying in hostels or shared spaces. Sometimes a locker might be available to you free of charge, or maybe it’s something you’ll opt to pay extra for. I usually won’t bother paying for one, however I do use one if it’s given to me!
You could get a regular sized lock (like the school locker ones) but I find those a little heavy and clunky. I think a smaller lock like one of these, are good as they’ll fit through the loops of lockers just the same, and won’t take up so much space (and weight!).
9. Scarf
I wouldn’t even call this a scarf. A more accurate name would be “multipurpose piece of fabric”, since I’ve used it in so many types of ways. It just doesn’t make sense to give it such an exclusive name.
Sure, you could wear it around your neck. You could also drape it around your shoulders as a shall. You could also use it as a beach sarong. Head covering? Yup. Towel? Why not!
The best part about having the scarf, is that if I have it with me, I can simply tie it around my purse or back when I am not actually using it, if I’m short on space in the bag. Travelling in places where I am going in and out of temples, it was definitely something essential as you need to have shoulders and legs covered.
I always make sure this scarf is handy with me when I am on flights, since I usually get cold, I like to be able to give my neck and shoulders some extra warmth.
This is the only clothing item I’ll mention in this blog, since I feel clothes are little more specific to the place you are travelling, but I can guarantee you I have used this scarf in literally every place I have travelled to!
10. Multi Purpose Soap
I’m not saying you should necessarily buy a bar of soap. Although, I generally go with a bar since I have this constant fear that liquids are going to explode or leak in my bag (cause sometimes it happens).
The reason I want to talk about soap is because I want you to try and make your soap as multipurpose as possible. Realistically to save on space, you could use soap on your hair as shampoo. I personally don’t use shampoo, and haven’t for a few years—natural soaps are more my thing, and thus I don’t worry about this much.
The one thing I like to make sure, is that I’ll be able to use my soap to wash my clothes if I need to. This is for two important reasons:
1. Laundry soap doesn’t often come in small portions that will be useful while travelling.
2. You might not have access to laundry facilities everywhere.
Sometimes you really just need to wash a few small things, and so you’d prefer tonwash them yourself in a small sink with your soap, as opposed to going to a laundry service. I’ve travelled to a lot of places where washing machines are hard to come by, and thus soap for my clothes becomes an essential and very useful item.
11. Compact Travel Towel
Travel towels are a must. Not just for showering, but for the beach, or to lay down in a park for a picnic. There’s just no way I would survive without one for so long.
Of course since space in our bag is always a concern, you’ll want to make sure the towel is as compact as possible. The one I have, I’ve used for years, so I don’t have the original link of where I purchased it, but this looks very similar! There are two towels in this pack which is what I have. A smaller one (which I like to have for washing my face or hands), and then the larger one I use for the shower or for the beach.
12. Divacup/Menstrual Cup
OK so this one only applies to my ladies out there, but seriously, if we’re talking about the most useful items for me this one HAS to be on my list.
Travelling long term means you can’t possibly pack all the sanitary products you’ll need for your whole trip. Even to pack enough for a few months would take up too much space in my opinion.
In some places, you might have only limited options to choose from as well. This happened to me once when I was without my Divacup because left it elsewhere with the rest of my luggage. I was not happy when I was forced to use this maxi pad sort of thing (equivalent to a 2 inch stack of paper napkins) in not so suitable underwear. Not ideal ladies…not ideal.
Not only will the Divacup save you on space, it will save you from worrying about where you will be able to find what you need, and it will even save you money!
I have more reasons than this that I think you should use one of these, but this is not an advertisement for Divacup (if you work for them, hit me up since I’ve already converted many people to this product!). I just believe that it makes even more sense to use something like this when planning long term travel.
13. Sleep Mask
To be honest, even when I’m home this is essential, but that’s because light in the morning really wakes me up, and if I’m trying to sleep in I don’t like that.
But for travelling purposes the sleep mask is even more important.
You know when you’re on a flight, trying to rest, and the person in front of you opens the window which nearly blinds you? Sleep mask to the rescue.
For my travellers staying in shared rooms and dorms, this is also super handy. When that person comes in to sleep in the middle of the night, and decides to turn on the light instead of using a small flashlight/phone light (uggghh I loathe this). Sleep mask to the rescue.
Basically for any transit, and depending on what kind of accommodation you are staying in, the sleep mask in my opinion is an essential, especially if light tends to wake you.
14. Earbuds that Mute Background Noise
I know “the squishy kind” isn’t a very technical term, but hey! I’m not a very techie person, and I bet you understand what I mean from reading that and seeing the picture.
These are an essential for me, similar to why the sleep mask is. For sleeping purposes on long train, bus or plane rides. I’m a light sleeper, and so any bright light and sound will usually wake me up. The problem though, is that I find most earplugs don’t fit, and fall out of my ears shortly after inserting them.
That’s why I travel with these kind of headphones. Surprisingly I’ve had this pair for years, and only now one of the earphones isn’t quite working. Definitely worth the money spent!
When I have these in my ears with no music playing, the sound around me is still a little muffled. If I play any music while these bad boys are in, I’m not hearing anyone or anything!
15. A Good Rechargeable USB Battery Pack
This one is definitely an essential. Sometimes your phone/camera or whatever you don’t want to be dead dies on you. Luckily these things exist and can help you out.
To be honest the one I have is a little heavy which I don’t love. But what I do love about it is the fact it has the ability to charge my phone or my GoPro multiple times to a full charge. There are a lot of battery packs out there that don’t fit that much juice in them, so make sure you are getting one that won’t die on you while you’re trying to use it!
The other thing I like about this one, is that it has two USB charging ports on it. So I can charge two of my things at once, or charge a friends phone while I charge mine (sharing is caring folks!).
This is something you’ll definitely want to have if you are going off the grid for a period of time. But even if you aren’t, if you plan a long day out, it’s good to keep just in case your phone dies and you’re relying on a maps app.
16. USB Wall Chargers with More than 1 Port
The wall charger on the left is the original apple one I have from my phone. The one on the right has two separate USB ports.
Now I don’t mean that you should get exactly the one on the right, but what I am suggesting is that you try and bring chargers with you that you can have more than one thing charging at once.
Sometimes you might be in a rush to charge all your stuff in a short period of time, which is why something like this can be so useful. Much like how I love my battery pack for this reason, this is also why I love this wall charger.
Remember that an item that is multipurpose in anyway, will be a greater item to pack!
Well folks, that’s all I have for you today! Remember that this list is not all inclusive, and also keep in mind that even what I find incredibly helpful, it might not be perfectly suited for your trip or for you personally.
If you found this information and list helpful, share with a friend who might be planning some long term travel adventure too!
Thanks for reading and wishing you all the best in your future adventures!
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