As a budget-minded traveler who typically travels with only a carry-on, I am very picky about what gear I travel with. I usually limit myself to the must-haves, and I’m super conscious about how much I spend on my travel gear. The following is a list of the travel gear I always bring on trips with me. You can be certain that all these items are quality, highly useful, and at a great value for the cost.
If you choose to purchase any of these great items for your own travels, you can do so through the links provided. Full disclosure, they are affiliate links, meaning that when you use them to purchase your items, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. This means I am able to continue my travels, and inspire your travels as well!
Essentials
Backpack
Using a backpack when traveling is so convenient. You don’t have to worry about lugging a suitcase around wherever you go. All your belongings simply sit on your back, and you’re ready to go. The backpack I use is a Women’s Trail 40 pack from REI. This one is specifically made for my ungodly high hips womanly figure, and has nicely padded straps. It also comes with a rain cover, which is super important to have, if you like dry clothing.
Packing Cubes
Eagle Creek Packing Cubes are an amazing way to save space in your backpack, and to keep your clothes organized. I used to think I was above such practices, but I gave them a try and now I may or may not be addicted. There are lots of different companies that make packing cubes, but Eagle Creek has been the most high quality I’ve used. In addition, they are amazing at compacting your clothes. I can fit a whole week of t-shirts into just one small sized pack.
Packable Backpack
Sometimes you want to carry around a little more than fits in a purse, but don’t want to lug your whole pack around with you. Enter: the packable backpack from Eddie Bauer. This 20 liter soft backpack is lightweight and can carry all I need for a day out. I also use it as my personal item when I carry on luggage. When I don’t need it, it folds into itself so it easily fits inside my larger backpack.
Anti-Theft Purse
This purse helped me feel so much more relaxed while traveling in Central America. The cross-body strap is slash proof, the zippers lock closed, and the interior cards slots are equipped with RFID-blocking material. It also comes in several different colors (mine is green)!
Locks
I’ve found it insanely useful to carry around at least one small lock when I travel. I use it to lock together my backpack zippers, to lock a hostel dorm locker, or even to lock my belongings to the bed at night. I’ve found the most useful locks are the ones with flexible cords, so you can bend the lock and see it better.
Accessories
Secret Pocket Scarf
This infinity scarf looks like a regular old scarf. But hidden within the folds is a small pocket you can use to hold things like credit cards, a passport, cash, and even a smart phone. Keep your hands and pockets free of easily-nabbed items by storing them in your scarf!
Seabands
I am super prone to motion sickness. Like I pretty much can’t do anything on planes because I get sick. But with my Seabands, my chances of getting sick are much slimmer. These are clinically proven to help with motion sickness. These bands put pressure on your P6 pressure point, which helps relieve nausea. These, along with a tablet of Bonine almost always keep me from getting sick when I travel.
Microfiber towel
When staying in low-budget accommodations, it’s sometimes hard to tell whether or not you will be provided with towels. Microfiber towels are amazing to travel with because they can fold up pretty small, but absorb a lot of water. I travel with a Norwex towel that was gifted to me, but I’ve heard great things about Sunland towels too.
Technology
iPhone
Having a smartphone seriously makes a difference in my travel. The ability to send texts home is amazing, and it’s so useful to have access to maps and wifi through my iPhone 5. Now, my cell service is through Sprint and so far I’ve been pretty satisfied with their global plans (which are free, with my current service plan). However, if your phone service does not cater well to international travel, I recommend purchasing an unlocked smartphone, and buying local SIM cards.
Sandisk iXpand Drive
I have a whole post about the Sandisk iXpand Drive and how much I love it. One of the biggest issues that traveling iPhone users face, is running out of storage space. This handy-dandy doodad totally gets rid of that problem. They come with several different amounts of storage and can seriously be a life saver while you’re traveling.
A Camera For Normal People
You DO NOT need an ultra expensive crazy advanced camera when you travel! It drives me crazy when bloggers suggest that people need them. No. I travel with my point-and-shoot, Nikon Coolpix and it does me just fine- Maybe even better. This bad boy is waterproof up to 100 feet, and shockproof for drops of up to 7 feet. Try that with your fancy DSLR… In addition, it is wifi enabled, which seriously improves your selfie game.
External Phone Battery
Another issue with using your phone abroad is keeping the battery well charged. When you’re out exploring a city, you can’t necessarily get to a charging port to juice up that battery. External phone batteries are great, because they essentially give you an extra battery’s worth of charge. These come in all different forms. You can pick up a basic one for just $5, or more advanced ones for more money. I suggest picking a mid-range one.
Wall Adapter
There are so many different types of outlets around the world it can get really annoying to have to keep track of all your adapters. Luckily, this little gadget takes the hassle out of trying to remember to bring all those adapters. This universal adapter includes plugs for US/EU/EK/AU and works in over 150 countries around the world.
The more I travel, the more I discover travel gear that I can’t live without! Pin this post and check back to find out all the latest, greatest, and Archives-Approved gear!
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19 Comments
I admire anyone who can pack their life into a tiny backpack….i have an 85l suitcase and a 30l backpack and still struggle! 🙁 I am getting better than i used to be though!
It’s not easy, but it gives you a new perspective on what you really need!
So many great things here. I’m not a light backpacker – always have heaps of stuff – but have a lot of what you’ve mentioned here too as it is really useful. Packing cubes – I’m yet to get the hang of them, but so many people rave about them !!! Love the idea of the sandisk storage for those who use iphones a lot.
It takes a while to get the right balance on what to pack etc. This is a great post and gives you a guide on what you really need to take with you whilst on the road.
Great list- I could benefit from picking up a few of these for my trip as well. Although I would need to get rid of some things I’m already carrying as I feel overloaded as is lol.
These are all great stuff! My next challenge when I travel is to use a smaller backpack so let’s see how that goes. I had no idea about the sandisk iXpand Drive so I will definitely be checking that out since I always have too much photos on my iPhone and getting that message about not having enough storage.
So many great items here especially that little hard drive for the iPhone I so need one of those!
I love my microfibre towel! I won’t travel without it. And a sarong to dry myself when I’m salty-wet. So useful!
I also pack a backpack that goes in the big one haha!
And of course, I looooove my packing cubes, I wouldn’t go anywhere without them!
What else – I’m not leaving the house without a book or my kindle!
Books/Kindle are an absolute must! I use the kindle app on my phone 🙂
Yes yes yes to packing cubes! I’m obsessed. Oooo, never thought of a microfiber towel before but I must get my hands on one. Excellent suggestions, thanks for sharing 🙂
I like this list a lot! I learned the hard way when it comes to leaving the big backpack behind. The only problem with microfibre towels is that they tend to get super smelly super fast!
I too am a huge fan of packing cubes and have pinned your post for later as I do need a better day pack and a travel purse.
The microfiber towel looks interesting. I’ll have to try that!
I love my microfiber towel and packable backpack. I laughed at “camera for normal people” i think I will start calling my camera that. I’ve never even heard of the Scandisk drive. I think I’m going to get one before my trip in a few weeks. Thanks for the recommendation!
This is a great listicle. We tend to carry most of the stuff mentioned here. But we do also carry our DSLR. Though we also carry a small point and shoot as well. 🙂 Most of the times getting a local sim is cheaper than using your sim with roaming.
Great list! Agree so much on packing cubes. Made my life so much easier. Also, one thing I find really helpful in my travels is a hammock. It’s light to carry and gives me an instant chair/bed almost anywhere. 🙂
Yes! I love to bring my hammock too, but it depends on where I’ll be traveling. My most recent trip to Europe put me mainly in bigger cities. Not much use for a hammock when there are no trees! 😛
What brand of hammock do you use? I’m a fan of Eno myself.
I always find it interesting to see the different types of travel gear people use.
I feel like what some people may say is essential for them, others might not even have. I am like you in that I have extra locks for all of my bags!