Are you a minimalist travel or would you take your kitchen sink if you could? Everyone travels different, and everyone has items they always take or always leave. There’s no ‘perfect’ list of things you need, but hopefully this list will give you some ideas.
Please note; I will be using Amazon Affiliate links in this list. If you do end up buying anything then this site will take a small percentage of the sale.
Portable Power
Many of the devices that we use everyday are now ‘smart’ and require batteries. Many of those batteries will not last a 10 or 14 hour theme park days. Many theme parks will rent you a power bank for around £/$€30 but for that sort of money you can buy a decent, brand name power bank which will last you many years.
Modern power banks hold a lot of potential energy, so don’t be tempted by the very cheapest power banks. Spend a little bit extra on a brand name device. We’ve used Anker products in the past and we can highly recommend them.
The Anker PowerCore 10000 Redux is a 10,000mAh power bank, which is good for around 2 full charges of the Pixel 8 or iPhone 15. This should be plenty for all but the longest rope drop to fireworks days. Anker also do 20,000mAh versions too, if you have a large party or high drain devices such as iPads or Pixel Tablets.
The Anker power banks allow charging over USB-C, which means if you have a modern Android or iPhone then you’d only need 1 cable for charging the power bank over night and charging your devices during the day.
Whilst many hotels have build in USB charging ports on the bedside tables, some don’t or they might be broken. You often won’t know until you get there. You can either bring your own from home (with an adapter if needed) or buy a dedicated travel USB charger.
The UGREEN USB-C Travel Charger is a useful charger, with 3 included plugs which should work in pretty much all countries in the world. It has enough power output to charge and power laptops that feature USB-C charging, and fast charging for all modern smartphones. Perfect to give your devices a good charge if you end up taking an afternoon nap to escape the heat.
Health and Safety
Depending on when and where you’re going you may need Sunscreen, Bug Repellent or Deodorant. It’s worth carrying these items anyway, unless you know 100% you won’t have any hot or sunny weather.
We’re big proponents of carrying a First Aid kit when travelling, we always have one in our backpacks just in case. A small one like this one should be fine for most people but you may want a more comprehensive one if you’re travelling with children or the elderly. All theme parks have, or should have, medical rooms but for a small cut or scrape it’s probably easier to handle it yourself.
One of the most common health complaints at theme parks is dehydration. It’s very easy to get dehydrated pretty quickly at theme parks, especially if you have to drive or take public transit to get there. All parks will have tap water, free at the point of use so we highly recommend a nice water bottle. The Proworks Water Bottle is perfect, as they come in a variety of designs and colours so you won’t get them mixed up.
It might be tempting to reuse plastic water bottles, but it’s not recommended to use them more than a few times as the plastic will start degrading or it might have harmful bacteria which can make you ill. Being ill on holiday sucks, as we all know.
These water bottles can be taken though TSA/ Airport Security world wide as long as they are empty.
Lots of people have sensitive hearing, but children especially do. What might be loud but OK for adults, can be painful for the younger ones.
There are 2 options: over ear style hearing protection or in ear style. It’s well worth having a set of these handy, especially during live performances, parades or fireworks.
If in doubt, consult your childs doctor to ask about this. A £20 set of hearing protection might make all the difference to your families holiday.
