The Best Travel Accessories You Didn’t Know You Needed

Sometimes packing the best travel accessories is what makes your trip. We are always looking for and updating our travel essentials to find more lightweight gear, multipurpose items and unique travel gadgets. The right accessories can really lower the stress of traveling. Pack properly and you can decrease your luggage weight, create more space, and have the essentials you need for any situation. This is what elevates you to expert level travel.

We’ve curated this list of our favourite travel accessories. The best of the best in terms of true travel essentials. As well as some interesting items you may have never thought to travel with.

What is one item you refuse to travel without? Let us know in the comments below! ⬇️

Comfortable Walking Shoes

This one tops our list for must needed travel accessories. When you are traveling and touring around a new city, having a comfortable walking shoe is a top priority. The key is to look for something that is ultraflexible, lightweight, durable and machine washable to make it ideal for travel.

There are plenty of multi-purpose lightweight walking shoes on the market. One of our favourites are the adidas Women’s Cloudfoam and adidas Men’s Lite Racer running shoes for travel. They are the most comfortable shoes you will ever wear. Like walking on a cloud. It’s an absolute dream.

These multipurpose shoes are perfect for anything. From sightseeing, to all outdoor adventures, like trekking and hiking, to a pleasant shoe on a plane, and perfect for the gym. These are all you need. And to top it all off, they are crazy stylish.

Lightweight Travel Bag

Having lightweight and durable luggage may be the most important item for the seasoned traveler. There are so many amazing companies doing it right. But we are looking for the best!

We can tell that COOLIFE Luggage did their travel homework. Their series of luggage has everything you are looking for. This luggage is as durable as it comes. They go through insanely strict quality control test standards which creates strong and sturdy pieces that can withstand any form of rough handling. There is a secure and built-in TSA lock, silent spinner wheels, fully lined interior with multi-use organizational pockets.

And they are very lightweight. Which means you can stuff it with gear and still come in under your 50 lbs limit. The 20 inch carry on travel bag is 6.36 lbs and the 28 inch bag is 10.88 lbs. The larger 28 inch bag also has the ability to expand and give you 15% more space for additional packing capacity.

Best Travel Backpack

And the accompaniment to any good piece of luggage, is a good travel backpack. There’s a lot of features that we think make a backpack best for travel. And this one is our favourite.

The Matein Travel Backpack is travel perfection. What makes it great is that it is truly a multipurpose travel bag.

It can be used as a carry on bag or personal item. And it would be ideal for the airport as it has a compartment that fits a 15.6 inch laptop, a luggage strap that allows the backpack to fit over your luggage handle, and it has a built in USB charger so you can charge all your electronics while you wait.

It is also ideal for backpacking and city touring. The bag is very stylish and would suit any situation. It has one spacious compartment for daily necessities and a front compartment with many pockets for smaller items. And it has a hidden anti theft pocket on the back to protect your valuable items.

And to top it all off, it could even be used for outdoor travel and hiking. The bag is comfortable to carry with adjustable straps and padded shoulder straps to give you maximum back support. It is water resistant in case you get stuck in weather. And it is a very lightweight backpack to carry, weighing only 1.5 lbs.

Love cool travel accessories? Check out our other posts full of the world’s best travel gadgets:

• ‘The Coolest Outdoor Gear on the Planet’
• ’10 Best Items for Long Haul Travel’
• ‘The Essential Backpacking Packing List’
• ‘The Most Essential Items You Need for Car Camping’
• ‘Your Day Hiking Essentials Packing List’

Best Travel Jacket

Another one of those travel accessories that we all want to be multipurpose is your jacket. They are one of the bulkiest things you will pack, so it needs to work for any condition.

We recently discovered WenVen and they are making some seriously stylish, durable and affordable travel jackets.

WenVen Men’s Military Jacket is lightweight, durable and machine washable. It has handy interior pockets which is great for hiding your valuables in. And it is truly multipurpose, perfect for sightseeing, and warm enough hiking.

And the women’s version is just as great. The WenVen Women’s Military Jacket is also very lightweight to pack, durable and machine washable. The jacket has multiple outside pockets and 1 hidden pocket inside. The jacket is warm enough for most climates and works for hiking, working, travelling, camping and other outdoor activities.

Lightweight Rain Jacket

A lightweight, quality rain jacket is always in our travel bag. If you travel without one, it’s more difficult to explore and you end up being controlled by the weather. An ultralight, waterproof rain jacket is easy to pack and super handy to have.

Columbia Women’s Pardon My Trench Rain Jacket is made from superior materials making it water repellent, durable and machine washable for easy cleaning. It’s style and design will take you from the street to the mountains. It even has a hidden interior security pocket for storing personal items. My favourite feature is that it is a long raincoat that covers your bum, keeping more of your body warm and dry.

Columbia Men’s Watertight II Rain Jacket is top-notch rain protection and it comes in an ultralight package. It’s so lightweight, it can even stuff into its own hand pocket. The microporous Omni-Tech fabric provides a waterproof shield while allowing excess heat and vapor to escape during activity. It really is the best rain jacket out there.

Best Travel Blanket

A good travel blanket is my absolute favourite luxury item to pack. I run cold and need an extra layer quite often.

If you think a travel blanket would benefit you, spring for the best rated one. The lightweight and compact Flight 001 Travel Blanket is small enough to throw in your carry on or backpack. The smart design turns it’s soft carrying case into a comfortable pillow. And when it’s expanded, it measures 55″W x 55″H. This multipurpose travel accessory works for the airplane, for extra warmth in your hotel, or as a sanitary linen for hostels.

Travel Electric Toothbrush

Whether you are looking to make the switch from a manual to an electric toothbrush, or you want to find the best travel electric toothbrush, you’ll want to go with Oral-B 1000 Power Toothbrush.

The Oral-B 1000 is top rated for home and for travel. The toothbrush is rechargeable and the battery lasts 7 days. So for most trips, you won’t even need to pack the charger with you. And the toothbrush itself is very lightweight, weighing only 12.5 ounces. The toothbrush also has a compatible Hard Travel Case. All of this equals the perfect toothbrush that is small, portable and easy to pack in a carry on for air travel.

Retractable Extension Cord

Ever thought of traveling with an extension cord before? No? Ever needed one?

This is one of those luxury travel accessories you may never think of packing. But it comes in handy so often at home, it may just save you some grief while abroad as well.

And at only 6.7 ounces, the UPWADE Travel Power Strip is lightweight enough to pack along. This compact extension lead is designed for travel and provides you with 5 feet of 1200W, surge protected power. Even handier, it has 2 110 volt and 220 volt outlets and 4 USB ports. It even comes with its own travel case.

Portable Fan

There are so many reasons to travel with a small portable fan. Whether you are using it to cool yourself down in a non-air conditioned rental or needing some white noise in noisy hotel rooms. It’s a comfort item you will love to have with you.

The SmartDevil Travel Fan is perfect for travel with it’s compact and lightweight design. This mini table fan is only 6 ounces yet generates a good amount of cooling power, high airflow and three speed settings. And because it’s powered by USB, it is ultra portable and can be plugged into a laptop, power bank, on an airplane or into your car.

Travel Hair Dryer

If you’re like me, you never know whether or not to pack a hair dryer. And it’s too much of a risk to get to your hotel only to find out there is none there.

But you can eliminate this problem by packing a small travel hair dryer. And you don’t even have to sacrifice quality because the Revlon Travel Hair Dryer does everything your home dryer can do. It comes with ionic technology, 2 heat settings, 2 powerful speed settings, a cool shot button, and has worldwide dual voltage. They made this hair dryer super portable and compact by adding a folding handle. This is the best rated travel hair dryer and has the best value for your money.

Best Lightweight Travel Iron

Here’s one I bet most of you have never thought of. I had just come to terms with wearing wrinkled clothes while backpacking or traveling in our camper van because the thought of packing an iron never seemed reasonable.

But then I realized there is such thing as a portable travel steam iron. And the best rated mini iron is made by Rowenta. It has all you need: 1000W with steam capability, adjustable temperature, dual voltage switch, super compact with a foldable handle, and very lightweight at only 1.5 lbs. It even comes with its own travel pouch. So small you could put it in a carry on bag.

Who knew looking good while traveling could be so simple?

Do you have any travel accessories that you consider to be essential? Have you seen any cool travel gadgets that you have on your wish list? Let us know in the comments below!

Love this post? Pin it! 😄

*This post may contain affiliate links that help to keep this blog running. Read our disclosure for more information.