I always tease my husband because for all the years I’ve known him (and we’re talking over 30 years, when you include friends/dating/marriage), any time he travels, he uses a packing list. I mean, he STILL uses one, even today! And yet HE’S the one who forgot his passport before our most recent cruise and who usually forgets to bring these most important things on most trips.
And OK yeah, I did lose our passports the night before our trip to Japan, but I found them before the flight!
Anyway, apparently Joe and I aren’t the only ones who forget to bring things on vacation. In fact, Americans, in general, tend to forget the same things over and over. Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water commissioned Talker Research to learn what Americans forget the most.
The research company surveyed 2,000 general population Americans online between July 1 and July 8, 2024.
What they discovered
About 90% of their respondents said they’d forgotten something while packing for a trip. These are the top 7 things that Americans tend to forget to bring when they’re on vacation (and if I have any suggestions for them, I included that, as well)
Charger
As attached as we are to our phones, tablets, earbuds and laptops, 34% of us forget to pack chargers for them. This means either buying new ones, borrowing from a hotel if possible, or doing without.
My suggestion: If you travel enough, make yourself what I lovingly call a “Bag O’Wires.” I keep chargers for everything (a second set of them; they all stay in the bag), an 8′ long extension cord, spare batteries for my mouse, etc. When packing my bag, I grab my Bag O’Wires and I’m set.
Toiletries
OK, fess up. How many of you have forgotten to bring deodorant with you on vacation? Your razor? Makeup? Apparently 32% of us forget something, which usually requires buying a replacement.
My suggestion: Similar to my Bag O’Wires, I also carry my Wall of Toiletries (a.k.a.: my WOT. It’s a cloth and plastic thing with a handle and about 8 pockets of varying size, that close with zippers). Again, everything in it is dedicated to the WOT, so I don’t have to worry about taking my perfume from the counter and adding it to the WOT.
A couple of years ago, I made a secondary WOT that doesn’t include liquids, so I can use it if I’m only traveling with a carry-on bag.
Sunscreen
27% of Americans tend to forget to bring sunscreen. You probably weren’t planning on buying yet ANOTHER bottle, but there you go. But it’s either that or an increased risk of skin cancer.
My suggestion: I got nuthin’ – sunscreen is on Joe’s packing list, LOL! Although if I was traveling alone more often, I’d probably just add it to my WOT or would have a small bottle that would go in with my Bag o’ Liquids.
Medication
Having your meds with you is pretty important to most people, yet 18* of those surveyed said they’ve forgotten to bring their medication when they’ve traveled.
My suggestion: If you forget over the counter, you can always buy more. But having to get prescription meds can be a pain (here are the basics of how to do it. And if you’re traveling overseas, don’t forget the common meds that are illegal in some countries).
Socks
According to the survey, 17% of Americans don’t bring enough socks with them when they’re on vacation. Who knew???
My suggestion: When I figure out what I’m going to wear each day, I grab a pair of socks to go with each outfit (and I usually take one more pair of socks, usually white, just in case we’re delayed by a day). If that’s not how you pack, I suppose you can just wash a pair of socks in the sink? Or buy some more socks…you can never have too many pairs of socks (said she who’s something of a sock collector LOL).
A water bottle
In an effort to help the environment, many people choose to bring refillable water bottles with them when they travel instead of buying individual bottles of water. Unfortunately, 14% of us forget to bring a water bottle.
Wallet
I suppose if Joe could forget his passport before going on a cruise, people can forget to bring their wallets, too. According to the survey, apparently 8% of us do. Happily, that’s not a huge amount. But really, from having more difficulty getting on planes, to not being able to rent a car, to having no credit cards, to potentially not being able to buy alcohol, forgetting your wallet would kinda suck.
Other fun facts
Talker Research’s survey gleaned some other interesting facts about Americans when they travel; you can read it all on this page of their website.
Your turn
Have you ever forgotten to bring something important while you were traveling? Go ahead…we’re all friends here; post it in the replies.
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4 comments
I have started using single-use, tear-open packets of insect repellent and sunscreen. Unlike small bottles, they don’t leak and you don’t have to worry about the 3 ounce rule.
I would have guessed an int’l converter for those countries that don’t use type A or type B plugs. And a jacket for cooler weather.
A small make-up mirror especially on a cruise ship..and a nite light for the bathroom so you do not need to keep the bright light on all night.
Medication is a big one. I used to work in Times Square and we saw more patients with forgotten or LOST medications (dont check them with the airline please) than I care to remember. That said, traveling with health issues can be difficult. My wife is a Type 1 diabetic on insulin pump and cgm therapy. She never forgets her pump (its attached) or the tubing, admin sets, etc, etc but sometimes things go wrong. When traveling on the Big Island of Hawaii (a place with which we were very familiar and felt like second home so we were never nervous about not having access to care/needs) her pump threw an error code and straight up failed. Mind you, if this goes down, unless she comes up with some other way to administer insulin, she dies. We called Medtronic support (who were fantastic) and ensured us a replacement pump (it was under warranty) would be sent straight away. They usually use the most expensive shipping there is (next day morning delivery – even if its late) when sending emergency replacements. Except because we were in Hawaii and in a rural part of the state, even after checking with all the major carriers and even DHL (not common in the US but worth a shot) the best they could do on this Friday evening was getting the replacement to us by Tuesday, next. She filled her backup rx’s and went on old school injections until then.
This experience led us to ask about how to avoid this issue in the future or what if, for example, we traveled internationally or on a cruise where getting a replacement to us would be even more difficult?! Well they had an answer for that. For international, cruise, or not on the US mainland travel, you could ask for a “travel loaner backup pump” in advance. A week or two before you departed you made the request and they shipped a backup pump to your home (most likely a warranty refurb) in a sealed box with a return tag. You took it with you on your trip and upon your return, sent it back with the included prepaid carrier tag. They confirmed your travel dates and you had 30 days to return it upon your return or be charged. Likewise, if the pump in the sealed box was opened, you were charged for it. It was a great way of having solid piece of mind when you rely on a very delicate and EXPENSIVE piece of medical technology. I dont completely recall but there was either no charge for it or the charge was minimal (<$100) for the peace of mind it gave.