Everything You Need for Your Next Adventure

Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or just getting ready to take your first big adventure, preparation is key. Here’s our list of travel essentials; everything you need to make your next journey the best one yet!


A Killer Playlist
We like to think of our playlist as the soundtrack of our trip. It needs to be a perfect blend of old and new, chill and upbeat with just a few cheesy ones mixed in (ie. Africa by Toto). Our playlists normally include: Coldplay, Kenney Chesney, 2000s Country, George Ezra, anything destination themed, Disney classics, Beyonce, Billie Eilish, George Strait, LANY, Khalid, Taylor Swift, and current hits.

An Emergency Kit
Hannah is the QUEEN of the emergency kit! She says these items are “the most important ones” and they have saved us MANY times. We (really Hannah) always carry the following things with us: Imodium (always #1 on the list, trust us!), Pepto Bismol, Ibuprofen, Melatonin, Benadryl, Band-Aids, Wet Ones, GermX, tissues, and Emergen-C Packets.

Compact Toiletries
While we stand behind the belief that travel toothbrushes are a waste of money, there are some compact toiletries we do invest in. Most importantly shampoo and conditioner BARS from LUSH. These bars are great, especially for long trips. They are pretty small and last a while, about 20-30 washes, even with our long hair! These save a ton of space and are also great for weekend trips because you can take them through TSA and don’t have to check your bag.

Water Bottle
This is also one of our everyday essentials. Hydration is so important, especially when you’re traveling. We like to bring reusable bottles with us so we can use less plastic. Our go-to bottle is the wide mouth 32oz Nalgene. It's a great size and a good place to put fun decals you pick up during your adventures. If you’re going somewhere with iffy access to clean water purification tablets are a great way to get clean water and still be green. The Brita filtering water bottles are also a good option.

A Journal
Of course we post about our adventures each day as often as we can, but nobody wants to hear about what time we got up, EXACTLY what we ate for every meal, how much we paid for stuff, or every single random fact we learned throughout the day. This is where the journal comes in! It could be a journal on your laptop somewhere up in the cloud, but what we prefer is an actual bound journal. Similar to always having a good book on you, if you have your journal on you, when you have a few spare minutes just write about your day.

Extra Bag
This bag has come in handy numerous times in our travels! The bag we carry is a nylon duffel bag we got at IKEA that folds up super small. We take it out when we run out of room in our suitcases for souvenirs. It’s great to have the extra space when we need it and the bag also makes a great carry on for the flight home. We’ve also used these bags for weekend travel!

“Safe” Bag
We really only take this when we’re traveling internationally. We have two different methods for this. We like to use a “neck wallet” (Katy) and a Travelon cross-body (Hannah). Basically, just anything you can keep your stuff safe in while you’re out and about for the day.


Day Pack
An easy way to get this is to get a large backpack (like for backpacking trips) that also comes with a small Day Pack, if you need both. If not, you’re open to getting any kind of small backpack you want! It’s important that it’s small, so it can fit in tight spaces, but also has enough room to carry everything you need. We like to carry things like travel plans, receipts, visas, medicines, insurance information, etc, in our day packs. We just got new Cotopaxi Luzon Day Packs, and we’re so excited to try them out!

Versatile Clothing
We always try to pack clothing that is multi-use. We like to take basic colored tops and bottoms so we can mix and match. These items also tend to be cheaper so it isn't as sad when they get lost/dirty/damaged. We’re also big fans of the sarong. It’s great as a beach cover-up, makeshift skirt, or even a blanket on a chilly flight. We throw them in our day packs and take them everywhere. Shoes are also important when traveling. You want to be able to do anything and everything, but you also want to be comfortable. We use a classic style Teva sandal (Katy) and a Z/2 Chaco sandal (Hannah) and love both!

A Good Book
When you’re waiting at your boarding gate, in a car with nothing to do, or just relaxing on a beach, a good book is always the answer. Sometimes it’s fun to get one related to the place you are at or going to, or just stick with the next book in your favorite series or by your favorite author. A few of our favorite go-tos are: Liane Moriarty, Nicholas Sparks, biographies, and current best-sellers (hello, Kevin Kwan!).

Portable Charger
You never wanna be in a place where you need your phone, but it’s dead. Whether you “need” it to take a picture of something you don’t wanna forget, or you actually NEED it to get out of a situation, it’s best to just never be stuck between a rock and a dead phone.