I think we all know that sinking feeling we get half way to the airport when you reach for your bag with the feeling that you have forgotten something. Forgotten travel items can put a downer on our day when we get to our destination and realize you left your charger, your ear plugs, insect repellant.
¨I always for get my when I travel¨. Fill that blank with anything and I have forgotten it. I have even made it to the airport and had to rush back home for the passports once!
Sometimes you just need to have a checklist of the most commonly forgotten items when traveling. Then add a few of your own must haves, add them to the list and make sure they are checked off before you walk out the door. This way you can avoid forgetting anything when you travel.
To help you get started, I want to give you a list of the most commonly forgotten travel items to give you a start on that list.
What Are The Most Commonly Forgotten Travel Items?
This list can get long very quick as everyone has their own needs, but there are some things we all need to include in our travel itinerary.
1 Passport/Visa
So it goes without saying that your identification is the most important thing you do not want to forget when you travel. You won’t be able to get out of your home country to start with so make sure this is the last thing you check for before walking out the door.
2 Toothbrush
According to surveys, your toothbrush is the most commonly forgotten travel item. Oral hygiene is important when you are travelling. Sure you can buy another toothbrush, but best to not leave your at home.
3 Footwear & Clothing
I can pack a few white t-shirt’s, couple pairs of shorts, some flip flops and I’m good to go on a beach holiday. But then there are the more adventurous holidays up in the mountains and this requires a little more planning.
You can pack a whole case with all your thermals, socks, hats, gloves, and you will find that the most easily forgotten travel items can be the most important. You open your case the day after you arrive to realize you forgot your hiking boots and now have to tread through mud and snow in some gym shoes.
Make yourself a list of the clothes and any special items you may need for a particular holiday. Some commonly forgotten travel items here are the right socks and footwear. Make sure you pack the right shoes for the terrain. Temperatures can vary a lot in some places so have different types of clothing where necessary.
4 Travel Insurance Documents
You really don’t want to be travelling without any insurance, especially if you are a risk taker. I popped an ear drum in Mexico once jumping off a high platform. Thankfully it turned out ok, but having the proper coverage papers got me through the system and seen by the doctors a lot quicker.
5 Headphones
It won’t surprise you that headphones are high on the list of commonly forgotten travel items. I don’t know about you, but I travel with 2, sometimes three pairs of headphones. I walk alone a lot when I am travelling, and I like to have a podcast going in the background a lot of the time.
The best headphones for travelling are definitely in ear sports buds. You also want to make sure they have a charging case and don’t have to be plugged in. They are a small thing so easy to forget, and it’s probably good to switch off for a while. I just know I won’t be forgetting my headphones.
6 Charger Cables
When I go to bed at night, one corner of the room looks like a UFO landing sight with all the lights from the chargers and cases flashing. This little cable is another of the easily forgotten travel items, but has far reaching effects.
I have a cable that charges my laptop, eBook, phone and headphone case. So if I forget this one cable, I am back to the dark ages. I have a back up cable for my back up cable. Then there’s the electric shaver, hair clippers, straighteners. Make a list of all the electronics you will take with you and list the chargers.
7 Power Bank
Get yourself a good power bank, it can quite literally save your life. This isn’t so much a forgotten travel item, but a necessity you may not even know you need. I was in Asturias in Spain once, and went to hike a mountain alone at 5 in the morning, got lost and my phone died.
I never had a map so I went the wrong way, it took me half the day to get back, and I collapsed for a moment when I was nearly back at the village I was staying. If I had a power bank I could have charged my phone, called for help if I needed it.
Its a good idea to get one of these so you don’t get caught in an emergency and have no way to call for help.
8 Medication
If you have hay fever and forget your tablets at home, you can always find anti-histamines in a chemist abroad. But if you are allergic to peanuts, or have a serious condition then it can be a little more important.
As serious as this is, prescription medication is still one of the most commonly forgotten travel items. You should make sure you have enough medication well before its time to pack. Tell your doctor in advance so they can prepare the prescription in time for you.
9 Plug Converters
Depending on the country you are travelling to, they may use a different outlet. Not all sockets in Europe are even the same. The UK have 3 prongs, in Spain they have two, and they still have those weird plugs with the slits for razors in some old hotels.
Before you leave, check to see what type of outlets they use, and get yourself a converter to match all of your charging devices. If you still forget, you can usually pick one of these up in the duty free.
10 Deodorant
The restrictions on liquids seem to be easing, so you might be able to get away with some smaller deodorants in your backpack. But if you are going on an extended holiday, especially if you are traveling to a hot country, you will need to pack the larger ones in the hold luggage.
For solo travelers, packing is a little different because you can only take so many things in your carry on. What I find to be perfect is a small roll-on. It lasts a while and takes up no space.
11 Sunscreen
I never used to be big on sunscreen until I started going on long hikes. Even when cloudy the sun gets through and can damage your skin over long periods. Of the things not to forget to pack, sunscreen has to be high up there. Exposure to too much sun causes wrinkles, blemishes and in the worst cases can cause skin cancer. So as Baz Lurman said, Wear Sunscreen !
12 Insect Repellent
You may have your doubts as to whether it works or not, but I prefer to have it than to not. I think it helps when you are sleeping because the smell concentrates in one place, and some brands are better than others. If you are going to a country that has a lot of mosquitos, any way you can keep them off of you is worth the try.
13 First Aid Kit
On our last holiday in Asturias, I was looking for fossils at the beach and ended up with a pretty bad cut on my foot. It was quite serious and we forgot the first aid kit at home. Luckily there was a medic at the beach, but you don’t want to be leaving your kit at home, you never know when you need to close up an unexpected wound.
14 Umbrella/Raincoat
It’s bad enough that we lose these all of the time, but they are also a commonly forgotten travel item. If you have ever been on a hike in the rain, you know an umbrella doesn’t cover all the angles, so be sure to mark off your rain coat from the list. Even if you are going somewhere it doesn’t usually rain, you still want to have an umbrella too. Better to have it and not need to use it.
15 Travel Pillow
Another must have for the solo traveler. If you are just catching one flight, then you can make do with a rolled up jacket for a few hours. A travel pillow is a must have for a solo traveler. All the long hours on the busses, planes, taxis. Make sure you get yourself one of these and your neck will thank me.
16 Camera/Memory Card
You definitely don’t want to leave your camera at home before a trip, and you probably won’t. Now memory cards however are some of the most frequently forgotten travel items. You might have left it in the laptop when you were doing some editing, and they are tiny anyway so easy to forget. Don’t make that mistake.
17 A Water Bottle
This may seem like a simple one, but I would say this is something most people forget to take when traveling. You just end up buying plastic bottles through the whole trip or worse reusing a plastic bottle. I find a self cleaning and insulated water bottle is the best for travel.
18 Razor
This is something I often forget when travelling and always end up buying a pack from a local store. Razors are something on both men and women’s itinerary, and should be included in your checklist for your toiletry bag.
19 Glasses
How many times have you felt that dread or heard the phrase “I’ve forgotten my glasses” once you’ve settled in at the hotel. You could miss out on some reading, not be able to see some sights clearly. But this can be a problem if you were expecting to dive. With so many things to remember it’s no wonder there are so many forgotten travel items.
20 Underwear
This could just be me, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone looking for a Primark or a market because I left my stack of underwear neatly folded on the bed thousands of miles away.
21 Cash
If you are exchanging money before you travel, then make sure you do this in advance and have it packed away with the rest of your important documents. It’s always good to have a few notes on you for tipping, or to buy little snacks and gifts.
Conclusion
As you can imagine, this list could go on forever depending on your needs and where you are going. But, there are some of the most commonly forgotten travel items that I feel are pretty important for any trip.
You can use this list to get your very own checklist started. Add/remove items where necessary, but always make a travel checklist as forgetting something back at home can put a downer on your trip or cost you more money having to replace it.