I am leaving on a trip to europe for 5 weeks next wednesday. I am packed already, adding a few things here and there. I am wondering though about all those little things that slip your mind that you wish you had packed.
Any things you left out and really wished you hadn't forgot?
couple of suggestions. clean out purse/wallet. you won't need your local store credit, hotel or airline cards. take only the ones you know you will use.
photo copy you credit cards and passport and put in seperate place. I also carry copies of all rez info and then discard as I use them. record your perscription numbers, names and dosage.
if you use glasses for reading as I do, go to the dollar store and buy a couple of extras. if you break of lose them, you won't care.
lastly, remember our motto: there's nothing a credit card and a taxi can't do. have fun.
Lock the front door.
We were in a bit of a hurry, walked out the door, got in the taxi, got to the airport (PHL), flew to Boston for our connection, and realized that we hadn't locked the front door. A quick call to our neighbor solved that one, but . . .
Oddly, or maybe not, the thing you forget will be something you use daily. Sunglasses, which for me are either prescription or made to fit my prescription glasses, or something else you may be using right up until you leave...so does not go into the bag now.
Tweezers. I ended up buying mine in London but those darn things did not cost me 2 bucks.. but 5 pounds which were 10 bucks.
Also band aids. You think you may have comfy shoes, but you may also get that blister. Finding a chemist/pharmacy/convenience store sometimes isn't convenient. And how much can a few strips of band aids really take up room?
I pretty much worry only about the biggies: Cash, ATM card, credit card, passport, drivers license, medication, itinerary, printouts of hotel confirmations, and any tickets. As long as I have those, I can buy anything else when I get there. However, I have to say that I'm not at ease until I figure out what it is that I forgot. Once I've remembered that (usually about 1/2 hour into the flight), then I can stop worrying about what I forgot.
Feminine hygiene products (Sorry, guys, don't meen to "ook" you out!)...Contraception, on occaision. These things are not impossible to find, just inconvenient!
And once, my Passport! When you're on Call and have a Duty response time of 1.5 hours including travel time, and you commute 1 of that 1.5 hours...it can get tight! So now I work off of a pre-printed Checklist each and every time!
chapsticks and sunblock - while available amoast anyplace - they seem rather expensive and not available RIGHT THEN when you need it if you forgot it! cheaper here - take a few since you can lose them!
and as others said- always check check & recheck your passport/ticket/money is together ready to go!
Earplugs and a sleep mask.
And don't forget to call your bank and credit card companies to let them know you are travelling overseas or you could find yourself not able to withdraw any cash from an ATM or your credit card is declined because they think it must be fradulent activity.
As the flight attendant said, down load or create your own checklist and add to it as you think of things.
I'm more worried about the stuff I need to do at home rather than what I'm taking especially things like turning down the heat (winter) or shutting off the water to the laundry, etc. Definitely would not like to come back to a flooded house.
If you have the keys stuff such as passports, tkts, rez printouts, camera, memory cards, and cash/ccs you should be ok.
definitely make a checklist. You can find examples in Ricks book or online.
My personal suggestions that you may not find on checklists are liquid bandages and prescription sleeping pills.
The liquid bandages you can just brush onto blisters and it acts like an extra layer of skin, plus it is more comfortable since it isn't a band wrapping around your foot/toe. I brush it on places I know I usually get blisters as a preventative measure.
Some people don't have much trouble adjusting to the time change to Europe, for me the 9 hour change from the west coast is tough. I've been much happier since I started getting a prescription for Ambien CR and taking it the first few nites of travel.
Pretty much every time I travelled I forgot something. But honestly, never something I couldn't live without or was able to quickly buy (cheaply!) at the destination.
Something to read or otherwise amuse yourself on the plane. Just about everything else you pick up wherever you need them.
I too am 5 weeks out! I also have a packing list, updated after every trip to remove the non-essential and add the things I forgot or wished I had (last trip, nail clippers and sunscreen). If you want an idea for a comprehensive list, see this site Universal Packing list.
Also it's a good idea to make a list of things to do just before walking out the door (and locking it of course!) My list includes: turn off water heater, unplug coffee pot/alarm clock/etc., adjust furnace temp, set VCR, put several lamps on light timers, put out trash (including anything in fridge that will be nasty upon return).
Flip-flops.
My feet tend to swell a lot after long days of walking so I put them in my day pack and wear them for an hour if my feet hurt too much. Plus they are useful for showers.
Clothes line -- I kept kicking myself for forgetting that on my last trip. I also forgot my hostel membership card -- didn't realize that till I got the airport. Thankfully I didn't need it. I second the liquid bandage. Found it very useful. Also, cold medicine & vitamin C. My older sis always seems to catch a cold on the flight over. I also leave copies of my itinerary, flights, reservations, passport, credit cards, etc. with my folks along with numbers for the US embassies in the countries I'm visiting. If I have friends or family in the countries I'm visiting, I make sure to have their contact info and let them know where I'll be while there(I do the same for them when they are here in the States).
Last year, I forgot to check the time on our ticket.
Our ticket had been changed about 2 weeks prior and I quickly glanced at it and saw 7:30. Well, as it turned out the arrival time was 7:30 and not the departure time. The departure time never registered with me as it was written in military time. Needless to say, we missed our flight...so don't forget to check your departure time and your tickets! I have since learned military time. P.S. We had to purchase another ticket, however, it was with Condor that sells one way tickets at a discount and it was not as horrific had it been a US carrier at the last minute. We left two days later.
Aspirin, Immodium, and other OTC meds you think you might need. They're much harder to obtain in many countries because they must be purchased from a pharmacy. And pharmacies close at lunch, on Mondays, etc. Guess when you're likely to need Immodium? Not a Tuesday at 11 am, usually....
Also, once I'm packed and comfortable with the weight of my luggage, I add as many paperback detective novels as I can. English language books are hard to find outside of the large cities. When I'm through with Michael Connelly's "Concrete Blonde" that I bought from Goodwill for 99 cents, I leave it in the hotel reception area to "pay it forward."
A few years we were flying to Switerland the end of March for my husband to ski. I taught all day and it was a beautiful spring day with the flowers starting to bloom at home. I transfered my suitcase to my father-in-law's car. We were halfway to the airport, when I remember I had left my ski jacket in my car. I did get to buy a coat the next day in Zermat which was not part of my plans. Everyone thought it was funny that I went on a ski vacation without my coat.
The only things that I ever forgot to put in my suitcase or travel bag, for a trip to Europe, were the nutritional supplements (in plasic bottles), and an audio tape cassette for my small tape player. I had audio tapes of instruction for learning languages of the countries that I was visiting. I intended to listen to those tapes, using head phones (and quietly practice saying words and sentances in those languages) in the airplane during the long flight across the Atlantic Ocean. I put my small tape player in my carry-on bag. But I forgot to bring the tape cassettes. I also bring blank audio tape cassettes, for recording in Europe (my talking, voices of European people, miscelaneous sounds in Europe, ...). I forgot to bring a blank audio tape cassette. Several years ago, a blank audio tape cassette could be found, for sale in Europe, easily. But not now. I did not find a blank audio tape for sale, in Europe, in 2007. Small Digital recorders, with microphone, are for sale in U.S.A.
I have a flat rectangular flashlight you wear on a string around your neck. I got it during our 4 hurricanes in a row here in Florida. I use it to read in bed and when the power goes out. It makes for hands free navigating. I never leave home without it, until last month when we went to Italy! I missed it!
I was in a hurry to get a flight to Glasgow waiting to catch the shuttle from our hotel (we were already running late) as I was getting my camera bag situated (i.e. taking the 30 rolls of film out of the boxes for better packing-before digital). Soo...when we got to the airport (and getting our flight tickets - we didn't have those either) standing in the LONGEST line in Toronto, I caught a glimpse of someone's camera bag. I asked my mom to see if my camera bag was under my backpack since I couldn't feel it. "No." OH MY GOD! The absolute frantic search begins for my camera - it is no where to be found. We use the courtesy phone to call the hotel (keep in mind, our flight is going to start boarding shortly) thinking we left it on the shuttle. No - it was sitting in the hotel lobby. The shuttle was getting ready to come back to the airport and would bring it.
I tipped him $20-well worth it!
Don't you know - our plane was delayed. We were the happiest delayed passengers EVER! =)
Wow, enjoying everyones tales,, and surprised how many turn out good even with some pretty dire circumstances occurring intially!
I personally find the last 2-3 days before a trip VERY stressful and least pleasant of whole trip experience from intial plans to return trip.
Why,, ?? All the final getting ready stuff, leaving the house clean( this is important, who wants to come home to mess) leaving notes for pet sitters, plant waterers , making sure mail and paper is stopped, or if hubby and kids are staying home, then I cook and freeze food, I stock the shelves and fridge, make sure everyones bed linens are clean( since once I am gone, no matter how long I am gone, they will not be changed! LOL)
Basically I exhaust myself making sure everything and everyone is ready. Hubby and kids just come along for the ride...really. Hubby does NO planning at all ( he is easy going and lets me make all choices really) and no packing.
He carries luggage, and plane tickets.
I've been on 2 prior trips to Europe. My next one is in a few weeks. Here are my oddities: travel toilet paper from Target (not all public ones are stocked well), Tide pen (you don't always have access to launder your items right away), Zycam (if you feel the sniffles coming on after your flight), moleskin (in case of hot spots on your feet-which turn into blisters), pashmina scarf (goes with everything and can be a head covering, blanket, shawl, etc as climates change during your travels to different places), LED flashlight (keep in the purse for whenever needed).
Colleen's post about the alarm clock reminded me of something...
At home, I always keep an electric alarm clock set PLUS a battery operated alarm clock as back up. My electric alarm clock also has battery back-up which I replace every three months faithfully. Or at least I do now!
You never know when the power might go out unexpectedly due to a storm or otherwise. I remember one time my Dad was installing a new light fixture for me while I napped before a Flight...The power stayed off longer than expected so the alarm didn't go off to wake me up! It had battery back-up but I hadn't replaced the battery so it didn't work, either!
Close call!
Don't forget to set your alarm clock! My brother was flying out at 6:30am and had an hour trip to the airport, he forgot to set his alarm clock for 3am and ended up waking at 6:00am. Needless to say... he missed his flight.
Also give a copy of your cc#, copy of your passport and copy of your itinery to a trusted family or friend.
Packing well ahead is a very good idea, I think.
We do that also. We have lists which change with the rising of the moon (or so it seems!), and we pay attention to them.
I take pre-addressed labels for postcards, bandaids, neosporin cream, Airborne (no matter what the media says, the stuff works for me), copies of all presc, small card with emerg. contacts, etc.
This last trip, I wished I had taken shirt with pockets.
I take a washcloth, also--piece of fleece that I can pitch at the end of the trip.
If you wear eyeglasses, get them tightened before you go.
Make photo-copies of everything: passport, ID, hotel reservations, etc. And then email it to yourself....then when something is lost, go online and use it. We were heading for Gibraltar, driving from Nerja, and as we got out of the car and headed for the border, I reached in my bag for my passport, and almost threw up- it was not there. My 31 year old son asked if I had a photocopy- I used to do that, the first few trips to Europe, but never needed it so quit. I was absolutely beside myself-we walked back to the car, got in, ready to head back to Nerja, when I took everything out of my bag, and found it had gotten down in the bottom, in the dark, and because I was so upset, I gave up the minute I didn't see it where I had tucked it.
So, word from the wise, better to be over-covered and confident. Another quick one, did I check with our healthcare provider, to find out how to handle out-of-country illness- am I covered??
Betsy
chapstick and lotion, When you need it, you need it then, not in a few hours when you manage to find it at a store.
