Joby Gorillapod- This little 6” tripod is the perfect size to carry with your digital camera. Its design makes it adaptable to a variety of situations. Recently, we used our Gorillapod to take photos of us by the ocean and in the rainforest when there was no one around to snap a picture. It is also great to use when taking photographs that require a steady hand like low light and nighttime scenes.Sarongs- I’ve long been using sarongs as beach cover-ups and casual skirts but on our recent trip, I discovered another use. We were gone for 10 days and needed to do some laundry. We made laundry bags by wrapping our clothes in sarongs, tying the corners and carrying them to the nearby laundromat. We washed the sarongs with everything else and packed our clean folded clothes in them for the way back.
Carry-on Size Backpacks- Traveling carry-on only is made easier by eliminating the long handles and wheels and instead carrying a backpack style suitcase. We discovered that our backpacks were great when traveling over broken sidewalks and cobblestone streets, as well. I use the Jansport Weekaway and J uses the eBags Weekender. Both have straps that can convert them to a duffel-type bag and are a roomy but manageable size that fit into airplane overhead bins. Skipping the luggage claim is great!
Packing Cubes- When traveling carry-on only, organization is essential. Various size packing cubes make organization much easier. I use two medium, two small and two slim packing cubes with my Jansport Weekaway. These cubes hold a lot of stuff! For my most recent trip to Puerto Rico, I needed to pack a variety of clothing options because we were going to enjoy a wide range of activities from touring a historic city to hiking up a waterfall to enjoying nightlife. The cubes kept everything organized, somewhat like mini drawers within my suitcase.
