Essential Gear for Round the World Travel
As much as you hear the following tip, you will probably still bring too much, but we will say it again.
Bring as little as possible because you will find you end up wearing the same articles anyway!
In Mallorca for instance we wore bathing suits, sandals, t-shirts and a few cover-up/dresses for Erin on a daily basis. Of course, your clothing will vary greatly depending upon the time of year and locations you plan to visit. Try to buy things that are versatile and can be layered.
If you are going to be moving between hot and cold climates, for example, it is best to buy a sweater or jacket at a local thrift store if needed instead of lugging all the extra clothes around.
Essential Gear Backpack or Suitcase?
That is a topic of debate between many traveling families.
We’ve opted for both but are looking to lighten our load and get rid of the suitcase or at least get a smaller one. As our son is too young to carry all his own clothing in his backpack, we have to carry his as well. Backpacks can be much more convenient than pulling a suitcase behind you when hopping on subways, trains and buses. When it comes down to it, deciding whether you want to use a backpack or suitcase is really a personal decision.
Steve has a Deuter Quantum 70+10 Backpacking Pack that has a detachable day pack that comes in very handy for day trips and when we don’t have a safe place to store our computers and other valuables. This is a high quality pack and can withstand anything.
Erin’s Sierra Designs Jubilee 50 Women’s Backpack is smaller and much prettier than Steve’s, coming in Erin’s favorite color too! While smaller, it is still heavy. Remember: Just because it fits, doesn’t mean you should bring it!
We HIGHLY recommend two very inexpensive yet EXTREMELY valuable travel accessories to store and pack your clothing.
Storage cubes keep your clothes organized as you are traveling from place to place. We use the Kiva RSK-05201 Packing Cube Set
Compression storage bags are equally lifesaving. We recommend the Lewis N. Clark Compression Packers 3 Piece Set
They are amazing at decreasing the total space and shaping so that they will fit nicely in your bags. The cubes can go right inside, if you choose!
Technology For Staying Connected and Mobile Business
This all depends on your personal preferences and needs but for those who are working while on the road, a small but powerful computer is a necessity.
Computer
We use an Apple MacBook Pro 13.3-Inch Laptop because it can handle all our video, audio and website needs. We love our Mac. It beats out all our other PC laptops hands down in terms of speed, ease of use and efficiency. Investing a little more here will save you headaches down the road. Be sure to invest in backup software apps such as Dropbox or SugarSync and have regular backups of your computer made. Trust us. You don’t want to learn the hard way!
Tablets
Santa Clause brought Tyler an iPad for Christmas because he knew Tyler would be traveling for a year and could not bring his toys with him. Tyler loves it for the games and learning apps. Admittedly, Mom and Dad like the games too but also love the travel apps and ability to use it for directions. It’s small, versatile and comes in very handy for the modern day nomad.
A word to the wise, invest in a heavy duty case to protect your iPad! We found the OtterBox Defender Case
to be the best on the market.
Erin and Steve are both avid readers. Getting rid of books was one of the most difficult parts of de-cluttering for Steve. The compact, easy to read Kindle Fire, 7″ Display
is great for long flights or to have on the nightstand. The added WiFi feature can also come in handy if you are not traveling with a tablet or laptop.
Camera
Of course, no travel is complete without a camera. We opted for the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS 12.1 MP for it’s compact size, 20x zoom, HD video quality, and high resolution images. We also considered getting the Canon EOS Rebel T5i as it has superior video capabilities, changeable lens, and is rated very highly. Ultimately for us, the size of the camera was more important. We did not want to draw unnecessary attention by carrying a huge camera around as it did not fit in our pockets.
Another option for the avid travel adventurer is GoPro HERO4 as this rugged camera can be attached to a helmet, surf board, you name it, to catch some of your most daring moments while on the road.
Apps
There are lots of options for travel apps. Many are free with paid add-ons, but so far we’ve stuck with the free ones and not needed anything additional. Triposo makes a whole series of free country and city specific apps that are extremely helpful for maps and points of interest. The best way to find apps is to simply search for the country or city you are going to and to test them out. I’m sure there are some great paid apps but free isn’t bad either!
TripIt is a great service to keep all of your travel itineraries organized. It is really pretty awesome. When you book a hotel or flight and the confirmation is sent to your email, the information is automatically uploaded to your Trip It account that can be accessed via their app on your tablet or smart phone. We highly recommend this service.
Toiletries
You obviously need the usual basics. Keep it simple and one tip from experience for those who wear contacts: make sure you carry extra solution in a carry on!
What to Eat For those that love to eat (and who doesn’t!)
Travel gives you and opportunity to try many new treats and local favorites. Keep and open mind and try it. You may like it! Easier said than done when traveling with small children. The good news for parents is that pizza is the universal language of food and chicken nuggets are never hard to find. Eating that alone is a sure recipe for a sick child however. In order to enjoy your trip you don’t want to spend time being sick. The link below shares how we manage to stay healthy while traveling. Not always an easy task!
What to Eat and How to Stay Healthy while on the Road