Travel Begins at 40 provides some insight into the essentials of what to pack and what not, when planning your trip overseas.
Travelling is an effective platform for improving your emotional, mental and physical well-being. It allows older adults to reconnect with distant friends and family members, discover new experiences, and broaden their perspective on solving common problems.
However, your next holiday can turn sour if you haven’t packed the essential things for travelling. While planning your next trip, pay attention to the things you have to pack to make your trip as comfortable and as safe as possible.
For your upcoming trip to be memorable, don’t forget to pack these essential items.
Planning your trip – electronics
Electronic devices can be a godsend for regular travellers. This is especially true for older solo travellers exploring new destinations.
When packing for your trip, make sure to bring your smartphone and charger. You should also pack a camera, along with its spare batteries, memory cards and charger.
Wearing a rugged watch from sites such as https://reloadyourgear.com/best-rugged-watches/ can also make your trip hassle-free. This device is versatile and provides better readability, making it easy for you to utilise all of its features all the time. If you are into hunting, don’t forget to carry your favorite scopes.
Rationalise your clothing
The clothes you’ll bring can affect your comfort and convenience when travelling. Bringing too many clothes when you’re only going to stay in a destination for a few days can lead to you paying excess fees at the airport.
When choosing what clothes to bring, start by checking the weather of your destination. If you’re traveling to participate in winter festivals or Christmas markets, consider wearing your coat and boots rather than placing them inside your luggage. These pieces are heavy, bulky, and will take up a lot of space in your luggage.
It’s best to layer up. Even if you have researched the weather of your travel destination, you’ll never know when the temperature will change. The more layers you have the more flexible you can be to the actual weather conditions. Layering clothes will also make it easy for you to adjust to the temperature at the airport during arrival or departure. Always take a hat, gloves and scarf while going to cold countries, remember you lose most of your body heat through your extremities, especially if you are thinning up top.
Pack the right shoes
The quality and quantity of shoes you’ll bring can affect your entire travel experience. Sightseeing and visiting tourist attractions will become a burden if you only brought a single pair of shoes that blister.
When it comes to packing your shoes, it’s best if you bring two pairs. This will allow you to wear one pair for day trips and another for going out at night. Switching between different pairs of shoes can allow your feet recovery time if one pair is too tight. Always give any new shoes a good work out before you travel to make sure they are comfortable, and ensure one pair is comfortable for walking, such as trainers.
Think green – pack a reusable water bottle
Even if your hotel provides water bottles in your room, these are often plastic and small. Many companies now sell water bottles that you can reuse on your trip. Some, such as Water-to-Go, are adapted so they filter the local tap water to ensure it’s safe to drink. Most hotels and restaurants will willingly fill your water bottle with safe drinking water.
Although you won’t be able to fill your bottle up before entering the airport, you’ll normally find you can refill your bottle once you have cleared immigration thus ensuring you will not dehydrate on your flight.
And don’t forget those toiletries
Although hotels provide toiletries for guests, it’s a good idea to pack your own as free items might not suit your needs. Using a new soap, for example, can cause skin rashes and allergies. Also, you are doing your bit for the environment by saying no to those small individual bottles of shampoo and shower gel etc.
Your toiletry bag should include a deodorant, body lotion, shampoo and conditioner, soap, toothpaste and toothbrush. If you are carrying these on as hand luggage, ensure that it complies with the airline rules – normally maximum of 100ml per item and all your toiletries should fit into a single plastic bag which you can pick up at departures. Remember to pack high factor sun cream.
Careful planning and packing all of your essentials will guarantee that your upcoming trip will be one to remember – for all the right reasons.