I know that some people can find packing stressful. What if you forget something important? How do you pack for hand luggage only? Luckily, I seem to have got the whole packing thing down to a tee and I never have to worry about it anymore. There’s some essentials that I always have with me, whether I’m flying with just hand luggage or taking a big suitcase on a train or coach.

All of these items can easily be picked up online and you don’t need to spend a fortune. If you’re shopping on eBay then you can also use a discount code such as COUPON11SAVE which gets you 10% off certain items. (Max discount £100)

Packing cubes

These are an absolute life saver. Since I discovered packing cubes around 7 years ago, I’ve always used them. They should be amongst everyone’s travel essentials. It doesn’t matter what bag or case I’m using, or how much I’m taking. They’re always such a big help.

If you roll your clothes up inside a packing cube, you can fit a lot more in. You’re also saving your clothes from getting horribly creased in transit. Once the cubes are full, they can easily be slotted into a suitcase or bag. When I’m flying with just an under the seat bag, I use one travel cube for all my clothes. It then fits at the bottom of my backpack and leaves enough space for everything else. If I didn’t use a packing cube, my clothes would be taking up the whole bag.

If I’m going away for more than a weekend, I’ll use one cube for clothes and another for underwear. You can also use separate cubes for tops/bottoms to keep things organised.

Portable charger

If I’m leaving the house for more than half a day, I will always have a portable charger on me. I love my iPhone but the battery life isn’t the best, especially when you’re constantly using it for maps, music and photos. It’s best to spend a little more on a portable charger and get one that can charge your phone a few times. The chargers you can buy in shops usually only charge your phone up once and are generally around 5000mAh. My current portable charger is 2000mAh so I never have to worry about it running out. I also use it for my AirPods and my Apple Watch if that gets low.

Tripod

As I like to travel solo quite a lot, I need a way to get myself in photos. If there’s nobody around to ask, or I feel awkward then I use a tripod. My favourite kind of tripod is the JOBY GorillaPods. I can fix my camera to it or I can use an attachment for my phone. These are so small, they easily slide into your bag and weigh next to nothing. If you’re also a solo traveller, then a tripod should be one of your travel essentials.

Bum bag

Depending where I am, I will often use a bum bag. I like having my valuables close to me and A bum bag is safer than a backpack. You can see if anyone is trying to tamper with it unlike a backpack. Luckily, they seem to be coming back into fashion as well.

The bum bag that I have is very spacious – it can fit a lot more in than you’d think. On a daily basis, I’d have my phone, a small purse, my passport, a portable charger and phone cable, hand sanitiser and perhaps a snack in there. All my travel essentials will fit in there. This still leaves me room for any souvenirs I want to pick up.

My bum bag is from Dr Martens, but there’s so many different brands offering them now. If you’re shopping on eBay the the code HANDBAGTEN will allow you to save 10% on handbags and wallets until 29th June 2023.

Collapsible water bottle

Depending on whether the tap water is safe to drink at your destination, you might want to take along a collapsible water bottle. I bought mine for a festival but it’s a great essential for travel too. When it’s empty, you can put it in your bag folded up and it takes up barely any space. Then when you want a drink, you can fill it with tap water for free. Most restaurants and cafes will fill it up for you. This saves you money and also ensures you keep hydrated.