Traveling abroad for work is both necessary for your career and fun for your personal life. This is a great way to learn a lot of new and useful business tricks, gain new work experience and impress your employers while also exploring new cultures, making connections, and broadening your network. However, being away from home has its negative sides as well, mainly the lack of comfort you have at home.

Since it’s impossible to pack everything in your suitcase and carry your entire apartment with you on your trip, you need to learn how to pack efficiently. Here are a few essential items you always need to have with you when traveling for work:

Travel documents

Before you start sorting through your clothes and other necessities, it’s essential to check all your travel documents, such as your passport, visa, work permit, etc. You always need to have your passport with you, of course, with valid expiry dates during the duration of your stay. Many experienced travelers often choose to make copies of important documents, so in case the originals get lost, they have some sort of identification to provide for the authorities. If you do lose your documents or they get stolen, copies make it much easier to replace them.

Tech for communication

As a business professional, you know the importance of being available to your employers, team members, and clients. Also, when you get homesick, you will love to have a practical and effective way to communicate with your family and friends. Therefore, ensure you have a good smartphone by your side, as well as a reliable charger and power bank, so you can stay available even during long rides or flights. Also, you might want to get your hands on a local SIM card or invest in an international plan to avoid expensive calls and data. For remote workers, a light and durable laptop is also a necessity—it makes it so much easier to keep up with presentations and attend video conferences and meetings. Lastly, don’t forget to get a universal adapter for your plugs, because different destinations use different outlet shapes and voltages.

Protection for your personal possessions

When traveling for business, it would be detrimental to lose your valuable possessions, especially your documents and your laptop. There’s always a possibility of your suitcase getting lost, but you can protect it by investing in a practical luggage locator that attaches to your suitcase. With this NFC smart tag, anyone who finds your lost luggage can scan the tag and locate you. This way, your lost possessions can be in your accommodation in no time. Also, make sure to secure your luggage and its insides with a sturdy lock. Small travel local can be attached to your suitcase zipper and prevent unwanted openings.

Medical kit

When traveling, no matter where you’re going or for how long, it’s necessary to have a good medical kit by your side. Traveling is mostly safe and you don’t need to expect to get hurt, but it’s always better to be prepared for any sort of unexpected thing. Your small medical kit should contain painkillers (traveling and business can cause headaches), antihistamines (change of scenery can trigger allergies) and bandages, and Band-Aids (in case you get scraped or cut). Pay special attention to your prescription medication. You should either stock up on meds to last you until you come back home or research whether you can renew your prescription at the destination. If your business takes you to a destination with a higher risk of certain diseases, make sure to get informed about vaccination and preventive medication. Of course, invest and pack your travel insurance and high-risk insurance cover, so you can receive medical help and get compensated for it when you get home.

Proper clothes

First impressions are often a deciding factor in business, so make sure to pack a few quality formal pieces to wear to your meetings and office errands. Shopping for office attire when abroad can be very stressful and expensive, so it’s better to pack a few smart combinations to rotate while you’re traveling for work. Looking smart while flying can even get you promoted to a higher class, or it can land you an upgrade to your hotel room, you never know.

It can be a wonderful experience to travel for business, but only if you’re ready for all the challenges it brings. Pack the items that were listed above, including your identification, contact devices, medical supplies, safety items, and appropriate clothing, and you’ll be prepared for anything that may arise while working and traveling.