Useful Things to Travel with - What are Yours?

[Artemis@BC]

... Clothes that are synthetic material rather than cotton will dry much faster if you're doing hand washing.

They may dry faster ... but there are so many other things wrong with synthetics for travelling imo. The clothes don't breathe and you're more prone to skin irritation. Not to mention stinky polyester syndrome. Nope, I'll stick to my natural fibres thank you very much.

BTW, here's a hint to help clothes dry faster. Spread a dry bath towel on the bed and put your wet clothes on top. Roll up the towel and wring it out. The clothes will be pretty dry right then, and will usually dry completely overnight.

This works! Also, hang the clothes up in the bathroom and leave the lights on all night. The heat from the lights will help the clothes to dry.

Not an option in a hostel or somewhere with a shared bathroom, of course -- but hostels often have drying rooms.

[alilou]

If I'm doing my own washing (which is not always) I always wash "smalls" (undies, socks, bras) in the shower. I'm in there getting all wet anyway, and it's the most effective place to make sure you get all the soapy water rinsed out properly.

[JasperBoy]

If I'm doing my own washing (which is not always) I always wash "smalls" (undies, socks, bras) in the shower. I'm in there getting all wet anyway, and it's the most effective place to make sure you get all the soapy water rinsed out properly.

Not to mention the fun of stomping on your soapy undies. You can pretend you are stomping grapes, or tomatoes, and do a Lucille Ball routine. Another game I like to play (TMI, I suspect) is washing the smalls while sitting in a hot bath. I can create a wonderful whirlpool of socks swirling around me....

I mean, you have to find your fun where you can, right? And hand-washing in a hotel sink begs for some comic relief.

ETA....If you are really lucky your hotel bathroom will have a heated towel rack. If you are diligent about wrapping and re-wrapping your socks and undies every few hours, they will be perfectly dry by morning.

[JasperBoy]

Maybe I can hijack your thread slightly and also ask what everyone might pack for a month backpack trip in Europe (France/Swiss/Austria/Germany/Italy) using trains?

I traveled on Swiss rail for a few weeks. The trains all had a space near the door for luggage. We once sat at the very front of the train, with nothing between us and the mountains but a picture window. It was freaky...and memorable. The train staff was very helpful, even held a train for us when we were struggling with our luggage....we did not travel light on that trip and learned a valuable lesson.

[alilou]

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[alilou]

Not to mention the fun of stomping on your soapy undies. You can pretend you are stomping grapes, or tomatoes, and do a Lucille Ball routine. Another game I like to play (TMI, I suspect) is washing the smalls while sitting in a hot bath. I can create a wonderful whirlpool of socks swirling around me....

I mean, you have to find your fun where you can, right? And hand-washing in a hotel sink begs for some comic relief.

Rep for this

[madm]

A useful website is www.rei.com under the Travel tab. There are lots of useful gadgets, luggage, and travel clothing.

[orbitz]

Having clean clothings to wear and looking somewhat fashionable are definitely among of the biggest challenges when travelling for 2 or more weeks and on a budget. For the most part, I think those synthetic shirts and pants - especially the ones that unzipped into shorts - sold at places like REI just scream "TOURISTS", LOL. I do see some people that manage to look quite presentable in those types of travel clothing, but I just usually look like a complete slop by day 2.

I have a Scottevest for hiding money and small things while out and about in the city, but it does get too hot to wear in warm weather. When I do wear it, I find that it's safer to hide and get money from the vest than from a money belt.

[madm]

Having clean clothings to wear and looking somewhat fashionable are definitely among of the biggest challenges when travelling for 2 or more weeks and on a budget. For the most part, I think those synthetic shirts and pants - especially the ones that unzipped into shorts - sold at places like REI just scream "TOURISTS", LOL. I do see some people that manage to look quite presentable in those types of travel clothing, but I just usually look like a complete slop by day 2.

Clothes from REI are mostly for people who are going on an adventure/outdoor type of trip. They are not intended to be fashionable, just practical. They would have been perfect for my trip to NZ where we did a lot of hiking and sightseeing in a car. If you are going to spend a lot of time in cities, these clothes may not be right for you.

[ballettmaus]

My husband always takes his off - I'd never get them back on! Although he's changed his habit since we had a very skary bout of turbulence over the north Pacific and he decided he didn't want to be a guy on the desert island without shoes

Wouldn't he have to take his shoes off anyway, at least if the plane was evacuated via the emergency slides?

I always have an extra set of underwear and a fresh t-shirt in my carry on luggage on the way to my destination in case my suitcase gets lost.

[fan]

always get travel insurance! the best you can find! I learned this after a $45,000 surgery as a healthy 24 year in old in Australia...when my appendix burst and took out several internal organs with it...thank god i had insurance. now I always top it up, however i can.

[Lizziebeth]

Bumping this thread - so many good ideas. I am planning a trip to Finland and maybe Norway this summer. I need to get another credit card to supplement the Visa I already have. I've also heard that the typical magnetic strip technology used in US may not work.

Any suggestions for me? I'm not a big fan of paying an annual fee because I won't use the card that much.

Should I be looking for a prepaid debit card as well? I really don't want to take my bank debit card in case it gets lost or hacked.

Suggestions most appreciated.

[attyfan]

Find a card that doesn't have an annual fee (ads for them all over), call and ask. You may want to tell all credit card providers about your trip a week or two before you go, since charges coming in from a different location may trigger a "fraud alert" (this happened to me when I went to Georgia (the state) for a family wedding ... fortunately, I had another card until I called and got things straightened out)

[cruisin]

Bumping this thread - so many good ideas. I am planning a trip to Finland and maybe Norway this summer. I need to get another credit card to supplement the Visa I already have. I've also heard that the typical magnetic strip technology used in US may not work.

Any suggestions for me? I'm not a big fan of paying an annual fee because I won't use the card that much.

Should I be looking for a prepaid debit card as well? I really don't want to take my bank debit card in case it gets lost or hacked.

Suggestions most appreciated.

I have never been anywhere where the magnetic strip doesn't work. But, I've never been to Finland or Norway. If the magnetic strip doesn't work, I believe they can manually enter the card number.

Pre paid debit is good, though if someone hacks into your account, the bank should be responsible. I believe that AmEx has a pre-paid card.

[zhenya271]

Bumping this thread - so many good ideas. I am planning a trip to Finland and maybe Norway this summer. I need to get another credit card to supplement the Visa I already have. I've also heard that the typical magnetic strip technology used in US may not work.

Any suggestions for me? I'm not a big fan of paying an annual fee because I won't use the card that much.

Should I be looking for a prepaid debit card as well? I really don't want to take my bank debit card in case it gets lost or hacked.

Suggestions most appreciated.

I have never been anywhere where the magnetic strip doesn't work. But, I've never been to Finland or Norway. If the magnetic strip doesn't work, I believe they can manually enter the card number.

Pre paid debit is good, though if someone hacks into your account, the bank should be responsible. I believe that AmEx has a pre-paid card.

I live in Stuttgart, Germany and our American magnetic strip credit cards don't work everywhere. The European cards have a chip in them. This topic came up just the other day on one of our local, social-networking blogs as to whether or not some of the major banks would be converting to a chip-strip card, but the response was negative as it wasn't cost-efficient for only a small handful of customers living overseas and travelers. I also ran into this problem in Northern Italy this past summer. Fortunately, there are cash machines everywhere nowadays.

[cruisin]

I live in Stuttgart, Germany and our American magnetic strip credit cards don't work everywhere. The European cards have a chip in them. This topic came up just the other day on one of our local, social-networking blogs as to whether or not some of the major banks would be converting to a chip-strip card, but the response was negative as it wasn't cost-efficient for only a small handful of customers living overseas and travelers. I also ran into this problem in Northern Italy this past summer. Fortunately, there are cash machines everywhere nowadays.

Yes, bur with cash machines, the bank charges a fee (unless it's your bank). Can't the stores just input the card number manually?

[zhenya271]

Oh, I just assumed most banks reimbursed ATM service charges. I honestly don't know about the entering manually capability. I've never encountered anyone that offered although of course they were willing to run the card again even though I had already realized what the problem was ( how embarrassing! ) and it has never come up in discussion among Americans living here who face this problem all the time. Some just choose to get an EC card.

[Rob]

My husband
- he is strong so he can carry lots of bags
- he speaks 2 languages and can get around in a third
- he loves to bargain
and
-he's kinda cute

[cruisin]

Oh, I just assumed most banks reimbursed ATM service charges. I honestly don't know about the entering manually capability. I've never encountered anyone that offered although of course they were willing to run the card again even though I had already realized what the problem was ( how embarrassing! ) and it has never come up in discussion among Americans living here who face this problem all the time. Some just choose to get an EC card.

Americans living there should absolutely just get a compatible card. Why make life more difficult . Your bank charges for ATMs that are not affiliated with your bank, even in the US.

[overedge]

Anyone who is backpacking - I have not personally used this gadget, but have heard from some who have that it is well worth the investment. Especially if you are travelling alone or might not have anyone trustworthy to keep an eye on your pack.
http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Packs/...ontent=Default