Whether you are going away for a week or planning a trip for a year, choosing the right travel products can be essential for your trip. They can help you pack lighter, make your trip easier and once you’ve bought them, you’ll be wondering how you ever managed without them. Here are our pick of the best travel products that have been tried and tested during our solo trips around the globe. We've listed them in alphabetical order.
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Girl about the Globe Products
Gain confidence and inspiration to travel solo with our range of digital products. Feel confident on your solo trip with the Solo Travel Starter Kit. Includes the Girl about the Globe Guidebook, Solo Girl's Survival Kit, Plan Your Dream Solo Trip Workbook, Last-Minute Checklist and Travel Budget Planner. Contains everything you need to get you on your solo adventure whether you are a first-time solo or have travelled before. All these products are also available individually.
Choosing a backpack can be so confusing. Do you choose a backpack with wheels for a city break, a waterproof backpack because you’re travelling in monsoon season, or a backpack for hiking and travel for your trip to New Zealand? This article covers the best quality backpacks for women and will help you choose the right one for you.
Having lots of electrical devices such as a laptop, kindle, phone, hairdryer and electrical toothbrush means more cables and chargers to carry. Instead of carrying them all loose in your bag where they can get tangled up, this handy cable wrap keeps them all in their own individual pockets so you know exactly where to find them. No more untidy cables.
These bags are ideal for those of us who want to take a lot of stuff but don’t have the room to pack it all. You can either get vacuum bags which aren’t ideal as you need a vacuum cleaner to use them, or compressor bags which you just press the air out of. They compress everything down so that you can pack more. They are ideal if you are moving somewhere and want to take everything with you, or going on a long trip.
Ear plugs are essential for travelling. If you are sharing a dormitory room in a hostel they are an absolute godsend to muffle any snoring or people talking. Depending on your budget, a cheap foam pair usually does the trick but if you are very sensitive to noise then consider buying these oneswhich are amazing for cutting out any noise.
Plasters, rehydration formulas, insect bite cream… the list is endless. There are so many situations that you could find yourself getting into that it’s important to take a first aid kit along. Instead of having to think about everything that you need in a first-aid kit separately, this first aid kit has everything in one kit.
Although the torch on our phone is great for when we need some light, a head torch is the perfect travel accessory for us adventurers. It allows you to be hands free so you can pack your bag or do whatever you need to do in the bush without using your hands. It’s also useful for reading a paperback book in bed if you don’t have a bed light.
Gone are the days where we have to carry heavy hardback books with us. Thanks to the Kindle, which allows us to travel with a multitude of books and fits in our hand luggage. For the bookworms among us, this is ideal for long plane or bus journeys and when want to just relax and read book after book. You can download your guide books too).
Instead of taking a normal bath towel (which are usually bulky to pack), consider taking a microfibre towel instead. Microfibre towels are not only smaller than ordinary towels, they dry much quicker too. The fabric is soft, super absorbent and antibacterial. You can use them for the shower, beach or sports.
If you are visiting cities known for pickpockets (e.g Barcelona), then money belts are a good way of hiding your money. You can keep your credit and debit cards in them as well as your passport. They are easy to disguise and wearing a money belt under your jeans is a great way of avoiding pickpockets. This one is more pricey but has a softer material than the cheaper ones which have a tendency to sweat with your body heat. You can hand wash it too.
Being able to stream the latest episode of our favourite series at the click of a button makes those long flights or bus journeys so much more manageable (download it when you have WiFi connection). Netflix is just perfect for those solo nights when all we want to do is snuggle under a duvet and watch a good movie. You can cancel the monthly membership at any time.
If you are travelling during the winter or at high altitude then you’ll need clothes that will keep you warm. Their Worn Wear collection are recrafted clothes made from other clothes so you’re doing your bit for the environment too. As well as these fleece pullovers they also offer merino socks, jackets, base layers and so much more…
P20 is great for active Girls about the Globe. Whatever you’re planning to do, whether trekking, sailing or just sunbathing, you just apply it to your body before you go out and it lasts all day. It comes in factor 15 to factor 50, and covers all skin types for up to 10 hours. You still get a great tan if you’re in the sun all day and you only need to apply it once. It’s water resistant too.
Unless you are a very organised packer and know where everything is then invest in some packing cubes. You can pack your underwear in one, t-shirts in another, and anything else that you are bringing with you. It helps keep everything organised in your bag and you don’t need to get everything out to find that one thing that you’re looking for.They come in funky colours too.
Padlocks are ideal for us solo travellers. You can lock your daypack whilst you walk around during the day and lock away your valuables in the hostel room. Most hostels charge for padlocks so having your own will save you money. These durable padlocks have a security code instead of a key and are ideal for those of us prone to losing keys. Just write down the code somewhere safe.
Not only do these cargo trousers look stylish and come in a variety of shades, they are ideal for stashing away your money and valuables too. Manufactured with pickpockets in mind, they are the safest trousers on the market. They have a skirt, shirt and dress too. We think they are an essential part of any solo’s wardrobe.
If you are planning to go off the grid and stay in a treehouse in Costa Rica, camp in the Sahara Desert, or go diving for a week then a portable charger will charge your electrical items without the need for electricity. Portable solar charges don’t need batteries either. Just put them in the sun and the solar panel will charge your phone, USV device, tablet and MP3 player. * Buy from Amazon.co.uk
Portable Washing Line
Laundry costs can add up if you are travelling. You may not want to keep paying for a laundrette so taking hand wash and a portable washing line makes doing your own laundry easy. If you are only away for a short time, a portable washing line is great for the times when you just need to wash a few things. In hot countries you may want to wash your beach clothes, bikini and towel. Don't forget to take a sink plug with you too.
If you’re not a good traveller and suffer from travel sickness then there is no worse feeling in the world than feeling sick on a windy road journey or on a ferry crossing. Instead of having to take travel sickness tablets, you could wear sea bands instead which work by putting pressure on your acupuncture points on your wrists. I swear by them.
Bottles of shampoo are not only heavy but they can be difficult to take if you are only planning on taking hand luggage with you. That’s where shampoo bars come in. They're more eco too! They do cost more than a regular bottle of shampoo but these compact shampoo bars from Lush last so much longer (up to 80 washes). They are smaller to carry, reduce your plastic consumption and keep your hair nice and glossy.
If you are sleeping in a hostel dorm room with others, then leaving the light on isn’t a problem when you are wearing a sleep mask. You can have an early night and not be disturbed. You can also use it for night buses, overnight trains, flights or even during the day if you are feeing weary from travelling. If you are a light-sleeper and have trouble sleeping with light then it’s worth getting one.
Sleeping bags come in seasons depending on where you are travelling and how warm you want to be. If you are travelling to a cold country then you’ll need a 4 season bag (or 3 season if you are warm blooded). For warmer countries, a 1 or 2 season bag will usually suffice. The HiHiker Mummy Bag is one of the best we have tried and its compression sack allows it to pack easily.
Sleeping bag liners are ideal for extra warmth in addition to a sleeping bag. You can also use them as a sheet for hostel beds whose cleanliness may be questionable. If you are travelling to warm countries then a liner is a good alternative to carrying a sleeping bag with you.
If you are worried about where to store your valuables, how about packing them in your bra? The sports bra is perfect for solo travellers. The pockets are perfectly sized for credit cards, a passport and driving licence. It comes in ultra-light, comfort bamboo, beach bra, and also a sports style. Read the review here.
This is more of a necessity than a travel product but taking a travel cash card with you helps to avoid those bank fees. You simply load up your card then swop it to whichever currency you need and withdraw your cash when you arrive. They work with several different currencies so unless you are going somewhere completely off the map, your currency should be included.
Although there is a wealth of information out there including blogs and travel articles, you can’t beat a guide book to help you to travel extensively through a country. Guide books give detailed information including the history of a place, how to get there and what to see. Lonely Planet are the most well-known and cover the entire globe. They don’t need to be paperbacks anymore either as you can download the eGuide instead of carrying a guide for each country you are visiting.
When you are travelling to cold countries, the last thing you want to happen is to catch a cold when you are travelling by yourself, especially if you have a fixed schedule. Not everywhere provides hairdryers so take your own portable one instead. A travel hairdryer can fold up in your bag so it’s easy to pack. You can also finish drying any clothes with it too.
Travel pillows are great for journeys, especially if you are travelling at night. Hard airline seats or uncomfortable overnight buses are so much more comfortable when you have a soft pillow to rest your head on. You can also use it for camping when you don’t have a proper pillow. If you are worried about packing it, it compresses to 60% of its size and stores in its own travel pouch making it easy to transport.
If you’re travelling to more than one country this plug adaptor is great for multi continents such as Asia, Europe, Australasia and the States and you only need one. Just slide the unlock button to whichever plug you need and lock the rest. It’s so much easier to pack than taking several with you.
For the countries where tap water is drinkable, the use of plastic bottles isn’t an environmental issue but for those where we can’t drink from the tap, that’s where a water filter flask comes in. It helps reduce our plastic consumption. It works by filtering our water as we drink and removes 99% of all bacteria. It may seem like a big investment but if you drink a lot of water it’s ideal.
The last thing we want to happen when we’re away is for our phone is to malfunction. Taking speedboats, spending time on the beach, and partaking in water sports can put our phone at risk. Having a waterproof phone case helps to to protect our phone and other valuables too.
For everything else, take a look at the Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uksites. Disclosure: Girl about the Globe is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program as well as other affiliate programs, designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites at no extra cost to you.
If you are visiting cities known for pickpockets (e.g Barcelona), then money belts are a good way of hiding your money. You can keep your credit and debit cards in them as well as your passport. They are easy to disguise and wearing a money belt under your jeans is a great way of avoiding pickpockets. This one is more pricey but has a softer material than the cheaper ones which have a tendency to sweat with your body heat. You can hand wash it too.
This is more of a necessity than a travel product but taking a travel cash card with you helps to avoid those bank fees. You simply load up your card then swop it to whichever currency you need and withdraw your cash when you arrive. They work with several different currencies so unless you are going somewhere completely off the map, your currency should be included.
