If you want to be a travel influencer there are a number of things you can’t possibly live without. You don’t want to travel to the other side of the world and realise you’ve forgotten your most important piece of kit. We’ll tell you what you need to always have with you.
Summary: 5 Minutes read, Level: Beginner
A travel influencer can’t just stuff a few things in an overnight bag and board a plane. There is a lot of planning that needs to go into any trip and a lot of items that are essential to the travel influencer. We cover all the bases and give you a handy checklist for what you need to have with you at all times.
The single most important item for any travel influencer is their bag or suitcase. You will be transporting a lot of high tech and quite expensive equipment with you and the last thing you want is for any of it to be damaged. A good, sturdy suitcase is essential. Your baggage will be handled, often not with much care, at both ends of your journey at airports and the contents need to be safe. Any kind of hard-bodied suitcase is fine for this, just don’t buy a case that’s made of soft fabric.
If you prefer to carry your bag on to the plane this is less important, but you will need to make sure that it is no bigger than the airline permits. Every airline has different rules for the size of a bag that can be carried on to a plane and you will need to research in order to make sure you don’t have a bag that’s too big. In the event that that happens, your carry on bag may be placed in the hold and there is a risk of equipment damage.
A travel influencer also needs a sturdy shoulder bag for carrying equipment round when they get to their destination.
Travel influencers need to update websites and blogs while they are away. It is fully possible to do this from your mobile phone, but for longer posts you will need to be able to type things out in a more conventional manner. Many hotels offer computer areas with internet access and you’ll also find internet cafes and libraries that are willing to accommodate you, but what if you’re somewhere more remote? And what if you prefer to stretch out on a comfortable bed while you work? Luckily there are a number of laptop and tablet solutions that don’t cost the earth. Ideally you should get yourself a keyboard attachment for your tablet too and if you opt for a laptop, choose a smaller model that is less bulky to carry.
Depending on what you do as a travel influencer you might also want a webcam for vlogging
No travel influencer would dream of not taking a few photographs to accompany their blog post or website article. Luckily most mobile phones take excellent pictures nowadays and there is no need to invest in a separate digital camera unless you’re a real pro. If you do choose to buy a camera there are many very good models available for less than $100. Don’t forget a lead to enable you to attach your phone or camera to your laptop so you can upload all the great pictures you take.
They might be cursed by many, but the selfie stick is the friend of the travel influencer. A selfie stick means you can get great shots of you standing in front of prominent tourist attractions or with a backdrop of beautiful scenery without having to ask a passerby to snap it for you. And in some cases, the innocent passerby has run off with a person’s camera and that’s the last thing you want to happen.
Even if you are just using your phone for photographs, a tripod is another must-have. It will ensure your device is held steadily while you take a picture and there are many travel tripods which fold up quite small and can be stowed in the bottom of a medium sized bag.
A Bluetooth camera shutter remote control is another piece of kit a travel influencer might want to invest in and they can be bought from numerous places online for less than $20.
This can be the undoing of many a travel influencer when visiting another country – the plugs don’t fit in the sockets. You need to make sure you have an international adaptor in order to be able to charge or operate your devices. Have enough of them so you can change multiple items at once too.
Also make sure you have an adaptor for every single piece of kit you have with you – no travel influencer wants to find that they can’t charge their phone, camera or laptop when thousands of miles from home.
A surge protector is a great purchase for charging and operating multiple pieces of equipment at once and is a real help for any travel influencer.
Also a spare laptop battery and phone battery are great ideas in case you find yourself somewhere where charging is difficult or impossible. A chargeable powerpack is another great idea. These devices enable a travel influencer to recharge their phone or laptop between one and two times and are an absolute boon when you are nowhere near a power source.
And that’s how to become a blogger. You’ll need to put the time in, but it’ll ultimately be worth it when your follower numbers go through the roof and you’ve got people hanging on your every word. You might even need to start disguising yourself when you go out in public!