What’s your best travel tip and travel accessory?

[boomoperator]

Random question but given I’ve had to cancel my trip to New York for a third time, I’m consoling myself by looking at travel accessories on Amazon and reading loads of trip reports on TripAdvisor. What’s yours?

Roll up knickers. Put into a ziplock bag. Squish all the air out and close. Saves space. Ditto socks and bras.

Pack mix and match outfits, plus something fabulous you'll wear once.

Pack lots of shoes - you never know!

Pack flipflops or sliders for the hotel room - I never walk in bare feet in hotels pukeface.

Pack a A4 wallet or envelope type thing to keep all your paper souvenirs in (or is this just me? I always pick up paper maps, pricelists of things I've done -horserides etc, entrance tickets to places). Only if you don't Kondo

I research the fuck out of places, look at prices, options, discounts, times, off the beaten track type stuff, Google Street view the hotel and surroundings, look out for restaurants, look at their reviews etc. We're hoping to go to Bilbao soon and I'm having enormous fun looking at what to do! We won't do half of it, but if we leave the Guggenheim and fancy a cheap lunch we can go to X 10minutes walk, if we're Hank Marvin and and have a good budget we'll go to Y place 15 minutes away. That kind of thing. Or of we're walking from A-B, we could go down C Street cos that's where they filmed James Bond.

That type of thing.

At least if we don't do some things, we'll save them for the next trip, if we liked the place.

And take a book/sudoku for downtimes when you want to put your phone/camera down and just soak up the atmos.

I'm currently investigating a lightweight beach towel thing that's sand resistant and has a hidden pocket which would be handy as I travel solo. Hoping it turns out to be good!

I also research the fuck out of the place before I go. Planning is my favourite part!

I've been laughed at for this but write a packing list and evaluate it when I get back. Eg needed more socks, more long trousers next time and note what wasn't used.
I find this helpful when packing for the next trip. I tend to go travelling rather than on holiday and to quite random places so I find that helpful.
Always take a lot more knickers and socks than you think you'll need - again this is for travelling rather than a beach holiday - and make sure every thing matches to everything.

You are my people! I spend weeks planning everything and reading loads of guides. It might be a bit ott for you but I get a map and little stickers, and write the corresponding guide page number on so I'm not standing on the street looking for what was so interesting about that place. Also when I used to travel lots I had a word document containing everything I could possibly need for any type of holiday, saved a copy then deleted the stuff not needed for that trip and printed. Never had to write another list. Sigh I miss travelling.

I've traveled a lot and so have my teens. I've always had a list done on excel and printed out. Must be over 20 years since I did it. When the kids were v small I did a list with pics of pants socks trousers etc and the number.

They put it on their beds. I checked it over and we were all happy.

When researching somewhere to stay I check the hotel/apartment location on Google maps and then on Streetview
I check out places of interest and places to eat
I have an excel packing list
I email important information to myself (passport numbers, tickets, photocopies of passports etc), so I can open the email wherever I am
I take back up hard copies of flight tickets, accommodation bookings etc in case my phone dies
I take a portable phone charger
I read TripAdvisor reviews, and take a lot of them with a large pinch of salt

I simply don't understand people who go on holiday and don't even know the name of the resort they are going to, just the country.

I don't plan everything BTW as I prefer to be spontaneous, but I like a list of what is available. I found this difficult when I took DD to Orlando and needed to prebook Fast Passes. In the event I found it easy to book Fast Passes when we were there, even on the same day in whichever theme park we were in.

Take a 4 plug extension to plug into a travel adapter. Then you have 4 uk plug points out of one adapter :)

Wear your heaviest shoes when travelling instead of adding their weight to your case - but be prepared to remove them when going through security at the airport.

I also have an Excel packing list. I print out multiple copies and keep them with my passport, so I can grab a fresh hard copy for each trip and check things off as I go.

Pre-COVID I used to travel a lot for work. I kept a bag of toiletries prepacked, along with a travel blow dryer and hair straighteners so I could just whack them straight in my suitcase.

Always pack 2 swimsuits, so you always have one suit that's dry.

For beach holidays I always pack a sarong, which can be used as a scarf, beach towel, beach cover up or shawl if it gets chilly. On work/cold weather trips, I pack a woolen wrap which is perfect to keep warm on the plane or use as a makeshift cushion/pillow. Also handy if the destination is colder than expected.

Noise cancelling headphones on a long-haul flight are worth their weight in gold.

For trips that are longer than a few days, I always pack a mini first aid kit. It's a real pain being in a foreign country and needing to detour to a pharmacy, or worse, not being able to get/find what you need. In mine I pack insect repellent, antihistamine tablets and ointment, seasickness tablets, aspirin, bandaids and cold/flu tablets. I've lost count the number of times it's come in handy!

Purchase a local SIM card for your phone at the airport on arrival.

Oh and another tip is to invest in a world travel adapter. I've travelled to so many countries, it's paid for itself many times over as there are so many different types of plug sockets!

I love reading stuff like this. Thanks for responding everyone.

I also do the extension cable thing when we go abroad.

I also do packing cubes but I like the idea of a zip lock bag for undies with the air skooshed out.

I need to get new suitcases. The ones we have are on their last legs but I’ll wait for the January sales for those I think. I never know whether to go for fabric cases or hard shell though so if anyone has an opinion, please share.

I do love planning. Everyone has said don’t plan New York, just walk but we’ve had little else to do so I’m enjoying planning with my note book and pen.

Re SIM cards, previously we use SIM cards with roaming included from 3. We keep them and just top up before we travel. Usually about £20 for a month. Not sure if they are still doing that after brexit but they are in my list.

I need to get new suitcases. The ones we have are on their last legs but I’ll wait for the January sales for those I think

The summer sales are on now. I have seen loads of suitcases on sale. Given the recent travel restrictions I expect the shops are practically giving them away.

1. Reversible clothing
2. Lay out everything you want to take and reduce by half
3. Don't pack a hairdryer (most hotels have them)
4. Anti crease spray for clothes

I’m so unorganised compared to you lot!

My list isn’t head.
And I don’t research stuff before going (bar a couple of really big things). The tourist information is my friend there (and tbf has always been spot on)

What makes things much easier are those little bags to pack the tops/trousers/pants..:: together. No more hunting and things keep better during travel

What I am careful about is clothes washing facilities if I go away for more than one week. Nonnegotiable for me.

@cricketmum84

Take a 4 plug extension to plug into a travel adapter. Then you have 4 uk plug points out of one adapter :)

YY to that!!

I print out all travel and hotel documentation and put it in an A4 display book, in the order it will be needed, plus copies of passports, insurance etc. Put receipts etc in at the back for cross checking with credit card statement on return.

I'm a convert to packing cubes - keeps everything neat and accessible.

Re the extension plugs, a USB adapter is very handy for charging phones etc, and more compact than a 3 pin adapter.

We will definitely take an extension lead. DH uses a CPAP machine, and on a couple of recent hotel stays there were no power outlets next to the bed. The hotel in each case had to go out and source an extension lead for us. One was in the UK.

I’m another packing cubes convert. They make everything so much easier - packing a suitcase is now a doddle!
I take an adaptor cube with usb and plug points, and pack it with all the charger leads in a zip bag so everything is in one place. I’m a big fan of zipped mesh bags for packing odds and sods so things don’t get mislaid.

I always take a capsule of clothes in my hand luggage - bikini, underwear, dress, shorts, and a couple of tops as well as mix clothes in with dps luggage. It doesn't take up much room and can be a godsend if luggage get lost or delayed. I holidayed in the Caribbean once and my case didn't turn up until the next day which wasn't too bad but my friends case was lost for 10 days of her holiday and she had to borrow her mums clothes as they were on an organised historical sightseeing trip and barely went near any kind of clothes shops. She managed to buy flip flops, bikinis and a couple of beach dresses at a beach resort towards the end.