Bag, underwear, toothbrush, socks, passport. There are some items that hopefully even the most disorganised traveller would never forget. However, what about the less obvious travel must-haves that even seasoned travellers can forget?

Although some of these five items might seem odd to pack they can often become the most valuable items in any travellers bag and I can also personally vouch for each.

1. Fashion Tape or Double-Stick Tape

Although this marked to women this product is actually handy for anyone to use as saved a few of my outfits on the road. Perfect to make items of clothing more modest, faking a hem or temporarily fixing a fallen one, holding a shirt collar up, perfecting bows and ties or mending a broken button this handy tape can save you money and time on the road and limit overpacking.

2. Turkish Towel or Microfibre towels

Especially handy for those going on a budget beach holiday, quick-drying and compact towels such as microfibre and Turkish towels have the double usage of working as a bathroom towel particularly for those staying in hostels and a beach towel which can dry before you need to pack it again. For those with wavy or curly hair who like to wear their hair nature while on holiday microfibre towels are also a great way to dry your hair without creating frizz.

3. Powerboard

Unless you are an extremely light packer or also wants to get away from it most travellers these days find themselves packing a fair number of electronic devices. Powerboards, when used with adaptors, of course, allow you to charge your phone, camera, portable camera, laptop and so forth all the same time while also allowing you to use other electronics such as hairdryers and hair straighteners.

4. Shower caps

Although you can obviously use shower caps in the shower while travelling they are a travel must-have for an entirely different reason: your shoes. Shower caps allow you to pack shoes in a less bulk way than using plastic bags while still protecting your clothes or other items from dirty shoes and heels that may tear delicate items. I also pack all my shoes using shower caps and take a few spare ones increase I need to double wrap extra dirty shoes. They can also come in handy to make sure each pair of your shoes is easy to find if you use multiple colours.

5. Packing Cubes

When you start to use packing cubes you quickly start to question how you ever travelled without them. As well as obviously making your clothes more compatible they are also fantastic organisational tools and allow you to colour code items such as shirts, pants and underwear. Some packing cubes such as this one from Eagle Creek allow you to pack shirts and other items that need in ironing in a way that prevents creasing.