Travel Must Haves

Pulpit Rock, Norway

I just returned from an incredible 27 day journey to Paris, France, Norway (all around!) and Billund, Denmark! I have so much more to write about how I booked the trip, what we did, and other travel tips, but I wanted to first write a quick post about my most used items, since Amazon Prime Day is upon us tomorrow, and I'm always looking for the best deal to be had, so I wanted this post to be out in case any of the items (or things that are similar) dropped for the Prime Day Event!

Luggage/Bags:

Samsonite Omni 2- we brought 2 Samsonite carry ons with us, and they were absolute work horses, as we stayed in 10 different accommodations during our 27 day trip, traveling in planes, trains, boats, car, and more! My son's Pottery Barn Kids luggage actually broke while we were away, so upon arriving home, we bought another set of the Samsonite Omni 2 to replace it

Air Tags- Do these need any explanation? I put one in each of our suitcases, and with all our travel and storing them in public luggage areas when we were on ferries, or having them checked in on the way home, it gave peace of mind that our luggage was were they were supposed to be!

Cotopaxi Allpa- I made sure we packed light going there, with me and the kids each having one carry on and one backpack. However, we often come home with more than we left with, so I packed away this extra backpack, thinking we could check in any extra baggage we had. But I was really glad we brought this, because one of our luggages broke, so we had this on hand. It was really easy to carry around, was surprisingly compact when packed away!

Packing Cubes- I don't know what I would do without packing cubes. They help me stay organized, and I either pack outfits by day or by person, depending on the kind of trip. But with such a long trip, and moving around so frequently, it was really nice not to pack and unpack all of my bags all the time, and only unpack the cubes that I needed for that leg of the journey. They also keep everything very compact so you can pack a lot more! There's no way I could have survived on a carry on for such a long trip with kids otherwise!

Aloha Bags- These waterproof totes are lightweight and compact, and hold a ton without being bulky! The weather was always unpredictable- it could be sunny one minute and rainy the next, so it was nice to have a bag that kept all my stuff dry, and held everything that I needed. My friend gifted me this bag, and while I thought I didn't need any more bags, after I used it I promptly went out and got a bunch more at the next sale to give away to other friends- they are that great. The dopp kit is great for storing all the non liquid toiletries- make up, even my glasses and Babyliss travel hair straightener fit in here!

Stasher Bags- These resuable ziplock bags were a must have- I carried these in my purse whenever we went- they stored any leftovers we had at restaurants. Since we had breakfast buffets included in our hotels every morning (Europe is way ahead of the game with hotel breakfasts), I would stash some granola or pastries in there, since inevitably, someone in the family would get hangry during the day. It saved us a lot of money from having to buy unnecessary snacks, and we could then use the money to buy things we actually wanted.

Reusable Grocery Bag- We had to pay for bags everywhere we went, so I'm really glad I stuck a reusable grocery bag in my backpack before we left on our trip! Norway is a very environmentally conscious country, and values the outdoors and spending time in nature.

TSA compliant clear bags- Because of my Cadence Capsules, I was really able to cut down on a lot of my liquids, even for 27 days. They surprisingly hold a lot! But, nevertheless, even with my global entry, unfortunately that doesn't get you anywhere in European airports and you still need to remove all of your liquids. These are much sturdier than a quart size zip lock and are easier to manage when you're going through security.

Clothing

Arc'teryx Atom Jacket- I wore this everywhere- it was the perfect layering item, usually warm enough on its own, but paired with a long sleeve under, or a rain shell on top when it was really pouring- I never felt too cold or too hot, even with the varying weather that we experienced! It is the most expensive jacket I own, but worth every penny.

Smart Wool Socks- These were very temperature regulating, and gave great cushion when we went hiking, or just kept me comfortable as we walked 5-10 miles each day!

Olukai Manu Shoes- I cannot say enough good things about these shoes- they are lightweight, I walked a ton in them, yet they are waterproof, and don't make your feet feel stuffy! If I could only take one pair of shoes on this trip, these would be it, and I wore them the most by far. I was impressed by how they kept my feet dry even during sudden rainstorms. I almost didn't keep them because they felt tight, but after I went up half a size, they were perfect!

Electronics/Charging/Tools

Epika Universal Converter- This is so easy to use, and I love that it has multiple USB ports. Most hotels have USB chargers now but there were still quite a few places that we needed this, including the train, cruise and our air bnb. It also worked great with my Babyliss travel hair straightener!

Anker Nano Power Bank- This is my favorite power bank for my phone because it is so small, yet can charge my phone multiple times over. There are no extra cords involved!

Modl Infiniti Tool- I came across this in my instagram feed, and while it seemed like it functioned as a glorified bungee cord/zip tie, I thought it might come in handy over the course of the trip, and it sure did! from securing extra bags to our backpack, or tying the backpack to the luggage handle to make it easier to carry, to keeping my travel pillow rolled up when I lost the velcro that came with it- it was very useful all around, and I'd recommend to have it around your wrist or in your purse/backpack for those "just in case" moments!

Miscellaneous

Passport Holder- This was so great in keeping all our physical tickets together (I also had things digitally but I felt better having printouts of everything as well), holding our passports, receipts, etc. A random travel hack- label the back of your passports with your name with non permanent tape so you can find the correct family member's passport easily (instead of having to flip to each page to find the correct passport when going through customs)

Pill Holder- I bought 2, one big one and one small one- the big one I had whole bottles of allergy meds, excedrin, pepto and children's advil, which are our most used, amongst other necessary travel meds like dramamine and benadryl- and then a smaller holder that I would take smaller amounts of medicine when we went out for the day, so it was handy if I got a migraine or someone's stomach hurt. It was really useful to have, and now I keep it in my purse now that I'm at home!

S'well Traveler- Every hotel we went to in Europe had a Nespresso machine in the room, even the lower end hotels. I was glad I brought my thermos so I could take my coffee with me, and because it was a leak proof lid, I could just throw it in my purse without worrying about keeping it upright!

S'well Bottle- I love that S'well bottles have a thin profile, so it's easy to store in side pockets of backpacks, and they are also leak proof! Norway has the best water in the world from the tap, so it was nice to just be able to refill on the go!

I'm sure there are more things I will think of, but these items were so useful during my trip, and I'm so glad I brought them!