We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. A digital luggage scale if you're tired of sweating it out at the baggage check counter, hoping to avoid paying pesky overage fees. This scale is super accurate so you can be confident in your under-50-pound pack-job.
You can also switch between pound and kilogram measurements.
Promising review: "Works great, a must-have when flying. Very accurate scale. Easy to read with the light on it. It's a must if you have a wife like mine who loves to shop for clothes and fill up her suitcase along with mine, or if you want to stay under that 40 pounds and avoid paying the extra for overweight baggage fees. Easy to use, very accurate, well-made, and a nice design. Very pleased. Saved me money." —Amazon Customer
Price: $8.99+ (available in four colors)
2. A portable digital power bank with four built-in charging cables that can juice up just about any device you throw at it, whether you're mid-flight or mid-museum tour.
Promising review: "I went to Australia, Bali, Singapore, and Tokyo for a month-long vacation and this was a lifesaver! It was slim and sat in my purse and could charge many items at one time. The best is that it shows you the percentage of charge it has left, which helped me know when I needed to charge it. I felt like this was an awesome travel must-have." —Amazon Customer
Price: $19.99 (available in seven colors/styles)
3. A Trtl neck pillow for actually supporting your neck while you try to catch some mid-flight Z's. It's way less bulky than traditional travel pillows and will keep you from head bobbing onto your neighbor's shoulder.
Promising review: "I am a terrible flyer who recently took the red-eye from Dubai to Chicago (15 hours). The Trtl Pillow was a mini lifesaver! I was able to comfortably rest my head on the support and felt warm enough to actually doze off....a rare accomplishment for this skittish flyer. The Velcro works wonderfully with regards to adjustment, and I liked wrapping the fabric around my mouth and nose. Sort of felt cozy...even if I did look like a ninja in a neck brace! Overall, this product has changed the way that I fly, and I am so thankful for this invention and the opportunity to support a small company with big ideas." —S.Viruly
Price: $59.99 (available in four colors)
4. Plus, a soft kid-size travel pillow with double neck support to make sure the nap you scheduled your entire travel itinerary around actually happens.
Promising review: "We were planning a 14-hour trip and planned to drive overnight while our kids slept. Previous trips they slept uncomfortably and a friend recommended these travel pillows. Our 3- and 7-year-old were eager to throw their pillows on and slept comfortably the whole trip. The pillows look very supportive. They have a soft fuzzy warm side and smooth, almost cooling side, which is nice for temperature choice." —Marie & Kenneth, LLC
Price: $36.95+ (available in 4 sizes and in 12 colors)
5. A set of portable soap sheets so you and the fam can always guarantee access to cleansing hand soap, even in the most — How do I say this nicely? — ~neglected~ public restrooms.
Promising review: "Love this product. Provides great suds as any handful of soap would. This is excellent for travel, especially in public bathrooms that don’t always guarantee soap. Discreet and great for places where you might not want to touch the dispenser. A lot comes in one container. Gave some packets away to my family." —Kerry-Ann Archibald1
Price: $7.99 for a six-pack (300 sheets total)
6. A pair of affordable wireless Bluetooth earbuds because everything is better — long flights, hotel hot tubs, you name it — when you're not tethered to your tech by a cord or fretting over water damage. Thankfully, these buds are waterproof, come with a handy travel/charging case, and connect to your devices in one easy step.
Promising review: "The earbuds are everything I had hoped they would be. I like the fit in my ear, and that is important for achieving the sound I wanted. I like the fact that they are waterproof and can use them on vacation without worrying about damaging them." —C S
Price: $24.99+ (available in five colors)
7. Plus, an AirFly Pro wireless transmitter if you (and a buddy) actually want to use said Bluetooth earbuds to watch those free in-flight movies.
Promising review: "Worked beautifully on a recent eight-hour flight from New York City to Frankfurt! Really easy to pair with my Bose noise-canceling earbuds and charges quickly. The sound quality was excellent. I'm so excited about this product that I'm going to buy one for each of my family members!" —emily p murray
Price: $54.99 (available in black and white and two other styles)
8. A 10-in-1 mini nail care set that'll really save the day when you break a nail shoving your luggage in the overhead or realize your toes are not quite poolside ready...yet!
The kit comes with stainless-steel tools including two nail clippers, one large clippers, a cuticle fork, tweezers, scissors, a cuticle pusher, a double-sided ear pick, and an acne removal tool.
Promising review: "Tools are compact yet sturdy and comfortable to use. Very complete variety of tools. Tools stay in place, secured individually within the travel case. Tools and case are compact and lightweight. Case is easy to open yet stays securely shut during travel. Beautiful color of tools and travel case." —Kara C
Price: $9.99 (available in four colors)
9. A refillable travel perfume atomizer for a compact and shatter-proof way to transport your favorite scents so you don't have to spend your whole trip not smelling like your best self.
Using the atomizer is easy: Simply unscrew the cap to your perfume bottle, place the perfume nozzle into the hole at the bottom of the atomizer, and pump the perfume inside.
Promising review: "Usually I'll take whatever samples I haven't tried out yet with me on vacation, but these let me take my favorite fragrances with me when I travel without worrying about losing or breaking the big bottle! I find myself throwing them in my purse or gym bag as well since they are so portable." —Labernatty
Price: $8.99 for a four-pack
10. A teensy white noise machine to ensure you get a good night's sleep with 20 nonlooping soundscapes that'll help drown out everything from big city beeps to small-town creaks.
Promising review: "We bought this specifically for when we're traveling after a few nights at some noisy hotels. It's got great options for sound, volume, and timers. The only drawback we've found is that our charging cord sometimes wiggles out due to the vibrations if we have it on a hard surface. Doesn't happen a lot, but can happen." —Tony Oldani
Price: $29.99
11. An eight-piece set of packing organizers including four packing cubes, two clear toiletry bags, a laundry sack, and a shoe bag so you can finally open your suitcase without becoming immediately overwhelmed when you're greeted with a disorderly pile of crumpled clothes.
Promising review: "I used to think these packing cubes were just a fad and a gimmick. I used them and filled only half of my suitcase with clothes for an entire week. I traveled with half of my normal complement of bags simply because of these lightweight cubes." —Anthony Wilson
Price: $26.99 (available in 13 colors)
12. Or a set of travel compression cubes because you're committed to never checking a bag if you can avoid it. Plus, it keeps everything super organized so on the off chance TSA does need to look through your bag, they won't have to ruin your perfect pack job seeking out the culprit.
Tripped Travel Gear is a small business started by Tim and Fin (plus their dog!). The pair has been living out of their backpacks since 2015 and creates quality travel products to make life on the road easier.
Promising review: "This is a must-have item for anyone who is committed to traveling lightly and taking small bags whenever/wherever possible. If you are an urban backpacker or even an outdoors backpacker, these are amazing bags that make the rest of your bag so much easier to pack!" —Amazon Customer
Price: $18.95+ (available in packs of two, three, or six, and in seven colors)
13. A TSA-approved combination luggage lock if you're haunted by the idea of some stranger digging through your suitcase. Kick that intrusive thought to the curb with this easy-to-use lock you can stick on all types of baggage, including backpacks and purses, too!
14. A freezable snack box with built-in cooling technology that you can load up with snacks to fuel your adventures knowing they'll stay cool and fresh all day long. Vacation time is too short to spend any of it hunting down snacks just to avoid any hangry meltdowns.
Promising review: "This will carry four frozen breastmilk bags and keep them frozen 6–8 hours, which is perfect for domestic airport travel or small outings. I like to bring a few extra bags with me on trips for a night out or if it will be hard to nurse somewhere. Awesome product and less bulky that other cooler bags." —Joshua
Price: $17.99 (available in 13 colors and prints)
15. An in-flight phone mount for a hands-free way to watch all those episodes of Ted Lasso you downloaded for the flight. It can also mount on your luggage for long (aka boring) layovers, too.
Perilogics is a small business creating hyper-functional tool holsters and bags for carrying your stuff on-the-go.
Promising review: "I travel for a living and fly often. I regret not buying this in the beginning when I started traveling. I can clip it to the back of the seat in front of me and also on the windows. It is small enough to fold up and fit in my pocket. This is random but related — if you are sitting in an exit row on an airplane you cannot clip this to the window until the plane is in the air — other than that they do not care it is clipped to the window during the flight. Highly recommended." —Chrissie Jo
Price: $9.97+ (available in three colors)
16. A pair of unisex touchscreen gloves to keep your phalanges nice and toasty, even when life calls for a snowy photo shoot, or you just REALLY need some GPS to figure out where the heck you're going.
Promising review: "I needed a warm pair of gloves for traveling to Canada. These were just right. Not bulky, but soft and warm. I ordered the medium, and as a female with small hands wondered if they would be too large. They fit just right. I was able to use my phone for photos, etc. with the touchscreen fingertips. Sometimes it took more than one tap or swipe, but at least I could leave the gloves on while using the phone. I recommend these gloves." —Melanie
Price: $7.95+ (available in unisex sizes XS–XXL and in 30 colors)
17. An all-in-one universal wall adapter so no matter where you go, you don't show up in a new country with no way to charge your tech!
Promising review: "Probably one of the best $13 I spent on anything. If you travel a lot, especially internationally, this is a must have because you have every kind of adapter on one plug and don’t have to worry about constantly buying a certain adapter every time you travel to a different country. This has it all." —Abby Santiago
Price: $11.99 (available in four colors)
18. Plus, a braided 4-in-1 fast charging cord because why pack four chargers when you can pack one super long and sturdy cable that can handle all your destination charging needs?
Promising review: "My husband and I have different phones with different charging ports, this was great for our international travel and limiting the number of cords we needed to carry. Was useful during travel for charging both devices and for charging other family members' devices as well. Quick charging as well." —veronicawhite
Price: $13.99
19. A versatile travel harness seat if you're nervous about showing up to the restaurant you've been excitedly scoping out for weeks, only to find out they don't have a high chair for your tot. This adjustable harness rolls up tiny enough to stash in a bag and converts most any chair into a kid-friendly option for on-the-go feedings.
Liuliuby is a New York City-based small business founded by Mompreneur Mari Liu to reimagine everyday baby products after her own experiences as a new mother.
This harness is designed for ages 6 months and up.
Promising review: "This thing was amazing! Ten stars — it fit every type of chair we encountered on our Kenyan vacation! Kept our toddler controlled and made feeding on the go so easy. Very lightweight and packable, a vacation must-have!" —Kireme1
Price: $29.99
20. A fast-drying microfiber travel towel that'll lighten the load next time the family loads up for a wet 'n' wild adventure at the beach or water park. It comes in sizes suitable for your whole crew and is shockingly absorbent.
Promising review: "Great travel size. Used while taking dips while out on long hikes. The case makes this better. Dries great, stores easily. Wiped off sand and then flicked the sand off easily. Perfect lightweight towel for hiking. Clipped onto pack to dry as I walked. I liked the button to hang dry the towel. Washed in machine no problem. Beats my old shammy from my swimming days. I hope I can keep interior case clean." —ImBeingLazy
Price: $9.99+ (available in 6 sizes and 13 colors)
21. And an electric shoe dryer for when the weather forecast does you dirty and a surprise rain shower leaves you and the only shoes you packed certifiably soaked. Skip the gross next-day dampness, and let these little doohickies get you and your kicks back on track.
Promising review: "Bought these because they were small and compact and make no noise. We travel a lot for soccer, and it is very often that my son plays in the rain. In the past, we have had to use hairdryers. These are so much better! Never leave home without them! I do wish they had an automatic turn off but that’s OK." —Carolinagal
Price: $17.99
22. A multipurpose car seat storage bag to keep the car clean and tidy even when you're caravanning across the country. This handy organizer has a lined and leakproof spot for garbage, plenty of mesh storage pockets, and a dispenser for tissues or wet wipes.
Promising review: "It holds a lot, so I never have trash lying around my van! Always got tissues if you need them, keep wet wipes and hand sanitizer, etc. in the pockets. I do long road trips so this is just super nice to have. The lid keeps everything inside so stuff is never falling out. I definitely recommend this to anyone with kids especially or if you take long road trips and wanna keep your vehicle tidy all the time." —Leanna Garcia
Price: $24.99
23. A spacious toiletry bag with an easy-to-clean waterproof lining so all your still-wet toiletries don't go and create an ooey gooey mess for you to deal with later.
Promising review: "I like the waterproof inside lining. This little bag holds everything I need for a quick getaway. It's compact enough to fit in my travel bag easily, is easy to access and store everything." —Matthew Zeledon
Price: $7.99 (available in four colors)
24. An adhesive charger cord organizer because opening your backpack only to be greeted with a nest of tangled cords is getting old. Make use of that big ol' charging brick with this genius cord reel that collapses down when not in use.
Promising review: "I travel a lot both for work and for leisure. I cannot go anywhere without my computer. Apple chargers are such a large brick I hated to add to the bulk by carrying the cord separately. This little doohickey is fantastic. It holds the cord neatly when not in use and folds down when they charger is plugged in. I am going to order a second for my back up brick. Very clever design indeed!" —K T
Price: $14.99+ (available in two styles)
25. A tri-fold lighted makeup mirror if you're sick and tired of crappy hotel lighting getting in between you and the makeup look of your vacay dreams. Just pop off the stand, and this slim style is ready to be packed!
Promising review: "I ordered this mirror to take with me to travel because I can’t take my vanity mirror with me. I love the color. I ordered my mirror in the rose gold color. It’s absolutely stunning and the light is super bright. I just put the batteries in and pressed the round button in the center and it turned on. It also comes with a USB cord if you want to use it that way instead of putting batteries inside. It’s super easy to assemble and dismantle. I love it definitely recommend buying this makeup mirror to travel with!" —Lilly
Price: $22.98+ (available in six colors)
26. A pair of travel laundry bags with waterproof linings that make it easy to deal with soggy bathing suits and other not-so-fresh linens without any inner luggage cross-contamination.
Promising review: "Bought these for travel and they were great. Fits a decent amount of dirty laundry and then we just dumped it out and put it in with the load of laundry. Would definitely recommend to anyone traveling for more than a week who will need to carry dirty clothes." —Clifton Family
Price: $9.99 for two (available in 21 colors/prints)
27. A portable door lock so you can up the security at any hotel or Airbnb with one low-tech addition that installs in seconds and is designed to fit just about any door you'd encounter.
Note: This can get flagged while going through security, so you may want to put it in an easily accessible place in your checked bag to be safe.
Promising review: "I bought this to use in an Airbnb in an unfamiliar residential area. The lock system was easy to use, worked perfectly, and allowed my family to enjoy our vacation without worrying about security. It's a simple product that works!" —G. Mills
Price: $14.99
The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.