Travel Tudor Tips

I go places.
I do things.
Sometimes I take pictures.

In your wallet
  1. one each of Mastercard and Visa: Mastercard, for shopping and id theft; Visa, for ATMs and cash. Rumor is Capital One doesn't have Foreign Transaction Fees.
  2. A student-ID for places that give discounts
On your person
  1. passport
  2. a nice metal pen like a Cross
  3. As many hidden Benjamins in reserve as you think it would take to make problems end.
Carry-on
  1. a photocopy of your passport and itinerary
  2. Earplugs
  3. an extra pair of contacts
  4. Sudafed/Tylenol PM/general medications in a ziplock and some tissues
  5. iPod and headphones, charger
  6. Mobile phone with wired-handsfree and charger
  7. a thick paperback book, or two.
  8. Pad of paper and pens
  9. a pack of gum to clear that flight-nap taste from your mouth
  10. a couple blank CDs and DVDs so you can pay $0.25 each instead of $10 each. Or, better, a portable hard drive to back up your photos onto, should the camera be stolen or confiscated.
  11. a ziplock full of Clif Bars or Power Bars or whatever compact energy bar you can tolerate.
  12. Do you need the umbrella? It's bulky, but the Gustbuster can stand up to Irish wind.
Checked
  1. a photocopy of your passport and itinerary
  2. extra contacts
  3. Like Towelie says, always bring a towel
  4. You're unlikely to get deported if you bring along a small knife to go fishing with.
  5. Put your shampoo, saline solution, and toothpaste inside zip lock bags, and then put those inside another plastic bag. They will leak, trust me.
  6. Maybe some sunscreen?
  7. shaving razors
  8. nail clippers if you're traveling for longer than ten days or so
  9. Tide has tea-bag sized sink-washing soap packets, easier than a bag of powdered detergent.
  10. A small LED flashlight is a Very Good Idea, whether to illuminate dark shadows in ruins or to guide the way as cities undergo their daily power conservation.
What to leave at home:
  1. Yet another photocopy of your passport and itinerary
  2. Do you really want to lose your house and car keys in another country?
  3. Anything else you don't want stolen.
And then relax, because if you forgot something you can just buy it over there.
Copyright © 2007 Patrick Tudor