In a nutshell
- Tired of the same old travel problems? The right travel gadgets can solve most of them before they even happen.
- We’ll walk you through our 10 most useful travel essentials — the ones we actually bring on every trip.
- For each gadget, we explain exactly why it’s so practical and where you can buy it.
- Plus: a bonus list of the best travel accessories recommended by our readers. Some real gems in there!
Shower Block
What is a shower block?
A shower block is a brilliant alternative to the classic shampoo and shower gel bottles. Think of it as a solid soap bar — just for your hair and body. It works the same way as regular shampoo or shower gel — it lathers, smells great, and cleanses. But it’s more sustainable and contains no silicones or microplastics.
Why is the shower block a genius travel gadget?
Has it ever happened to you that you opened your suitcase after a flight and everything inside was a slippery mess because one of your shampoo bottles had leaked? That can’t happen with a shower block.
On top of that, a shower block goes a seriously long way. Just one lasts for about 40 showers — for both hair and body combined. It’s a 2-in-1 shampoo & shower gel, so you only need one for your whole trip. And it doesn’t even have to go in the 1-liter bag if you’re traveling carry-on only. We love the shower blocks Maxi Minz and Toni Zitroni.
By the way, the two founders Johannes and Christoph got the idea for the shower block during their round-the-world trip. If that doesn’t say it all!
Buy Shower Block Toni Zitroni online
Travel Safe
What is a travel safe?
Our travel safe is made by Pacsafe. It’s a wire-reinforced bag that you secure to a fixed object in your hotel room using a steel cable and a combination lock.
Why is the Pacsafe a genius travel gadget?
We’re really not security fanatics. But our Pacsafe still gives us a great feeling every time. Most thefts happen out of opportunity — and we simply don’t give anyone that opportunity.
We don’t carry our valuables around with us; instead, we leave them locked in the travel safe back at the hotel. The in-room safes are often too small for this, or there isn’t one at all. Even in upscale hotels, it’s not uncommon for two laptops not to fit.
We secure our 12-liter Pacsafe with the steel cable to a fixed object in the room and lock it with the combination lock — super convenient, since you don’t have to keep track of a key.
It also comes in a 5-liter version. If you’re not traveling with laptops and hard drives like we are, that one might be all you need.
Travel Pillow
What is a travel pillow?
If you’re a stomach or side sleeper, you probably know the struggle with hotel pillows that are too thick or too firm. A travel pillow is the perfect fix: you always have your own pillow with you, and it barely takes up any space in your suitcase.
Why is the travel pillow a great vacation gadget?
We searched a long time for the perfect travel pillow — and we finally found it. Jenny now actually prefers sleeping on her travel pillow even at her parents’ place over her regular pillow.
The pillow by Therm-a-Rest comes in several sizes and colors. It’s wonderfully soft, yet gives you exactly the right support for sleeping. It also works brilliantly as an alternative to a neck pillow for sleeping on a plane.
To pack it, you simply roll it up to a quarter of its normal size. Once you unroll it, the filling puffs right back up.
You can also toss it straight in the washing machine and dryer. After drying, it comes out extra fluffy!
Silicone Bottles
What are silicone bottles?
Small silicone bottles are perfect for packing shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel for travel. They’re honestly among the most useful travel accessories we bring along on every trip.
What makes silicone bottles a super travel gadget?
They’re super easy to fill, and to clean them we just toss them in the dishwasher every now and then. It really doesn’t get any easier than that!
We used to buy plastic bottles from the drugstore, which would break after one trip at the latest. That doesn’t happen nearly as fast with silicone bottles.
Simple but seriously practical — these are travel essentials we can’t imagine packing without.
Insect Sting Healer
What is an insect sting healer?
The insect sting healer is an electronic device for the external treatment of insect bites and stings. It works against virtually all the symptoms you get after a mosquito, wasp, bee, hornet, or horsefly bite — including itching, burning, swelling, and pain.
Why is the insect sting healer a genius travel gadget?
Because it actually works! If someone had told us a few years ago that there was a device you just hold over a mosquito bite and — boom — it stops bothering you, we never would have believed it.
Mosquito bites are one of the few things that truly drive us crazy when traveling. You spray and slather yourself with repellent from head to toe, and they still find a spot. Little pests!
The principle is simple: the tip heats up, and the heat neutralizes the venom that causes the annoying itching. The device signals with a beep to let you know how long to hold it against your skin. For particularly stubborn bites, we use it twice.
We will never again travel to countries with mosquitoes without our sting healer. Never again!
Buy insect sting healer online
Packing Cubes
What are packing cubes?
Packing cubes let you organize your clothes and keep the chaos in your backpack or suitcase at bay. We have a set of three in different sizes plus a laundry/shoe bag.
Why are packing cubes such a great vacation gadget?
Simple: they keep your suitcase or backpack organized at all times so you can find what you’re looking for in seconds. Definitely one of our favorite travel gadgets.
Depending on the destination, we bring however many packing cubes we need. For Asia, one small cube (underwear, socks, and shorts) and one medium cube (T-shirts, a sweater, and long pants) per person is plenty.
For colder destinations, we need more clothes and bring S, M, and L sizes.
Each of us also has two extra stuff sacks — one for shoes and one for worn clothes. No more rummaging around in the backpack.
Patagonia Houdini Wind Jacket
What is the Patagonia Houdini wind jacket?
The Patagonia Houdini is a special wind jacket that’s windproof, quick-drying, and breathable — and incredibly compact.
Is our Patagonia Houdini wind jacket a good travel gadget?
Absolutely! It’s one of the best travel gadgets we own. When you fold it up, it’s so compact that it takes up virtually no space in your luggage.
And you can use it not just when it’s windy, but also when you’ve forgotten your sunscreen or it suddenly starts raining. This jacket has saved our skin more than once.
We also have Patagonia wind jackets for our kids. You can find out what else we bring along for the kids in the packing list for vacations with children.
Our tip: The Patagonia jacket isn’t cheap, unfortunately. But sometimes individual colors go on sale. We both wear the men’s version in size M — there’s even room for a hoodie underneath.
Buy Houdini Patagonia for women online
Buy Houdini Patagonia for men online
Tiger Balm
What is Tiger Balm?
Tiger Balm is the brand name for a paste that works against almost everything: colds, joint pain, muscle pain, headaches, insect bites. A true miracle remedy!
It comes in a white and a red version. When we talk about Tiger Balm here, we mean the white version, which has a cooling effect. The red version is warming and great for muscle tension.
Why is Tiger Balm a great travel gadget?
Tiger Balm is a little secret weapon that absolutely cannot be missing from our beach vacation packing list — because you can use it for so many different things. The stuff is genuinely brilliant, and we always have it with us on the road!
Get a mosquito bite and your sting healer isn’t handy? Just rub the spot with Tiger Balm. After half a minute it cools the area pleasantly. For even more cooling, add a little water on top!
For headaches, massage it into your temples. For a cold, dab a little (not too much, or it’ll burn!) under your nose and you’ll breathe much more easily right away. Same trick works if your neighbor on the plane reeks of smoke or sweat.
Carry-On Backpack
Which backpack is the best for carry-on?
We swear by the Pinqponq Blok backpack! It comes in various sizes — we have the Medium and Large versions depending on how much we need to pack.
Why is this carry-on backpack such a great travel gadget?
The Pinqponq Blok has been our faithful travel companion for years. Why?
Both the Medium and Large versions are the perfect size for different situations, and both have plenty of separate pockets inside and out — so you can always grab what you need quickly. That makes a real difference on the road.
Our tip for parents: The shoe compartment at the bottom works brilliantly as a bag for spare clothes and a changing mat.
Universal Adapter
What is a universal adapter?
Universal adapters are outlet adapters that fit into almost any socket in the world. Most have multiple USB ports built in, so you can charge all your devices virtually anywhere.
Why is a universal adapter a great travel gadget?
There are 15 outlet types worldwide. Standard plugs only fit into five of them, and those five are found mainly in Europe. Fly further afield and you’ll usually encounter something different. We’ve listed which types apply for every country in our guide to power outlets worldwide.
Rather than buying a new adapter for every trip, one universal adapter has you covered for almost any country. The one we link to here only doesn’t fit outlet types D, H, and M — but those three don’t come up all that often anyway.
Travel Gadgets from the Community
In one of our newsletters, we asked our readers about their favorite travel gadgets. Of course, we’re sharing the results with you.
We wouldn’t necessarily take everything on the list ourselves, but everyone packs differently. Maybe there’s something in the community tips that works perfectly for you?
Here’s the list of the best travel gadgets our readers shared with us:
- Noise-canceling headphones: an indispensable travel accessory for blocking out noise, especially on flights (e.g. the Sony WH-1000XM3)
- Earplugs: as an alternative to pricey headphones. The best earplugs for travel are from Sonic Shop and the sleep earplugs from Berlin Ear Guard.
- Carry-on suitcase with exterior pocket: quick access to all your important travel documents without any fumbling (e.g. from Level8)
- Waterproof stuff sack: great for packing bulkier items like sweaters or jackets in a waterproof way (e.g. from Tatonka)
- Ultralight backpack: always handy as an alternative to a regular backpack (Ultralight Black Hole 25L by Patagonia)
- Inflatable pillow: worth it not just for the journey there, but also at the hotel or on the beach (e.g. this one)
- Ultralight fleece blanket: a lightweight blanket for snuggling up, which can also double as a pillow (from Cocoon)
- Microfiber towel: useful not just for camping, but also as a beach towel with a small pack size (e.g. from PackTowl)
- Lightweight travel sleeping bag: can also come in handy on the road for hygiene reasons (from Cocoon)
- Lightweight hoodie: for travel in colder regions or places with big temperature swings (e.g. from Arc’teryx)
- Collapsible water bottle: space-saving, refillable water bottle (from Platypus)
- Stainless steel water bottle: an “always with you” bottle for refilling (e.g. from 24Bottles)
- Collapsible food containers: for picnics on the go or when you have leftovers (e.g. these)
- Heat it sting healer: an alternative to our sting healer mentioned above (e.g. this one)
- Night light with motion sensor: so you don’t trip in the hotel room at night, best with battery power (e.g. this one)
- Headlamp: always a good idea, especially if you spend a lot of time outdoors (e.g. from Petzl)
- Pocket knife: always comes in handy one way or another (the trusty Leatherman)
- Selfie stick: especially useful for solo travelers (e.g. this one)
- E-reader: a must-have if you want to save weight (e.g. from Kindle)
- Shoe bags: for more organization and less dirt in your suitcase, compact pack size (e.g. these)
- Emergency card: with info on medications, emergency contacts, etc., in case you’re ever unresponsive (like this one)
- Ginger tablets: helps with motion sickness (e.g. Zintona)
