Sharing is caring!

As much as you try to plan things and pack in a smart and efficient manner, there is always something you forget.  With the next 10 items, we learned things the hard way!  They may not seem like much but they ended up being really helpful when we finally got them.  Some we have yet to purchase.  But we’ve seen how much other travelers love them, and how they could have been helpful to us.

1. Bring an external hard drive

Sure, maybe you have cloud storage, and that’s a great backup.  But when you go to places where the internet is almost non-existent, your cloud storage is pretty much useless.  Do yourself a favour and get an external hard drive.  It will save you time, and a lot of frustration!  Because if you’re like us, and take tons of pics and videos, your laptop will just not have enough storage for all those wonderful memories.

2. You’ll need a good adapter

Your electronics are probably the most expensive and useful things you’re bringing on your trip, so make sure you bring a good adapter to keep your things running smoothly.  We had bought a really bad one when we left, but luckily found this one that works wonders!

Our old one would barely charge our electronics, and when it did, it was so slow.  Again, save yourself the trouble and get a good one from the get-go.  In fact, get 2 or 3 because you’ll need them if you have tons of gear with you.

3. A water-filtering bottle like the Lifestraw Go

When you travel, you underestimate how much water you actually drink, especially when it’s hot.  It’s only when you realize that you can’t drink the tap water in most of South-East Asia, and start buying insane amounts of plastic bottles.  Then, you start kicking yourself because you want to be an eco-traveler and this isn’t what eco-travels is about.

We left home without the Lifestraw Go and totally regretted it.  Luckily, we were able to get one delivered to us on the road thanks to a friend.  Not only did it help us save money but the environment as well, and we love that!

4. Get a drone

Yeah, it may be silly, but we really really wish we had a drone during our travels.  We were so gung-ho about trying to save money before we left, that we didn’t want to spend on such a big-ticket item… we regret it immensely now!

Why?

Easy!  Drones give you a point of view you can’t get on your two legs.  They give you a new perspective and a different way of seeing the world.  We have had the privilege of seeing so many beautiful places that we wish we could have seen them fully, from a bird’s eye view.  As soon as we have an income, this is the first big-ticket item we’ll be buying.

5. You’ll need a tripod

This is a key piece of equipment, especially if you want to post pics on the Gram, and even if you don’t.  You can always rely on other people to take good shots of you, but way too often, they will be crappy.  We have the pics to prove it!

That’s why we got this great tripod when we found a good deal in Vietnam.  This tripod (we named him Javier) is so good to us.  It’s easy to set up, compact and light.  Perfect for travel!

6. Packing cubes are a must for long-term travel

When we started out our trip, we had plastic vacuum bags.  They did the trick, but not for long!  Shortly after a few weeks of use, they started falling apart.  They didn’t stay compressed, they started letting air in, they tore.  They were just another piece of plastic waste.

We learned our lesson and have since moved on to packing cubes.  Better for the environment, longer lasting and easier to use.  We love them!

7. Scrubby bag to do your laundry

This is another handy little thing we wish we had.  Laundry is not always easy to do, especially if you’re staying in hotels often.  It can start getting pretty expensive.  That’s why we wish we had this little guy with us.  Some traveling friends told us about it and we’re in love.  This Scrubby bag is super compact and convenient to do your laundry anywhere, anytime!  Make sure you have concentrated detergent and you should be good to go!

8. Coral-safe sunscreen to be an eco-friendly traveler

We know, we know!  You have limited space when you pack for traveling long-term, but having sunscreen on is also key.  We found that sunscreen is a lot more expensive on the road than back home and the selection is teeny-tiny.  Also, most choices of sun protection in Asia are of the whitening variety and super polluting.  So save yourself the trouble and stock up on these coral-safe sunscreens.  Good for you and the environment! Double win!

9. Tiger balm to cure everything

This little cream is a life-saver.  Literally!  It’s pretty much good for anything.  We used it where we had muscle pain.  Also, when we felt like a cold was coming on (or had already settled in).  It’s also great as an insect repellent and even as an “after bite” remedy.  Seriously, we wish we had known to bring this with us, because it’s the Swiss Army knife of life!

10. Shampoo bars to be more eco-friendly

We actually didn’t know about these miracle bars until we found them through another blog… and we’re hooked.  Whether we’re traveling or not, we’ll be using these little puppies from now on.  No more plastic bottles.  No spill accidents.  No worries in carry-on luggage.  Just good-smelling, long-lasting bars!

There you have it! Our quick little list of 10 things we wish we had brought with us on our journey!  They say hindsight is 20/20, but the truth is, you don’t need hindsight if you learn from other people’s mistakes.

Have you gone on a trip, only to regret not bringing a certain item?  What was it?  Let us know, we always love discovering new life-saving, game-changing items!

---

Note:  The article contains Amazon affiliate links, on which we’ll make a small commission if you end up purchasing a product.  It’s at no extra cost to you.  You pay the same amount as if you visited Amazon directly.  The good thing is you’ll be helping us create free content and keeping this blog online.  For this, we are eternally grateful!

---

We put a lot of time and effort into the content we create.  Please like, comment and share, every action on your part helps us out tremendously and is very much appreciated.

You can also help us by pinning it for others to find.

---