It’s that time of year when many of us are planning trips abroad. One of the most stressful times can be deciding on what to take with you. With Joe Blogs & Age UK, I’ve put together my suitcase and hand luggage essentials below
Important Documents & Cash
- Before booking a holiday, make sure your passport is in date! I hear so many horror stories of people booking trips, and not being able to go or having to drive to a passport office to try and get their passport back in time. Plan ahead to save the hassle, and check your passport before booking!
- I always make sure I have everything printed well in advance of travelling, whether this be the hotel and flight confirmation or e-tickets, doing this advance saves any stress on the day of your flight.
- Work out how much money you think you’ll need in advance, this is likely to vary depending on your board; if you’re self-catering, you’re going to need a lot more local currency than someone going all inclusive. I tend to opt for bed and breakfast and around £100 per day of the holiday, which would include provision for lunch and dinner as well as any trips or souvenirs. A good tip is to change your currency before you go as some travel agents offer preferred rates if you have booked with them, and you can be ripped off once you get to your destination in commission charges.
Clothes
- Please be sensible when packing your clothes, are you really going to need three different bikinis per day, for a one week holiday? I somehow doubt this…(I did know a girl once who would take two bikinis per day; ludicrous.)
- Work out how many days and nights you’re going to be there and take enough clothes for those days and nights. If I’m going to be there for 7 nights, I will take 7 different evening outfits. If I’m going to be there 6 days I will take 6 bikinis, 6 t-shirts and a couple of pairs of shorts/skirts/day dresses. I always take extra undies and bra’s in relation to the days/nights but they’re tiny and weigh nothing!
- When it comes to shoes, I usually take a pair of pretty flat sandals, heeled sandals and flip flops. If I’m going to be doing a lot of walking then I may consider a light pair of trainers.
Toiletries & Makeup
- You can get almost every toiletry you could want in miniature sizes these days, they’re often the heaviest part of your luggage so it’s worth buying small. Also – don’t bother bringing these home with you, you then have extra space for anything you want to bring home with you.
- Don’t take your full foundation bottle, decant enough into a small pot and take this with you, do the same with other liquid products and you’ll be surprised how much room you save!
Electrical Items
- For me, I have to take my own hairdryer on holiday. I can’t be doing with those mini hairdryers or bathroom blowers which take hours to get your hair dry. My hair is naturally curly, if I don’t dry it properly, then I just end up with a frizz bomb in the humidity.
- If you’re going with friends, one of you can take a hairdryer and the other can take hair straighteners – this makes a big difference!
Sun Protection
- I always have to take enough sun cream with me for my holiday. This year I will be taking a higher factor in a face specific formula as I’m becoming more conscious of being protected in the sun, to prevent premature ageing.
Age UK have also put together a list of suitcase essentials, make sure you check these out here!
What are your suitcase essentials?
Lauren xx