Where are you headed this season? Cape Town? Nairobi? Lagos? Or Marrakesh? Wherever your destination, you can’t afford to forget vital travel items, for this is probably the worst nightmare of every traveller. Make no mistake about it; it could happen to anyone – whether it’s your first or your fortieth trip. This is the holy grail of travelling and you can’t afford the consequences that come with it. So we’ve got a few useful tips about what to do before you set out as well vital things to pack.
- Make a list. It could be a mental list, a verbal list on your mobile device or the traditional paper-centric list. Whatever you do, draw up a list. Doing this few days ahead to your trip helps you to remember things you’d otherwise taken for granted or forgotten. As the days draw near, you’ll get to edit or tick off items on the list
- Now start collecting important travel documents such as passport/visa, hotel reservations, itineraries, transportation tickets, key contacts and addresses, insurance documents and credit cards, among others. You don’t want to forget any of these vital documents
- Remember the first aid kit. Better be safe than sorry. While no one expects a major incident, stuffing a small bag with the most basic pills and medicine you need wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially if you have allergies and health concerns
- Save bag space for your purchases. We know you want to pack so much, but we also know you will need space to bring back your travel purchases, souvenirs, and mementoes. It might be difficult, but trust us, it’s not impossible. You can thank us later
- Ensure all your valuables go into your hand luggage. Even if the airlines lose your luggage, you don’t want to be traumatised by the thought of losing your laptop, pieces of jewellery, camera, and smartphones, among others
- Finally, secure your luggage by taping, tagging or padlocking. Many suitcases come with name tags, so just take out time to fill them in, or just tape-roll your luggage from the top to bottom. You can’t be guilty of being over-protective.
The above is not an exhaustive list, so if you recall anything to pack while counting down to your trip, ‘just do it’. Write it down, stuff it in your luggage or just make the call. Trust us, the pain of forgetting to take care of important matters or leaving vital things behind is not pretty. We wish you all the best. And do have a safe trip!
