The following 8 items have been absolute life savers over the last 7 months of nonstop travel. Obviously so have my camera and phone, but I feel like those are obvious items to take travelling.

1. A power board 

We have a laptop, two Kindles, two phones, a GoPro and a camera that all require constant charging. Having a power board means we don’t need to fight over who gets to use the adapter first because we can charge 4 things at once! Not just for long term travel, I took a power board on a week-long girls trip to Bali last year and it was just as useful then.

2. Eyemask and ear plugs

These are so obvious but I’m constantly baffled by the number of people who complain about the noise in hostels. The solution is so simple! Ear plugs block out barking dogs, traffic, partying hostel goers and those wonderful people who arrive in a dorm at 3am and proceed to crash around unpacking their stuff. My eye mask was a gift from my housemate and I love it, not only do I get to look like an owl, it’s super thick soft cotton and blocks out bright morning sunlight and lights that suddenly get switched on in the middle of the night. You can buy them in a lot of places but avoid the satin or synthetic ones that get hot and sweaty, they are uncomfortable and useless.

3. Universal adaptor

Essential if your trip involves multiple countries and therefore multiple plug sockets.

4. A charging box

For when you’re on a 22 hour bus ride and your Kindle is suddenly low on battery or you’re in the jungle and your GoPro is on its last legs. These babies have a decent amount of charging time in them and work with any device that has a USB cord. Worth its weight in gold.

5. A Kindle

Books are heavy and bulky, so if you like to read while travelling a Kindle is the perfect option. So far I’ve downloaded and read 22 books on my Kindle.

6. A pocket knife

Andrew’s pocket knife has been used too many times to count. It’s excellent for cutting food as the knives in hostels are usually blunter than a rubber mallet but also you’d be surprised how often you need to cut something. Like the tag off a tshirt. There is also a bottle opener, screw driver and a can opener.

7. A headlamp 

Superior to a torch because of the hands-free aspect and you get to pretend you’re a miner. We have used our headlamps everywhere; while cooking dinner at Yellowstone National Park, as reading lamps, and while fumbling around in our bags in a hostel dorm room (not wanting to be those jerks who turn on the overhead light while people are sleeping).

8. Ziploc bags (not pictured) 

These are such handy little things! Great for hoarding free food for later (especially at hostel breakfast buffets!), keeping passports dry, stopping toiletries leaking, keeping camera accessories and cords together and about a million other things.