Summer’s in full swing and lots of folks are hearing the call of the open road. Whether you’re taking a trip you’ve been planning for months or escaping for a spur-of-the-moment weekend getaway, what you pack can make or break your trip. Depending on where you’re going, you may need a bathing suit, hiking boots, your bike helmet, or dressy clothes for a fancy restaurant. But no matter where you’re headed, these travel essentials will serve you well:
- Face Masks: If you’re fully vaccinated, you may not be wearing face masks as much these days, but it’s good to have some on hand for places that require them. Bring two for each person in your family; masks have a habit of heading off to the same mysterious place where lost socks go.
- Hand Sanitizer: Did the pandemic make you realize how germy your little paws are? Obsessive handwashing is a good habit to keep in the now-times. But sometimes, you find yourself somewhere with no soap. Understocked gas station restrooms and state park porta-potties, we’re looking at you! In that case, some hand sanitizer tucked in your purse or travel bag is peace of mind in a bottle.
- Reusable water bottle: Traveling can be dehydrating, especially if you’re spending long hours in a car. Having a reusable water bottle on hand not only ensures you’ll drink more often, it also cuts down on single-use plastic bottles: a win-win for you and Mama Earth.
- Car Snacks: Pack plain popcorn, hard-boiled eggs, nuts, cheese, and crackers, and if you see a roadside stand selling just-picked peaches, berries, or sugar snap peas, you’ll have the makings of a picnic.
- Sunscreen: “I’d really like to get a sunburn on this trip,” said no one ever. Take this advice on choosing a sunscreen from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center: Get UVA and UVB protection, choose SPF 30 or higher, and apply liberally.
- UV Sunglasses: Your eyes need protection from the sun, too. Make sure your chosen specs are rated UV400, which means they block more than 99% of ultraviolet rays.
- Eye Mask, Earplugs, and a Sound Machine: Before you get there, it’s hard to know if your AirB&B has sheer curtains or if the downtown hotel is on a street with a lot of noisy traffic. These 3 items can turn suffering into serenity. Pro tip: If you can only sleep in a completely dark room, consider packing a set of blackout curtains and some binder clips to attach them to the existing curtains or window frames.
- Playlists, Podcasts, and Audiobooks: It’s more fun to listen to something together in the car rather than have people disappear into their own headphone worlds. (Okay, maybe not if you have a toddler; there’s only so much Baby Shark we can handle.) Ask everyone to make a playlist or download a podcast to share. Or pick an audiobook you think the whole gang would enjoy.
- Flora’s Travel Care Probiotic: Granted, probiotics may not make it on your travel essentials packing list — yet — but hear us out. Nothing can put the kibosh on vacation fun like digestive difficulties. You want to be at the beach, or hiking up a mountain, or wandering through an art museum — not visiting the bathroom over and over. Yet, it’s a sad truth that being out of your normal environment is exactly the sort of situation that can upset your gut. And if your gut’s not happy, you’re not happy. Believe us.
Adding friendly bacteria to your system can help. The only problem is, most probiotics need to be refrigerated. And if you’re on the go, that can be tricky. Enter Flora’s shelf-stable probiotic Travel Care.
Travel Care features a clinically tested, single-strain of probiotic yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii CNCM I-1079). We chose it because it’s a happy-go-lucky sort of probiotic, just the sort of travelling companion you want. It’s not picky about temperature and it settles into your gut for a nice long stay — not a flyover like many probiotics.
Travel Care Probiotic:
- Supplies 5 billion colony-forming cells of probiotics in each capsule
- Helps reduce the chance you’ll come down with a case of traveler’s diarrhea*
- Supports overall gastrointestinal wellness*
- Comes packaged in convenient, shelf-stable blister packs
- Resists destruction by gastric acid and bile
- Is vegetarian, non-dairy, gluten-free, and non-GMO
Flora’s line of shelf-stable probiotics also features:
- Complete Care: For daily support of digestive and immune health*
- Women’s Care: For supporting women’s digestive and vaginal health*
Right now, all shelf-stable probiotics are 15% off. Just use the code travel15 at checkout. Offer valid through 7/26/21.
Bon voyage!
*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
