Since we started traveling the world professionally in 2018, we’ve spent 9 months backpacking through Southeast Asia and 3 months hiking in South America, we’ve taken business trips with suitcases and weekend breaks with carry-on, we’ve road tripped around the entire US twice and explored most of Europe by train, and we’ve traveled on every budget from penny-pinching to high-end luxury.
Needless to say, we’ve learned a thing or two about effectively packing for trips. And more specifically, after years of testing, trial and error, surprisingly poor products and unexpected hidden gems, we eventually settled on our “must-have” list of travel essentials that we always pack first and never leave home without.
Hi, we’re Mark and Kristen Morgan. We left our scientific careers in 2018 to become travel writers and photographers, and since then our expert guides have helped millions of travel planners take better trips. Read more about us.
Why trust us with packing for your trip? We’ve packed for every type of trip you can think of since 2018. We know what doesn’t work, and we know what is essential for travel. As always, every photo in this guide is ours.
Now, we’re not going to show you every single item we pack in our suitcases or backpacks. That would be a long list of random things and you’d get bored reading it. Pants, t-shirts, toiletries, blah-blah, you’ve already packed those things. Instead, we’re going to show you the “essentials” we genuinely can’t travel without. The difference-makers. Small, cheap, easy, lightweight things that always come in handy.
We’ll walk you through our organization “must-haves”, the travel clothes we love, non-flashy electronics, important travel gear we always use, and finally our underrated personal items that go under the radar. The goal here is to help you pack better for your next trip – if our guide gets just one more useful item in your suitcase, we’ll consider it a success. Let’s dive in!
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Our Organization Must-Haves
Are you an organizer? Do you prefer things to be neat, tidy and sectioned? If the answer is yes, you’re just like Kristen who is on a constant pursuit of organization at home and with our business. You’d be impressed by our collection of labelled storage tubs and paperwork binders.
But what about travel? Well, we’ve tried so many weird and wonderful organization products over the years. Some worked well and others didn’t, some were gimmicky and others were a better concept than they were in real-world use. But there were a handful of basic items that just worked, every time, and we’d never leave them behind again.
Travel Cord Organizer
We’ve got USB cables coming out of our ears: Mobile phones, over-ear headphones, in-ear headphones, portable speaker, watches, headlamps, laptops, tablet, kindle, hard-drive, electric toothbrushes, power bank, portable fan, Mark’s beard trimmer, and now a white noise machine to help our daughter sleep at night. Add in plug adapters, camera chargers, laptop chargers and headphones – that’s a lot of electronics to pack.
Way back in 2018, we learned the hard way that loose cables go missing far too easily. And we got fed up with rifling through bags trying to find certain chargers, so we bought this travel cord organizer and it’s been on every single trip we’ve taken since. Now we keep all our cables and electronic devices neatly packed away for instant access.
Packing Cubes
Yes, we know cubes are such a cliche for a packing list. But honestly, we don’t know how we ever traveled without them. We just go into autopilot when packing nowadays – one cube for underwear, one cube for t-shirts, and now the biggest cube of all for our daughter’s clothes.
The days of rummaging around backpacks or suitcases looking for that second sock (and getting flustered when we can’t find it!) are a thing of the past. There’s so many packing cubes available so have a good look around at reviews and comments. We have three different sets that we’ve bought over the years – but if we were to buy some today, these are the cubes we would get.
Waterproof Wet-Dry Bag
Have you ever packed a wet swimsuit into your suitcase with dry clothes and thought “man I wish I had a bag to put this in”? Us too, a long time ago. That’s when we bought this set of waterproof bags, and you won’t believe how handy they come in.
They’re perfect for wet swimsuits and towels after the pool or at the beach (they’re great for keeping sand out of everything), but we also use them at hotel gyms, when we need a place to temporarily put a used diaper or a backup for leaking toiletries – heck we’ve even used them as pillows at JFK airport with clothes stuffed inside. Get a set, you won’t regret it.
Family-Sized Passport Holder
Trying to juggle three passports and boarding passes, Mark’s green card, visas, landing cards and all the other faffing around involved with getting through airports these days was giving us that pocket-patting anxiety. Where’s my passport? Where are our boarding passes? We needed an organizer to hold it all in one place, so we bought this passport holder and it’s been a life saver.
Before we even get to the airport, we put all our documents and passports in the one zip-up RFID holder. Then we add our boarding passes once we get them at check-in after dropping off the stroller and car seat. It’s made our airport experiences feel way less stressful.
Kristen’s latest addition: Our newest must-have for organizing is this diaper bag for our daughter. We kept seeing parents in airports carrying this exact diaper bag, so we checked it out and the reviews were amazing. We bought it, we use it every single day and we love it.
Travel Clothes We Love
We could chew your ear off about only packing multi-purpose clothing items, leaving those “if’s, but’s and maybe’s” at home, and making sure practical layers (that actually look good together) are at the core of your packing plan. But this is a guide for our packing essentials, not our entire philosophy.
The problem? Style and substance are one of the most subjective parts of packing for any trip. We lean heavily towards practical clothes that are perfect for walking miles around cities because we like to see and do everything in a new place. But some people would rather look their best and spend time hanging out in vibrant neighborhood bars. Neither way is better or worse, but packing for these two different types of trip would be the polar opposite.
Now, you probably already have your own preferred brands that you always use, but it can’t hurt for you to see ours too. Here are the clothes we always take on trips.
Hybrid Travel Clothes
Don’t you find it funny at airports when some people clearly dress for comfort and others dress for style. The tracksuit crew look a bit scruffy but you’re so jealous of how comfy they must be, whereas the chinos and polo shirt crew look sharp but you’re delighted not to feel that uncomfortable. After taking hundreds of flights, we’ve dressed every way you can imagine and there’s always been a trade-off. But that ended recently, when Mark got these lightweight travel pants from Bluffworks.
The second Mark pulled these pants on for our travel day, he knew they were going to be winners. They felt like pajamas but looked like trendy suit pants, striking that rare balance between comfort and style. Mark’s worn them for a lot more than just travel days since, and we’ll be getting a second color for sure. Honestly, finding Bluffworks and these pants has made us want to actively pursue buying more hybrid “comfy-but-smart” travel clothes in the future.
High-Quality Comfort
One of the first things we grab out of our closet for any trip, whether it’s a weekend break to see family or a 2-week trip through Italy, is a carefully selected assortment of high-quality shorts and t-shirts that we can comfortably use for everything from sightseeing to lounging and even lunch or dinner. And that’s where our favorite clothing brand comes in: Vuori.
We’ve been wearing Vuori clothes since Mark bought a pair of ponto shorts and a strato tech tee from an REI in Washington back in 2021 and absolutely loved them. Now, we own basically half of their styles. Kristen’s favorites are the clementine shorts – she has 3 colors. We travel, hike, walk, explore, chill out, exercise, work, and pretty much live in their clothes. (No joke, Mark is genuinely sat writing this guide right now wearing Vuori shorts and t-shirt.)
Hiking Socks
Whenever we pack for a cold weather or hiking trip, there’s only one brand of sock you’ll find in our suitcase – Darn Tough. We each own at least 5 pairs of their micro crew midweight socks (they’re a staple in our Christmas stockings), and we’ve used them all over the world – from day hiking The Enchantments to our 8-day Tour du Mont Blanc trek.
We’ve never had blisters because they don’t slip, we could easily get 3-4 days of hard use before the socks started to smell (not that we’ve tried!), they wick sweat on hot days and retain heat on cold days, and they even come with a lifetime warranty. The glowing reviews of Darn Tough socks speak for themselves. If you enjoy hiking when you travel or you often visit cold places, get a pair and thank us later.
Sandals
As long as we’re not going somewhere cold, we always pack our Birkenstocks as the perfect companion to running shoes. They are the only two footwear items you’ll find in our bags. We wear our comfortable cushioned running shoes whenever we’re clocking up serious steps, and we use our well-worn Birkenstocks for everything else.
We also own and love Havaianas and Crocs flip-flops, but Birkenstocks offer us something the others don’t – we can dress them up or down. They’re also moulded to our feet which makes them super comfy, and they don’t take up much room in our suitcases. Mark was admittedly reserved about getting a pair at first, but after taking the plunge when we visited Berlin in 2018, they’ve been a staple ever since.
Non-Flashy Electronics
It feels like the world is getting too tech-heavy and gadgety these days. We’re all for progress and innovation, but what happened to the good old days of kicking a ball around the field with your friends instead of being glued to an iPad watching TikTok?! Anyway, one thing we love about travel is that it kind of brings us back to basics – we ditch the tech and go as analogue as possible.
But even when we travel and make a real attempt to reduce our use of electronics, there are still a few absolute stalwarts that have to be packed – like smartphones, cameras, toothbrushes, trimmers, and laptops. And what do they all have in common? They need power.
What we consider to be essential when it comes to packing electronics isn’t flashy gadgets – it’s understated components that keep our devices powered up and a foolproof way to watch movies on flights. Here’s what we never leave home without (these practical items make for the best gifts).
Travel Adapter
In our opinion, the number one must-have electronic for any traveler in the world should be an adapter for plugs and USB cables. Adapters these days can plug into any socket, then you can put any plug type into the adapter – and they have 4 USB slots. So from one plug socket you can power 5 devices at once (or even more if you plug an extension cord into the adapter).
We bought 2 travel adapters years ago and they’re been on every single trip with us since. We’ve used them in more than 40 countries and never had a single issue. We even use them at home in every day life to charge any electronics that only come with USB cables. If we were going to buy a new one today, it would be this travel adapter with stellar ratings.
Extension Cord
What a basic and unglamorous packing essential! But seriously, how many times have you been caught out in a hotel room or train where your cord wasn’t long enough to reach a socket? We found ourselves being frustrated by this one too many times, so we bought a small lightweight extension cord with 8 plug sockets, 3 USB slots and 1 USB-C slot to make our lives easier on the road. It’s traveled with us ever since and we also use it as part of our home office setup.
Concerned it might not plug in where you’re going? That’s where the travel adapter comes in. Combined, you can easily power any device with multiple sockets and USB ports. Ours is old now, but we’ll definitely buy this extension cord next time because it has sky high ratings and it includes surge protection for peace of mind. We always find it ironic how the least sexy electronics are the most crucial.
Powerbank
What would you do if you were walking around a sketchy city and your ran out of phone battery? Or if you were using your phone for driving navigation in a foreign country and it died? And we’re not even getting into real emergency what if’s here. We set off with two powerbanks (one with USB charging and one solar charged) from day 1 of our travels back in 2018 because we hated the idea of having a drama but not being able to do anything about it because our phones had no charge.
We’ll be honest, just knowing our old trusty powerbanks are in our backpack acts like a safety net and takes away any anxiety. We’ve had to use them quite a few times too – not just on road trips or hikes, but also when we’re in cities taking tons of photos and videos to add to guides like this one. Our USB-charged one is on its last legs, so we’ve just bought this Anker powerbank to replace it. Trust us, buy a powerbank and you’ll stop fretting over your iPhone’s declining battery percentage.
Bluetooth Transmitter
How annoying is it when you’re watching an in-flight movie with cables plugged into the screen on a long-haul flight and your food gets brought out but you can’t make the tray table work with the cable?! It drove us mad for years. Then we bought this small bluetooth transmitter which plugs into the screen and connects to our over-ear headphones wirelessly through bluetooth. What a difference.
Yes, we could watch movies on our phones or tablets instead, but part of the fun of flying is watching the in-flight films. So until airlines make bluetooth connectivity fully accessible and free for all classes, we’ll keep packing this handy little device to make watching movies on flights so much easier. And here’s a bit of a bonus – we actually plug it into the aux port in our old car to stream music from our phones because it acts as a receiver as well as a transmitter.
Travel Gear We Always Use
Out of all the travel gear you own, what would you consider to be so helpful or unique that it actually makes a difference? We live in the travel space and we see so many fads or hyped up items that end up being as much use as a chocolate fire guard. But for every 10 things we’ve used once and discarded, there’s always been 1 thing that actually made a difference.
Want to know our insider secret for figuring out what travel gear we truly need? Actually go somewhere and discover what’s missing, what our pain point is, or what makes us say “we could really do with X”. It’s not until something happens on a real trip that you realize you need it, and those needs will be different for everyone. Here are the things we use most.
Suitcase Locks
Another super simple but effective travel essential that’s a real difference maker? Suitcase locks. We’ve used these affordable suitcase locks for years and they’ve given us so much peace of mind. Every time we check our suitcases for flights we lock them – why wouldn’t you? If someone wants to steal from a suitcase, they’ll go after one with no locks.
And it’s not just flights. We tend to move hotels regularly when we visit new places, so there’s lots of leaving bags at hotel receptions after check-outs and before check-ins. Our locks go on then too. We realized we needed locks at hotels when we had some things stolen from our suitcase at a hotel in Vietnam. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make us more aware and safety conscious.
Apple AirTags
You know that feeling you get at the baggage carousel when other people get their suitcases and leave, and all of a sudden you’re one of just a few left and you’re sure your bag hasn’t made it? We remember years ago in Santiago, Chile when this happened to us and we said to each other “wouldn’t it be useful if we could just track our baggage”. Then Apple brought out these AirTags.
We bought two of them straight away and we’ve used them ever since. Recently, we bought two more so we can track our stroller and car seat too. Having the ability to track our luggage is worth 1,000 times the cheap AirTags cost – and the beauty is, they can be used for so many other things when not traveling, like a dog collar, inside a car, even young kids or older family members. Oh, and we don’t usually accessorize things, but we couldn’t help buying these AirTag holder key chains for a bit of added protection.
Water Bottle
Do travel essentials get any more simple than a reusable water bottle? No. But honestly, ours is the first thing we pack for every trip. We make sure it’s empty to pass through security, then we fill it up at a reservoir in the airport. That saves us the best part of $5 every time (and we fly a lot).
The same applies to walking around any place we visit. We always fill it up at the hotel, then again at attractions or restaurants so we have free drinking water all day. Not only are we doing our bit for the environment, but we’re also saving a small fortune in the process. It really is a no-brainer. We’ve had tons of different versions over the years – our current favorite is this Yeti tumbler but next time we’ll try the Owala 24 oz water bottle.
Carry-On Backpack
We’ve tested so many backpacks since 2018. Want to know the way we tell a good backpack from an average one? When it’s time for us to pack for a certain type of trip, we always grab the same bags. First, we absolutely love our old-school Osprey Farpoint 40L backpacks – they’ve traveled through Asia and Europe with us, and they’ve never let us down. Annoyingly, some airlines don’t allow 40L as carry-on anymore so we always check that before traveling with them.
Our Peak Design Everyday Backpacks are the only bags we choose when we take our cameras on trips – they’ve been all around the world with us and they’re incredibly durable. We wouldn’t choose any other camera bag. But recently, we realized we were missing a quality 20-30L sized backpack for general travel, so we bought these highly rated Taygeer carry-on backpacks and so far we’re very impressed – they easily fit under seats and in overhead lockers on planes. We got them in pink and cream, and we know they’ll get a lot of use.
Our Under The Radar Personal Items
We want to finish by walking you through a few of our favorite hidden gem travel essentials. These items are so boring but so effective (if you buy them for someone they’ll give you a quizzed look and a forced thank you, then half way through their trip realize it was the most important gift they got).
The truth is, the best travel products are the ones you actually use, not the ones that look good or cost a lot of money. We never travel without any of the following things.
Travel-Size Toiletries
We absolutely don’t have the suitcase weight or space available for traveling with full-size toiletries, so we always pack small travel-size shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, deodorant and toothpaste. If they don’t last the full trip, at least we have a good few days to find somewhere locally that sells more.
And here’s our insider tip: Skip the expensive supermarket travel toiletries and instead buy these small bottles that you can fill up from your bigger ones at home before the trip. It’s so much more cost effective. Ours in the photo above are old now, so we’ll be buying those upgraded models very soon ourselves.
Hand Sanitizer & Wipes
Kristen has always been a keen germ-fighter, so we’ve been well stocked up with hand sanitizer and wet wipes for years. And to be honest, we’ve had a few travel experiences where Mark was grateful to have them.
Covid was obviously a massive eye-opener for us all, and measles outbreaks are getting worse. Being sanitary is more crucial than ever when traveling – especially now that we have a young daughter. We’re not over the top with it, but we never travel without hand sanitizer or wipes. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Laundry Bag
We own two types of travel laundry bag – mesh and fully enclosed. We pack our mesh laundry bags when we take longer trips, like when we lived in an Airbnb in Thailand for a month. They serve the exact same purpose as our laundry bin at home, dirty clothes sit in them for a few days before we put it all in the washing machine.
On the other hand, we use our sealed nylon laundry bags when we take shorter trips to hotels with no laundry and simply stuff our dirty gear away until we get home. They’re perfect for odor containment and keeping any moisture locked inside. When not traveling, we’ve used these bags for the gym, pool, and even to store clothes.
Sarong (Cover Up)
One of the big mistakes we see people make on trips is not dressing appropriately for places of worship. We’ve seen it at temples all over Asia and even the Vatican Museum where everyone’s shoulders and knees must be covered. Some places do provide visitors with sarongs or cover ups, but most don’t and we’ve seen people get turned away or told to buy one from a local vendor. Instead, why not just pack one so you’re covered for any eventuality?
Kristen bought this affordable sarong ages ago and has used it so many times at the pool, beach, and places of worship. It’s cheap, multi-functional and lightweight which makes it easy to pack for any destination. Or if you’re looking for something a bit more high-end, an alternative Kristen recently got and is loving right now is this utility scarf from Bluffworks – it’s more expensive but it’s so comfy and it even has hidden pockets.
Next Steps
We hope our travel essentials list helps with packing for your next trip.
If you’d like personalized 1-on-1 help planning your next trip, book a call with us today. We can answer any questions you have and and create the perfect itinerary to suit your travel style.
Still researching for your trip?
- Here’s what we pack for a road trip.
- This is what we pack for a day hike.
Happy travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen spent 6 years traveling the world, visiting over 40 countries across 4 continents and more than 30 US states. They created Where Are Those Morgans in 2018 to help others plan the best possible vacations by writing authentic travel and hiking guides based on their real experiences.
Since the arrival of baby Maya in late 2024, Mark and Kristen’s extensive travels have slowed down but they still take plenty of trips. Where Are Those Morgans now helps millions of travelers each year to visit new places and hike new trails through information-packed blog posts and expert travel guidebooks. Read more about Mark and Kristen.