After traveling full-time for over a year, we decided it was finally time to share our favorite travel essentials list. This includes all of our absolute must-have travel essentials that we just couldn’t travel without.
We have tested so many different travel essentials over the past year and we have narrowed down exactly what we couldn’t live without.
This travel essentials list includes all of our travel essentials for women, travel essentials carry-on, things to bring when traveling abroad, lightweight travel essentials, and so much more!
We hope that this travel essentials list will help you when planning for your next trip!
This post is all about our ultimate travel essentials list.
THE ULTIMATE TRAVEL ESSENTIALS LIST:
1. THE BEST INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SUITCASE
We started our travels with one of these Thule Subterra Wheeled 75L Duffel Suitcases and now we just had to get two. Our first one is still in perfect shape. Even though they have subdued colors it is so much easier to find on the luggage belt after a flight. They are also the perfect size so we can never really overpack them over airline weight limits.
2. THE ONLY CARRY-ON BAG YOU NEED
The WANDRD PRVKE Travel Backpack 31L is our absolute favorite backpack for travel. We have tried our fair share and this one actually has nothing wrong with it. It fits our 16″ laptops (could fit two in each!), all of our camera gear and is lightweight, comfortable, and comes with waist belts for long hikes. Plug it has enough individual pockets to easily access sunglasses, keys, or extra batteries.
3. THE PERFECT CATCH-ALL PACK
My favorite Kapten & Son’s Habo “All Black” Chest Bag is a GAME CHANGER. I use it all the time for so many reasons. It’s a perfect size to fit by. phone, wallet, hand sanitizer, and a backup power bank (if needed). The bag is close to my body so I don’t have to worry about getting my bag swiped and can easily access my phone so I don’t have my phone in my back pocket. And it makes it so easy for travel days to have our passports and boarding passes easily accessible. Plus it’s durable and super cute!
4. SUITCASE LOCKS
We got these best-sellers Forge Cable Luggage Locks for both of our bags (2 each) to help protect our stuff during transit. They are TSA approved and they double as locker locks for hostels, theme parks, or gyms!
5. SUITCASE SCALE
This is something we are glad we had when we started. Our Digital Luggage Scale is super helpful to ensure we are underweight on both of our suitcases before we get to the airport. Now you won’t have to be those people repacking everything with everyone watching and waiting on you (never be those people).
6. REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE 
Our 32 oz HydroFlask Wide Mouth water bottle goes with us everywhere. Essential for hikes, days at the beach, and even just around town to keep our water cold! We have multiple lids but only use the standard lid to keep it from accidentally leaking in our bags. And a plus, it fits perfectly in our side pack on our WANDRD backpack.
7. REUSABLE COFFEE MUGS 
We only just started using these but we are so happy we have them! These HydroFlask 16 oz Coffee Mugs are travel essentials! Perfect for road trips especially but also really helpful to cut on waste at hotels with all the plastic cups and sleeves. And you get so much more and it actually stays warm for more than 2 seconds.
8. FLATWARE PACK 
DEVICO Portable Travel Cutlery is a sustainable option compared to always using single-use plasticware. We use it the most when we are on road trips and make sandwiches or having ramen. We love that this comes with an easy-to-pack carrying case and comes with chopsticks and straws!
9. SHOPPING BAGS 
Lots of countries and states in the US now have shopping bag taxes and if they don’t the super-thin plastic bags are just the worst. We always bring our reusable shopping bags for grocery shopping, bringing picnic lunches, and carrying wet clothes to our next stop. Super cheap and small enough to throw in the bottom of the suitcase, unlike the bulky ones from the grocery store.
10. LAUNDRY BAG 
A simple laundry bag seems silly to add to our travel essentials list but it is so helpful. We don’t mind just making a dirty pile in our room. Where it really comes in handy is when we need to carry our laundry to a separate laundry room or when we have to pack it all back up into our suitcase! Plus they are washable.
11. PACKING CUBES 
Packing cubes have changed our packing game so much. It makes our lives so much easier to pack and fit everything into the two suitcases. We each have our own packing cubes and we know exactly what needs to go where. Especially helpful when Nate is trying to find something in the suitcase.
ADVENTURE TRAVEL ESSENTIALS LIST
12. SNORKEL GEAR
We love our Cressi Aqua Lung Foldable Travel Snorkel and Cressi Frameless Mask. With all the beautiful places to snorkel in the world, we decided to purchase our own so we can go whenever and we don’t have to use anyone else’s. Trust me, even before COVID, I didn’t want to use some of the ones we saw abroad. This is a very good investment.
13. BEACH BAG
We like to carry an additional backpack in our suitcase that is just for hikes or beach days. Something for towels, snorkel gear, sunscreen, and snacks. We don’t want to have to bring our nice large backpacks every time so this Fjallraven Kanken Backpack is perfect for those days!
14. COLLAPSABLE FOAM ROLLER 
We just recently found the Brazyn Life Collapsible Foam Roller and are loving it so far! Spending so much time over our computer without a proper desk or chair our backs can get pretty banged up. This thing is so small it barely takes any space in our suitcase since it can collapse. It honestly does wonders and we love it!
THE TECH TRAVEL ESSENTIALS LIST
15. TRAVEL ADAPTER & SURGE PROTECTOR
This was a random find before we left for our travels but we LOVE it. The BESTEK Universal Travel Adapter comes with multiple converters for all the plugs over the world and it doubles as a surge protector so we never have to worry about harming our computers or phones if a fuse blows (which definitely can happen at some of the places we stay). The best part is it has an extension cord and holds three 3-prong plugs and 4 USBs. Perfect for most of our items to charge all at once!
16. NOISE-CANCELING HEADPHONES
These are a must if you are going to be traveling. We used to travel with the big bulky ones but it was so hard to carry around and they uncomfortable to sleep in. We upgraded to the Apple Airpods Pro and they are perfect!
17. KINDLE READER 
We both love reading but you just can’t travel with physical books like we would like to. The Kindle Paperwhite is the next best thing because it can hold all of our books and we don’t have to look at the burning light of our phone or computer. We use the Libby app to connect to our library in California to continue getting free books!
18. PORTABLE POWER BANK 
You cannot have a travel essentials list without a portable power bank. This Anker PowerCore Dual Input Port is great because it can hold up to 6 charges for our phone (what we use it for the most). It also has dual ports so we can use it to charge batteries for our cameras, too!
19. TRAVEL CAMERA
Even if you are not a travel photographer or blogger, you can’t travel without some sort of camera to photograph beautiful scenery and unforgettable moments along the way. Our absolute favorite camera is our Canon EOS 6D Mark II but it is a bit bulky so the Canon M50 works great for all our vlogging but takes great photos as well! We have a whole post on all of our travel camera gear that you can check out!
> Related Post: Travel Camera Gear | 22 Photography Essentials You Can’t Travel Without
CLOTHING TRAVEL ESSENTIALS LIST
20. LIGHTWEIGHT RAIN JACKETS
These Colombia Rain Jackets have saved our butt more than once on our travels. They are small enough to roll up and bring along in your day pack. These ones are lightweight enough that we can always wear them in the tropics even if it’s hot or through them over a thicker jacket if it is cold.
21. COMFY SHOES FOR ANYWHERE
Our Teva’s Original Sandals have been our travel companions for the past year and they were actually the only shoes we had for a while. We could wear them anywhere and they are so comfortable. They have so many styles and are good for the whole family.
22. AIRPLANE HOODIES
No matter if you are traveling to a tropical destination, it can get cold anytime anywhere. It is so nice to have a sweatshirt on the ready for the plane, hotel, or even just a high altitude hike. We both wear the men’s hoodie at Zara.
