The Unsung Heroes of Travel Gear: Simple Items You Wish You Had Packed

Traveling to the exotic, or just traveling in the first place, is one of those things in life that is such a great pleasure for such a wide array of people. A trek through lush jungles, wasting away hours on untouched stretches of white sand, climbing crumbling temples and ruins, or just a trip to Disney Land can be the highlight of one's life. Yet, so often time is wasted in discomfort or in a state of worry because you forgot something you needed or ran into a problem that could have easily been remedied if you would have solved the problem before it had a chance to occur.It is the age-old problem of packing; whether the world is your playground or you have to settle for the campsite eight miles down the road, you are forced to pick up your life and take it with you. And even with fancy technology and neat gadgets, many travelers end up kicking themselves for the lack of logic they used when packing. Forgetting something necessary or something that would have saved you from a lot of trouble can end up ruining a day of your precious vacation. That extra pair of socks or the hairdryer you forgot, however, is not the ruin of your vacation. Rather, those things you never would've thought of in the first place are the ones that will drive the mood of your vacation down. Thus, here are those things that are cheap, lightweight, and infinitely useful for such a wide variety of reasons.

Plastic Bags:

So, you have a $300 hard-shell suitcase, do ya? So what? Shake it around and smash in underneath masses of other bags (i.e. the cargo hold of a boat or plane?) and see whether or not your shampoo or bug spray has leaked. I can tell you from personal experience that the last thing you'll want when first arriving at that ritzy beach resort is to seek out the over-priced laundry service to clean up your fancy clothes, now covered in a mixture of conditioner, toothpaste, hair spray, and hand lotion. Even if your bottles don't tend to leak, individually wrapping each one will cost little and offer you a piece of mind (and when traveling, confidence is priceless). And if your bottles end up leaking, you will be so glad you agreed with your cautious side.