Pack These Items When You Travel

Paula & Nicole at the Trevi Fountain in Rome

Traveling can be very stressful no matter how much you plan. People go travelling for a whole host of reasons. Some people are interested in doing something like this Cultural Care Au Pair, whilst others are only interested in being tourists. But there are some tips and tricks that I’ve found to help you out. Recently, Jay and I went to Italy and Paris with our friends Nicole and Peter. They were the ones we went to visit in Paris in July.

Anyway — Nicole is a crazy planner/researcher like me. She makes lists and is super organized. She even wrote a guest post about ways to pack for a two week European vacation in a carry on. It’s brilliant advice. We had a blast planning out every stop on our two-week Italian tour. So we teamed up with this list of travel must haves:

Apps:

• Busuu (to translate simple phrases abroad)
• The Layover (to learn about Anthony Bourdain’s fave spots (if applicable) in your travel zone)
• Trip Advisor (for last minute restaurant reviews while you’re on the go)
• New Pilates (for mini hotel room workouts sans icky hotel gym)
• Compass (so you always know what direction to walk)
• Weather Channel (preload in your destination so you’ll never get caught in the rain)
• Evernote (keep all your itineraries and saved notes, directions, etc
• Tripit (to keep track of all confirmation numbers and a chronological look at your day)
• Next Issue (A way to keep all your favorite magazines on your iPad so you don’t have to lug them with you!)
• PressReader (stay up on all the news of the day with your regular newspapers from anywhere in the world)

Clothes/Accessories:

• Club Monaco’s cashmere wrap for the plane
• Tieks for walking on cobblestone
• Patagonia lightweight rain jacket
• A neutral wristlet for evening
• Mini Totes umbrella
• Slippers for hotel rooms and airplane
• Crossbody purse with lots of pockets
• Eye mask for the plane

Electronics:

• Splitter for headphones — so two can watch a movie
• Headphones
• An iPad with a ZAGG or Logitech keyboard case

Other:

• Space Bags
• A very bright luggage tag
• Kuhi Comfort Travel Pillow
• Truvia packets, to avoid the chemical influx abroad
• A pen and a mini notepad (to write down recommendations or directions)
• Mini disinfectant spray for the hotel room phone/remote/etc….
• A separate bag to keep dirty laundry
• Plastic baggies (you never know when you might need them)

Toiletries:

• Wet Ones Disinfectant Wipes (individually wrapped)
• Mini Evian Misters (to keep your skin hydrated in flight)
• Mini SUGAR Lip Balms in various tints
• Roll-on perfume vials (i.e., Marchesa!! I’m in love!)
• Blister block

This list is a work in progress. We will add to it over time. If you have any suggestions — please let us know!