Bryan Dijkhuizen

5 Things I Always Carry When I’m Traveling

Next week I’m going to Switzerland.

Embarking on a 8–10 hour train ride can be exhausting and it usually is so having to worry about other things isn’t something that I’d recommend.

Those things usually include packing stress about:

  • Chargers
  • Passports/IDs
  • Plane/train tickets
  • Bags/luggage
  • Clothing

In this article, I’ll share my top 5 things always carry when I’m traveling.

1 — Different Kinds of Chargers for Phones, Laptops & Powerbanks

Absolutely essential in 2023 is a charger for everything.

With my MacBook and iPhone coming with me on every trip I need a charger for each individual device to charge during the nights.

Maybe it’s a little chaotic but at least I know I’ve got everything with me to charge all of them.

But you could also get one of these multi-charging cables or adapters to help you out.

2 — Enough Clean Clothing to Get You Through

I hate when I have to walk around in dirty, sticky clothes that I haven’t changed in over a week.

So please, take enough clean T-shirts and underwear.

If you feel like you don’t have enough T-shirts, you can buy them very cheaply. Here are 2 for $10.

My experience tells me that pants are usually good for a week as long as you keep them fresh.

3 — Charging Adapters and Power Brick for the Countries You’re Visiting

In Europe, not every country has the same outlets.

Last March, we went from the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy with 3 different power outlets.

That’s quite a struggle.

What I usually do is have a Swiss and Italian adapter that I can plug into a power brick so I have plenty of outlets to use — after all, I’m not traveling alone so we make sure to have plenty of power.

You could also just get a multi-country adapter like this one.

4 — Strong & Good Quality Backpack

You can’t travel without a good bag.

If you’re going to hike, you need a quality backpack. Something like a 50L will do.

I bought this backpack last year before I went to Italy because I usually would have an overfull bag and now I even have some space left for souvenirs and food.

Also, if you’re planning on bringing your laptop or iPad, make sure there’s a separate space for that, you don’t want your to laptop go missing in that chaos of clothes.

5 — Enough Water

Hydration is crucial when you’re out all day.

We’ll be hiking to Oeschinensee, a beautiful lake in the middle of Switzerland. You might have seen it before.

It looks like this:

Isn’t that beautiful?

In my trip report next week, you’ll see all the new photos taken by me. You can signup to receive those for free over here.

So take a lot of water.

In countries like Switzerland, there are a lot of water tap locations, not every country has this so bring enough water to stay hydrated for the day.

You don’t want to spend between $2–$5 on water.

Final Thoughts

So to conclude a preparation for my trip next week I’d say, don’t forget:

  • Your wallet
  • Your plane/train tickets
  • Checking your accommodation reservation/confirmation
  • Enough Drinkwater
  • Quality backpack
  • Everything electronics related

Join me to Switzerland 🇨🇭

Next week I’ll be sharing trip reports and tips & tricks about travel in Switzerland.

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