Travel Tools
There are a few things we invested in before we left that have already paid off substantially. Consider this a shortcut for all the research we did and consider these things for any trip you plan. As a bonus, most of these are also just good tools for life, not just travel.
1. Matador Travel Blanket: We literally picked this up the night before we left and use it almost daily. It is a tiny packable “blanket” that you can easily unfold and spread out. It is super lightweight, water resistant, and perfect for picnicking next to the Eiffel Tower or No. 4 Privet Drive. Before this we had a pretty packable Sand Cloud Turkish towel that we would carry for picnicking purposes but that required pre-planning. This is even better because it fit’s in Viv’s tiny purse and even a normal pant pocket so we can always carry it for even the impromptu need. Some bonuses:
It is water resistant so can be used on wet ground AND to shield yourself as a rain poncho in an unexpected downpour.
It has tiny built in stakes (though be aware that an overzealous security screener might mistake the stakes for a knife…)
It has fold lines to make refolding and packing way easier. Anyone that has ever tried to re-fold a map knows how that can go…
2. DUAL eSIM Compatible Phone: Before we left, we both upgraded our phones to maximize the camera power (since we didn’t want to travel with the DSLR). What we didn’t know is that the upgrade would pay off in more than one way.
Our new phones not only have eSIM (no more need for a tiny lose-able sim card) but it has DUAL eSIM which mean we can actually have two sim cards active at once on our phones. This has been game changer and highly recommend a dual eSIM phone if you are a frequent overseas traveler. Reach out if you are interested in this setup as we did a ton of research to arrive at this option over some other popular options.
3. Nanobags: Back home we had reusable grocery bags in our car, and every time we went to the store we would forget them in the back of the car. It was infuriating. We hated seeing every plastic bag enter the environment because we couldn’t remember the damn bags. We wished Houston would just go the way of NYC and CA to ban (or at least disincentivize plastic bags)…and loved when we would travel to those places and they would force us to adapt.
Enter the Nanobags. We knew much of Europe is also anti-plastic so wanted to be prepared. We invested in these ultra-small but mighty bags and have used them just about every day. As we pop into the market, as we take out the recycling, as we go to the beach, they are all mighty and ever convenient. Well worth the price of admission.
4. AirTags: A simple but worth mentioning investment after the Porto Debacle. We make sure they are attached to any piece of luggage that will be out of our immediate sight. While we haven’t had another bag incident (yet) they bring us great piece of mind whenever we land somewhere. Some airlines have even started allowing their use to locate lost luggage, so we will continue using them in the event we ever have to deal with lost luggage again!
5. Tupperware: This is something we learned along the way. We have stayed at a variety of places with a vast array of kitchen setups. Some fully stocked, some decidedly less so. Regardless of setup, most places we stay at have no Tupperware (and some don’t even have mixing bowls prep dishes). As economical travelers, we will frequently cook and have leftovers, so eventually we invested in 2 nicer Tupperware pieces that we pack and take with us wherever we go. We use them of course to store leftovers, but in some of the less stocked kitchen we also use them as prep dishes and mixing bowls in a pinch. To pack them we put our toiletries and other ancillary items inside them before putting them in our bags so they take up minimal space and allow for extra organization and security of our loose items. They even proved extra useful when a security screener wanted to confiscate our Cholula hot sauce bottle because it could break (since it was in the Tupperware, they reluctantly let us pass).
6. Pillow Cases: We travel with two pillow cases. Why? might you ask. A few reasons. First, we have cutesy Star Wars ones that whenever we put on the pillows wherever we are, they instantly make a place feel a bit homey. Nothing against any of the places we have stayed, but our Star Wars pillow cases are just us. Second, they make for extra bags or even pillows in a pinch. Occasionally a place we are at doesn’t have enough pillows (we like pillows) so we will either purchase a few cheap extra pillows or fill the pillow cases with some clothes. We can also use them as laundry bags or storage bags when needed.
7. Chromecast (ugh): As full time travelers we spend plenty of time streaming content on our off days. We are and always will be Apple people. Our Apple TV was the greatest tech investment we have ever made….but for our purposes it was just too big…. So we didn’t bring it. For the entire first leg of our trip we had a peculiar setup for streaming (when places didn’t have smart TVs or VPN setups). It involved an HDMI cord, a dongle adapter and a (sometimes) precariously place iPad). In Manila, we finally bit the proverbial bullet and invested in a Chromecast, and have never looked back. It isn’t as good as our Apple TV but it works loads better than our previous setup and has paid dividends in the end.
These are just things we have found useful and want to pass the info on since it was the type of stuff we were looking for in our own planning. We will update/amend as we learn more.