What you bring with you and how you pack your travel gear can make the difference between a smooth trip and a frustrating one. Whether you are a travel beginner or a frequent traveler, these will make a difference to your packing and traveling experience. The list below is a must have for travelers to make your trip easier and more enjoyable and all are very reasonably priced. The only expensive item is the camera and I use it daily so it was a worthwhile investment for me. I’ve included photos of items so you know that I actually own these items and use them. Some items I’ve had for so long that they’re not for sale anymore so I tried to find you the closest thing possible. And for the packing cubes…I’m going to upgrade to the ones below as soon as I make a trip to the US. For everything else, they can all be purchased on Amazon so I’ve included a link for you below. I hope you’ll love these items as much as I do!
Favorite Packing Organizers for All Size Bags
Clear Packing Envelopes
This set of Clear Packing Envelopes I’ve owned for at least 5 years and they are still in perfect condition. I use them not only every time I travel, but I use the smaller ones in my daily life. The smallest one is perfect for throwing a little bit of make-up in a small bag or for organizing my cables. I use the largest one for what I call my Quick Grab Bag that goes in the seat pocket on the airplane. Shop the Travelon Set of 7 Clear Packing Envelopes on Amazon.
Packing Cubes 
To use packing cubes or not to use packing cubes…that is the question right?! In all honesty I do not use Packing Cubes every single time but I do in these instances: 1) When I am going to destinations with extreme weather differences and 2) When I am packing quite a bit and need to compress the clothes so I can take more items. So if I’m going to a hot beach location and then cold location, I will have items that I won’t touch such as long sleeve sweater, jacket, and pants (cold weather items) in one cube. My bathing suit, sundresses, and shorts (warm weather items) will be in one cube. That saves me from having to pack & unpack items that I won’t touch for a portion of the trip. If I’m really maxing out my suitcase then I will use the packing cubes for all of my clothing as it is amazing how much you can stuff into those bags! You of course just have to watch out for the luggage weight if you do that but they are a must have for both carry-on luggage and checked luggage in my opinion. I bought some real cheapies which are falling apart and I will be replacing them with these in the photo on my next trip to the US! I love these because of the bright colors, different sizes and strong YKK zippers. When you are compressing items, you need to make sure your packing cubes are tough and the zippers are strong. My next purchase on Amazon: 10 Piece Packing Cubes Set.
Shoe Bags
My Samsonite drawstring shoe bags are so old you can’t even find them online anymore! But I love them and use them every time I travel. I have had some cute cotton ones but they get ruined and just don’t work the same as the synthetic. So if you are going to get some reusable shoe bags, I suggest you get a nylon (not cotton) set with a toggle (not a zipper). The nylon fabric is easy to clean and doesn’t keep in odors like cotton will. The zipper makes it stiffer and weighs more than the toggle…may seem minor but this is my preference and my advice to you! If you’ve never used shoe bags, they are great as they keep the rest of your items clean. I use one for my carry-on bag in case I’m wearing boots or tennis shoes and want to switch to flip flops on the plane. If you have to check your bag, let’s say you are going to Hawaii and you’re wearing tennis shoes for the flight, if they lose your luggage, make sure you have a pair of sandals with you. Here is a set of 4 in different colors that are the most similar to mine that I use and have a 4.5/5 star rating: Nylon Drawstring Reusable Shoe Bags.
Purse Organization Insert
This is another one of those things that I use for travel AND for daily use. Whenever I change from one bag to another, I simply move the inside organizer and it’s done! It also makes it easier to find things in purses because it’s always in the same spot. This fits in any size purse and I love to throw it into my carry-on bag to organize it nicely. I love the leopard print that I have but either way, make sure to get a light color so you can easily see what’s inside your purse…do not order black or a dark color. Mine is about 10 years old and isn’t as “pretty” as it used to be so the photo is the Amazon photo and then the small one shows you mine. Purse Organizer Insert with Pockets.
Favorite Travel Gadgets & Must Have Items for Travel
Digital Compact Camera with Video
This all-in-one camera does everything I need it to and fits into my pocket. Gone are the days of stressing about my DSLR camera with all the lenses, now I use this and it fits in my purse so it’s always with me. Of course it is not the same as a DSLR camera but I don’t print out photos anymore, it’s all digital so it is the perfect camera and so easy to use. We love it so much, we even purchased one for my husband’s parents who have found it really easy to use. It not only takes photos of all kinds (macro, panorama, etc) but it takes videos and one of my favorite features is that you can bluetooth the photos to your phone! I use this all the time when I want to do a quick post that my cell phone camera just doesn’t do justice to! My camera that I have is red which I love as it’s easy to find. Here is a photo of it and we got the black one for the parents for Christmas. You can read all of the features of it on Amazon, here is the link: Canon PowerShot SX740 Digital Camera w/40x Optical Zoom & 3 Inch Tilt LCD – 4K VIdeo, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth Enabled
Inflatable Travel Pillow
This is the BEST travel pillow I’ve found and couldn’t travel on long haul destinations without it! What I love about it is that it’s a soft fabric, has a removable cover for washing, is compact, and blows up with just 2 puffs of air. I had one of these for years, it popped, then it must have taken me a year to find a new one. It also is so much larger than the bulky ones, see the photos on the right that I took to show you. Shop this Travelon Inflatable Pillow here.
Portable Charger
We have 3 chargers in our collection right now. We’ve bought several that weren’t great, but of course you don’tknow that until you use it. From trial and error we’ve found that you want this in a charger: 10,000 mAh and 3 amps, these specs will give you the fastest charge and multiple charges before having to charge the charger itself! My favorite one is the Samsung 10,00 mAh Portable Charger which is slim, compact, has 2 USB ports and charges quickly. As with most things, I like getting colors vs. black so you can easily find it in your bag and this one comes in silver and pink!
Ear Buds for Music & Movies
I personally prefer ear buds versus the bluetooth wireless headphones and the big noise cancelling headphones. I have owned the Bose big head cancelling head phones but I left them on a flight and never saw them again.Honestly, they were so big & bulky that I decided not to get another pair. Now I love the much less expensive and more comfortable ear buds with the soft insert. They are comfortable enough to sleep in and the fact that they have a cord also makes them a lot less likely to get lost. The wireless bluetooth ones just are uncomfortable as are the larger plastic ear buds. These pink & purple Sony earbuds are the ones I have, you’ll see them in a small plastic case in my Quick Grab Bag as they are always with me. Sony Ear Buds on Amazon.
Travel Beverage Container with Straw
I use this daily so I definitely don’t travel without it. It has so many features, where to begin? Wide mouth so you can put ice & mixed drinks in there, re-usable straw so I always have one with me, doesn’t “sweat” so you can put it in your purse or on a table without marking it, keeps liquids cold for 8+ hours, slim so it fits in almost all cup holders and holds both cold and hot items. I even use this for getting coffee to go in the mornings. To the right is a photo of mine with my name on it. My friend gave it to me on one of our trips to Mexico and I have been a fan ever since! Amazon has a big array of them (not personalized) here:
Anti-Theft Purse
If you skipped the Travel Bags section, click here to read about a purse so fantastic that I own 5 of them! The Travelon Anti-Theft Purse
USB Flash Drive
I have been traveling with one of these in my purse (daily) for years so it makes my “must have” travel list. They come in all sizes for storage, the large the storage, the higher the price. A key element of these flash drives I like are the 64GB size, the 3.0 for speed, and they only come in black so I put a lanyard so I don’t lose it. I’m too embarrassed to tell you how many I have lost over the years! The one I use the most and is the best priced is this SanDisk and as you can see I put a lanyard on the one I keep in my purse so I don’t lose it! Shop the 64GB 3.0 USB Stick on Amazon here.
Digital Luggage Scale
I use this scale every single time I am packing for travel. Ahead of time I research what the luggage allowances are and now that I do carry on only, I rarely need to bring the scale with me. But before that, I never traveled without it. If you are flying on budget airlines where they charge for everything, make sure you get this and always travel with it. For under $10 you can get a scale that helps you save money by not paying for an overweight bag or being one of those people you see by check-in unpacking their suitcase because they don’t want to pay extra fees. Just buy a scale and never have to do that again! Shop the Digital Luggage Scale on Amazon here.
Favorite Ear Plugs
I’ve written an entire blog just about this, read about the Best Ear Plugs for Travel here.
Favorite Toiletry Containers
This is another topic that is worthy of its own entire article. Read about my Favorite Travel Size Containers and Toiletry Packing Tips here.