This blog post is all about the top 11 essential travel items to pack for all of your trips.
Our family tends to pack pretty lightly and only travel with carry-on backpacks. We don’t love having heavy, annoying bags so this is the perfect checklist of items that don’t take up a lot of space and are truly essential. Here are the top 11 essential travel items to pack:
- iPhone – obviously, right?! We don’t go anywhere without our handy phones since they also serve as our navigators, for website searches, to take photos, to call people, etc. When we travel to other countries, the first thing we do is get a local SIM card. I highly recommend that you always buy an unlocked iPhone, not one that can only be used with certain cell phone companies. Looking at you, Verizon! We don’t buy phones very often, but when we do, we typically buy refurbished phones from here.
- Headphones or Earbuds – these are a must for long flights. Fernando has an awesome pair of Bose headphones that he’s used for years while I still use my cheap earbuds that I got for free from Apple. I’m not going to lie, the Bose headphones are quite expensive, but considering Fernando uses them on a daily basis and has used them for 4+ years, the investment was worth it. Our son used his birthday money to buy himself a pair of fancy Airpods that he really loves while our daughter uses cheap earbuds like me. One day, we will invest in a good pair of headphones, but for now, these work fine.
- Organizer for travel documents – I consider this a must while traveling. It has a place for all of our passports and IDs and keeps it very organized. The organization this provides, helps us breeze through the airport customs line and I love being organized! Look for RFD blocking so your identity and credit cards are safe from scammers. This one is great!
- Vegan snacks – we’ve been vegan for a long time. We know better than to expect the airline to accommodate our diet so we always travel with vegan snacks for the flight and to hold us over until we reach our final destination. Some of our favorites are: soy yogurt, crackers, cheese, almonds, chips, trail mix, walnut pecan pate, sandwiches, veggie wraps, and of course, fruits and veggies. We seriously travel with a couple of lunchbox coolers that also are great for our final destination for family picnics.
- Water bottle – where would we be without our trusty water bottles? We drink a ton of water and these water bottles have been everywhere with us. They have lasted for years and are so amazing at keeping the water cold. This one is our favorite: Hydroflask. If I could only count the ways how much we love this water bottle and I’m not a spokesperson for this brand – I just love this particular water bottle A LOT! The kids have had the same water bottles since Kindergarten and they’re still going strong. It may be a larger investment in the beginning, but it pays off in not having to buy a new water bottle for many years!
- Hand sanitizer and baby wipes – these two items are a must, especially to keep you safe. I make our own hand sanitizer using vodka, aloe vera juice, tea tree oil, and essential oils. Look for the recipe on the blog soon. We always get a travel size of organic baby wipes. Even though we no longer have babies, these wipes come in handy on the plane, the airport, trains, and all sorts of public places that we want to clean before we touch.
- Notebooks and pens – for me, this is essential so I can write things down as we travel. Fernando and M1 are artists so they always travel with their sketchbooks and pencils, pens and watercolors. This comes in handy because they get inspired by the scenery and then we have a great memory of the place in their artwork.
- Book to read – I know these days, most people travel with a Kindle or some other type of e-reader. I can’t seem to get on this trend so I always take a book with me. When I finish the said book, I leave it at the place where we are staying.
- Lightweight travel shoes – we love hiking so we always want to be prepared with a good pair of lightweight hikers. I’ve found that I prefer trail running shoes because they are more lightweight than hiking shoes yet they are still stable and grippy. My favorite brand is Asics, such as these.
- These pair of pants and capris – I seriously couldn’t live without these awesome pairs of pants – The North Face Aphrodite pants. They are super comfy, lightweight, pretty wrinkle-resistant and great for traveling!
- A good pair of sunglasses – my eyes are super sensitive to sunlight so I always have to wear sunglasses, even on overcast days. You can find some great styles on this website.
These are our Top 11 Essential Travel Items to Pack
What are yours? I didn’t go over what backpacks we use. I’ll save that for another post. In the meantime, tell us about what’s in your bag/backpack! We’d love to hear! Safe travels!
fun paid experiences while traveling:
This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend items that we truly love!
The 5 items we were so happy to have for all of our trips:
- Merrell women’s light hiking shoes – these are amazing because they are lightweight, but are extra grippy and helpful! I also have this pair that I always get compliments on: Merrell Rainbow shoes. Fernando loves his Asics trail runners which are also grippy and perfect for walking on cobblestone streets.
- Thermoflask water bottle – like a Hydroflask, but more affordable! We don’t go anywhere without these water bottles full of purified water.
- North Face Aphrodite 2.0 capris – I seriously wear these pants every.single.day! I couldn’t live without these ultra-comfy, lightweight pants that dry so quickly. They are 100% worth the money!
- Osprey Day Pack – this is an awesome lightweight backpack that we can easily put the belongings we need at hand for traveling around the city and on public transportation.
- N95 face mask – we bought a 50 pack of these. Until Covid is under control, we will continue to use face masks.
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