Holidays are supposed to be a time to ‘let your hair down’ and enjoy yourself, forget about all the bills piling up at home and all the phone calls and problems at home. Yet I think that until you actually arrive at your hotel, with all your luggage in tow (if you have never had the airline lose a bag you have no idea how stressful it is!) then they are actually really stressful. Plus once you have settled into your hotel then suddenly you realize you have forgotten something you need! So below are a few key things you need to take with you no matter where you are going.
Camera: You might decide to take a video camera or just a normal digital camera, but whichever you take then being able to take back some reminders of your holiday allows you to reminisce as you get older, and how off to your friends now. Video cameras are a bit of a pain though as they are bulky and complicated, so for me a normal digital camera is the answer every time. If where you are going has lots of spectacular sea life and coral then you might want to grab a waterproof camera to take instead, then you can use it above and below water. The prices have come down recently and you can get some great ones like a funky pink waterproof camera from Olympus.
Emergency clothes: These are clothes you put in your hand luggage – why? In case they lose your main suitcase of course! You get a horrible sinking feeling in your stomach when you land at your destination in the dead of night and they have lost your luggage so you realize you have nothing to wear now and will have to try and go shopping the next day just to get clean underwear! So take some things in your hand luggage in case that happens.
Swimwear: If you forget something like sun cream or sunglasses then you can happily just buy that out there, but the one thing I wouldn’t advise you to buy is swimwear. Guys get it easy as all they have to do is find a simple set of shorts and they are done, for women it is a whole different ball game. A woman wants one which makes her look good and fits properly so nothing shows that you don’t want showing! So the best idea is to take your own so you can look good on the beach.
Currency: Some people wait until they are over in the country before they change any large amount of money, but the problem is the exchange rate is probably awful! Tourist destinations know you need to change money over there, so they have you over a barrel and can give you whatever rate they like, do yourself a favor and change the money you will need where you are, and then only change more if you need it when you are over there.