Must haves on holiday

Never holiday abroad, but if I did, I wouldn't take anything special with me

Usually self cater in the UK and my must have item is a decent sized mug. No idea why the people we rent/hire from only ever provide thimbles to drink out of. I like a proper mug.

I have a "going away box" that I keep topped up. It has cooking oil, salt and pepper, tin foil, ketchup/HP, sharp knives, decent frying pan/wok. Things I don't need a lot of for a week's stay, and don't want to have to buy a "whole of" whilst away.

I take cappachino sachets, teabags and a carton,of long life milk, never enough in those little pots they give you in hotels. Also take Rich tea bics to have first thing in morning or last thing at night.

As I am coeliac, take gluten free packs of porridge and gf biscuits.

Why a toilet seat cover? I'm intrigued! Usually fine in an hotel. In a public loo all you need is a quick wipe with some loo paper. Now you do need to take loo paper to some countries eg china and parts of Africa!
We usually take tea bags for our morning cuppa and sometimes cereal bars in case we are starving! We have a water boiler but don't usually need it. Best to find out first if there will be a kettle.

I take everything with me. We have a caravan and it's the same as home except different locations.
If I were to choose a hotel or similar I wouldn't take my stuff with me.

The hotel beds in Greece on our holiday were absolutely fine! If you think Greece is basic, try China!

We go touring so yes we take everything, except the sink as its there{smile}

A couple of bottles of my favourite wine. It says a lot about me doesn't it.

I do take tea bags and our favourite coffee to America as their tea is awful and you only get large jars of coffee. One thing I do take everywhere is an extension lead with space for 4 or 5 plugs. That way you only need one plug converter . Of course we always come back from our visits to England with lots of teabags and our favourite decaff coffee to name but a few things.

Leah, I have been a backpacker and also carried cup-a-soup with me. Its really handy when you are in some out of the way place with limited for available. I use to add cooked rice to mine as that was always available. Australia has really tough laws on what food you can bring in.

No must haves in my bags, I like to support local food & drink wherever I go. Was rather surprised at Sydney Airport some years ago when the backpacking Brit guys in front of us at Immigration had all their Cup-A-Soups & Herbal Tea Bags confiscated.....not sure how that was a threat to the Australian environment!

I'm not good in heat, so we tend to self cater off season in the UK.
I take my pillow, sharp chefs knives, salt and pepper in grinders, my small frying pan, my small ceramic coffee grinder, coffee beans and if the rental doesn't have one, a small cafetiere, and recently my Instant Pot too!
I hate trying to sleep on a strange pillow, knives in holiday rentals are always cheap and blunt, only like freshly ground S&P, no point getting wonderful fresh laid eggs without a good pan to fry them in, and the Instant Pot is worth its weight in gold!
Oh, and I detest instant coffee

We tale tea bags, coffee and sweeteners for early morning or late night brews on the balcony. We also take Mugs! Christmas mugs come to Lanzarote each November and we always leave them for someone else (or the cleaner. )

Always take a large jar of decaf coffee with me.

Yorkshire t bags to all the places I visited so far. And also milk sticks to some.
I will be going to Australia soon and anxious about taking in t.bags there as I believe they are very particular ?

We always take chargers and gang leads. my brother used to take a Phillips head screwdiver.

Greek accommodation is most definitely basic but always clean (in my (many) experiences.) However, my pillow is always the first thing I pack into my suitcase.

nettyandmaseyDid you also hear (on Radio 2) the lady who took her deep fat fryer on a cruise?
And do we believe her?

Always take a few tea bags when staying in hotels as there are never enough plain tea bags and it saves waiting half an hour when extras requested from housekeepinhg.

Please don’t laugh but this year I took a lightweight mattress topper to greece because greek accommodation is fairly basic and I’ve had my holiday ruined by sore bones. I know the risks of contamination and but I’m willing to take the risk and loose some clothing space. Like a lot of you I always take a few teabags. I like to sit with a cuppa first thing in the morning and soak up the view and the warm sun. I’m fine with the local mountain tea, beer, or ouzo the rest of the day. If your not a tea drinker Pjkoctur I wouldn’t recommend starting with builders tea which is quite a strong brew perhaps try a milder brand.

The only thing I used to take was a pillow cover after an experience of a sweaty smelling pillow.

No ....no need ! when we lived in Menorca, the small local supermarket stocked English Tea bags, biscuits, salad cream and lots of other things ....so the holidaymakers could buy them ! Why cart all that stuff with you .....wouldn't want to pay excess baggage for a tea bag !!

Pjkoctur As Sarahellen says, one man's nice "cuppa" would be someone else's "Gut varnish" (which is what my father used to call very strong or stewed tea).

Try "English Breakfast Tea" which you should be able to get in the States - and see if you find that strong enough, too strong or just right.

'Builder's Tea' really just means a good powerful brew of any typical everyday tea such as Typhoo or PG tips.....calling it Builders means its been stood in the pot (or mug) for a good five minutes before you drink it!
All the builders I've ever known also tend to have whole milk and two sugars as well!

I live abroad, GabriallaG, so by your standards, I ought to have lost a load of weight over the past 40 years! Of course, there are people who come from where I live and go to the UK, which, to them, is abroad, and are very dubious about drinking the water or eating salads, etc.

Which seat do you cover with the plastic? The loo seat or the actual seat you are sitting on ?

Pjkocktur. There is no best. Its as we Brits say. 'one man's meat is another's poison'. Not literally I must add.