Hand luggage might seem like the space you use to put a your electronics in and of course the last few things that just wouldn’t fit in your checked bags! But this isn’t really the most practical. Have you ever thought about what happens if your checked bags are delayed or even lost? You might be thinking this will never happen to me – but believe me when it does you will be very sorry. So I’m going to be sharing my tips on what is best to have readily available.
Electronics
Travelling for work? Fun? Or a bit of both? You won’t want to be without any of these!
- Laptop/tablet
- Kindle
- Universal adapter
- ALL chargers
- Earphones/Airbuds
- Cameras or drones
- Power bank
I would recommend keeping these items in your hand luggage to make sure they don’t get tossed around and the chances of any potential theft are much less.
Clothes
Yes, you read that right. Ever gotten to your destination but your bags haven’t? Well if you have you’ll know how important at least one change of clothes is and if you haven’t you don’t want to find out. One of each of the following is my recommendation.
- Shirt
- Jersey
- Pants
- Fresh underwear
This will mean that you have at least one fresh outfit to either fetch your bags the next day or get to a store to buy some more if the situation is less hopeful. Either way you’ll feel and smell a whole lot better!
Toiletry pack
Getting to freshen up during your layovers or of course for the potential bag delay you’ll want these items!
- Toothbrush
- Lipbalm
- Eye drops
- Breath mints/strips
- Hand sanitizer
- Sanitizing wipes/Feme wipes (Ladies)
- Compact hair brush (Ladies)
- Anti perspirant
- Perfume (Anything small to make you smell fresh!)
Miscellaneous
These are my last few must have items
- Reusable water bottle
- Passport book
- Cash
- Travel pillow
A reusable water bottle is great to use for long layovers so you can stay hydrated without paying for bottles of water everywhere you go! Use the water fountains at most airports and refill. Avoid the struggle of hunting for your passport/cash/cards – use a passport book and keep all your important items together.
These are the items I couldn’t do without in my hand luggage. I always used to rely on my hand luggage as just a backup for anything that wouldn’t fit in my checked bags – that is until I found myself stranded without my checked bags and no clean clothes. These work for me I hope they do for you too!
Now that our hand luggage is packed lets head to our checked bag essentials!
