The Great Hunt: What's on your get-before-you-go holiday checklist?

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  • happyinflorida
    happyinflorida Posts: 807 Forumite
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    Medicines!

    I take half a carrier bag full of "essential" medicines - so we won't need to go to a GP abroad as they cost a fortune!

    I take antibiotics, loads of pain killers, anti inflamatories (I've needed them before!), and bottles of kaolin & morphine - best thing I know for when you get the holiday stomach upset with diarrhea and stomach cramps, it cures it within 20 minutes! - elastoplast, bandage, sling

    You may think it's too much but I'd rather err on the side of caution and have it all to hand should the need arise! It's all come in use and is my absolute holiday essential.
  • balletshoes
    balletshoes Posts: 16,610 Forumite
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    a little ziplock bag with coffee in, (and another with washing powder, if we're going on a sunshine holiday). I buy my toiletries and suncreams in the UK and pack them.

    Books or ebooks are a must for me.
  • arthurdick
    arthurdick Posts: 3,649 Forumite
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    Doshwaster wrote: »
    My list is: passport, credit card... and that's it.
    same as, plus cash, shorts,sunglasses, camera, sandals & t-shirts.
    Corduroy pillows are making headlines! Back home in London now after 27years wait! Duvet know it's Christmas, not original, it's a cover.
  • zagfles
    zagfles Posts: 20,357 Forumite
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    balletshoes wrote: »
    a little ziplock bag with coffee in
    Tea I can understand but not coffee! Virtually every country in the world has better coffee than us - I usually bring coffee home :)
  • Kittenonthekeys
    Kittenonthekeys Posts: 314 Forumite
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    Opticrom allergy eye drops!
    I get really itchy eyes on holiday and it costs a fortune, eg in France, if I forget to bring it with me.
    I buy mine in Superdrug and it costs about a fiver. It was more than twice that last year in a French pharmacy so I won't be forgetting it again!
    Paracetemol also seems to cost a fortune abroad, so I always make sure I pack some.
    And as others have said, sun lotion - I just get the cheapest I can find as I think they do the same job as the expensive ones - I like the Sainsburys Basics Sun Lotion which costs about £2.50.
  • Kittenonthekeys
    Kittenonthekeys Posts: 314 Forumite
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    happyinflorida wrote: »
    Medicines!

    I take half a carrier bag full of "essential" medicines - so we won't need to go to a GP abroad as they cost a fortune!

    I take antibiotics, loads of pain killers, anti inflamatories (I've needed them before!), and bottles of kaolin & morphine - best thing I know for when you get the holiday stomach upset with diarrhea and stomach cramps, it cures it within 20 minutes! - elastoplast, bandage, sling

    You may think it's too much but I'd rather err on the side of caution and have it all to hand should the need arise! It's all come in use and is my absolute holiday essential.

    Where can you get kaolin & morphine? I agree it was brilliant but I haven't seen any around since I was a kid. Do they keep it - ahem - 'under the counter?' and you have to tip them the wink?
    :cool:
    And have you ever had any problems taking it through customs overseas (the morphine element...?)
  • balletshoes
    balletshoes Posts: 16,610 Forumite
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    zagfles wrote: »
    Tea I can understand but not coffee! Virtually every country in the world has better coffee than us - I usually bring coffee home :)

    thing is though, I don't need a whole jar of the stuff, and I like my own brand, so I just bring a little with me - takes up no room in my case, and it means i'm prepared for my mornings with no hassle :).
  • brizesaver
    brizesaver Posts: 29 Forumite
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    edited 2 July 2014 at 7:28PM
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    balletshoes wrote: »
    a little ziplock bag with coffee in, (and another with washing powder, .
    Be careful taking any white powder in hand luggage as it could easily be mistaken for something else! Bought coffee whitener in a plastic bag to Italy once, it was confiscated as no way to prove what it was and I could have been delayed if they had felt in a mood..

    Better off taking a bit of washing liquid in a small container.
    I also always take a bit of curtain cord and half a dozen clothes pegs. Useful for all sorts of things, not only a temporary washing line in the bathroom.


    All medicine seems to be hideously expensive abroad, so a big saving to buy paracetamol, ibuprofen and anti histamine here. Got 2 x 30 tablets of certirizine online yesterday= £1.65 including postage.
    Never travel without earplugs - in Italy in the pharmacy they were about 5 euro a pair a couple of years ago. I can get 20 pairs here online for the same money and they are the same brand.
    Oh, I could go on, but I won't!
  • pollypenny
    pollypenny Posts: 29,394 Forumite
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    A fully loaded kindle!
    Member #14 of SKI-ers club

    Words, words, they're all we have to go by!.

    (Pity they are mangled by this autocorrect!)
  • jonny7227
    jonny7227 Posts: 19 Forumite
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    More a tip rather than last minute purchase....
    Use one foreign adaptor (I actually changed the plug) on a UK 4-socket extension lead so it will fit the sockets in the country you will be visiting.
    You then have 4 x UK sockets to charge all your phones and other gadgets. Watch out you don't overload the socket though.
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