5 Personal Item Non-Negotiables
I Never Travel Without These
When it comes to packing for a trip, personal items are often the last to be thrown together—and more often than not, they end up being an afterthought. But here's the truth: a well-packed personal item can make all the difference between kicking off your vacation with ease or facing a travel nightmare before you've even reached your destination.
After years of trial and error, I’ve perfected the art of packing the ultimate personal item, and today, I’m sharing my tried-and-true formula with you! Because we all know—vacation time is too precious to spend wrestling with disorganized bags or scrambling for essentials. Let’s dive into how you can start your journey stress-free and ready to make the most of every moment.
Phone charger. This may seem obvious, but with mobile boarding passes, downloadable itineraries, navigation apps., in-flight entertainment, not to mention the ability to make a phone call in an emergency, phone battery is crucial. I recommend keeping a standard phone charger in addition to a portable charging bank in your personal item so you’re ready no matter the circumstance.
Physical copy of all confirmation and contact numbers. Even though we’re doing our best to keep our phone charged with all reservation details, you can never be too prepared. I always have a printed or written list of all hotel/transfer/excursion confirmation numbers in addition to contact numbers for each vendor.
Medication/prescriptions. This includes a backup of prescription glasses and extra contact lenses. You never realize how many things you have to read to navigate an airport until your contacts fall out on a connecting flight in SFO and you have to move to a different terminal. Definitely not speaking from experience here.
A deck of playing cards. The first time my husband and I went to Sandals, we took a red-eye and arrived at the resort late in the day. After dinner and a long travel day, we didn’t have the energy for any nightlife entertainment but also weren’t ready to sleep. We bought a deck of cards at the gift shop and have kept them in our bag since. You’d be amazed how often we break them out when waiting to go to a dinner reservation, during a flight delay, or any other time we have time to kill.
Swimsuit and/or change of clothes. Even if you’re not checking a bag that could get delayed/lost, having an extra change of clothes and swimsuit (depending on your destination) in your personal item is always a good idea. This way, if it takes a little while for your main luggage to be delivered to your room, you don’t have to wait around for it to arrive before you start enjoying your resort’s amenities.
Steal my full, printable packing list here for your next ERT getaway!
