At least twice a year, I hope you go someplace you’ve never been! Travel is an amazing opportunity to experience a new culture, try new foods, and meet amazing people. To make the journey a little more enjoyable and stress-free, I wanted to share some of my favorite travel essentials that I’ve used over the years from traveling to over 50 countries.
First, it’s important to protect your data. Airports and tourist areas are a hotspot for RFID skimming, where your data can be stolen just from walking by someone with a scanner. On a trip in Germany it happened to all three of us in our group where our data was stolen, cards were opened in our names without our knowledge and it affected our credit scores. Since then I always have my passport and credit cards in a RFID blocking sleeve or wallet when traveling. I dislike the bulk of a lot of wallets, so these sleeves are thin and a perfect way to keep your data safe.
It’s important to have a comfortable personal item or smaller backpack that fits all of your essentials and items needed during the flight. Backpacks are so much more practical and better for your back than a large shoulder bag, and work great it you plan to do any hiking. I’ve had this Travelon backpack for years and it still looks like new! It even has locking zippers for anti-theft security, and you can even add on an additional lock if you need to store it anywhere. If you want something a little more stylish and business-forward, I’d recommend the CLUCI leather laptop backpack.
Traveling light or compressed I should say, is the best way to fit everything into a carryon for a 1-2 week or more trip. You can do it, I promise! Compression cubes are great for packing clothes together tightly and separating clothes out by type. I’ve had my Eagle Creek packing cubes for years now and they still work great.
Who doesn’t like snacks? I like to bring my own in collapsable containers, that can be used for leftovers and other snacks that you purchase on your trip. Pack healthier snacks and reduce your plastic waste with my favorite Sea to Summit collapsible container. I’ve tried many that just don’t work or seal properly, but these screw on, collapse down very thin, and work great for travel, picnics, or keeping them in your car for leftovers! If you do want to bring a premade protein packed snack, I’d recommend ALOHA organic plant based protein bars. They taste great, have 14 grams of protein and are low in sugar. The company is also B Corp certified!
*Items are linked to the Amazon affiliate program and proceeds will help support the future of this site. We of course encourage you to shop local when you can too, but know some of these items are hard to find in stores!