What did you wish you'd packed?
 

Hi - My husband and I are heading for a 3 week driving tour of Ireland and Scotland at the end of this month and are trying to get our packing lists together. We're renting a car in both places and staying in mostly B&B's during our trip. I was looking for advice from other travellers on what we might want to pack (besides clothing,etc). For example, I'd read somewhere that some B&B type places may not provide washcloths, so we should bring some with us. Was there anything you wish you'd thought to bring from home that you didn't realize until you were there?

Thanks!

Someone who can translate?

Seriously, I always bring a "travellers" dictionary for translations. It can be very helpful.

och hoots mon it's nay that bad

Decent rain gear, if you're planning on doing any amount of walking. A windbreaker and some waterproof shoes should be fine. I had neither when I went hiking in the wet in Scotland and I ended up regretting it.

One thing I've been glad I packed is an extension cord. It has come in handy on two trips to Europe, since I had the brainstorm to bring it along. How many times is the outlet too far from the mirror, and it's impossible to see when styling your hair?
In our bathroom in Nice, for instance, the outlet said clearly that it was only for shavers, not hair appliances, so I couldn't plug in anywhere in the bathroom. Without the extension cord, I wouldn't have been able to plug in my hair dryer in the room and be able to stand in front of the mirror to use it.

My back scratcher. The eraser end of a pencil just isn't the same.

Washcloths, yes. I learned that after the first trip.

I need reading glasses to see just about anything more than arm's length away. I travel with a VERY small purse, basically a wallet on a string, that doesn't hold a pair of glasses. I wished I had brought two pairs, one to leave in the car (I was chief map-reader) and one to leave in the B&B; that way I would have always had a pair where I needed them.

We did have two (identical) maps with us -- and one of them always stayed in the car and one in the B&B.

I bought a battery recharger that would work in the car off the cigarette lighter. It's not that big and it's a lot cheaper than buying more batteries.

I've also learned to take more memory cards for my camera than I think I'll need. This time, it was my father who ran out, so I gave him my extra card.

A porter to carry my bags. Seriously you will be able to buy anything you need except for prescription meds. Make sure you have comfy shoes. Call your credit card company and inform them of the date of your trip so they won't flag your transactions as fraudulent. When you arrive buy an inexpensive pay as you go phone with a low rate for overseas calls.

If you wear glasses, take a spare pair. Not being able to see would seriously ruin a trip for me. I forgot the extras one time and ended up with patched together glasses because I lost the tiny screw needed. They set on my nose funny, etc. PJK

If I know I'm going to be staying in B&Bs most of the time, I either pack a bottle of shampoo-plus-conditioner (Pert is good!) or I toss in those tiny bottles of shampoo I scarfed up from previous hotel stays.

A small but good flashlight is valuable, not only for finding your way home over cobblestones in a very rural town at midnight but for visiting castles and churches in daytime that don't have good lighting.

Earplugs are worth having. So is your own alarm clock. And wherever I am staying, I pack LARGE as well as medium sized bandaids for the inevitable blisters.

I do take most of the things listed here, but when I saw your header:

What did you wish you'd packed?

I just wanted to type the word, "less"

We always travel with one rolling carry on each, and the bag is about 19 inches. And I never, and I do mean never, come home without clean things in the bag that I haven't worn.

Less

If you wear prescription glasses an extra pair of them for sure. I was in Italy and had brought two pair of glasses. But while travelling around Italy left one pair at my friends house and only had one pair of glasses with me. And the very first night the lense fell out of the glasses. Oh horrors! A Saturday night and I had to wait until Monday afternoon to have the lense reinsterted (probably some people would know how but I didn't). Not fun!!

And a small travel flashlight is something I always have in my carryon.

Most things one can buy if they have forgotten to pack them.

I am confused regarding an extension cord. If one needed one in that electrical outlets are different in Europe than in the US would not the extension cord need the adaptor and that "other thing" that converts the electricity..can't think of the name of it. I never pack anything that requires use of electricity so I don't know.

But I agree with tuscanlifeedit, the less packed the better. Except for a second pair of prescription glasses and any prescription medications of course.

The extension cord simply allows you more distance from the outlet, like when it's behind the bed headboard, or under the desk, or there's only one outlet in the doorway 10 feet away, etc. You can use the converter/adaptor set-up as usual, at the outlet.

Always, no matter where you are, have a pen or pencil at the ready to write. So many times I have ended up searching and not finding and been frustrated by that. That is one of my most important packing tips.

Thanks for the explination MaureenB, I never take any electrical appliances with me when I travel so I was curious.

Laclarie, a pen and a small notepad, that is absolutely necessary imho.

I was glad I brought a little bottle of hand sanitizer. It really came in handy when my husband filled up our rental car and got the smell of the gasoline on his hands. I was also thrilled I had some over-the-counter allergy medication with me since I could hardly breathe the first week we were in Scotland. I was told that an unusual cloud of pollen had come over from Denmark and even people who normally don't suffer were having allergy attacks.

I love my small (under 3" square) pop out lighted magnifying glass and forget it on my trip to London. I also forget a mailing tube for posters or artwork. Not to mail it but to protect it.

I definitely second the vote for shampoo/conditioner, etc if you are stying in B&Bs. Never even crossed my mind until I was stepping in to the shower on the first morning. Thankfully, DH is always prepared with the ones he collects on business trips!

small, packaged snacks of some type you really like. If you are doing a driving tour, a package of fruit snacks or peanut butter crackers could make a difference where you stop for lunch :) Also, we pack small pieces of chocolate for my mom, who is very tiny and has low blood sugar, and must have something to eat every two hours.

More bandaids and foot cushioning

Also, cooling spray---I saw tons of it in London, but wish I had brought some myself.