Thinking of heading down under? There are a few travel essentials that you must have, but may forget, to give yourself the best travelling experience!
Australia Travel Essentials
1. Waterproof phone case
If you're planning on coming into contact with water at some point during your holiday, a waterproof phone case becomes essential.
No matter if you go snorkelling at the beach or kayaking across a river, your phone will stay protected, leaving you to take as many pictures to post online as you like.
The best cases to get are the ones that have a lanyard attached so you can take it around with you by your neck. They’re really cheap and the pictures will not be affected by the clear plastic. Just don’t purposely drop it in the water though.
For those of you wanting to get a selfie in the Great Barrier Reef but don’t want to fork out on a new waterproof camera, this is a must!
2. Adaptable Australian adapter
With a great number of selfies comes the need for a lot of battery. For all those holiday pictures and videos you’ll likely take, you’ll be using your phone a lot, meaning it requires a lot of charging. Taking a portable charger with you will give you enough power to last the day.
However, this will then need charging itself and so you’ll need an adapter to adapt to the local power sources. Travelling from the UK especially, countries abroad will not have the right plugs for you to charge up your electronic devices.
Maybe even look at getting a universal adapter so if you go travelling somewhere else later on in life, you’ll be prepared.
3. Reef-Safe Sunscreen
Not all sunscreens are created equally. Because of how precious the Great Barrier Reef is, special protection has been created to keep you safe from the sun and preserve the habitat.
It’s important for the health of the aquatic environment that you wear sunscreen that’s free of damaging chemicals. In fact, in some places it’s mandatory that the sunscreen you wear (and you WILL need to wear sunscreen – the sun in Australia is incredibly strong) be reef safe to avoid causing damage to the already fragile aquatic ecosystem.
Even if you’re not going to the famous Great Barrier Reef, you’ll likely be doing activities that involve the ocean, and you don’t want to leave chemical residue in the water wherever you go.
Make sure you have a read through these 30 Green Travel Tips to help you travel more sustainably.
.
4. Water bottle
You should be taking sunscreen out with you everywhere in Australia and you’re probably aware of this but in case you didn’t, Australia is hot! In the summer, temperatures can reach high into the late 20s and 30s so it’s vital to keep hydrated as well as smothered in sunscreen. Invest in your own water bottle because not only do they save you money, as you won’t need to continue to buy plastic bottles, they're much better for the environment and they keep your water cold.
However, don’t get a regular water bottle that will take up loads of room in your bag. Instead, get a crushable water bottle. When empty, they can turn almost completely flat, saving valuable space for other travelling necessities.
5. Medicine / First Aid Kit
The Australian environment is probably like nothing like you’ve ever experienced.
Allergens and pollen are surprisingly tough to adapt to in Australia, so it’s best to remember to pack some non-drowsy allergy medicine so that you don’t have to spend your best travel days sniffling and sneezing.
Likewise, jet lag is a fierce foe when you’re on the opposite side of the world from home so its highly recommend packing some natural jet lag remedies to counteract its effects. Use it before and at the beginning of your trip and you’ll arrive feeling readier to dive right in to exploring!
.
6. Activated charcoal
Staying on the medical theme, activated charcoal is another thing you’ll need to take with you when going to Australia but is easily forgotten.
A combination of jet lag, new food, and a new environment seems to be a recipe for digestive upset. Almost every traveller has experienced traveller’s diarrhoea at some point – if you haven’t, it’s not a fun way to spend your trip.
Activated charcoal helps tremendously with this problem, and serves as a great remedy for food poisoning, should that be something you encounter during your travels.
7. Sarong
DO NOT go to Australia without a sarong. They have so many uses you’ll feel lost without one.
They can be used for a beach cover-up, a privacy screen, an emergency towel, a cover for a questionable pillow, and a lightweight blanket while on the road. These thin, colourful items are so handy. If that’s not enough, they are incredibly easy to store so it’s highly recommended to bring one or two on your trip.
.
8. Quick dry towel
If you intend on doing a bit of exploring in Australia, packing a wet towel into your backpack every other day gives bacteria a helping hand that it doesn’t need. Thankfully, microfibre towels have made this aspect of travelling much better.
Travel towels are even better at soaking up the water and then drying out quickly. They pack down tiny too unlike beach and bath towels which will fill up, and weigh down, your backpack so storing luggage doesn’t become too difficult.
The fabric may seem a bit strange at first but you’ll get used to it. An absolute must have backpacking holiday accessory.
9. Travel insurance
Finally, don’t go anywhere without buying some travel insurance before you go. This is something that can often be forgotten by travellers and tourists but if anything unexpected happens, you’ll be covered.
Experienced travellers will let you know how important it is to expect the worst and make sure you are protected. Look to get yourself covered for medical, theft and emergency cover so your mind will be at ease.
Get in touch with a travel insurance provider to get coverage for your trip!
Author: After graduating in journalism and media, Sophie started working for Stasher as head of content. Sophie loves travelling, has been around Croatia and has also travelled through most of Western and some of Eastern Europe. Sophie's most important travel accessory is headphones!
