Summer Travel Essentials You’ll Want to Make Room for in your Suitcase
If you’re hitting the road or heading for the airport, there’s no shortage of gadgets that promise to make your trip easier. Typing “summer travel essentials” into the Amazon search bar returns more than 100,000 results. Search “travel must haves” on Tiktok and you’ll see hundreds of videos with solutions to problems you didn’t even know you had.
Before you click “add to cart,” let’s talk about which travel accessories actually qualify as essentials and which ones are just a waste of money. We’ve done a lot of traveling in the last few years (love that empty nest life!) and I’ve been suckered into trying more than a few items that weren’t worth the plastic they were made of. But a couple have ended up in my “essentials” pile because they made the hassles of travel just a little easier.
The Top Five Summer Travel Essentials
I could talk about summer vacation prep all day long, but I’ve narrowed this list down to my five favorite items that will give you the most bang for your buck when traveling. Limited suitcase space? These are the items I would recommend making room for!
Disposable Washcloths (because Europeans don’t use them)
We were pretty surprised to learn most European hotels do NOT have washcloths. Apparently they are considered a personal item, like a toothbrush, or some cultures simply don’t use them.
I have to have a washcloth for both my face and body, and these disposable ones were the perfect find for our recent trip to Ireland and Scotland. They’re super tiny (remember the little dehydrated towels for kids?) and expand when wet. They’re strong, too, so they last a full shower or face wash and then you just toss them.
Bottle Condoms, aka Silicone Toiletry Covers
They’re not actually called bottle condoms but that’s exactly what they are. They’re silicone covers that slide over your bottles to keep them from opening and spilling. If they get messy, just turn them inside out, rinse and let dry.
I’ve had several toiletry bags ruined through the years by spilled shampoo or body wash, and I’ve tried any number of solutions. But these are the simplest and fastest way to secure your spillable items and protect your bags.
Pilly Pal
It’s the middle of the night, you wake up in your hotel room and your stomach is objecting strongly to the local cuisine. If only you brought the Pepcid! Well, with Pilly Pal, you’ll have it right at your fingertips.
This little square plastic container is divided into multiple compartments and comes with stickers you can use to show what’s in there. I loaded mine up with the usual ibuprofen and acetaminophen, but then had room to add lots of “just in case” medications – Sudafed, Pepcid, Immodium, melatonin and a lot more. I didn’t use most of them, but it was comforting to know they were there just in case.
This was such a great find that I bought another one so after traveling I could put one in my purse and one in my desk at work.
Compression Packing Cubes
Want to start a debate? Drop into a conversation at a party and say you love/hate packing cubes. Travelers have very very strong feelings on both sides and aren’t afraid to tell you. Just search “packing cubes vs no cubes” on Tiktok and see what pops up.
Me? I decided on my recent trip that I am Team Packing Cube – or Team Compression Packing Cube, to be specific.
Packing cubes are mesh and nylon cubes in various sizes that you can use to organize your clothes and shoes before putting them in a suitcase or overnight bag. The compression version has a second zipper that goes all the way around the cube and compresses what’s in there another 2 or 3 inches.
I don’t use them on short trips but for our last European trip they were a game-changer. We were staying in different hotels around Scotland and Ireland, so I divided my clothes for each country and then had a cube for bras, socks, underwear and dirty clothes. It made getting ready for the next day’s stop 100 times easier.
Travel Pants, But Not the Old Lady Kind
OK, it’s time to be honest. Jeans are terrible. They look cute but when it comes to comfort, they’re the worst.
Our trip required us to sit for hours on a tour bus and then get off and walk in temperatures that could range from 55 to 90. I decided this was the trip I tried hiking pants – and I LOVED them. I truly, really, absolutely LOVED them. I want to wear them everyday. They’re lightweight enough for warmer days but block the wind and rain, too. Plus they look super cute!
I was worried I would look like an old lady traveler but I actually looked like a real hiker, even though the most I climbed was 40 stairs at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of travel essentials. I could probably add another 20 items. But these are the ones that made it just a little bit easier as I was trying to keep everything together on our summer adventure. Bon Voyage!
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Jacqui is a mom of four grown kids who’s loving the empty-nester life with her husband and two fluffy canine besties, Daisy and Zya. Other things she loves: ice-cold fountain Diet Coke, British crime dramas, and sleeping until noon on Sundays. Things she doesn’t love: cheese that’s not on a pizza, any and all exercise, and the greasy feeling of putting your hand in a bag of chips. Drop her a note at Midlife.Jacqui@gmail.com.