Young adventurers like myself take a vacation every chance we get. I have personally had the amazing opportunities to go to beautiful states such as California, the Carolinas, Florida, and more, as well as being able to go abroad and visit other countries and enjoy their fascinating history. Through all of my traveling, I have found a few essential items I make sure to always carry with me…

1. Chap Stick:

Whether you are flying or driving, Chap Stick is an essential travel item. With the change in temperatures when in a plane, and the stops while driving, Chap Stick is a must. I personally love the EOS balls, and the Nivea moisturizing lip balm.

2. Lotion:

Same idea, you need it!

3. Sunscreen:

This is mostly for when you arrive at your destination. But if you pack it in your suitcase, and you go right to the beach or to the lake, you could be SOL the first day without it and start your vacay off red as a lobster.

4. Hand sanitizer:

With so many people going in and out of airports, planes and gas station bathrooms, I always bring hand sanitizer for my own sanity sake. It might not be 100 percent effective, but hey, at least I know that it's working a little bit if anything.

5. Comfy pants/shoes/T-shirts:

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS wear comfy clothes on long rides. Never think that you can “just deal” in those jeans, or tight tee shirt for a four-hour flight to eight-hour drive to the beach. Wear your most comfy leggings or sweats, a loose T-shirt and comfortable shoes. My go-to outfit for airports are my VS leggings, a tee shirt from my college, and my newest Chacos (if you don't have a pair, I HIGHLY recommend them).

6. Sweatshirt:

Airplanes get freezing once they hit altitude, and I am consistently cold as is, so I always carry a sweatshirt or North Face jacket with me. Even on family vacations driving in the car, my dad always has it at 62 degrees (hello tundra in July).

7. Small blanket/blanket scarf:

Same idea, I am always cold and everything around me is even colder.

8. Notebook:

I like to carry a notebook with me, or a small journal with my nice sharpie pens. I like to doodle on the car rides or plane rides, jot down ideas I have for my trip, or write letters to family and friends while on vacation. It gives me something to do to keep me busy.

9. Novel:

Vacation is the perfect time to read! You can start that series you always wanted to and, if you're a fast enough reader, you might be able to finish it in the week you're gone! With technology these days, you can download it to your phone or iPad so you don't even need to carry around a paperback novel with you the entire time either.

10. Emergency credit card:

When I was abroad, I had a prepaid credit card with like $400 on it. But that would do me 0 good if anything bad were to happen and I need to get something quickly...like an emergency flight home, or to pay a hospital bill (God forbid anything like that happen). So I recommend having an emergency credit card on hand for those just in case moments. Even if you borrow a parent’s credit card for the week just to have it for those “what if” moments...

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11. Portable phone charger:

People are always on their phones in airports, and when driving in the car, to listen to music or check the weather at their future destination or just to browse Facebook. Bring a portable phone charger so you can stay connected, and you don't have to be one of those people who have to stand near an outlet at all times

12. Headphones/iPod/saved music to phone:

Headphones and music are a godsend when on long rides, especially when traveling alone. I have Spotify Premium and the ability to download music to a playlist before my trip, so it's saved to my phone is amazing! I don't have to worry about the Wifi working to using all my data for the month.

13. Gum/mints:

Every flyer knows that gum is a must have when ascending and descending on the plane. It helps to keep your ears in less pain from the constant air pressure change.

14. “Freshen up” kit (makeup, toothbrush, undies, etc):

This is something I learned after experience with various traveling i have done. This is definitely something that comes in handy far more often than you would normally think. Bringing some extra baby wipes to clean up after a long flight, some make up to touch up those sleepy eyes after napping for four hours in the car, and a toothbrush to just feel fresh again is amazing. I also tend to pack an easy outfit in my carry on bag with an extra pair of underwear. This is so if I want to change after I get off my plane, I can before heading to baggage claim. And also, I have at least one day's worth of clean clothes if my bag did get lost on its way to my destination.

15. Watch:

I am late to everything, so I consistently need to know what time it is every where I am. When I get one plane and have to turn my phone off, it freaks me out not knowing how long we have been flying because I can't check my phone! So now I always wear a watch to keep track of it! Those of you with Fit Bits know how awesome they are for many reasons, one being the step counter and that it doubles as a watch as well in the newer versions!

16. Plastic baggies:

This may seem a bit silly…but I promise it's so helpful. I carry four to five extra sandwich size baggies in my carry on always. They are so small they take up zero rom basically and they come in handy too! If i have some chips left over from my airport snack, I can zip them up in here! If my hand sanitizer bottle looks like it might crack, I put it on a baggie so it won't spill over everything else. They are so so useful!

17. Prepackaged snacks:

Bringing a few small bags of prepackaged trail mix, peanuts, Cheez-Its, etc. is so smart! Airport food is expensive and if you just want a small, you are out of luck sometimes! The airport will let you bring these prepackaged ones with you through security as long as they have not been previously opened. Also on car rides, they are an awesome idea so you don't have to stop every time just one person gets a bit hungry!

I hope these tips were helpful to you all! Happy travels, and I wish you the best on your next adventure!