What to Bring When Traveling? Our Favorite Travel Gear!

From city trips and road trips to world tours. From living as a digital nomad to weekend camping in nature. During all these travels, we have tested quite a bit of travel gear. But what are our real favorite travel items? What are the things we recommend other travel enthusiasts to take with them on their trips? We’ll list them for you and explain what makes these travel items, in our opinion, so handy.

Travel Gear for the ‘Backpack Kitchen’

I always find it handy to be self-sufficient while traveling. So if you don’t feel like eating out, you can quickly prepare something in your room, like a backpacking meal that only needs hot water. But I also like to travel light, so I take a minimal kit for preparing meals. My ‘backpack kitchen’ consists of a cooking pot, a mini pepper and salt set (yes, really), a travel cutlery multitool, and a set of collapsible camping dishes with a plate, bowl, and mug, so I can always quickly make something.

Laundry Bag

A laundry bag isn’t necessarily a must-have for travel, since you can just use a plastic bag or a separate compartment in your suitcase if you have one. But I do find a laundry bag very handy. This lightweight laundry bag from Sea to Summit is my favorite. It can also be used as a stuff sack, for example, for a jacket or sleeping bag. Made of breathable material, super light and compact, and it offers enough space for all my laundry. This way, I can take everything to the laundry at once when it’s full. I use the 20-liter one, which is a perfect size for a large load. If you have fewer clothes, you could manage with 15 liters.

Dry Bag and Dry Sacks

A dry bag is always super handy to take on a trip. Especially if you often go out on a boat, which happens more often than you might expect. But also for SUPing, kayaking, a heavy rainstorm, or just at the beach. I regularly use a dry bag or thinner dry sack. In many beach locations, you can buy dry bags, but they are usually thick and heavy. That’s why I find the Sea to Summit Sling dry bag a great solution. It also has a shoulder strap, so you can carry it over your shoulder. This makes it very useful as a beach bag. This dry bag takes up hardly any space and is very convenient to use. For my valuable travel items, I also use a dry sack. I then put this in a dry bag or backpack. This way, I know everything is well protected. Those small dry sacks are also handy for loose items in your bag.

Foldable Backpack

A foldable backpack is super handy to take on a trip if you don’t want to carry a daypack. Especially if you’re backpacking and don’t want to carry a daypack on your front when traveling from A to B. There are some very good foldable backpacks available that take up little space when not in use, but are still comfortable to wear during a day trip or hike. It’s helpful if such a bag has side pockets for your water bottle and comfortable shoulder straps. I personally travel with a waterproof foldable backpack from Matador, but there are other good options too. For example, the foldable backpack from Osprey is also good. We have compared our favorite foldable backpacks so you can make a good choice for which one suits you best.

Shoe Storage Bag

Whether my shoes are covered in mud from hiking or I’ve walked through the dirty streets of a local fish market, I don’t want to store them with the rest of my luggage. The shoe storage bag is perfect for this. The inside has a plasticized layer, so you can easily wipe it clean after use. No more hassle with tearing, dirty plastic bags. And it’s a much more sustainable solution! Along with my sneakers or low hiking shoes, it also fits a pair of slippers.

Hammam Towel

I always take a hammam towel with me when I travel. It’s one of those travel items that I use multifunctionally. First of all, it’s great as a beach towel, but I used to also use it regularly in hostels as a ‘curtain’ along my bed. And as a blanket on the plane or a cold air-conditioned bus, a hammam towel is ideal. At home, I also always use it for the sauna. A hammam towel dries quickly, feels soft, and is large enough to lie on or wrap around you as a shawl.”

Waterproof Picnic Blanket

When I first took this waterproof picnic blanket, the Matador pocket blanket, on a trip, I didn’t realize how much I would use it. Because it’s so small, you can easily throw it in your bag. I use it while hiking, on the beach, and as a groundsheet during camping trips. What really sets this blanket apart from other foldable blankets are the stakes at the corners, which you can easily pin to the ground. And because it’s water-repellent, you can also use it on wet grass. It’s also handy in the Netherlands for festivals and picnicking in the park. It’s now one of my essential travel items that I always take on trips.

Universal Adapter

I was never a big fan of universal adapters. They are quite bulky to take on a trip and still weigh a bit. That’s why I always bought those small plug adapters or USB chargers locally, and that worked fine. I still use those small adapters a lot, but if you need different adapters for all parts of the world, it becomes quite a collection. After being caught unprepared once, I gave in and got a universal adapter. Finding the right one is tricky. They all seem to offer the same features, but that’s not the case. I did extensive research to find the most versatile universal adapter, and that’s the one I now take on trips. The S-Kross universal adapter with USB has a large, grounded socket for your laptop charger, and it has two USB ports. That means you can charge your laptop, phone, and power bank simultaneously with one adapter. It fits sockets in 130 countries, which is a lot more than most travel adapters.

Sea to Summit Travel Clothesline

The Sea to Summit camping clothesline is one of those travel gadgets you end up using much more often than you initially expected. I originally bought this clothesline for my camping trips but now take it on other travels as well. Hanging out your bikini and towel in the sun or drying a quick hand wash is really convenient. The best part about this clothesline is that you don’t need clothespins. You clamp the points of your laundry between the clips that are on the clothesline. With its smart hanging system, you can easily set it up anywhere. And the best part, the 3-meter long clothesline comes in a compact storage pouch and is very lightweight. It’s particularly handy for camping trips, but once you have it, you’ll take it on other trips too.

Fanny Pack

Yes, it’s back, the fanny pack! For years, you couldn’t be seen with one, but secretly it’s great that the fanny pack is back in style. It’s very handy to take on a trip! Our whole team now travels with the Matador fanny pack. As with all Matador products, it’s compact and practical. It has convenient pockets and offers enough space for your phone, wallet, passport, and other small travel items. I find it ideal at the airport or during a bus trip. But I also use it a lot on city trips.

Foldable Chair

Everyone always thinks I’m a bit crazy because I take it on every trip, but I’m super happy with my Helinox foldable chair. When folded, it’s just slightly bigger than a milk carton and weighs almost nothing, less than half a kilo. I use it not only when camping but also during ‘normal’ vacations. Some hotel rooms only have a bed, and I don’t like having to sit on the bed all the time when you want to spend some time in your room. Or sometimes the chairs are just terrible: that’s when I sit comfortably in my Helinox chair. And of course, it’s perfect for campfires, in nature, and during hikes. But also at the beach. It’s very compact but still incredibly comfortable and relaxing.

What to Pack for Your Trip?

You won’t take all of these travel items on every trip. A backpacking trip requires different gear than camping, road trips, or city trips. If you’re backpacking for the first time, you might not want to buy everything at once, as it could take up a large part of your travel budget. Start with a good backpack, packing cubes, and a few other handy travel items, and gradually expand your travel gear with each trip. You can always opt for cheaper travel items, but remember that with travel gear, cheap often means costly in the long run, as you need it to last for the entire trip. However, if you’re on a tight budget and not sure if you’ll travel often, opting for cheaper items is a perfectly fine option.