Your number one things to take travelling / on holiday

[lisalisa]

I’m having a few mini holidays over the next few months and have seen various adverts on social media for travel accessories / things that make travel easier / more stylish / more practical .
what have you bought recently that’s really enhanced your travel experience or make it more fun / easier to travel ?

Can someone explain this passion for packing cubes to me? I know they are supposed to maximise space but never used them.

Passport - tickets - money - driving licence has been our mantra for years.

Generally travel hand luggage only but I do take:

A4 plastic wallet with print outs of stuff (although I put everything into a spreadsheet and email it to myself)
Coffee bags
Lightweight day sack with padded straps that folds reasonably flat
A couple of sturdy bin bags for putting washing into

I have a couple of lightweight Mistral dresses that are great for holidays.

If I have hold baggage then a Swiss Army knife is always useful.

I’ve never found the love for packing cubes, I tend to roll stuff for packing.

For cabin sized bags look at CabinZero and CabinMax - they both make sturdy backpacks that fit airline requirements, although they’re not bags designed for full on backpacking.

We use them for organising stuff. We tend to travel around on our holidays, with everything in backpacks, and it means when you arrive you can find what you want without unpacking the lot and ending up with a mess. You can use plastic bags for the same thing, but packing cubes are a better shape and don't flop around. I put like with like, so one cube for tops, one for trousers, and when a cube is getting low it's time to do some washing. Other people do it by outfit, so maybe one cube per outfit, or if they have kids then by person, so cubes of different colours for different people.

I don't know if they maximise space really, and if you're staying in one location the benefits are less obvious.

There are whole YouTube videos devoted to testing cubes vs not and then cubes plus kon mari folding or cubes plus ranger rolling. I did cubes plus ranger rolling on my recent trip and it did honestly make a difference.

These mini Longchamp style pouches are great for packing toiletries, meds, cables etc. you get 6 for £8.99 and they are a great size

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