How do I start these things? Do I say ‘hi’ or what? Oh well.

This time next week I will be unable to sleep. Well, that’s the case right now, but even more so next week. Why? Because I’m going to Disneyland Paris *dances around the room*. I know Disney isn’t always the ideal holiday for some, but my family and I are Disney enthusiasts and always have been. We’re going for five days but two days in the park and one day in central Paris- the other two days will be spent travelling as unfortunately we’ll be travelling by coach instead of plane, which is our favourite choice of travel as it’s quickest. Anyway.

With our trip rapidly approaching, my mother, gran, cousin and I are all preparing for the big week and a lot of my free time is talking with my cousin over Facebook about what we plan to take,etc. and it got me thinking- although I’ve not seen much of the world, I have travelled a lot and being older and responsible for myself, I’ve been finding myself taking a lot of the same things which have been super useful for trips,etc. so I decided on writing a blog post on things that I take when travelling which I recommend to people. Like, uh, you. Obviously, you don’t have to take any notice of me, but maybe hear me out or share your travel essentials/luxuries that I should check out. Without further ado.

I’ll quickly add that I’m not going to add all the obvious such as passport, money, phone,etc. as that’s boring and wasting space on my post.

• Charge bank/Juice pack – If you’re a bit of a gadget addict like myself and have a phone/tablet, then you’re more than likely going to want to take it with you. Travelling can include long days whether it’s the journey or the days on your trip, you may be away from your hotel/place of stay for a good couple of hours and lets be honest, Apple may have great gadgets but they have poor battery life- especially if you’re a keen user. I have a juice pack for my phone which has extra battery life. I originally had the Apple approved Morphie juice pack which cost around £130 and had extra storage as well as 100% extra charge. However, I’m prone to breaking things and so I can kiss that little life saver goodbye. As a quick fix, I’ve bought a cheaper one from eBay which cost £8 from eBay.

Not only that, but I bought a smaller USB charge bank which is essentially the same but doesn’t have as much charge. However, it’s great if you really need the extra charge- especially in case of emergencies. It works for any device which has a USB charger and so I bought a few so I can use for both my iPhone and iPad. Again, these were from eBay and cost me £2.85. Tip- if you do buy more than one, I recommend getting them in different colours as when one is out of battery, you can tell from the colours and so when reaching in your bag, you won’t keep pulling the dead one out. Simple, but effective, eh? 

• Universal adapters – As I’m from the UK and going to Europe, some daft nitwit decided that chargers for each continent need different sockets. So, I’ve bought 2 UK to EU adapters. I think you have to buy different ones, depending on where in the world you’re travelling. You can pick them up pretty much anywhere- especially big stores like ASDA or Tescos (or if you’re elsewhere in the world, a big supermarket. Like America, you guys probably have them in Walmart or Target.) They’re usually under £10 and well worth buying. Otherwise, you may be in a bit of a pickle for your electrics. (Also, I won’t do a separate point but I also recommend a UK plug board to use for your adapter as you won’t have to buy loads.)

• EHIC Card – If you’re travelling to Europe then a European Health Insurance Card is super important. It’s free and provides you with access to state-provided healthcare in European Economic Area (EEA) countries and will cover your treatment until you return to the UK. I must warn you that this is not an alternative for travel insurance so please ensure you get that as well.  To apply for your EHIC card, click here. The link also gives you all the need-to-know about the insurance.

• ICE Card –Yes, this is another card, but I feel it’s super important and actually think it should be a law to have one of these on your person at all time. This is an In Case of Emergency card and is basically a card with all your details on. However, they also have cards which clearly state a specific medical condition you may have and ones for children or parents of children with medical conditions.  Below is a photo of a standard ones but examples of the medical condition cards are “Important Medical Condition”, “Pregnancy”, “Diabetic”, “Epilepsy”  and many more. They are £5.49 and also come with a keyring which you can put on your keys (or anywhere really) which states you have got a card on you and they can locate it. Go to this website to buy one.

• Travel guide- Not sure about you, but I love knowing about the places I’m travelling to, so I definitely recommend taking a travel guide, especially if you need to pass the time on the journey. I also recommend if the country speaks another language to pick up a phrases book. Alternatively, you could look through the App store by typing in your destination’s name. I always use the Disneyland Paris app for whenever I go so I can look at the latest events there and make a plan. As it’s my first time going into Paris itself, I’ve downloaded an app about the Metro system called METRO which is basically telling you what ones to use to get to different places.

• International call cards– The best way to not to spend a ridiculous amount on international phonecalls on your mobile is to have an international call card. It doesn’t cost much to phone other people in the same country, but for making calls home then I recommend buying one. Hotel shops normally have them or you can try local superstores or even convenience stores if you’re in a popular tourist destination. If you have an iPhone, iMessage is still free and I believe BBMs are too, for Blackberries. Skype is also available but in the event where these tools aren’t at hand, then this card is ideal.

• SD Card– If you’re a shutter bug and want to take photos of your trip, then make sure you have a good SD Card with a lot of memory and maybe even a spare one. You can get a 32GB for just £12 so I recommend getting one.

I could tell you a lot more but we would be here for days and I would have missed my trip. I’ve missed out the obvious ones because I’m sure you can figure those out yourself. But these are some of my travel essentials. I always get told off for taking too much but I think what I take is rather necessary.

I’m so excited to go on holiday and I’m pretty sure I’ll have a lot to blog about when I come back.

Talk soon,

Jazz x

Jazz

Jazz is a Disney, tea and pop culture enthusiast with a passion for blogging. Also a proud introvert.