- On a recent cross-Canadatrain trip, I tried my best to be fully prepared. Of course, looking back on my trip, there are a few more things I wished I had packed.
- I had a limited amount of room in my luggage and chose to leave out certain things I thought weren't necessary, like a large, reusable water bottle — that was a mistake.
- The dry air on the train caused a lot of issues I wasn't prepared to solve. Two of those were perpetual thirst and dry eyes.
- As I made my way across the country, I built a list of things that would have been helpful to have along the way, like eye drops. I also made note of a few things I did pack that I couldn't have made it through without, like shower-friendly flip flops.
- I talked to my fellow travelers as well to see if they had any suggestions for anyone who would be embarking on this journey in the future.
- Here are the five things I wish I packed, and the three things I'm grateful that I remembered.
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As I prepared for my four-day, cross-Canada train trip, I read loads of blogs and reviews that all talked about what the trip would be like.
In my planning, I made several packing lists and tried to think of everything I would possibly need. But, of course, I forgot a few seemingly obvious essentials.
The first thing I wished I brought along with me was a reusable water bottle. There were pitchers of ice water in the communal cars, so it would have been easy for me to keep the bottle filled at all times.
The air on the train was dry and made me more thirsty than usual. I was constantly trying to stay hydrated, and I ended up using way more plastic cups than I would have wanted to.
I brought along Neosporin, but I wished I had a tub of Vaseline for my lips, nose, and face.
Everything was dry and chapped, so much so that I got a nosebleed on day two.
I also wished I had brought saline drops and would definitely stick them in my bag for next time.
The constant blowing air and inconsistent lighting had dried out my eyes, and my first full day on the train resulted in a red, irritated left eye.
I also regretted not bringing along snacks like mixed nuts or dried fruit.
Meals on the train are several hours apart, so I often got hungry before it was time for dinner.
Passengers can purchase snacks like chips on the train or eat the complimentary pastries seen here, but I wished I had brought a little bag of healthier snacks.
5: On a more logistical level, I wish I had printed out an hour-by-hour schedule for the trip. This would have helped with planning ahead for time zone changes, which proved to be a doozy.
As a Sleeper Plus cabin traveler, I was provided with a package of earplugs — the train makes noise and the walls between cabins are thin so I heard my neighbor snoring. If you're sensitive to noise when you sleep, and you're traveling with a berth or economy ticket, you'll want to bring your own earplugs.
Similarly, if you don't want to be disturbed by the lights of a freight train passing by in the middle of the night, regardless of what sleeping arrangement you have, an eye mask would be helpful.
The cabin I was in had a shade that I could pull down, but some of the bright light made its way around the shade. Also, I slept with the shade open most nights as I wanted to wake up to natural light in the morning.
One thing I'm so glad I had packed was a pair of flip flops for the shower — train passengers in all classes except Prestige use a shared shower.
If you're a germ-cautious person like me, you probably never travel without them.
On a similar note, I'm glad I brought hand sanitizer with me. It was convenient to carry around so I didn't have to walk back to my cabin to wash my hands every time I used a railing or re-boarded the train.
I'm also glad that I had a portable battery handy — it's built into my suitcase. Because of the portable battery, I was able to keep my phone fully-charged while spending time in the community cars, which only had one strip of outlets that was far from the main seating area.
While my cabin did have an outlet inside, travelers who didn't have a cabin had to use the communal strip of outlets located near the dining car.
As a traveler, you may have enough time to buy something you forgot at one of the scheduled stops, but you don't know for sure when you'll be getting in.
Some stores may be closed, and you may be limited to a candy stand or vending machine. So it's best to take the extra time packing and come prepared.
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