I Travel 4 Months of the Year—These Are 10 Less Obvious Things I Always Pack

When you travel a lot, you start to figure out what actually deserves a spot in your suitcase.

Sure, everyone knows to pack that extra pair of socks or underwear, but after years of trial and error—and more than a few unexpected travel moments—I’ve got a list of somewhat less obvious things I always bring with me.

Some are practical. Some are a little weird. None are groundbreaking, but all of them have come in handy way more times than I can count.

These are the 10 low-key travel items I never leave home without.

1. Ziploc Bags

This might be the most unusual thing on this list, but I’m telling you, Ziploc bags come in handy sooooo often when I travel, and so I always have a few different sizes with me on trips. They’re easy to tuck into a side pocket of a suitcase, don’t take up any room, and are extremely useful for all sorts of situations.

For example, I’ve used them to hold seashells, or to hold some sand we collected in the Sahara Desert of Morocco. Other times, we’ve used it for more mundane, obvious uses, such as storing leftover butter or treats we’ve sampled from foreign grocery stores.

On a more offbeat/travel horror story note: when I burned my hair off in Bratislava from an overpowered curling iron, I impulsively saved the charred pieces of my hair in a little bag too.

2. Extra Credit Cards and Debit Cards

While I always have a preferred credit card that I reach for when traveling, I never travel without at least 3 credit cards and 2 debit cards. I’ll usually take out 2 credit cards and 1 debit card with me as I walk around every day, saving the other cards in the hotel, just in case something happens.

In the same vein, when I’m transferring between cities, I like to separate my cards – some going in my purse, others going in my backpack or suitcase.

I just figure that if my purse got lost or stolen, it would be insanely inconvenient to have all my payment methods gone too, so its worth this tiny bit of extra planning. Or, if one of my cards got locked or hacked, I would still have access to money with my other cards.

3. Battery Pack

A battery pack is an absolute must! Having my phone open a lot of the day for taking pictures and videos, using maps and navigation, or looking up random opening hours or information about attractions drains the battery so fast.

I usually end up needing to do the equivalent of an entire full charge throughout my travel days—truly there is no way that I could survive without a battery pack. This is a 100% necessity for me.

In a similar vein, I always like to have an extra cord or two, just in case one of my cords gets lost, forgotten, or stops working (its happened on more than one occasion!)

Which leads into my next point…

4. …And a Wireless Charger

My preferred battery pack is a corded power bank, but I always travel with a wireless charger as well. This one usually stays in the hotel room, only to be used if needed.

Why would it be needed?

While most phones these days are waterproof, if you get moisture in the charging port, you can’t plug in and charge your phone until it completely dries, and that can sometimes take a few hours.

If you’re using your phone in rainy conditions or near a pool or beach, its not that hard to get a little moisture in the port, which is pretty inconvenient when you’re at 4% and need a charge.

A wireless charger totally avoids this conundrum.

5. Money Clip and Coin Pouch

As a woman, it’s pretty normal that I have a rather large wallet in my everyday life. But when I’m traveling, I like to travel as light as possible, and my normal wallet just takes up SO much space in my purse, especially when you consider that I’m carrying around extra gear in my day purse, like the battery pack and cord. The big wallet just had to go.

Instead, I now use just a slim money clip. It easily holds 4 cards (my driver’s license plus three other cards) and has a little clamp on the outside for some cash. Depending on where I’m traveling, I’ll also bring a small coin pouch with me.

Even with the coin pouch, this takes up SO much less space than my regular wallet—and let’s be real, I don’t need my Sam’s Club membership card, library card, or random Target gift cards when I’m in Spain anyway.

6. Traveler’s First Aid

Sure, you can usually find a drugstore when traveling internationally. But sometimes its a little inconvenient to swing by a store, or the foreign products aren’t as straightforward as you might want.

Plus, if you’re getting a headache, cramp, or blister, you just want something *right then.* And while this might seem like an obvious thing to pack, you’d be surprised how often my travel companions end up digging into my little medical bag (and I’m more than happy to share!)

At this point, I just count on the fact that I’ll likely pick up a blister at some point (hence the bandaids), have sore legs or neck at least one day (ibuprofen), or need some excedrin to kick a headache (from long days combined with a chronic habit of struggling to adequately hydrate).

We also bring a few allergy pills for my husband, whose body often needs a day or two to adjust to a new environment, and I usually throw in a little baggie of melatonin gummies in case the jetlag makes it hard to fall asleep.

7. E-sim

I really like being connected when I travel, and when I’m traveling internationally, the easiest way to have reliable data is to buy an e-sim card. They’re cheap and easy to install, require no actual hardware, and give me pretty reliable data overseas. I always pick one up before heading abroad.

8. Offline Maps

Whether I’m doing roadtripping or visiting a new city, traveling domestically within the US or heading international, I always download offline maps on my phone.

This ensures that no matter whether I have zero cell service, am in the middle of the wilderness, my e-sim stops working, or I’m deep in the depths of the subway system, I can always see exactly where I am and get directions and navigation to my next destination.

Downloading offline maps is incredibly easy and takes literally 60 seconds, and has saved my bacon on many an occasion. You can get directions here for how to download maps.

9. An Umbrella

An umbrella is pretty straightforward, and if it’s raining, of course you’d bring an umbrella! However, these days, I always keep a small umbrella in my suitcase— it doesn’t take up much space, and after being caught in the rain one too many times when the forecast said clear, I’m often happy it’s there.

10. Packing Cubes

I started using packing cubes about 3 years ago and have never looked back. There’s nothing that drives me crazier than digging through a suitcase for *that one thing*, only to have it lost in the deep recesses of my bag. And it’s super annoying to have everything mixed up from being jostled in transit, and then have to dig through to find clothes and toiletries.

Enter packing cubes: small, medium, and large-sized zippered bags perfect for sorting like items and keeping everything tidy and organized. Now I know all my shirts are in the medium bag, my socks and swimsuits are in the small bag, and my pants and skirts are in the large mesh bag.

Its not hyperbole to say that packing cubes have improved my travel life more than almost anything.