Way back when air travel was a thing (remember that?), I discovered that a lot of people at any given destination have older acoustic guitars kicking around. Or if they don't, they know two neighbours who do.

I travelled without baggage (at least the physical type) to save money. So, I found it useful to take a minimalist "guitar first aid kit" with me, with the goal of making a "found" guitar playable (-ish) with a little work and a lotta luck.

Keep in mind that this stuff is for carry-on, so it has to clear security. I you are pretty sure you can scrounge some of these tools at your destination, you can travel a bit lighter.

Guitar First Aid Kit:

1. Mini needle-nose pliers with sturdy wire cutters -- for changing strings and other minor maintenance.

2. Allen key, L-shaped with a long reach, 1/4" for old guitars -- for adjusting the truss rod in the neck, which offsets the pull of the strings, straighening the neck and moving the string height to a playable level. (Unfortunately, newer guitars use a smaller size, varying by manufacturer.)

3. Small tuning fork, A440 -- mine is decades old and hasn't needed a battery change yet. Some prefer E but I like to use A as my reference for tuning. Tap and hold the base against the bridge and you will instantly realize how effectively acoustic guitars amplify sound.

4. Peg winder -- a little plastic crank that winds the tuning pegs quickly when changing strings.

5. Fresh strings. It's hard to play well on rusty old barbed wire. What size for steel string instruments? Extra light gauge "10s" (10-46ish) are a pretty safe bet for old guitars, although better instruments (and players) will be happier with "11s" (11-52ish).

I confess that I have never taken strings as carry-on; I have always been able to source them locally. I can't think of a reason security would object, but then again they look pretty closely at my bag of interesting stuff ...