Travel go bag: How I speed up packing

Culture Explorer uses affiliate links, including those from Amazon, which are identified using an *. If you buy something through the link at no extra cost to you, Culture Explorer may be paid a commission, which helps to fund running of the site. You can read more about this here.

I absolutely hate packing, which is pretty bad news given I’m a frequent flyer.

I see it as an annoying chore that I have to do before every trip, which I try to put off until the very last minute each time.

Sometimes I’ll even procrastinate until 1am or 2am before an early morning flight.

Fortunately once I get started it takes just 30 minutes, and it’s all thanks to a travel hack that helps to speed up packing for me: the go bag.

What is a go bag?

A go bag is basically a bag of essentials. It’s usually used in cases of emergency, but for me it’s a bag of toiletries and accessories that I can just throw into my luggage.

For me, toiletries are the one thing that I always forget because packing lists are rarely comprehensive in this respect.

So having a go bag ready with all those essentials just means I don’t have to think too hard about what I might be forgetting.

What’s inside my travel go bag

My travel go bag is a toiletries bag that I picked off Amazon. The one I got has actually sold out but this one* is pretty similar.

The important thing is to pick one with big and small compartments that will keep things separate.

It also needs to be made from water-resistant or waterproof fabric to protect the rest of your stuff.

When I put my basic go bag together, I have a “wet” and a “dry” section.

The wet section includes:

• Toothbrush – the Colgate portable toothbrush* has its own protective case
• Toothpaste – I usually stick in a half-finished tube from home
• Face wash – Simple Kind to Skin moisturising facial wash* is cheap and good
• Make up remover – Bioderma Sensibio H2O cleanser* is fantastic
• SPF face cream – Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face SPF50+ Superscreen is excellent
• Night cream – I’m using La Roche-Posay Cicaplast balm B5* right now
• Perfume – I’ve got a refillable spray bottle like this one* to restock with my favourites

The dry section includes:

• Cotton pad – I always scoop up the leftovers from hotel amenity kits
• Cotton buds – ditto
• Hair band – I’ll take a couple as they always break on me or go missing
• Dental floss – Oral B SuperFloss* works for those with braces or bonded retainers
• Dry shampoo – Foamie dry shampoo* comes in multiple shades and is aerosol-free
• Contact lens – I use dailies as they’re most comfortable and always take spares
• Sanitary products – enough for at least two days in case I don’t have time to shop
• Plasters – I take regular ones and cushioned ones for blisters like Compeed*

Go aerosol-free

When it comes to travel toiletries, I always go for the aerosol-free options.

Airlines ban certain aerosol products, and going aerosol-free means I can take my go bag as a carry on item if I need to.

And in places like China, aerosols are even banned on some public transport so it’s just not worth the extra hassle.

Other things to note

I also have a small bag for make up, which changes depending on the trip I’m doing.

Wherever I go, I’ll always include nail clippers, tweezers, eyebrow brush and pencil, and face powder.

And I don’t use deodorant so don’t forget to pack that if you do!

Summer travel go bag additions

If I’m travelling to somewhere hot and sunny, or even tropical, I’ll add a few other items to my basic go bag.

This includes:

• Sunscreen – try the reef-safe Sol de Janeiro Rio Radiance body lotion SPF 50*
• Insect repellant – a pump one is best, like this one from Repel 100*
• Bite and sting relief – Kowa Una Cool anti-itch lotion* is the best I’ve ever tried
• Antihistamine – I sometimes get allergic reactions to insect bites
• Cooling spray – a spray bottle with water works just fine for me

A note on insect repellant: different countries have different rules around the kinds of insect repellants you can take through their borders.

Places like Australia and Chile are big on biosecurity, which means stricter rules on insect repellants too.

So before you go, double check you can take the insect repellant you’ve picked.

Winter travel go bag additions

In winter, my skin gets chapped easily and needs extra care.

The Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant* is what I use for this, and I’ll use it for my face and my hands at the end of the day.

I actually used to use this as a night cream too but it can be a bit too heavy, especially in summer.

For the body, I use NIVEA Soft moisturising cream. It’s super cheap, goes on easily and makes my skin really soft afterwards.

It comes in a big tub so I just decant it into a smaller container for travel.

Other go bag additions

For my day job as a travel writer, I get to stay in some pretty fancy hotels, which mostly have well-stocked amenities kits.

But for more budget-minded trips, I’ll take my own conditioner, as the shampoo provided is usually too harsh.

The Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner* is currently my go-to, and I’ll decant it into a smaller bottle.

If the shampoo is truly terrible, I’ll use my face wash in its place – remember, your scalp is skin too and it’s often more sensitive than you think.

Pin this for later