It’s only natural for you to want to focus on the absolute essentials first when you’re travelling, especially if you’re a frequent traveller who perhaps goes on more than two trips per year. As much as a traveller such as a backpacker might want to travel as light as possible, there are some nifty little travel accessories you probably need but didn’t even know you needed them.

A Compact Travel Pillow

This makes for quite the precarious travel accessory to have to consider because it’s mostly a case of out of sight, out of mind. You don’t quite remember that you need a compact travel pillow when you have some money in your pocket and you’re busy with a bit of shopping, but you do remember when you actually need it in the moment, like when you’re starting to feel a bit of neck strain sitting in Economy Class on a long-haul flight!

Get one – it will be useful in more ways than one, such as perhaps when you’re in a long distance bus as well and you need to get some shut-eye.

Password-Locked Luggage Protector Strap

If you were paranoid about getting some illicit items planted in your luggage, I’d probably tell you that you were watching way too many episodes of Banged Up Abroad, Border Security and others like that, but then again you can never be too careful as a traveller. Travellers who have a fear for checking-in some of their luggage consequently choose to travel light and roll only with the carry-on luggage they can enter the cabin with. The protector strap will do more than just keep the contents of your checked-in luggage safe, but will also give you the peace of mind of knowing that you can point to some physical evidence if needs be, should there be some tampering with your luggage.

Haha, nobody is going plant drugs in your luggage…

First-Aid Kit

This might seem like an obvious inclusion, but you’ll be surprised at just how many frequent travellers even overlook the importance of a first-aid kit. Trust me, you’d rather go your entire life as a traveller not having needed to use your first-aid kit than to discover in the moment when you most need it that you do indeed need it. Go for one of those ones which are especially marked as adventure first-aid kits, because by design they take into account the very factor that you probably don’t want to carry one around in the first place to add to your luggage.

International Travel Adapter

Some countries or perhaps your country in relation to others have some really weird power outlet sockets, so you’d best be prepared with your own international travel adapter. You can get it at a travel accessories store and it’s a purchase you’ll only ever have to make once in your life to make the rest of your life on the road that much more convenient. Sure, it probably won’t fit in every single power outlet socket in the world, but it’ll fit most and for those it doesn’t fit you’ll probably be able to get a local solution a lot cheaper than normal, because it’ll probably be a very special case.