Travel Essentials

Image from Flickr 

Our family loves traveling and going to hotel staycations. Every summer, we choose a hotel in the metro on where we would want to stay to simply relax and unwind as a family. In planning your vacation, it's essential to take note of the things that we need to do or bring.

1.  If you’re flying your way to your destination, then it’s very essential to check your passport. Before scheduling your flight, double check the expiry date of your passport. Sometimes people tend to forget to check the expiry dates of their passports and that could be a great inconvenience if you’ve already planned and booked for everything.
2. If your passport is good to go, check some cheap flights online. Try to check at least 2 months before your desired date and you might discover cheap flights online. I do suggest checking out Malindo Airways especially if you’re going to Hong Kong, Indonesia, or other nearby countries because they do offer cheap flights.
3. Once you have your hotel/destination, do a research if there are nearby stores or supermarkets in the area so you’d know if you’ll bring just enough diapers or milk powder for your kid.
4. Preparing your bags. One, two, or even three travel luggage is up to you depending on how long you’re going to stay in your destination, but always bring a smaller bag or your usual carry-on bag where you will place your passports, wallet/cash, IDs, and the like. Also bring some plastic bags for dirty clothes and a separate eco bag for your toiletries.
5. Bring just enough clothes (don’t forget your underwear!) according to the duration of your stay. Sometimes we prepare our shirts, blouses, dresses, pants, or even our pajamas, but we forget to prepare our underwear which is a funny thing. If you're going swimming, then don't forget all your swimsuits/rash guards, sun blocks, shades, and the like. Hotels usually provide you towels if you'll go swimming in their pools.
6. Bring your deodorants, colognes/perfumes, your favorite shampoo/conditioner, toothbrush/toothpaste, mouthwash, body wash/soap, lotions (travel size as much as possible), make-ups for the girls, and other items that you use in your daily beauty regimen.
7. For those with younger kids, don't forget to bring their diapers, milk formula & bottles, clean bottled water, rash cream, vitamins, and the like. You might need to bring extra sets of clothes for the younger ones just to be sure.
8. Bring extra slippers. I personally recommend rubber slippers that you can use both indoors and outdoors for convenience. For the ladies, if you don't like flip-flops then bring any other shoes that's comfortable for you such as flats, light sandals, etc.
9. Next is your essential gadgets. We don't bring heavy DSLR cameras because they're too bulky, but if you still prefer to brings yours then that’s fine. In our case, we just bring our phone cameras and their chargers.
10. Don’t forget your emergency kit inclusive of Paracetamol for headaches and pains, and antihistamine for allergies. You can never tell if someone from your family would be needing some Betadine or alcohol for a cut or bruise. There’s also an 80% chance that you’ll get a headache from the weather or other reasons so you better have some Paracetamol. It would be a hassle if you were to go out and buy some in a drugstore while you’re having your staycation. Lastly, you can never tell when someone will have their allergy attack. It could be from the dust, from the mattress, etc., so it’s best to have an antihistamine in your bag just in case.

Image from Flickr

Thank you for reading my list. 

May you always be safe and happy in your travels!