Most Forgotten Travel Accessories

Travel advice is everywhere. Take a toothbrush and toothpaste and don’t forget a travel adapter. All solid tips. But it’s also only surface level stuff that you’d expect from a parent or well-meaning colleague. Today we’re going to look at some of the things you should never leave home without when going travelling. And not everything on our list is a physical item! Let’s dive straight in.

Outdoor Shoes

Now, when we say outdoor shoes, we don’t mean the ugly mountaineering ankle boots at the back of the store in the bargain bin. We mean real outdoor shoes that are made to last. These are especially important for longer trips that may involve any kind of outdoor work or volunteering, where your feet will need to be sufficiently protected (see these FXD work boots for ideas).

As well as this, the right footwear can ensure you stay comfortable when walking all day (and most of the evening) - it’s always best to stay protected while enjoying yourself. All-purpose outdoor shoes should be able to help you survive any number of knocks and bumps while on your trip. Without the special protection from dedicated hard-wearing boots, you could easily end up having to call off your trip part-way through due to avoidable injury.

A Secondary Bag

Don’t make the same mistake as the millions who have gone before you in thinking that your one big travel rucksack will tick all boxes when it comes to your daily bag needs.

The fact is that your big bag is full of all of your stuff. Unless you plan to haul it around town with you, you’re going to need a much smaller bag to take with you to carry your water, money and snacks.

Simply pack a separate backpack in among your travel items and thank us later - it really will make all of the difference.

Learn the Lingo

One of the most valuable tools you have at your disposal when travelling in foreign lands is a handful of phrases in the native tongue.

Forget your high school French lessons that taught you how to inform your auntie that your shirt is purple and your dog has a red collar. You need a few basics in any language that can help get you out of some sticky situations.

For example, first and foremost at the top of your list needs to be, “Do you speak English?” spoken in whichever language is prevalent in the country you’re visiting. Also, you can stop fantasising at this point that asking things like, “Where is my hotel?” will be of any use whatsoever. If you can’t understand the reply, what use is the question?

Instead, focus on questions that have a yes or no answer. It’s far more important to be able to point at a bus and say, “Going to the town centre?” than it is to be able to say something like, “Excuse me, kindly bus driver, sorry for the bother, but silly old me forgot to check which bus I need and I was wondering if you could avail me of the information regarding the soonest to depart for the centre of town?” See? Pointing and asking for a yes or no answer will serve you way better than sentences that will result in strange replies.