If you are an avid traveler or a beginner, you need the right travel gear if your trip is going to be fun and enjoyable. There are a lot of packing lists I have come across which feature items you don’t need. It is important that you only pack what is essential to you.
The right travel accessories list finds the delicate balance between taking up the least packing space necessary and having everything you need for a comfortable trip. In this guide, I will be telling you what to look for when buying travel accessories, and I will be giving you a list of the best travel accessories to pack for both men and women.
Table of Contents Considerations for the Best Travel AccessoriesComfortConvenienceSecurityOrganizationHow long is your trip going to last?How much space do you have?The costFunctionalityA must-have travel accessory listConnectivity accessoriesExtra travel accessories you might needExtra travel tipsConsiderations for the Best Travel Accessories
With all the lists out there labeled as must-have travel accessories, it can be a bit confusing and overwhelming if you don’t know what you are looking for. Here are some of the factors that make travel accessories great.
Comfort
Comfort is one of the things you cannot afford to compromise on, especially if you are flying over a long distance. When you are looking for travel accessories, this is one of the key factors to look for.
If you are flying for long hours, you might want to catch a few hours of sleep so you can get to your destination fresh and relaxed. If you don’t have travel accessories that help you feel comfortable like a traveling pillow or a mask, you might not catch any sleep. The same thing goes for a carrier bag for your luggage.
When traveling, luggage is always a concern, especially when you are going away for a long trip. An ideal carrier bag should allow you to pack as much as you need while still being comfortable to carry.
Convenience
When traveling, convenient travel accessories may mean the difference between getting to your destination exhausted and crank, or relaxed and ready to take on the world. Convenient travel accessories will make your journey a lot easier.
When you are packing, for instance, you should pack things you will need along the journey like travel documents in a way you can access them easily.
Security
The security of your luggage is also another thing you should think of when you are buying travel accessories. People lose their luggage all the time during transit, and this means you have to wait for up to days to get it back.
This can be very disrupting, especially if you have a schedule. To avoid this, you should pack light. If you have your luggage with you at all times, you will not lose. Securing your luggage also includes safeguarding your personal information and money. There are all kinds of travel accessories for this, from money belts to RFID blocking wallets to protect you from identity thieves.
Organization
Being well organized when you are traveling will make things much easier for you. When you are buying travel accessories for your next trip, think of getting items that organize your luggage so that you can easily and conveniently access everything when you need to.
This is where accessories like packing cubes come in. With packing cubes you can group your luggage accordingly, so you don’t have to ransack your entire luggage bag when you need to find something. You can also easily separate items like clean and dirty laundry.
How long is your trip going to last?
Before going out to shop for travel accessories, think of how long your trip will last. With this in mind, you can shop accordingly. Clothes, for instance, take up the most space in luggage for most people.
If you are going on a long trip, you might want to pack enough clothes for the entire trip. Another option and one that I prefer is getting quick-drying clothes that you can hand wash. This way, you pack fewer clothes for the journey.
When you have a long flight, you also have to pack differently than if you had a short local flight. Best travel accessories for long flights help make your flight comfortable and ensure that you get to your destination relaxed and refreshed.
Think of packing noise-canceling headphones if you want to sleep in the noisy airplane environment. If you get distracted by light when you sleep, a mask will come in handy.
How much space do you have?
One thing you will never have enough of when traveling is space to pack all the things you think you will need during your trip. This is why you need to buy accessories that take up as little space as possible.
When you are packing clothes, for instance, avoid packing voluminous clothes unless you need them. Instead of carrying a regular towel, for instance, you can get a custom travel microfiber towel that is quick to dry and takes up way less space.
Think of things you can buy when you get to your destination instead of carrying it all with you.
Collapsible items also take up less space. The best water bottles for travel are collapsible. If you get one of these, you will save some much-needed packing space. They are also good for the environment. You can avoid being the person who adds pieces of plastic into the environment every time you do something as basic as drinking water.
The cost
When you are shopping for travel accessories, ensure everything falls well within your budget. Be careful, however, not to compromise on quality for the price. You can get something cheap but ensure it is still high quality.
Traveling is already considered by many an expensive venture, so make sure to take into account what accessories you will be needing into the total budget for your trip.
Functionality
You could get an item that checks all the boxes above, but if it does not function the way you need it to, it’s useless. Before you bring an accessory with you on the road, do a quick test to ensure it works as it should. This mostly applies to electronic accessories like electric plugs as well.
With limited luggage space, you need to prioritize what is most important. Try to bring items that hold multiple functions to cut down on wasted space.
A must-have travel accessory list
If you are traveling and you don’t know where to start, then don’t fret. I’m going to lay out a list of travel essentials you should pack to make your trip as comfortable and fun as possible.
This is a list of travel essentials you will need for your trip. Depending on the length of your trip, you may not need everything on this list. But you can find exactly what you need among these items. Let’s get started.
Packing bag
A packing bag is the first essential you need when you are planning a trip. There are three types of luggage you can have. You can either get a suitcase, a duffle bag, or a backpack.
You should choose based on the amount of movement you anticipate you’ll be doing on your trip and the amount of packing space you need. If you are going to be moving from place to place often, a backpack may be the ideal choice for you.
If you are going to be stationed at a hotel and operating from the hotel as a base, then a suitcase would be the best option. If you carry a suitcase, however, remember to bring a small backpack or a duffle bag, in which you can carry essential items when you go out during the day. It should be big enough for a water bottle and your electronic devices like a phone or a laptop if you need to take them with you.
While a backpack is easier to carry around, a suitcase is a lot sturdier and keeps your luggage more secure, especially the suitcases with a hard outer cover. It’s also easier to drag the suitcase on the floor compared to putting the whole weight of your luggage on your back. This, however, is ideal when you are dragging the suitcase across short distances.
If you are going to encounter stairs anywhere, you will need something you can carry easily.
Whichever type of bag you decide to use for your packing, you will need to make sure you have enough space for everything you need to carry. You can pack more than one suitcase, but it’s easier to keep track of your luggage if it’s in one bag, if you can take it with you when you board the plane the better.
A backpack is different from a suitcase in that it is a bit more intimate. Apart from ensuring that it’s the right style and volume, you must also make sure it fits and feels comfortable on your back. Make sure the straps evenly distribute the weight so you don’t hurt your shoulders.
Packing cubes
Packing cubes are also a must-have travel packing accessory. With packing cubes, organizing and keeping your luggage organized is a breeze. You can separate clothes into different cubes to make it easier to locate them. You could, for instance, pack shirts in one cube, pants in another and socks, and underwear in yet another cube.
When you have dirty laundry, packing cubes will help you separate dirty laundry from clean clothes. This is another reason why you need packing cubes.
A travel wallet
A proper travel wallet is another travel accessory you must have. A good traveling wallet will help keep your passport and your cards like ATM cards and credit cards organized. This is where you put your boarding pass too for easy access.
Currently, you can find a travel wallet with extra security features like FRID blocking technology on the market as well. A FRID blocking wallet helps protect your credit card information from identity thieves.
Noise-canceling headphones
When you have a 12-hour flight or longer, you will need to sleep for at least a few hours if you are to get to your destination relaxed. Without noise-canceling headphones, however, you might not catch any sleep.
Active noise-canceling headphones block out the noisy world around you by measuring the ambient noise and producing an equal opposing wavelength. This effectively blocks the noise from the engine so you can sleep. You will need a good pair of these headphones.
They also come in handy when you are riding a train for long hours and even when you are riding a cab through a noisy city. Make sure they fit well by buying adjustable ones.
A sleeping mask
Noise is not the only thing that will keep you awake during a flight. Light is something you will want to block out. You can do this by using a mask. Make sure you get yourself a good sleeping mask before the long flight.
A traveling pillow
Sleeping while sitting can be a bit uncomfortable. With a traveling pillow, however, you get the support your neck needs. Get yourself a good traveling pillow for the flight if you don’t want to get to your destination with a sore neck and shoulders.
Clothing
Clothes take up the most space of our luggage when traveling. You, therefore, need to pack as little as possible for your trip. Remember to pack clothes appropriately, depending on the weather of your destination.
If you can buy clothes when you get to your destination, the better. Think of washing clothes too, especially if your trip is going to be long instead of carrying enough clothes for each day of the trip. This makes your luggage a lot lighter. Consider packing a hanging line that you can set up in the bathroom or the balcony of your hotel room.
Get comfortable clothes suited for the trip, too. If you will be doing a lot of physical activities like walking, moisture-wicking clothes will come in handy. They are breathable and help you stay dry and aerated instead of choking in sweat.
Connectivity accessories
When traveling, the last thing you want is to get stuck in a foreign environment you are not familiar with because your device is not charged or you don’t have an internet connection. If you want to avoid this, you have to prepare to stay connected well beforehand. Here are some of the connectivity accessories you need to bring with you.
Plug adapter
Different countries around the world use different plug adapters. When you are traveling, you need to make sure you bring a suitable plug adapter to your destination. To be on the safe side, get yourself a universal plug adapter that you can use anywhere around the globe. There are plug adapters that allow you to charge all your devices from one place. These are the best. You don’t want to have your devices spread all over the hotel room.
A power bank
If you want to keep connected even when your devices run out of power, you need to get yourself a USB battery charger. This can supplement your phone’s battery when you are having long flights so you can stay connected. With it you can charge small devices that you need on the road like your camera, so you can keep capturing the beautiful sites.
A headphone splitter
This is for when you are traveling with someone with whom you might want to share a device with say to watch a movie or listen to a song. A headphone splitter allows you to share the device by attaching more than one pair of headphones.
Portable Wi-Fi device
When you are traveling across Europe especially, this is one of the best travel accessories that you can bring with you on the trip. This is because it might be hard to get free Wi-Fi in a hotel. Also, public Wi-Fi is not the safest option, especially in a foreign country. To save you the hassle, bring yourself a portable Wi-Fi device or buy yourself an internet data SIM card beforehand.
Water bottle
You will need to stay hydrated on your trip, especially if you will be doing a lot of physical activities. Get yourself one of the best travel bottles before going. This is not only good for the environment but it’s also cost-effective.
Buying a plastic bottle of water daily can get expensive. When you have a water bottle, you can fill it up at convenient locations and avoid the extra cost of water. There are collapsible water bottles on the market that are ideal for travel.
Hygiene
Remember to pack hygiene essentials when you are going on your trip. You need to stay fresh during your trip. These are some of the hygiene essentials you will need to bring with you.
A towel
Instead of packing the regular cotton towel, which is voluminous, think of buying something custom made for travel like a microfiber towel. It’s not only economical in space but also dries fast.
Toiletries bag
Some countries like the US require that you put all your liquids in a clear bag, and there are some limits to how much liquids you can carry. A good toiletries bag is one of the best travel accessories for women, who like to pack a lot of products.
Get a set of toiletries bottles that allow you to pack products you typically use from home. This is especially helpful if you are one of those people with sensitive skin. This way, you can bring the lotion, shampoo, or hair conditioner you are used to instead of depending on the ones provided by the hotel. Some hotels may not provide these things too, so it’s good to be prepared.
Razor
If you don’t want to look like a caveperson a few days into your trip, remember to pack razors. Get yourself a facial hair razor if for the men and body hair razor for women.
Extra travel accessories you might need
A sewing kit
Clothes tear at some of the worst moments. You might find that one of the buttons on your suit for the formal meeting is a bit loose. If you have a sewing kit, this can easily be fixed. This plus many other reasons are why you should carry a sewing kit with you.
An umbrella
Weather can be a bit unpredictable sometimes. If it happens to rain when you are out sightseeing, you will be glad you brought that umbrella with you.
Extra travel tips
Always make copies of your important documents.
You might not want to bring original copies of your passport and other documents every time you step out to get something or do something. The risk of losing them or just misplacing them is too high. Having copies lets you leave the originals safely behind.
Make sure to email yourself these copies as well. If anything happens, and you lose your documents, you will be glad you have copies with you and that will be a good start to replacing them.
Avoid buying stuff or eating at tourist attraction sites.
Buying things at these sites can sometimes be a complete rip-off. If you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for things you can find locally, avoid these traps. Instead, go take a walk through the local town and see what you find. It will be an adventure worth remembering.
Book your flight tickets well in advance
Last-minute flight tickets will cost you more money. If you want to get the best flight prices, book well ahead of your trip.
In conclusion
Traveling is a great way to enjoy the unknown world. While it’s always exciting, traveling without the right gear can be stressful and frustrating. This is why you need the right travel accessories for the trip.
If you haven’t traveled before, you might not know where to start or what to look for in travel accessories. This guide helps make things easier for you.
