Travel Tips for International Travelers
Independent travel gets easier when your gear does some of the work for you. These notes focus on practical details that matter once you are tired, jet-lagged, and standing in an unfamiliar room with the wrong outlet in the wall.
Recommended International Travel Adapter
One kit. Covers most countries worldwide. Built-in surge protection.
- Multiple international plug types included
- Multiple AC outlets
- USB-A and USB-C ports
- Works with 100–240V dual-voltage electronics
Recommended Travel WiFi
Globlinker is a portable travel WiFi hotspot for independent travelers who want a simple way to stay connected without relying only on hotel WiFi, airport WiFi, public WiFi, or a phone hotspot. Works worldwide.
Pack a small “arrival kit”
Instead of digging through your whole bag after a long trip, keep a thin pouch at the top of your carry-on. Include your main travel adapter, a short charging cable, basic toiletries, and any medication you need the first night. You can plug in your phone, brush your teeth, and get settled before unpacking anything else.
Keeping your arrival items together in one pouch makes it easier to settle in after a long trip.
- Keeps essentials easy to find after arrival
- Works for cables, toiletries, and documents
- Reduces unpacking time
Treat power as part of your planning
When you look up a new destination, note more than the sights and restaurants. Check the local voltage, plug type, and how reliable the power tends to be. If you know you may face older wiring or occasional outages, you can pack a compact multi-port charger and a small power bank instead of a tangle of single-purpose chargers.
A reliable universal adapter avoids surprises when outlets do not match your gear.
Universal Travel Adapter with USB Ports →
- Works in most countries with multiple plug types.
- Includes USB ports for charging several devices.
- Compact and easy to pack.
- Reduces need for multiple adapters.
Carry fewer cables, not more
A pouch full of random cords rarely helps when you are tired. Before you leave, put every device on a table and decide what it actually needs. Many travelers can manage with two USB-C cables, one USB-A cable for older gear, and a single charger that handles them all. Label that charger if it serves both laptop and phone so you are less likely to leave it behind.
Keeping cables organized prevents damage and makes packing faster.
Travel Cable Organizer Pouch →
- Keeps cables and chargers in one place.
- Prevents tangling and damage.
- Makes packing and repacking easier.
Separate “hotel” gear from “day bag” gear
Items that live in the room, such as a small power strip, sink stopper, or cable lock, can stay in one packing cube. Things that go out with you every day, such as a phone power bank, compact lock, rain shell, and copy of your passport, belong in another. Keeping the two sets separate cuts down on repacking mistakes and forgotten items.
A small power bank keeps your phone alive when you need it most.
- Backup power for long travel days.
- Small enough for a pocket or day bag.
- Useful in airports, trains, and cities.
Decide what can fail safely
On almost every trip, something will break, go missing, or run out of power. It is better to decide in advance what can fail without turning into a crisis. Keep copies of key reservations and your hotel address offline, and store a photocopy of your passport in a different bag. If your phone dies on a train platform, you still know where you are going and how to pay for a ride.
Keeping key documents accessible even when your phone is dead is critical.
- Stores passport, tickets, and backup documents
- Keeps important info accessible offline
- Reduces risk when devices fail
For country-specific power and adapter information, see the plug type and country guides linked from the Walkabout Travel Gear home page.
Sleep better on long flights
Long flights are easier if you can actually sleep. A supportive travel pillow keeps your head from falling forward and reduces neck strain when the seat does not recline much.
A travel pillow with neck support can make long flights, airport waits, and train rides more comfortable.
- Supports your neck on long flights.
- Helps reduce head-forward sleeping.
- Useful on planes, trains, and airport layovers.
- Compressible designs are easier to pack.
Blast from the Past: Walkabout Travel Tips
From the back cover of a Walkabout Travel Gear catalog from 1996, these reader-submitted tips show how some travel advice stays useful, while others are the equal to dinosaur handling instructions.
Battery Advice
When traveling with battery operated devices -- always start with fresh new batteries, test them in the device they will be used with and THEN leave the batteries in but reverse one. This will assure that the batteries are where they belong and that they won’t be dead when needed.
--Paul Matthews
Make Copies
Make a note of not only the 800 numbers to report stolen credit cards, but the collect numbers as well, because 800 numbers do not work in foreign countries. It is also a good idea to carry one credit card separately from the rest -- in case the others are stolen you’ll still have access to ATM machines, etc.
--Julie Towery
Don’t be a Hunger Artist
Don’t leave home without instant soup, ramen noodles or a can of tuna; you never know when you’ll be stuck somewhere without the correct currency. It may not fill you up completely but it will help tide you over for a while. A small set of camping dishes is also recommended.
--Jeni
Bloody Good Tip
Be aware that ”RH negative” and “O” types are not commonly stored in Mainland China.
--Mary Clark
Extra Photos
Carry extra passport photos. They are required if you lose your passport and it must be reissued.
--Thomas K. Moore
Phoning home from BFE
Find out how to use local telephones before you arrive in a new country. There is often a bewildering array of local codes, city codes, etc., that can turn a phone call into a nightmarish experience, especially if people are waiting in line. (Remember in poor countries public phones are public phones.) Also, some countries (Malta, for example) don’t use coins for their phones, only phone cards. Find what the phone procedures are before you arrive in a strange country.
--Mick Worthen
Shrink Your List
For your postcard list, type just first names, street addresses, and zip codes -- you probably know the last name and the city and it saves space. Then shrink the list on a copy machine to as small you can read it, and laminate it. Takes up just a tiny bit of space.
--Kay Brewer
Die, germs, die
A pocketful of individually wrapped alcohol pads are very handy and don’t take up much space.
--Dik Jensen
Barley pop the perfect food?
One of the safest liquids to drink in developing countries is beer. It is too acidic for microbes to live in. Also, it has very little fat and lots of liquid carbohydrates. In fact, it is liquid bread. To be safe, drink beer constantly.
--Del Hayes
Also good on steaks
When snorkeling or scuba diving, carry a small bottle of meat tenderizer. Meat tenderizer neutralizes jellyfish or Portuguese man-o-war stings.
--JB and Kim Anderson
Better Exchange Rate
You can usually get a better exchange rate by buying stuff with a credit card, rather than exchanging your cash. This is because credit card companies aggregate all their transactions and get a better rate than any one person could.
--Big Bill
Obvious and True
Take as much money as possible.
--Mark Sandstrom
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