11 Things Experienced Travelers No Longer Pack (Effective Packing Tips)

What message do you want to send with a $10 rubber ring? Just don't wear a ring.

You will always need cash. There was a complete network outage and the Canadian banking system went down for an entire day last year, guess what, credit and debit cards didn’t work. Always have some cash on you, even at home.

And how much room does cache take up? Not really a travel tap that sounds more like a preference

Don’t carry cash? I guess you don’t tip your luggage valet, bellhop, drivers? Places in.

Most gas stations in Belgium wouldn't take our Visa card... we were glad we had enough cash to get a tank of gas by the time we got to the third gas station.. bring cash.

Just in case item we (by we, I mean family) do carry: medicines ie. Anti diarrheals, nasal decongestants, motion sickness meds among others. Not all places we go to have nearby pharmacies. If there are, chances are the meds are not the same or communication challenges. Small amounts, fit in a small pouch, won't take up much space.

Also, no neck pillow for me too.🙂

My passport cover also holds copies of my other IDs. My other IDs are with a color copy of my passport. I have family and friends with copies of everything. Including my insurance card and auto insurance.

Have you investigated the amount of $ confiscated...cash

I have to bring a neck pillow, I was in a car accident so my neck gets really stiff and sore if it I keep it in a certain way for even just 10 minutes. My neck pillow really helps with that.

Cash is king in Japan, like real king, yes they accept credit card in 7-11 but a good 60% of the good places Cash is the only method of payment accepted

#11 is the toughest one! To me the most hysterical travel sight is all the people walking around the airport with neck pillows around their necks...

Love my e-reader (Nook) and no longer pack books. I am working on reducing the volume of clothes I pack. Staying at AirBNBs with laundry facilities helps and picking one colour scheme helps too...I usually opt for greens/khakis

What if you can't afford to buy the expensive travel bag, suitcase and travel case? Im moving to the Philippines and will need to spend as less money as possible. Thanks

Great content..I once went on a bike tour with magazines, as if I was going to stop by the side of the road and have a Hemingway moment..DID NOT HAPPEN.. I used to travel with books because I was saying to myself, i will read during the trip..NEVER happened.. What did happen is I pulled out a camera and shoot stills, video, or sometimes I will pull out the laptop. What I really end up doing is listening to music, or on the plane, watch a movie/series. Besides since I am like a 3 year old I am sleepy or hungry, and that keeps me occupied. It's my laptop, tablet, phones, and my skates..Clothes? What I did was find hotels with full laundry , and wash everything the night before I head home.If you go there often leave toothpaste, body wash, toothbrush, lotion, and other repetitive items.

First class you get pillows etc
Plus your seat turns in a bed

No you don’t on passports it’s stays in it

Cash is king

I will never use cards
I travel and I do fine with cash

Better than traveling with a pillow: If you like, bring an empty PILLOW CASE, and stuff it with a sweater or fluffy down jacket that you are carrying with you.

even with how credit/bank cards are nowadays, it's still a good idea to carry cash because you can't guarantee that your specific card will be compatible with local card machines (for example, if your personal card requires chip & pin to be used, but local card machines use chip + sign, your bank might block your card from being used if you're not entering your pin code - speaking from experience here!) Maybe don't carry your life savings with you, but it's always good to have cash as a back up, especially when travelling to a place you haven't visited before.
As for passport covers, having a non-bulky cover that's easy to slip on & off quickly has been my go to; if your passport gets scuffed up/damaged enough, it might actually cause issues getting through security as it might invalidate your passport if it's too damaged, so I think spending a couple of seconds slipping it off while you're in the queue is worth it to help protect your most important document!!
(as a tip, I tend to just put the front half of my passport in the cover so it's quicker to slip out of the cover when needed, but doesn't fall out of it on its own!)