What & Why Get Out There Tours Recommends These Items
While most packing lists you find on Social Media for Thailand or Bali or anywhere in South East Asia are pretty much the same, we have a few — ten we will share here with more linked below — that will make your trip a whole lot easier. Since we recommend products to our travelers on a daily basis and not only get feedback from them, but actually see what works first hand on our trips, we feel our tips are the most tried and true.
Let’s start with your long haul flight to Asia. Unless you are in Business Class, you are probably dreading this part of the trip. Seriously! Who wants to sit in a cramped chair likely next to someone with a few bad habits for 14 plus hours and then change planes (hopefully with a carefully planned, short layover) and then fly three to six hours more to your destination? Well, we can help make it a bit more comfortable and possibly even lend to some sleep with our first item this Portable Airplane Travel Footrest Hammock. You won’t believe the relief this gives you even in Premium Economy where you may have one of those calf rests. Take turns propping your feet up in one of these hammocks and using the regular foot rest (and getting up and walking about) and you will find way less swelling and uncomfortability.
Another item for inflight, especially Economy where washed blankets are a rarity, is this Practical 4-in-1 Travel Blanket 4-in-1 with Poncho, Zippered Pocket & Stuff Sack. You had me at Poncho. Come on! Who else hates it when your blanket falls on the ground? And the zippered pouch is great for storing your passport, pen, and phone for when you need to fill out those Immigration and Customs Forms appear on your tray table while you are sleeping.
Our next favorite is a crossover item. We love to use them on the plane and they have multi uses while you are traveling: this reusable tote by LOQI. These are great for long haul flights – after you go through security and need to rearrange all of the heavy items into your carry-on from your personal item (there’s a whole blog on that trick), put your necessary inflight items (headphones, wet wipes, mask, blanket, travel pillow, ipad, etc) in the tote so you can place it nicely under the seat in front of you. All the rest of your items can go up in the overhead bin. Once you land your tote folds up into a small pouch you can carry around for groceries, souvenirs (say no to plastic!), beach or pool gear, or snacks while you are in transit to your daily excursion.
One of our newest finds is strictly for coffee lovers (mostly everyone these days, right?). These Twin Peaks Coffee Costa Rican Pour Overs will help you bounce back when you feel jet lag creeping up on you and give you a sense of ease and comfort when you aren’t too keen on Nescafé Instant Coffee (available in most hotel rooms with a kettle) being your early morning coffee option. There are many others we can recommend, including a Vietnamese version with sweet powdered milk included.
Smart Phone batteries get eaten up super fast while you are traveling. Don’t leave home without an external power bank, or two. Our first suggestion is a heavy duty one like this Urbo Quick Charging 20K Portable Power Bank with 20800 mAh and 3 Ports. There’s really no sense in going with a primarily power bank with anything less than 20K mAh since the emergency uses are many. You never know when there might be a power outage and having a fully charged power bank can get your (and your roommate’s) device(s) charged up with room to spare. Sometimes hotel rooms cut the power (not just the A/C) when you leave the room so nothing will charge while you are out of the room so having a portable power bank will allow you to avoid that issue all together. And, who likes to charge their phone while they sleep but wants the phone nearby? Well, in most hotels in Southeast Asia have very few outlets (sometimes just one) and these are rarely conveniently located. Having a fully charged power bank to charge your phone while you post your Elephant pictures on Facebook comes in very handy. Again, the uses are many. By the way, this one charges phones, tablets, and laptops!
We also like this lighter and multi-tasking. This is great as a charger for your day bag and we are sure you will need the scale to make sure you souvenirs don’t put you over the baggage allowance. And flashlights are always on our packing lists.
Sometimes you just need a backpack but don’t want it to count as your carry-on. We love these Ultra Lightweight Packable Backpack Water Resistant Hiking Daypacks because they have so many practical uses in addition to or in place of the above mentioned packable totes and is another great way to say no to plastic!
We love packing cubes and compression pouches and since there are so many we like, we’ll recommend an eco-friendly one here Recycled Packing Cubes (4 Piece Set) Getting a set with different sizes is best so you can puzzle piece them together to fit perfectly into your luggage. This type of packing works great for tours or travel where you move around a lot and don’t have time to unpack and pack. The cubes work as drawers and help you keep organized and on top of things. Once you become a “packing cube packer,” you can’t go back to the old way.
One item you may discount as a luxury item is this Rainyb 2300W Step Down 220V to 110V Voltage Converter & Universal Travel Adapter / Transformer. These gadgets are so practical and worth every bit of 7 inches by 4 inches by 2 inches they take up in your luggage. Why do we like this so much? To start with, remember what we said earlier about there being limited power outlets in your hotel room? Well couple that with two people sharing a room with multiple items to charge each night (and in some cases, hair dryers and flat irons or shavers to plug in somewhere). These are one-stop “charging stations” with three USB Ports, three AC Outlets and UK/AU/US/EU Worldwide Plug Adapters, Power Converter for Hair Dryer and appliances. Sure it is supposed to be okay to put your iPhone directly into the wall outlet in Thailand (US travelers don’t even need to fuss with different shaped plug adaptors) but when you feel how hot your devices become, you’ll be happy to have the option to charge with one of these power stations. Nothing overheats (although we still recommend purchasing a travel dryer with dual capacity) and you can charge it all together. You’ll love having this gadget along.
With so many companies jumping on the “reef friendly” sunscreen train, it’s hard to tell just what products to trust. We love COOLA and even better, this COOLA Organic Suncare Travel Kit with four TSA Approved Sized Starter Items. You will love scent and quality of these skin care products. We promise.
Of course, that’s not all. We have a whole list of our favorite items listed on our Packing Lists including luggage, shoe, and clothing favorites. Our choices are ever changing and these Packing Lists are updated regularly so check HERE as well.
What are YOUR favorite Gadgets and Gear? Comment Below and we’ll Feature a few of our favorites on our Instagram Feed.