On our last trip to Puerto Rico we tried out a few new travel supplies and wanted to share a few that we thought were worth the money (and the luggage space)!
Obviously, when packing for a trip, space is everything. Luckily, Puerto Rico has Walgreens and Sam’s Club (and so many Wendy’s Restaurants – who knew?), so we could buy anything we forgot. Even so, we still managed to bring everything we needed and have some room to bring back extras (several bottles of really good rum!).
Backpack/Carryon from Hanples
This thing looks like a backpack but packs like a carryon suitcase. It’s 40 liters, which is right in line with a small carryon suitcase. The front unzips and folds all the way open so you can pack clothing in it without having to stuff them down the mouth of the backpack. It has so many pockets that we couldn’t find a use for every one of them. It’s comfortable to carry, even fully loaded, and the material resists water. And for less than $40, it’s my (Steph’s) favorite new travel bag!
Vacuum Travel bags from Black Voyage
It is amazing how much of the volume of a piece of clothing is actually air. We bought these bags hoping to make more space in our carryon luggage and then liked them so much we bought more! The pump is easy to use, and these bags held their vacuum on four flights for a total of 15 hours in airports and airplane luggage compartments.
Bottle transport bags from STAYWILD
We knew before we even booked our flights that we would be bringing back some rum. After all, Puerto Rico is the rum capital of the world! Because we were making a hefty investment in rum, we wanted to make sure it survived the trip home. We used these bottle bags to pack the rum bottles and can happily report that everything made it home intact. The bags are the right size for typical liquor or wine bottles but wouldn’t work for odd-shaped bottles.
The bags also don’t deflate; they have a one-way valve so the air chambers will fill but air can’t escape. That is a good thing while transporting liquid, but a not great thing for storing the bags to use on the next trip. We just considered them a single use item. They were sold as a 10 pack and we’ve only used four, so we still have six that have not been inflated and can be used for a future trip.
Microfiber Towels from the Widdonen Store
Towels are a hit or miss item in Airbnbs – especially beach towels. Bringing our own towels often means sacrificing a chunk of luggage real estate to fit them in – they are bulky and don’t compact well. This year we decided to try microfiber towels. They are much thinner and fold down to the size of a cloth napkin.
They also don’t hold sand, which is nice when walking back to the Airbnb from the beach. We tracked enough sand in without bringing on more from our towels! Another plus is that they dry really quickly. I am not a fan of the microfiber texture, but that is really the only negative about these towels.
TripIt
This is an app gathers all of our travel information in one place, making it easy to find confirmation numbers, flight numbers and check out times. No more scrolling through our email inbox to find the email with our flight confirmation, or having to check multiple apps for flight, lodging, and car rental details. TripIt organizes it all in one place by date, so you always know where you need to be. And once you get there, you have all of the information available at a glance. You can even share the itinerary with a travel buddy (so when Gene asked when our flight was, I could just tell him to look at the app!).
They do have a paid version, TripIt Pro, that can track flights and let you know when a better seat is available. It also reminds you to check in for your flight and can tell you when the rate for an upcoming flight has dropped. We haven’t tried the paid version yet; so far, the free version does everything we need.
What other travel necessities can you not live without? Let us know in the comments. We are always looking for ways to make travel days easier!
(Spoiler alert – I finally painted the master bathroom closet! Before and after pics coming next week!)
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