9 Essential Travel Items We Won’t Leave Home Without

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Our family travels close to 100 days per year. Over time, we have found nine essential items that we will not travel without. No matter if we are on a cruise, a road trip, or just a weekend getaway, the following nine items will be with us without exception.

Clear Backpack (Check the latest price on Amazon) Lucy and I LOVE bags. I mean, Vera Bradley, Cath Kidston, and Kavu are our good friends. However, we want to be prepared for anything when traveling, so a clear, plastic backpack is essential. For years, I would carry plastic zip lock bags inside of my travel bag or backpack. I used the baggies to protect our items in case of a downpour, or for when we were on water rides at amusement parks. However, what we found was that our travel bag became soggy and disgusting for the rest of the day.

Then…. one day, I was making copies in the teacher’s workroom at school. Sitting on the “free” table was a clear Eastport backpack. I have known for years that amusement park employees carry their personal belongings in clear bags for security purposes, just like fans do when attending college football games. However, it never hit me that I could get through security faster without someone pillaring around during bag checks if they could see everything from the outside. Also, if it rains or you somehow get wet, your items are completely protected! At the beach, sand will not get in your valuables. Plus, it is easy to sanitize after a long day of traveling. This backpack changed my thoughts on traveling, and I do believe we travel smarter now!

The Money Wrap (Check the latest price on Amazon) For a while, I was really into running 5ks. When running, you don’t want to carry a bag of any sort, not even a drawstring version. So, I purchased a money wrap. This wrap goes around your waist and has a section for your cell phone and zipper sections for keys and money. I am not putting any item that is essential to my getting home or well-being on a trip into a bag I carry separately. I want those items to be safe on my person. My shirt covers the wrap, and I know that my valuables are protected.

RFID Sleeve (Check the latest price on Amazon) Although I carry my money in my wrap, I still want to take as many safety precautions as possible. I carry my credit/bank cards in an RFID sleeve to protect them from theft technology. A sleeve fits perfectly in my money wrap, and everything is safe and snug. I prefer a passport RFID sleeve because I can fit a few cards in the same sleeve, along with insurance cards and my driver’s license.

J Pillow (Check the latest price on Amazon) When traveling distances, whether on a plane or in an automobile, there is nothing worse than taking a snooze, only to wake up with a pain in your neck. There have been so many times that I wanted to sleep in the car, but I was afraid of neck pain. I researched and finally found a travel pillow that met my neck needs. It is called a “J” pillow because it is shaped like a letter “J.” The pillow curves to support my chin, and creates stability so that my neck doesn’t bend in some unnatural way. I actually keep a “J” pillow in my car and one in Sean’s truck because I never want to be stuck on a trip without one!

Laundry Bag (Check the latest price on Amazon) I don’t know how many times I have been on a trip and wondered what I was going to do with my dirty clothes. I usually keep clothes in my luggage while traveling unless I’m in my camper because I like to keep them in a confined space that is my own. However, I definitely do not want to mix clean and clothing, so I am not placing dirty clothes back inside my luggage. For instances like these, I like to use a portable laundry bag. I can carry the bag on my shoulder, or I can place it into my luggage with a nice barrier between the clean and dirty clothes. Plus, it is ventilated, so I don’t have to worry about mold or nasty smells morphing while I travel!

Portable Battery Charger (Check the latest price on Amazon) I have been to Disney one too many times where I have had to slow my phone down and place it on low battery mode because I was afraid the battery would die. I was not worried about phone calls at those times, but rather taking pictures with the phone’s camera. However, having the capability of making calls is important when traveling on excursions and tours. Because of the possible need to have extended battery life, we carry a good quality portable phone charger. Some phone chargers of lesser quality are fine around town, but on a trip, we need to know that there is no problem with our ability to receive a phone charge if needed.

Mini Steamer (Check the latest price on Amazon) If you place your clothing into any kind of suitcase or duffle bag, a mini-steamer is essential. I do not want to carry a full-sized steamer, but a mini is compact and definitely gets the job done. It is hard to have wrinkle-free clothing when traveling unless you use an iron or steamer. Although hotels usually have irons, I really don’t want to rub an iron that someone else has used all over my family’s clothing. A mini steamer does the trick for wrinkle-free clothing every time. Never again will we go out for a nice dinner, and all four of us look like we just pulled our clothes out of a bag!

Go-Pro Camera (Check the latest price on Amazon) Although my iPhone is waterproof, there are some places that it is not going with me. Pools and the sea are prime examples. I also don’t like the phone out in the pouring rain/snow or in sandy locations. For these instances, I carry a Go-Pro. The Go-Pro takes both pictures and video. It is small, extremely portable, and it can endure a lot of wear and tear. I love that the Go-Pro has picture stabilization technology and vast amounts of storage within a cloud. One awesome feature is that you can talk to your Go-Pro and tell it to take a picture with its voice control features.

Go-Pro Accessories (Check the latest price on Amazon) Another aspect that I love about the Go-Pro is the number of accessories you can use with it. I always hook the camera up to a flotation device when I am in any type of deep water. There are attachments for your head or shoulder if you would prefer to wear them while videoing on an adventure. With voice command features, you can just tell the Go-Pro sitting on your shoulder to take a picture! Sure, I may look a little strange when on a roller coaster or sliding down a water slide wearing a camera on my head, but it is safer and more convenient than carrying a phone or camera. You can also attach it to a bike or use the tripod when capturing something in a stationary position!

I hope you find use in our top nine travel accessories that we won’t leave home without. Throughout all of our travels, these items have shown through as being the most essential.

Do you have any essential travel accessories that you love? We would love to hear from you. Drop us a line in the comment section below.