I’ve spent the last 5 years learning the hard way about all the little things that no one tells you that you’ll need when traveling.  Hopefully you can avoid the painful trial-and-error process I went through, & If you have anything you think I missed, let me know.

You don’t want to waste half of your backpack space on towels​

• Seriously, these things were great.  I used the big one at the beach, after a shower, etc. and I used the small one to wipe gross amounts of sweat off of my face when climbing the volcano

You aren’t trying to smell like Off but you don’t want to become a giant mosquito bite

• You’ll definitely want these and it takes up basically no space in your pack.  I used these at almost all of my stops, aside from the really big cities.

Red is not your color

• Again, not a liquid.  (Shocker!) Pretty easy application and the high spf is nice when the UV is half of my age.

You don’t want to pay $1 every time you get thirsty

• I attached it to my bag with this surprisingly useful thing

• Also get this if you don’t want to spill everywhere every time the bus hits a pothole

You don’t want to vomit on that random, choppy ferry ride to that remote island

• To be honest, you might only need these once on your trip.  But it’s worth it considering how much room it takes up.  Better safe than sorry.

You’ve finally graduated from those awful drawstring bags and need something to conquer a mountain with

• This is the one my brother had and I ended up being green with envy because his had the perfect amount of room.  (So obviously I made him carry a bunch of my things.)

You don’t want your whole bag to smell because of 1 gross shirt

• Bring like 5 so you can shove your dirty laundry into them, seal it closed, and forget about it for the next week and then plug your nose when you empty the bag.

You love your feet

• I typically suggest 1 pair of crappy flip flops, 1 pair of cute walking shoes (I loved having my Converse), and 1 pair of tennis shoes.

• Protip: tie your tennis shoes to your backpack (securely) when traveling to avoid putting those smelly things inside of your back

Spirit charges wayyyy too much for a checked bag so you have to turn every liquid into a solid

• Unfortunately, you can’t just freeze all of your liquids, so start getting creative.  (You’ll see that’s a theme in my packing list.)

• Another favorite, although slightly more $$, is this Lush one. Bonus: It lasts up to 90 washes! I actually use this as my regular shampoo at home.  Big fan. 10/10 would recommend.

The hostel shower is just too gross

• Also good for when you’re too tired to shower, or you just showered and then stepped outside and now there is sand on your feet and why is there sand everywhere all of the time?!?!

You like being silky smooth

• I never pack shaving cream (As you’ve noticed, I avoid packing liquids like the plague) but I just can’t adopt the au naturale lifestyle, so this is my favorite.  Note that one head is only good for about 3 weeks, so if you’re traveling longer, bring an extra.

You actually like your stuff and want to keep it

• I usually keep 2 on my bigger back and one on my daypack. It’s worth it even just for the peace of mind.

The guy in the bed by the light switch refuses to flip them off

• I also used this bad boy on flights, when napping during the day, when the sun shined through the window at 6am, and when I was just really sick of looking at my brother during our 6 hour bus ride

No ifs, ands, or buts, just get this. You’ll thank me later.

• Particularly recommended for any developing country, but also pretty helpful if you’re just trying to recover from 1 too many tequila sunrises.

You’re one of those weird people who organizes their backpack to perfection

• aka Me.

You like your clean clothes to smell clean

• Pro Tip: Pack these in between layers of your clean clothes and shove a couple in each pocket of your bags.

You hate when things die on you in a moment of need

• If I had a dollar for every time I relied on this thing, I could afford to travel around the whole damn world. Twice.