Our International Travel Favorites


We officially leave for Iceland this week and we can both hardly contain our excitement! Iceland has been on our bucket list for quite some time and we are so eager to explore this beautiful country. But what’s even better is that we’ll be doing it together (with our husbands too!).Our International Travel Favorites | DIY Playbook

This past weekend was spent gearing up for our big trip and it included lots of packing. We’ve gotten domestic travel down pat, but international travel is a different story! Neither of us have traveled outside of the country too much, so we want to make sure we’re extra prepared when it comes to packing.

Our Favorite International Travel Items

 

Our International Travel Favorites | DIY PlaybookAfter lots of research, and a bit of shopping, we think we’re ready for our big trip to Iceland. Here are some of the items we’re planning to pack with us.

International Travel Favorites

Portable Charger


We’re bringing our DSLR cameras, but we’ll also be using our phones for photos and social media. So a portable charger is a must! We’re planning to keep our portable chargers with us at all times so our phones are always juiced up and ready for action.

Eye Mask


An eye mask is always a good idea when traveling if you want to get some shut eye on the plane. We’ll be flying overnight and landing in Iceland in the morning, so we’re all hoping to sleep as much as possible so we can take advantage of our limited time there. Hopefully, these eye masks help a bit. Also, during this time of year, it’s light out in Iceland for almost 23 hours of the day! That means we’ll definitely be needing some eye masks to get it nice and dark when it’s time for bed. (Plus I’m a sucker for Amazon reviews and this particular mask has almost 2,000 5-star reviews!)

Comfy Leggings


Leggings are on repeat for both of us regardless if we’re traveling or not. But when on the plane, you’ll most likely find both of us donning leggings. Not only are they comfortable for a long flight, but leggings can also act as a compression on your legs so you don’t retain fluid and swell when sitting for such a long time. Plus, leggings are a packing essential for an active trip like Iceland. Casey is planning to bring her favorite Zella pants, while Bridget will pack these new suck-it-all-in leggings from Athleta!

Compact Umbrella


When you’re on vacation, you can’t let a little rain hold up your plans! We recommend always carrying a compact umbrella for all of your international travels. Iceland’s temps right now are in the 50’s & 60’s and there are a few rain days in the forecast. We’re each packing umbrellas for the trip. This one from Amazon has over 600 5-star reviews (#AmazonReviewNerd), and we’re hoping it can combat high winds!

Soft Neutral Sweater


Here’s another one for the plane ride! I (Casey) just got this cardigan from Athleta and I can’t say enough good things about it. It’s oversized, comfy, and goes with anything! It’s quite possibly the softest thing I own, and get this…it has magnets on the collar so you can wrap it around your neck to really get cozy! I plan to don this on the plane and curl up in it like a blanket both for our Iceland trip, and again in the fall when we head to Italy!

Leather Passport Case


You know those people you see at the airport who look totally put-together and chic even when traveling? Well, those people probably have a leather passport case! In order to channel our inner travel expert, the 4 of us all got leather passport holders. Finn has this one, Matt has this one, and we have these. Now we can pretend to be cool travel gurus at the airport even if we’re actually travelers-in-training.

Water Bottle


Buying water abroad can be pricey! And in many countries, the drinking water is actually safe to drink. Apparently, the water in Iceland is actually really tasty and very safe. Save money (& the environment) and pack your own water bottle when traveling abroad. Plus you can fill up the bottle at the airport before your long flight so you stay hydrated for the long trip in the air. We love S’well water bottles because they keep liquids cold for 24 hours! This one with palm leaves is adorable.

Outlet Adapters Our International Travel Favorites | DIY Playbook

After some research, we found out that Iceland’s outlets are a different shape than the ones we use here in the United States. Therefore we need to pack outlet adapters so that we can still use our chargers, blow dryer, straighteners, etc. while we are away. Iceland (and most of Europe) require C adaptersย so we made sure to stock up on a few packages of these so that we can still use those electronics overseas.

GoPro


We plan to bring our GoPro (this is the one we have) with a waterproof case for this particular trip! We’re so excited to bring the camera underwater in the Blue Lagoon. Hopefully, we get some really epic shots. But a GoPro is a cool gadget to bring along during any international travel, because they’re indestructible and you can capture both video and photos.

We have a lot of post-Iceland blog posts planned (what we did, what we packed, trip recap, etc), so if you’re planning your own trip there…we’ll haveย you covered once we return! Now we want to know…is there anything we’re missing from our international travel list? Anything last-minute we should pickup before we leave on Thursday? Thanks in advance for your insight and if you want to follow along on our journey, be sure to follow us on Instagramย and Facebook for updates.

Bridget&Casey

 


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.