We’ve helped a great many travellers re-pack their suitcase in the lobby of a Sydney airport hotel because something we forgot has come up. Here is the list that has come out of that experience.
- A second pair of glasses. If you wear them, pack two. The single most common phone call our consultants take is “I’ve lost my reading glasses.”
- A small folded backpack. Flat-packs to nothing in your suitcase, comes out as a day-bag for shore excursions, and saves your shoulders on long cathedral days.
- One pair of shoes you’ve already broken in. Not new ones. Never new ones. Walk a hundred kilometres in them at home before they leave the country.
- A small power-bank. 10,000 mAh is plenty. Keeps the phone alive for the photos when the ship’s plug points are all taken.
- A universal travel adaptor with USB-C. The newer ones charge two phones, an iPad and your hearing aids overnight. Worth the $39.
- A scarf or pashmina you don’t mind getting creased. Cold restaurants, cold ships, cold dawn buses — universal solution.
- Three days of your prescription medication in your carry-on. In case your checked bag goes the wrong way at a transfer.
- A printed copy of your itinerary and passport. If the phone dies and you’re trying to find your hotel in Naples at 11pm, paper wins.
- A reusable water bottle that screws closed. Refill at the airport bubblers and on the coach — saves both the planet and a small fortune.
- One book you’ve been meaning to read. Not a fresh hardback. Something you’ve been putting off. Long-haul flights and ship sea-days are when it finally happens.
What you don’t need: a separate set of formal shoes, a hairdryer (every hotel has one), six pairs of jeans, more than two books. Pack light. You’ll buy what you’re missing on day three.