Spirit of Adventures

I find the best way to travel is light, that means hand luggage only. It helps with boarding, no waiting around at baggage, and you can start your trip as soon as you touch the ground.

If you’re anything like me, you can be a little extra and easily over pack which will cause you lots of anxiety before travelling. If you are like this, then lists are your friend. Whether its on your phone notes or written down to sooth the anx, its worth noting everything down. After the first few times of travelling, this list wont change and you can refer back to it every time.

Medication

Allergy tablets – Even if you’re not allergic to anything, I advise taking some with you, just because you’re not allergic to anything in your hometown doesn’t mean there won’t be plants or spores elsewhere that you are. Not only that but you may be travelling with someone else who may need them.

Pain killers – This one is a no brainer, you may get sun stroke, migraines, injure yourself and its always best to be safe than sorry.

Cold and flu tablets – I always carry these with me. Especially since covid made it clear than viruses can spread super easily. You may be on a plane or in a supermarket and brush past someone and catch a cold, the last thing you want is for that to ruin your holiday.

Anti-acids – These will depend on whether you suffer from indigestion or heart burn. Personally, I carry these in the case of drinking too much on a night out or trying food that I’ve never had before.

Inhaler – My husband has asthma, so I always carry a spare of his medication. This is that safer than sorry motto again. We always take one for him to carry around and leave the other in the hotel room.

Sanitary care – Again, this one is personal preference what you choose to take but I recommend taking something whether you think you’ll need them or not. There are a lot of things that can affect your body and air pressure on a plane is one of them. Like hotter environments, it can trigger early periods or even spotting, the last thing you’ll want, is to be stuck in the middle of nowhere without something.

Toiletries

Toothpaste – If you travel a lot this could get a little costly. To save costs and space, I buy one of the small travel size toothpaste for about £1.20. Once its empty I refill it with my normal toothpaste at home.

Hand sanitiser – I do the same with hand sanitiser as I do toothpaste. I buy 1 bigger bottle for discount from Wilkos or Aldi and then decant into a smaller bottle when needed.

Deodorant – If you can, take a natural deodorant. One that’s not compressed. This type will allow you to sweat but will keep you smelling fresh when on planes and out and about.

Moisturiser – Always take some sort of moisturiser, whether you’re going to a hot, cold, humid or dry destination, your skin will not be used to the environment and will suffer. Skin care is a must.

Dry shampoo – I don’t take shampoo with me, but I do take a mini dry shampoo spray with me. This is mainly because I braid my hair prior to going on most holidays due to my hair being naturally very frizzy and wavy. Humidity is not my friend in these instances, and it means it cuts down on space as I don’t have to pack any hair products.

Soap – Another no brainer, take a bar of soap for sensitive skin. This way you can use it for hand soap if there isn’t any in the public toilets, on the road or in the shower. Using a bar of soap also means you don’t have to worry about the liquid restrictions when travelling. If you buy one of the soap bars from Lush or a multi-use one, the guys can use it to wash their hair.

If you don’t want to braid your hair and would rather wash it regularly, I recommend a shampoo bar or buying a small travel size bottle and decanting your regular shampoo into it. This way you’re not compromising your usual hair care routine for the sake of a trip. You can buy empty 100ml bottles from Poundland or Wilkos.

As for styling, I recommend GHD products, not only is it a reliable brand but you can unscrew the UK plug and inside is a European plug, meaning no need for extra adaptors when travelling Europe. Obviously, this won’t help when travelling Asia or America but if you’re travelling often enough it might be worth looking to get a cheap set re-wired. If that is too much effort you can always take an extension block but this will take up space in your bag.

Clothing

This one is obviously all down to personal preference, so I will just tell you what we take and you can kind of judge for yourself what is and isn’t for you.

Tank crop tops – I chose these because they’re versatile and can go with any outfit. If you decide to be a bit dressy and go out for dinner, you can put a skirt in your bag and slip it over your shorts.

Ripped jeans – Obviously, these don’t have to be ripped, they can be normal jeans. These mainly depend on where you are going and what the temperature will be when you get there. For example, you won’t want jeans for Barcelona in August, but you will need them for France in March.

Fishnet tights – Tights are handy for a few reasons, both fashion and comfort. I use them to wear under jeans when it gets chilly, you can see them through the rips so adds to my aesthetic but also gives an extra layer to stop the cold.

Trainer socks – I don’t need to explain this one.

Trainers – Get yourself a decent pair of trainers that you’re comfortable in and can use for multiple outfits, these should be the only footwear you take.

Cycling shorts – These are my go-to for travelling to anywhere hot, they’re comfortable, stop the chub rub and you can take multiple pairs without taking up too much space.

Oversized shirt – I tend to use an oversized men’s button-down shirt as a light jacket. I buy them in 2 sizes bigger than I am, that way I can tie it round my waist for get comfortable on the plane.

Waterproof jacket – Make sure this is both wind and waterproof, this can be compacted into your bag or tied around your waist to save space.

Maxi skirt / dress – I usually take 1 maxi skirt or maxi dress in case we go out for dinner and I want to be a bit more dressy.

Underwear – Again, this is an obvious one. Being female, I would also suggest taking more than you need, you know, just in case. If you know, you know.

Bags

I use the Killstar faux leather serpent backpack which measures at roughly 45H x 31W x 22D cm which is well within the hand luggage restrictions. I find this fits most of my luggage. I will then take a small cross body bag either the Killstar Demi Meower waist bag or a Nightmare on Elms Street cross body bag which was a gift.

If you really want to take a check in bag, I recommend a hard-shell suitcase. This one time (at band camp), I used a soft-shell case. When Chris and I were between carry on and check in, we went through a phase of sharing 1 large check-in case. When we landed in Italy, the case had been torn open at the back and just stuck back together with tape. We were lucky all of our stuff was still inside, we complained but didn’t get very far. We spent one of our days trying to find a new suitcase within Rome for a reasonable price. This as you can imagine wasted a day and money that we hadn’t budgeted for. Since then we have chosen hand luggage only, this saves money when booking the tickets and gives us peace of mind that our belongings are safe.

This being said, when we go to Disneyland Paris, we take a small hard-shell case. We do this because we drive there and can fit in all the snacks and extras that we may bring home without having to worry about them being crushed in the boot.