For all the men who travel: this guide covers the basics of packing travel essentials, and includes an advanced packing checklist that’ll serve you well wherever you are in the world.
These 9 Travel Essentials are for Men Who Travel Constantly
1. Travel Documents
This is among the most important travel must-haves you should check for before packing, after packing, before leaving, and possibly every half an hour while you’re on the move. Your travel documentation consists of important information about you, where you’re from, where you’re going, and if you’re allowed to be going where you’re going.
- Passport – To be safe, make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months after the date of your flight.
- Visa/s – If required, make sure all your Visa requirements are complete and you have several copies of the supporting documents.
- Vaccination Records – Check if your destination requires some vaccination certificates; so far, the Yellow Fever Certificate is mandatory in some countries.
- Insurance Documents – Make sure you have copies of your health and travel insurance with you and that you have a 24/7 emergency phone number available paired with your insurance policy number.
- Booking Tickets – You probably have digital copies in your email, but check if printouts are necessary, as some companies only accept physical copies.
- Driver’s License – If you’re planning on driving abroad, keep this with you at all times. Check if your destination has a time period allowing foreign drivers to drive freely.
- Child’s Documents – When traveling with children, keep photocopies of passports, birth certificates, and authorization letters close. This is especially handy if your name differs from the child’s.
- Emergency Contact Info – Keep copies of this in your wallet, bag, and pockets. This should contain the contact details of a relative or close friend who should be notified in the case of an emergency.
2. A Quality Travel Bag
This is among the most important essentials for travel—a proper travel bag should fit your needs well enough and be dependable to keep your things safe across long distances. Make sure that your bag is compatible with your travel plans, your body type, strength level, and belongings. You also need to make sure that your travel bag passes most airline carry-on restrictions. Don’t be that guy who gets surprised that his massive bag isn’t allowed in the airplane cabin.
3. A Toiletry Bag
A grooming kit is crucial in your travel essentials as it keeps you neat and not looking like a hermit. There are many various restrictions per country on the amount of liquids you are allowed to bring with you in your hand luggage. Do your research on your destination country’s restrictions regarding liquids. Here is a basic travel toiletry checklist:
- 100 ml Toothpaste
- Travel Toothbrush
- 100 ml Shampoo
- Travel-friendly Dental Floss
- Small Deodorant
- 100 ml Shower Gel
- Condoms
- 100 ml Sunscreen
- Tweezers and Nailcutters (check with your airline if these are allowed in your carry-on)
- 100 ml Moisturizer
4. A Travel-Sized First Aid Kit
This is among the most highly recommended travel essentials: bring a small, travel-friendly first-aid kit with you. This is helpful for minor medical issues that may occur during your travels. Digestive problems, scratches, headaches—anything can happen.
- Supplement tablets – heartburn tablets, antihistamines, fever pills, and some anti-inflammation tablets
- Waterproof bandaids
- Lost Body Water and Salts sachets – This is for maintaining hydration levels in the case of dehydration.
- Lip balm with sunscreen – This is especially helpful for destinations with dry air. It will be a relief to apply on chapped lips.
5. Travel Adaptor
The world, unfortunately, remains divided on what sockets should look like. Carry around a handy adaptor in your bag so you can charge your devices anywhere without worrying if the prongs fit or if anything will damage your device.
6. A Smartphone/ Tablet/ Mobile Device
In this day and age, almost everybody owns a smartphone. It has good enough specs to double as a camera. It can also hold digital copies of your important travel documents, as well as emergency contact details and personal information. Keep it locked with a code so that your information won’t be compromised in case you lose it.
7. Charging Devices
We’re all so reliant on our mobile devices, and yet ironically they have very little battery lives to last us an entire day. It’s also an entirely possible (and incredibly inconvenient) scenario that you need something important on your smartphone, but it decides to give up on you. Here’s a couple of charging devices you should carry in your bag:
- Powerbank – If you decide to bring a powerbank with you, make sure it’s fully charged. Some good powerbanks can sustain up to three full charges of a single device, or keep several devices charged just long enough to last another few hours.
- Charging cables – If your devices have different ports, it may help to bring adaptors, or a cable with multiple adaptors built in.
8. Foreign Currency
While carrying cards is awfully convenient, not all locations will take cards as payment. It helps to bring a certain amount of the local currency with you, as well as a few notes of a more powerful currency for emergencies.
9. A Microfiber Towel
A quality microfiber and quick-drying towel is a stellar addition to any travel bag. They can be used as a beach towel, as a temporary blanket, as a head wrap, as an impromptu bag or bundle, and more importantly, to wipe yourself dry.
10. A Reusable, Eco-Friendly Tote Bag
Everybody knows that while plastic bags are handy, they are also a danger to the environment. Do your part in keeping the Earth green while still having that convenient extra tote bag to schlep around souvenirs, wet clothes, or whatever stuff you accumulate on your travels. Some lightly-built eco-bags can even carry up to 44 pounds of weight, but can quickly be folded into a tiny tube to easily pack away.
11. A Windbreaker
Airports are usually either of the two temperatures: really warm, or arctic cold (then, it gets even colder on the plane). A lightweight parka or windbreaker is easily stuffed into a carry-on while being convenient to layer over your clothes. Many windbreakers are built for precisely this reason, as well as for travelers heading to places with abrupt changes in weather.
Check out these top travel destinations list of Erik Conover:
When you’re traveling, you pay for the whole experience, and you don’t need to have excess crap weighing you down. Every item you’re carrying should only contribute to the quality of your experience. Every traveler is different and will have varying travel essentials, but with this list in mind, you should be able to pack a decent travel pack before you go.
Got any travel essential tips and packing advice? Share your wisdom in the comments section below!
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