Holidays are great.
Packing for holidays and remembering to include all your travel essentials to still discover that your phone charger is still sitting nicely on your bed, or that you’re going to have to buy suncream when you get to your destination or even at the airport... less great.
If this scenario is making you feel stressed or anxious, you’re not alone.
Around one third of people in the UK find packing to be a stressful ‘nightmare before holiday’ situation, with 2000 travelers taking an average of 2.8 hours to pack, and most people starting to pull everything together at least 5 days before departure.
We’ve spoken with our team to find out their must-pack travel essentials totry and make your packing experience just a little bit smoother.
Sim Local’s Top 5 Travel Essentials
1. Portable Power Banks & Universal Travel Adaptors
“For me, there is nothing worse than realising you can’t charge your phone/tablet when you are abroad.
‘As soon as I start packing, my power bank and adaptor are the first things I put in my bag. It’s not the most logical packing technique as they end up down at the bottom of the main bag or in a random pocket, so I have to search frantically for them later, but at least I know they are definitely in there!”
- Andrew McClellan, Sim Local Chief Operating Officer
2. Travel Friendly Apps
“Country specific tourist apps, video/music, airline or airport apps, and, of course, my travel eSIM app are all crucial when I am travelling.
‘Making sure these are all updated or downloaded before I leave the house is an essential part of my packing, although apparently, it’s not that common to do this?”
- Sarah McGarr, Sim Local Chief Digital Officer
3. First Aid Kit
“I have a reputation as a walking pharmacy when I am on holiday with my friends, although if they also did this, they wouldn’t need to rely on mine! I reduce the packaging as much as I can so I can fit a large amount in a small, easy to carry bag.
‘My kit usually includes plasters, paracetamol, ibuprofen, antiseptic, bug bite cream, mini sun cream, a nail file, and aloe vera gel.”
- Laura Bullock, Head of Commercial partnerships at Sim Local
4. Ziplock Bags
“Not everyone’s go-to, but they are so useful! Need to put your liquids in a bag in the airport? Ziplock bag. Need to protect your clothes etc. from your shampoo, conditioner, or other liquids? Ziplock bag. Want to save a snack for later? Ziplock bag. Want to keep your phone sand free at the beach? Ziplock bag. Need to protect your toothbrush from germs?... You can see where I’m going with this. Pack them next time, you can thank me later.”
- Rute Bernadino, Sim Local Head of Operations
5. Extension Block
“My pet hate is turning up to a hotel room that has not been planned well for the modern traveler as the plug sockets are on the other side of the room from the bed. There also never seems to be enough of them, which is why I always pack an extension cable and block to give myself a bit more flexibility.
‘Added bonus, you only need to pack and use one travel adaptor!”
- Paul Foley, Sim Local Director of Partnerships
Conclusion
Packing for holidays can be the worst part of the trip, however, with Sim Local’s top 5 travel essentials, we hope we have inspired you to include some other items that you may not have thought of to make your trip easier.
Our suggestions range from standard but commonly forgotten items such as travel adaptors, to out-the-box suggestions such as Ziplock bags, extension cords and updating your apps before travel such as your eSIM app.
Good luck!
